NYC based, blues/rock artist Steven Keene releases his upbeat and meaningful single “Save Yourself.” By creating textured songs after enduring tragedy and an extended 7-year healing period, Steven Keene instantly flipped the switch to get back up and let listeners resonate through his undeniably relatable and strong-standing music.
His latest single “Save Yourself” captures unique lyricism that tells an off-scale story of the craze that has been set upon humans during these tough times. Steven Keene highlights that “Save Yourself” offers a sharp hook when he sings “before you save the world, save yourself” by buying all the food, supplies, and even toilet paper that leaves many others short. Kicking off with an upbeat rock and blues instrumentals through catchy electric guitar melodies and a foot-stomping drum kick, “Save Yourself” already has an anthemic feel to it. As Steven Keene begins singing his lyrics full of layered meanings like “there’s far too little peace and far too much green,” we can pick up on his concept where we turn incredibly selfish instead of selfness in these times of need. Maintaining steady instrumentals with added organ for texture, we’re left with a variety of harmonic melodies for us to get down to. From Steven Keene’s upbeat instrumentals to his incredibly detailed and relatable songwriting, “Save Yourself” reminds us to keep some common sense when we need it most. You can find "Save Yourself" here.
Hey Steven Keene, welcome to BuzzMusic! We’ve heard that you’ve never been big on explanations behind songs, as listeners can grasp the meaning of their own. That being said, what did you want your listeners to take away from your single “Save Yourself”?
This song is just one viewpoint and not necessarily mine...the balance between giving and taking, the line between charity and self-preservation...there's no right or wrong in that song just ideas for thought.
Speaking on the single “Save Yourself”, Steven Keene provides intricate lyrics that display many meanings amongst them. Could you share what your songwriting process was like when creating these layered lyrics?
This one wrote itself pretty fast...I've been thinking about the idea for years but one day it just came.
On a more personal note, it’s very refreshing to hear an artist write about the selfish and ignorant acts that humans have taken during these times of “coming together”. What made Steven Keene want to shine a light on this topic through your music?
Truth and motivation...I've always wondered about a person's true motives about charity and giving... Sometimes it pure, sometimes its not..sometimes even the most seemingly honest of all people can deceive and have selfish motives.
Speaking on the current events today and how they’ve impacted all of us, how does Steven Keene stay creative during these times, and where do you find inspiration nowadays?
I think you either "is or you ain't" creative. Forced creativity, for me, doesn't work..I've been lucky to have a wellspring of ideas...regarding the second question... a classic artists answer to this would be that there's beauty, wonder, and inspiration in everything, and that's true to some point but there's also a lot of pain and suffering in life and that too inspires, sometimes even more. I'm almost done with writing my new album. "Them and Us"... It is my best work yet and I'm anxious to get into the studio and record the new songs...