Steve Hallee

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Steve Hallee – aka, “The Outgoing One,” Steve hails from the State of Maine and, in addition to his bass playing skills, is the IT brains behind Salty Bones. His mother was a Big Band singer in the ‘40’s and had her own group called the Jive Bombers. She encouraged Steve and his siblings to play music. While his father was an outstanding athlete and his cousin (Dave Morehead) pitched for the Boston Red Sox, Steve gravitated towards music. 

Steve began playing the bass at the age of 12. His first band was The Pythons, who entered and won a local “Battle of the Bands,” performing rock classics by the four Bobby’s (Darin, Vinton, Vee and Rydell.) Like every red-blooded American boy, when the Beatles arrived, he thought playing their songs would be a great way to meet “birds.” Believing that Ringo was the true talent in the band, Steve took up the drums. He went on to play bass in the high school band Fringe of Society and drums with the Valleymen. To this day, whenever Gary steps out of the practice room, Steve takes over the kit and regales Josie and David with a thunderous version of Wipe Out.

Steve is heavily influenced by music from the Woodstock Generation. In fact, when he and a friend first heard about the pending Woodstock concert, they hitch-hiked there, travelling the last mile (in five hours) in a beat-up Volkswagen micro bus along with assorted members of the Manson family. By the time he got to Woodstock, they were half a million strong and everywhere was a song and a celebration. Steve arrived just in time to hear Richie Havens perform Handsome Johnny. The other members of Salty Bones either were not born or were still in diapers at the time of the Woodstock concert. If you’ve ever watched the movie of the concert and have a sharp eye, you may have caught Steve bathing au naturel in the muddy waters of Yazgur’s creek alongside Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Linda Kasabian.  

Steve was inspired by his Woodstock experience to start his own outdoor concert series, called Silverwood Concerts in Central Maine. His family had a one-acre lot that allowed him to hold concerts in his backyard. Steve extended invitations to Boston-area bands Ultimate Spinach, The Beacon Street Union and Orpheus to play there but they declined. 

Upon entering the University of Maine, Steve won the talent show his freshman, playing bass, with the Duo Steve and Steve. He continued to play in a number of bands. Realizing that Wipe Out was no longer a tune that hip college students wanted to hear, Steve concentrated his efforts on playing bass. He played bass for August Wind and was the lead singer with the band Scobie Malone (named after a fictional Australian private-eye), playing the college circuit. 

Steve took somewhat of a hiatus from playing publicly when he got married and started a family, while earning his Master’s Degree from Fitchburg State in Massachusetts. During this time he continued to play socially with friends and family. When the opportunity came along to lay down some sweet harmonies with Josie and Gary on Leaving on a Jet Plane and Puff the Magic Dragon, Steve leapt at the chance. Count Steve’s musical influences as The Beatles, Stones, Kinks, Who, Animals, Freddy and the Dreamers, Byrds, Cream, Muddy Waters, and of course, Peter, Paul and Mary. 

Steve plays a classic Dan Electro bass through a Hartke amp. His current hobby - other than producing the bottom end for Salty Bones - is to design,  build and sell mandolins. Check out his latest stuff at  www.travolin.com