Steve Howell
was thirteen when he first heard Mississippi John Hurt fingerpicking country blues. The year was 1965, and the experience became a revelation that opened the door to a new musical universe. Steve knew immediately that tame, folky strumming of the guitar was a thing of the past for him. As Steve’s journey progressed, Mississippi John Hurt begat Blind Willie McTell and Leadbelly. They in turn begat Robert Johnson, Son House, Rev. Gary Davis, Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Blake, and a host of other black acoustic guitar players and vocalists. His interest in rural, folk-blues styles and the history of the music led him to learn more about how this music came to town and melded with the horn-oriented bands prevalent in the cities, creating a strong affinity for him with traditional jazz and the music of New Orleans from the first half of the twentieth century. His musical Odyssey naturally included the pop, country, rock, and blues music of the last half of the century, but always in the background stood the music of Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Lester Young, Jack Teagarden, Art Tatum, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Chet Atkins, Johnny Smith, Wes Montgomery, Bucky Pizzarelli, Joe Pass, George Van Eps, Lenny Breau, and many other great jazz artists. Although very interested in many other music styles (bebop, rock 'n' roll, rhythm and blues, and others), the heart of Steve’s playing and singing is rooted in the rural acoustic blues and traditional jazz genres born in the American South.

Born in Marshall, Texas, Steve lived in Kilgore, Texas, until the age of seventeen, when his family moved to Shreveport, Louisiana. Upon Steve's graduation from Captain Shreve High School in Shreveport, he lived in Dallas, Arlington, Austin, and spent some time in Pennsylvania during 1972-1973. Late 1973 brought the beginning of a hitch in the U.S. Navy which took him to Key West, Florida, and then to Haverfordwest, South Wales, for 3 1/2 years. During this time, he soaked up the British acoustic scene, playing folk clubs in South Wales as well as in the South of England with his partner, fingerstyle and slide guitarist and mandolinist, Arnie Cottrell. They also played several folk music gatherings including the Pembroke Castle Folk Festival in the spring of 1976.

Upon his return to the United States and Shreveport in 1977, he attended Louisiana State University in Shreveport and graduated in 1980 with a degree in Communications. During this time he played on the Shreveport club scene through the late seventies and the eighties, with numerous gigs around East Texas, initially as a duo with guitarist David Dodson in 1977 and then with his partner, Shreveport restaurateur Jim Caskey, beginning in 1978. Steve and Jim were regular performers at Shreveport's Red River Revel Arts Festival, having played the festival every year, except three, since its inception. Their duo, Howell & Caskey, has opened for Country Joe and the Fish, Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets, Bugs Henderson, Ponty Bone and the Squeezetones, and shared the stage with blues legend Brownie McGee. They have also played together in rock 'n' roll and blues bands over the years, most notably The Deadbeats and The Movers, with musicians from Shreveport and the Ark-La-Tex area such as Dave Hoffpauir, Mark Roberts, Chris Michaels, Steve Ramey, and Randy Guynes. They also played traditional jazz and blues as a trio with Kathryn Hobgood lending her vocals for about two years. Steve has taken the music to many locations across the United States, including the annual Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, Oregon, where Steve taught a master’s class in acoustic fingerstyle guitar in addition to performing on the main stage.

Guitarist Chris Michaels cut his musical teeth in the late 80's and early 90's as a bass player in the Shreveport, Louisiana, area, including notable one-nighters with Cab Calloway, Martha and the Vandellas, and Augie Myers. Chris has also played innumerable gigs with local heroes such as The Deadbeats, Iraz Baz, The Cut, David Egan, and Buddy Flett. Later exploits included extensive touring with Beanland, a notorious jam-band from Oxford, Mississippi. The mid-90's were spent doing numerous recordings and live dates as a member of Boondogs in Little Rock, Arkansas. Other notable gigs that followed included recording dates and live shows with artists such as the late Jim Dickinson, Greg Spradlin, Isaac Alexander, Mulehead, Ho-Hum, Kami Lyle, Kevin Gordon, The Yellow Hope Project, and Buddy Flett. Although primarily focusing on electric bass, upright bass, and guitars, Chris released a solo record of Americana-inspired songs titled "Morning & Night" in 2009. Throughout it all Chris has maintained a musical kinship and friendship with Steve Howell, both in the studio and on the stage.

Drummer Dave Hoffpauir started playing professionally in 1982. He played around Shreveport for 10 years or so in bands such as the Psychobillies, the Native Sons, the Deadbeats (his first collaboration w/ Steve Howell), Dorothy Prime and the Housecats, Betty Lewis and the Executives, and in various house bands which backed artists like Jessie Thomas, Kenny Bill Stinson, and Buddy Flett. In 1989, he formed the SugarKings (his first serious collaboration with Chris Michaels), and he also played in the Infidels in 1990 (his first serious collaboration with Jason Weinheimer.) ​

After moving to Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1992, he continued playing with the SugarKings but also began playing in several Arkansas bands, including Ebo and the Tomcats (which backed Billy Lee Riley and Dale Hawkins on several occasions), the Skeeterhawks, the Cockleburrs, and Mulehead. He and Kevin Kerby briefly tabled Mulehead and joined Ho-Hum in 1993. After recording several demos with various producers, including the legendary Jim Dickinson in 1994, they eventually signed a record deal with Universal Records in 1995. They had one major label release, Local, which came out in 1996. Hoffpauir joined the Boondogs in 1999 and again worked with Michaels, Weinheimer, and Dickinson as they completed a project that was never released on Garageband.com Records.

Bassist Jason Weinheimer owns and operates Fellowship Hall Sound in Little Rock. In addition to producing and engineering, he plays in the Boondogs, Love Ghost, The Libras, and with songwriter Isaac Alexander. He also played with the late great Jim Dickinson, who served as his studio mentor and musical guide for many years. Jason’s Fellowship Hall Sound studio in Little Rock has produced many significant recordings by artists including Steve Howell & The Mighty Men, Jim Mize, Isaac Alexander, Boondogs, The Yellow Hope Project, Greg Spradlin & Band of Imperials, and Buddy Flett .

Katy Hobgood Ray is a singer-songwriter, children’s author, the host, director and producer of Confetti Park, a kid-friendly radio show and podcast featuring music and children’s stories from Louisiana. Born in Bogalusa, Louisiana, raised in Shreveport, she has lived in New Orleans for the past several years, and is now located in Memphis, Tennessee. Katy has been chronicling Louisiana arts and culture since 2000, when she launched an online North Louisiana music zine called NeonBridge (now in archive). As a writer, she’s contributed to SB Magazine, VisitSouth.com, New Wave, Tulane Magazine, Jazz Archivist, and more, and worked as a radio host and content producer for NPR’s Red River Radio. Her new CD release, Louisiana Oranges, is currently gaining widespread critical favor.

Michaels, Weinheimer, and Hoffpauir have continued to play with Steve Howell for 30 years while pursuing their other musical interests and have formed a very creative bond that has yielded some fine recordings.