Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth

by Steve Conte

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

We have a few Crazy Truth t-shirts left, mostly female sizes. We will be checking stock soon so check back or drop a line with any questions!

Purchasable with gift card

$7 USD or more
Full Digital Discography

8

releases

Get all 8 Steve Conte releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of I'm On Your Side (diVINYLS Cover), So Much For Love (Acoustic Demo), Steve Conte: Acoustic In Amsterdam (Live At Paradiso), Temporary Insanity, Bootleg Rarities, International Cover-Up, The Steve Conte NYC Album, and Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth. , and , .

Purchasable with gift card

$24.80 USD or more (20% OFF)
Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth CD - SIGNED!
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Steve's true "solo" debut (although it was a band) and for the first time, without brother John.

This is the dirtiest, most garage rock/NYC punk album Steve has ever made. It was recorded hot on the heels of making the first New York Dolls reunion album, using many of the same recording techniques; all tracks were recorded LIVE with guitar solos being played LIVE on the basic track and with 2 amplifiers in stereo; a 1967 Marshall Plexi + a 1962 Vox AC30 (and sometimes a '60s Ampeg Reverberocket.)

Note: There are only 180 copies left in existence since the label Verese Sarabande (Universal Music) destroyed all remaining CDs after Steve left the label.

Includes unlimited streaming of Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Sold Out

1.	This Is The End 02:53	lyrics	buy track
This is the end, it's the end it's the end of the line....
2.	Gypsy Cab 03:13	lyrics	buy track
Way up in Harlem, the things I used to do...
3.	Texas T. 03:36	lyrics	buy track
I got you under my skin...
4.	The Goods Are Odd 02:59	lyrics	buy track
It's all good when the goods are odd...
5.	Get Off 02:48	lyrics	buy track
Crawling from the wreckage of society...
6.	The Truth Ain't Pretty 03:45	lyrics	buy track
I'm always putting the last things first, that's why I'm starting out with the 2nd verse...
7.	Her Highness 02:56	lyrics	buy track
The crown has spoken...
8.	Busload Of Hope 03:52	lyrics	buy track
Swinging on a star from the hangman's rope...
9.	Strumpet-hearted Monkey Girl 02:03	lyrics	buy track
All your Shakespeare tongue, all of your old-school, strumpetheartedmonkeygirl i love you.
10.	Indie Girl 04:25	lyrics	buy track
Hey little indie girl, fame is not your itch...
11.	Junk Planet 03:54	lyrics	buy track
Feeling happy never after, in their dystopian haze, spinning towards disaster, and it's all out of phase...

about

In 2007, at the time that this album and band were coming together, Steve Conte was the lead guitarist, songwriter & backing singer in the New York Dolls. After making the Dolls comeback album, "One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This", Steve had an epiphany; "I had so much fun making that Dolls record, it was like the times I used to have playing rock 'n roll when I was coming up in bands as a teen. The experience was so loose and fun that I wanted to make an album like that for myself! So I got the right group of songs and players together and just went for it." And here's the end result: Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth, signed and released by Varese Sarabande Records (Universal Music) in 2009.

Named for a Charles Bukowski poem, The Crazy Truth began to unfold when Steve bumped into old high school pal Lee "Leeko" Kostrinsky on the street in New York’s East Village. Leeko's punk, reggae and indie rock influences were a perfect foil for Conte's hard rockin' blues, 60's garage rock and Latin-soul. Soon after, rounded out by Canadian-born Phil Stewart on drums they played their first show in NYC - a T.Rex memorial where they covered Marc Bolan's classic "Rip Off" along with the unveiling of 9 new Conte originals.

Sonically, The Crazy Truth lies somewhere between garage rock and punky blues with hints of Latin-soul in a dark, smoky lounge. Stooges & Stones meet Morphine & Tom Waits. Classic roots with modern twists. Steve Conte brings the power, soul and raunch; a guitar hero on the edge of falling apart – with the voice of a derelict angel. Drummer Phil Stewart is equal parts Max Roach and Keith Moon while bassist Leeko was weaned on The Clash and old school reggae.

Conte says: “This album sounds like a band playing LIVE because it is — drums, bass & guitar together in one room, solos recorded live on the basic tracks, rough and tough. It was like doing a gig – and I love playing live with this band because it’s all about interplay and the moment. We don’t just deliver the songs…we JAM!”

Lyrically, the songs reflect two decades of life and excess in New York City…the distractions troubled souls move toward to fill the emptiness. Dive bars, gambling, sex & drugs …it's all there, but not celebrated with the usual macho rock attitude. It’s really about redemption. With Steve Conte’s unique perspective he sings, “I’m always putting the last things first, that’s why I’m starting out with the second verse” and “drag queens, drama queens, future ex-porn stars, we’re all looking for lovers with beautiful scars”. Whether he’s the morally bankrupt guy “coming downtown in a Gypsy Cab” or riding a “Busload Of Hope” to Atlantic City, Conte offers optimism – “In the end we transcend – we’re divine”.

Special guests include David Johansen (New York Dolls) on harmonica, Catherine Russell (David Bowie) & Nicki Richards (Madonna) on backing vocals and Danny Ray (Sylvain Sylvain/ Johnny Thunders), Kiku Collins (Beyonce) Tom Timko (Stevie Wonder) on horns.

The album was mixed by the legendary Niko Bolas (Neil Young, Keith Richards) and mastered by Richard Dodd (Tom Petty/Green Day).

credits

released December 1, 2009

The Crazy Truth is:

Steve Conte writes the songs, plays all guitars and sings lead & backing vocals, while "Scarb-erian" Phil Stewart plays drums & sings backup and Lee "Leeko" Kostrinsky plays bass & sings backup.

Special guests include David Johansen (New York Dolls) on harmonica, Catherine Russell (David Bowie) & Nicki Richards (Madonna) on backing vocals and Danny Ray (Sylvain Sylvain/ Johnny Thunders), Kiku Collins (Beyonce) Tom Timko (Stevie Wonder) on horns.

The album was mixed by the legendary Niko Bolas (Neil Young, Keith Richards) at Blackbird Studios in Nashville and was mastered by Richard Dodd (Tom Petty/Green Day).

license

about

Steve Conte New York, New York

“Steve Conte is one of the best kept secrets of the music business!”
- Steve Lillywhite, Producer (Rolling Stones, XTC, Johnny Thunders)

Guitarist/singer/songwriter from NYC. Solo artist, member of Company Of Wolves, Crown Jewels, The Contes, Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth, New York Dolls, Michael Monroe & sideman- Paul Simon, Willy DeVille, Robert Gordon, Billy Squier, Peter Wolf, Wille Nile. ... more

stevecontenyc.com

Recommendations

contact / help

Contact Steve Conte

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

Steve Conte recommends:

Market Harbour (Studio Album 2008)
by Ginger Wildheart

Ginger is a creative monster!! Steve Conte
go to album
The Go-To Guy
by Role Models

Rags is a talented dude...and his positive energy, infectious! Ya can't NOT love him!! Steve Conte
go to album
Bleed Together
by The Contes

An unsung gem from NYC brothers John & Steve Conte featuring drummers Charley Drayton (Keith Richards), Aaron comess (Spin Doctors, Nir Z & Rich Pagano. Steve Conte
go to album

If you like Steve Conte, you may also like:

Bronx Cheer
by Steve Conte

supported by 12 fans who also own “Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth”

Steve Conte masterfully marries late 70's rock and early punk. Melodic and soulful with a pinch of personal pain. If there's anyone who's keeping the heartbeat of rock n' roll steady and stout, it's Steve Conte! Superb jamz! Thanx! Your loyal fan, Kainoa Kainoa J. Blackeagle
go to album
Power Pops (EP)
by The Conte Brothers

supported by 11 fans who also own “Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth”
go to album
Strange, Strange Times
by The Ugly Kings

Combining crooned murder ballads with raw, angsty hard rock hooks, Melbourne's The Ugly Kings are a wrecking crew well worth watching. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 15, 2021
go to album

Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Saxophonist Isaiah Collier chats about his new LP and the influence of Pharoah Sanders.

listen now