Steve Acho

Steve Acho is a Detroit-based singer-songwriter-pianist
who has performed as far west as Las Vegas and as far east as Japan.
He has helped raise tens of thousands of dollars for numerous charities,
and his original music has been featured on local and national radio and TV,
as well as advertising campaigns.
Steve has performed at the largest venues in Detroit,
including Comerica Park and Ford Field.

who is Steve Acho?

I grew up in Birmingham, Michigan.
My father moved to Detroit from Iraq when he was young.
I have one sister named Lisa who now lives in California.
When I was young,
I wanted to be a superhero.
After years of trying to fly, I finally gave up,
and now I am a business consultant and singer/songwriter.

I've loved music all my life.
I think I surprise those who are in my parents' generation,
because I know (and can play)
a great deal of the music from their era as well as the one I grew up in.

I have to credit my parents first.
They took me to a Billy Joel concert - my first concert - when I was young.
That event inspired my wanting to "try" music.
I had musical friends who encouraged - and still encourage -
my development and artistry even though I was never a schooled musician,
never took lessons, and still haven't learned how to read music.

I am very enterpreneureal and always look for alternative means of promoting music and other businesses in which I am involved.

I was the featured performer in an event that took place at Ford Motor Company.
It was a fund raiser for Red Cross just a few weeks after the 9/11 attacks.
The one-hour lunchtime concert drew 500 people,
was televised internationally on the Ford network,
and raised $85,000 for the cause.
In addition, I still receive emails 3 years later telling me what an inspiration I was during a difficult time.

I am a very spiritual person, and this provides a strong base for my integrity, discipline, and ambition.

I love almost all music. My "style" of music is probably considered pop/rock.
I love hip-hop, rap, blues, Latin, rock, and I'm even starting to like country after many trips to Nashville over the last couple years.
My particular style of music is somewhat limited only because I compose on the piano rather than the guitar or electronic instruments.

Although I was never very strong academically, I believe my education taught me how to be disciplined.
For the last several years, I've learned that if I really want to be good at something, I need to spend the time and repetition it requires.
That means making sacrifices which requires discipline, something I learned first through academics.

New things are happening every day! I just sang on a national commercial,
have several upcoming shows - including one in California - that I'm rehearsing for,
and I'm always creating new music, even when I'm not commissioned to do so.

I just finished another full-length original CD that will be released this summer.
The CD Release Party will be at the Magic Bag in Ferndale on Sunday, July 10th, 2005.
I'm working on a couple of other CD compilations and video projects that feature my original music.

Take life seriously, but don't take yourself too seriously. Be proud of your heritage,
but that doesn't mean knocking others'. Don't confuse motion with action (I'm paying my father a licensing fee to use that last one).