SteerS: New Recruits
On the floor in front of the stage at Trophy’s are three men dressed from head to toe in camo … with pink, iron-on steer heads adhered to their shoulders. SteerS mix multiple genres into a glorious pool of guts and sweat. A song explodes with speed-metal drumming, arrhythmic basslines, and bleeps from 23-year-old one-man band Patrick Turbiville. In three minutes, waves of sludge careen out of the amp, easing the prior anxiety. It’s a roller coaster ride of time changes and attacks.
“It’s a desire to play a set where after two songs you don’t feel like you’ve heard everything we’re going to do,” explains bassist and frontman Kevin Livesay. “That’s a curse that happens with bands sometimes. … There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just something that bores us.”
Boredom doesn’t come easily when the SteerS are blowing dust. This night Livesay lines up chairs, stools, and tables as a barrier between audience and band. The barrier becomes a haphazard stage as the possessed man balances on one foot, shredding the thick strings. This isn’t punk rock. This is a lawsuit waiting to happen.
With metal riffs streaming from the makeshift stage, the schtick of the costumes – ahem, uniforms – is as confusing as the math blast. In truth, it fits with what these Austin transplants are trying to do. They are messing with your mind.
“I like it when a band takes you out of your comfort zone,” says Livesay. “I think that by doing the uniforms and trying to keep things a little bit off-kilter, we’re providing a different experience than you might get if you just went to a rock show and saw five punk bands.”
SteerS are the new kids in this crop. Their metallic tendencies oppose that of their three brother bands, but their mantra is carbon-copied.
“I really just come here to play,” reasons drummer Brian Ellison, whom Livesay calls a mutant he will never play without. “I forget we even get paid at shows. I forget we even sell merchandise. I never ask how much money we made. If we could make money off this somehow, that would be great, but I’m just doing this every day because I really love doing it. It makes me happy. That alone makes me do this. Period.”
Video Screams, Skullening, Tuxedo Killers, San Antonio’s Animals of the Bible, and Steers play this Saturday, Jan. 15, at Beerland.
This article appears in January 14 • 2005.