STEPPEN STONZ BIO

With their flashy costumes, the Steppen Stonz deliver a
slick and polished stage show with impeccable harmonies and dance moves. The versatility of their voices, allows the group to shine at everything from the 50's to the sounds of today.

In 1972, then called The Magnificent Men, they began with a modest one-night gig during Black Heritage week in Omaha, Nebraska. The group was later joined by four very talented musicians who also resided in the Omaha area. Glenn Franklin (percussionist), Keith Rogers (keyboards), Melvin Hall (bassist) and Ernie Clark (lead guitar). These young gentlemen were the original backbone and the driving force of the Steppen Stones show. With the three vocalist it was said together they made music magic. Soon they were performing at night clubs and concerts, opening for recording artist such as Blood Stone, Kool and the Gang and the Chi-lites. They were also featured on a local Omaha television show for two years, that made them local celebrities. After leaving Omaha in 1974, their musical career led them on a cross country tour. The group spent several weeks touring through the states of Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arizona and ending in San Diego, California.

After performing and residing in San Diego for a short while, they finally worked their way into the Los Angeles area in 1975. There, they performed in night clubs and was fortunate enough to be able to experience recording in some of Los Angeles finest recording studios of the time. While shopping for a recording contract, the groups producer felt is was time for a name change. Their name was then changed from The Magnificent Men to The Steppen Stones for recording purposes. This new name reflected the groups high energy and intricate dance steps. Sixteen years later the spelling of Stones was changed to Stonz for an updated appeal. Although, they didn't produce a hit record, The Steppen Stonz were determined not to let that stifle their musical career. They resided in the Los Angeles area until the local night clubs had totally switched from live bands to DJ's and disco dance clubs. While disco was quickly spreading throughout Southern California in the late seventies, The Pacific Northwest was very much alive with live entertainment night clubs and hotels from Portland, Oregon to Vancouver, Canada. In 1977, the group was booked into Portland, Oregon and their they performed several weeks, touring the local night clubs. After fulfilling contractual obligations in Portland, The Steppen Stonz musicians decided to disband and pursue other musical career opportunities. The following year the three vocalist re-grouped and they were again invited to perform in The Pacific Northwest. Only this time, the group was booked into the Seattle, Washington night club scene and shortly thereafter, Seattle became their new home base. This kept The Steppen Stonz career alive and on track.

Now settled into Seattle, the group decided they wanted to return back into the recording studio. Their close friend and manager the late Joe Nozzarella suggested releasing a record under their own lable, named J.A.M. (John, Arthur, Mike) records.
Joe was very involved in the production of the recording sessions.
There was a single released in 1979 called COME TO ME. The record received some airplay on one of Seattles popular radio station. They were distributed into some of Tacoma and Seattle, Washington's local record stores. The record sales were up and they made the Top Ten best seller list. That same year, there was another song on the flip side of the featured single. This song was entitled DARLIN OH DARLIN. These two songs were written and arranged by two very talented, young, local Tacoma, Washington musicians. DARLIN OH DARLIN was feature on the long running television show American Bandstand rate a record. The record was rated a 77% which was high enough to beat out the veteran recording artist Fats Domino's new single. This was said to be a very high rating for a nationally unknown group. Regrettably, there were legal battles over the rights of the songs and the project was cancelled. Soon thereafter, The Steppen Stonz dropped the songs from their live show performances. Another recording opportunity came their way durning the year of 1985. The group was again invited to Los Angeles to record backup vocals for another recording artist which was being produced by Mr. Ralph Johnson, an original member of the famed group EARTH, WIND AND FIRE and co-produced by Mr. Marcel East, another well known record producer. Together, they produced a record called HOLD ME TIGHT. After finishing these projects and from the exposure of being in The Pacific Northwest, The Steppen Stonz continued their career and soon after it expanded into Nevada. Their first booking into the Nevada area was Reno in 1981 and the rest is history.

The group features three male vocalist; Arthur Hayden, Michael Hill ( friends since kindergarten ) and John Matthews ( met him in eight grade ) With all three providing lead vocals, harmonies and choreography, along with fourteen year member Andre Stennis on drums, Marcel Hollis East on keyboards and vocals is what makes The Steppen Stonz so much fun to watch and listen to.

The band has resided in the Seattle, Washington area for the past 25 years. They have toured Japan, Phillippines, Korea, Guam, Paris France, and Canada, as well as a total of 48 states including Alaska and Hawaii. They have been voted the "Number One Cabaret Act" in the highly competitive Reno-Tahoe area for two consecutive years. They presently perform dates in Las Vegas, Reno and you can also catch them in Atlantic City, New Jersey. For the Best in Entertainment check out the Steppen Stonz.