Stephen
Wentworth

A story in rooms and records. Photos from the road and the sessions. More shots go in as Stephen sends them.

The story

From first guitar to Florida nights

1957
1. Stephen Wentworth Kondi
Born August 22. The name on the records is Stephen Wentworth. The legal name is Stephen Wentworth Kondi. Lake Wales, Florida is home now.
Service
2. First guitar
The first guitar came in the military. It did not stay a hobby. Strat, Telecaster, Les Paul. Fender and Marshall amps. Boulder Creek and Ovation acoustics. B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hendrix, Neil Young, Johnny Cash, Clapton — that is the map he still plays from.
The work
3. A working-class band
Stephen called it a working-class band because that is what it was: day jobs, then the room. He was a home-heating, brush-and-vac, tune-up fixer. Lines got written on the clock. He told a paper the record was one of his dreams — to bring the music of his soul to the people. Blue-collar rock and blues. Music for the working person. That line has not changed.
Rooms
4. Before this name
He played in a lot of rooms and a lot of lineups, including the Cosmic Links. Classic rock and blues with a twist of country. The name on the door now is The Stephen Wentworth Band. The work is the same: originals, no covers on the records.
2015
5. Good and Bad
Nights and weekends. Live tracking, overdubs, mix. Pepperbox Studio. Kristina Stykos produced and engineered. Oscar Zambrano mastered it in New York. Thunder Ridge put it out. Jimmy Goodwin, Tom Vinelli, Chad Preston, J.D. Doyle held that record down. Eleven tracks. High energy. Working-class spirit.
The air
6. Cold at Night and the radio
Cold at Night ran in Fireworks magazine, edition 74, out of England. Good and Bad played on WDEV with Artie Lavigne and WIZN with Charlie Frazier. A first-time listener should find parallels in their own life. A typical show night is 80% work, 20% play.
2017
7. Half Past Late
Four more originals: If I Could Fly, Love Me Tonight, Everyday Matters, Daisies in the Field. Same voice, later hours. The EP is still in the catalog. The words for those songs are still being set.
Now
8. Florida nights
Stephen Wentworth, Dave the Drummer, Pete Brill. Year-round outdoor music. Southern rock pride you can hear — deep, dedicated, soulful. The store is coming. The records play on this site. The story is still being written on stage.