Stephen Egerton
Encyclopedia
Stephen Patrick O'Reilly (born September 2, 1964), better known as Stephen Egerton , is an American
guitarist, best known for his work playing with The Descendents and All
.
Egerton was raised in Utah
and played drums and guitar in the seminal Salt Lake City punk rock
/death rock band Massacre Guys from 1980 to 1985 alongside bassist Karl Alvarez
. In 1985, Egerton moved to Virginia
, where he studied classical guitar and played in the band Auto Da Fe with former Iron Cross
vocalist Sab Grey
, prolific DC area drummer Eric Wallgren, and former Black Market Baby
bass player Paul Cleary, until joining Alvarez in the Descendents in late 1986.
The appearance of Egerton and Alvarez marked a turning point for the Descendents and their allied band All; for the first time, drummer Bill Stevenson found himself alongside players with the same manic, obsessively-correct technical virtuosity as he. Egerton's guitar playing is marked by a dexterity, precision and inventiveness rarely equalled in the pop-punk genre. This virtuosity was immediately evident on songs like "Iceman", "Schizophrenia" and "Van" from the Descendents' 1987 album All. Egerton has continued to refine and develop his style in each subsequent release by consciously adopting lashings of retro-rock riffage and slurred soloing to balance the near-scientific quality of his playing.
In 2006, Egerton began recording for a new project named 40Engine, featuring former All vocalist Scott Reynolds. To date, the new band has released one song, Sunny Disposition. They performed live in Tulsa, Oklahoma in August 2006 and in Colorado, January 2008.
Egerton plays guitar in an instrumental side-project called Slorder with bassist Bryan "Babyface" Gorder, and he plays drums and bass in a collaboration with guitarist Jason Crowley called Crowley/Egerton.
The character "Stevo" in the movie SLC Punk!
is named after him. Egerton also appeared briefly in the 1984 movie The Philadelphia Experiment.
In 2010, Egerton released The Seven Degrees of Stephen Egerton on Paper + Plastick
. The album features Egerton playing with a variety of vocalists, including Milo Aukerman
, Tim McIlrath
, Mike Herrera
, and others.
Egerton currently runs Armstrong Studios in Tulsa, OK where he records, produces and mixes music.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
guitarist, best known for his work playing with The Descendents and All
ALL (band)
All is an American punk band originally from Los Angeles, currently residing in Fort Collins, Colorado, formed by Descendents members Bill Stevenson, Karl Alvarez, and Stephen Egerton.-Formation and Cruz Records Years:...
.
Egerton was raised in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
and played drums and guitar in the seminal Salt Lake City punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
/death rock band Massacre Guys from 1980 to 1985 alongside bassist Karl Alvarez
Karl Alvarez
Karl Matthew Alvarez is the bass guitar player for both the Descendents and All, the band that resulted after the Descendents disbanded again in 1987....
. In 1985, Egerton moved to Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, where he studied classical guitar and played in the band Auto Da Fe with former Iron Cross
Iron Cross (band)
Iron Cross is a hardcore/Oi! band from Baltimore, Maryland and Washington D.C..They play a rough form of streetpunk, and is the first band in the United States to adopt the skinhead look and the Oi! musical style...
vocalist Sab Grey
Sab Grey
Sab Grey is the founder of Iron Cross, one of the United States' first skinhead hardcore/Oi! bands.As a teenager, he began to attend hardcore punk concerts in Washington DC, where he met Ian Mackaye, Henry Rollins, and others in the burgeoning Washington, DC hardcore subculture.In 1980, he founded...
, prolific DC area drummer Eric Wallgren, and former Black Market Baby
Black Market Baby
-History:Formed by Boyd Farrell and Paul Cleary of Snitch , with Keith Campbell of D. Ceats and Tommy Carr from the Penetrators....
bass player Paul Cleary, until joining Alvarez in the Descendents in late 1986.
The appearance of Egerton and Alvarez marked a turning point for the Descendents and their allied band All; for the first time, drummer Bill Stevenson found himself alongside players with the same manic, obsessively-correct technical virtuosity as he. Egerton's guitar playing is marked by a dexterity, precision and inventiveness rarely equalled in the pop-punk genre. This virtuosity was immediately evident on songs like "Iceman", "Schizophrenia" and "Van" from the Descendents' 1987 album All. Egerton has continued to refine and develop his style in each subsequent release by consciously adopting lashings of retro-rock riffage and slurred soloing to balance the near-scientific quality of his playing.
In 2006, Egerton began recording for a new project named 40Engine, featuring former All vocalist Scott Reynolds. To date, the new band has released one song, Sunny Disposition. They performed live in Tulsa, Oklahoma in August 2006 and in Colorado, January 2008.
Egerton plays guitar in an instrumental side-project called Slorder with bassist Bryan "Babyface" Gorder, and he plays drums and bass in a collaboration with guitarist Jason Crowley called Crowley/Egerton.
The character "Stevo" in the movie SLC Punk!
SLC Punk!
# "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden" - The Suicide Machines # "Sex and Violence" - The Exploited# "I Love Livin' in the City" - Fear# "1969" - The Stooges# "Too Hot" - The Specials# "Cretin Hop" - Ramones...
is named after him. Egerton also appeared briefly in the 1984 movie The Philadelphia Experiment.
In 2010, Egerton released The Seven Degrees of Stephen Egerton on Paper + Plastick
Paper + Plastick
Paper + Plastick is an indie record label, founded by Vinnie Fiorello, best known as the drummer for ska punk band Less Than Jake, but also co-founder of the label Fueled By Ramen.-History:Announced on March 21, 2008, the label launched on May 30, 2008....
. The album features Egerton playing with a variety of vocalists, including Milo Aukerman
Milo Aukerman
Milo Aukerman is an American singer, songwriter and research biochemist. Aukerman is perhaps most widely known for being the lead singer of the early Los Angeles area punk rock band the Descendents, a group widely considered to be pioneers of modern "pop punk"...
, Tim McIlrath
Tim McIlrath
Timothy "Tim" James McIlrath is an American punk rock musician. He is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, songwriter and co-founder for the American punk rock band Rise Against. McIlrath is known to support animal rights and actively promotes PETA with his band...
, Mike Herrera
Mike Herrera
Michael Arthur Herrera is an American musician most widely known as the vocalist and bass guitarist for the pop punk band MxPx, as well as being the front-man of his new band Tumbledown.-Early life:...
, and others.
Egerton currently runs Armstrong Studios in Tulsa, OK where he records, produces and mixes music.