Meet steve plummer | Part time musician and part time ski instructor

We had the good fortune of connecting with steve plummer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi steve, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I’ve always been musically inclined and somewhat gifted that music comes easy to me. I grew up in a musical family. My grandmother sang opera and played piano and organ. My father was a drummer all his life (as a side job). After graduating from college, I played professionally with a partner in an acoustic duo. After a year, local laws changed and we barely had any gigs. That is when I took on another career. Many years later, after raising and supporting a family, I started performing again on a part-time basis. This was around 2004. I’ve been performing ever since. I still had a career as an electrical engineer but performed on weekends. I retired in 2015 and have been performing more and more each year. I have written many original tunes and recorded a full-length album of originals. I still consider my music as a part-time career but a full-time love.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve always played by ear and can feel the music. I can imagine a tune and actually hear it in my head as I think about it. I’ve always put my heart into every song I perform and have been told many times that I play with a lot of feeling, which to me is an essential element of performing. What my friends tell me is my ‘signature song’, and I agree, titled “Pirate on the Ocean”. I was truly inspired one evening after a not-so-good experience and went home and I knew that there was a song there. I tried for a few minutes, using a few chord patterns and nothing hit. Then all of a sudden, I started playing and singing at the same time. The words and music just fell out so fast, I could hardly write down the lyrics. In all, 20 minutes and the song was completed. The rhyme scheme was unique and I didn’t realize it until I looked over it later on. At the time, I didn’t realize why I used the line “I am just a pirate on the ocean.” It didn’t make any sense to me until 6 months after I wrote it what that line meant. I don’t tell people what it means to me, I’d rather hear what their interpretation is.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Since we have 9 months of winter a year, the first place I would take them is Arapahoe Basin Ski Area (where I’m an instructor). Then we would do Apres Ski at the 6th Alley Bar at the base and have some food and drinks and introduce them to some of the finest people on earth. The Basin has an incredible group of people who know how to enjoy life and friends.
If it was summer time, I would take them to the Dillon Amphitheater for a concert on the lake, most beautiful spot in Summit County, Colorado.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My father and grandmother always supported my musical aspirations. Once I started performing again (after a 25-year hiatus) my good friend Cherie Dufour complemented me and encouraged me to continue.

Facebook: steve plummer

Other: Summit Musicians Relief Fund TheSMRF.org

Image Credits
Cherie DuFour