Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Rinse and repeat for SDMTV

SD Music TV is Joseph Stevens’s one-man operation that eschews ego, money: “I wanted it to be more about the love.”
SD Music TV is Joseph Stevens’s one-man operation that eschews ego, money: “I wanted it to be more about the love.”

“I noticed the music community here was kind of lacking in terms of overall support within itself.” Joseph Stevens, a singer/songwriter and general contractor, thought he could cure that perceived ill with a television show. Hence, SD Music TV, a weekly 30-minute cable program featuring a live performance and interview with a hometown band.

“The local music community seemed like a dog-and-pony show. I wanted it to be more about the love. That’s what I inject into it,” says Stevens, who identifies some of the troubling musicians’ behaviors he sees in clubs for me during our phone conversation. “Musicians don’t stay for each other’s sets. I’d like to blame it on the economy, but I think it’s more a personality-based thing.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

A Chicago native now living in Ocean Beach, Stevens, 38, has in the past showcased such artists as Robin Henkel and Billy Watson, guitarist Roni Lee, Ease Up, Trailerpark Rockstar, and Black Market III. Of the Lakeside trio, he says this: “I’m gonna do a live episode with them. I’m kicking off the new series on January 30 with them at the Ruby Room.”

SD Music TV airs on Time Warner cable channel 19 on Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. Presently airing reruns from last year, Stevens started the show in January 2012 as So-Cal Showcase and produced 37 episodes before changing the name.

Stevens began his videographer gig in 2009 at the Cox Cable public access station. “That’s where I cut my teeth, learned the studio equipment, and how to run a crew.” That said, he wears all the hats at SD Music TV. Meaning, he works alone. Stevens is show host, interviewer, cameraman, director, and post-production supervisor. He designs the show posters, and he puts together the band showcases.

“I boiled it down to just me so I wouldn’t have to rely on anyone. I don’t want to have to rely on flaky people.”

Does the show make any money? “None. Zero.” Stevens has been self-funded from day one. “I’ve never had a sponsor.” And, there’s been no venue love, either. “They’re not paying me for the cross-promotion. But,” he says, “it wasn’t supposed to be a money-making thing.” He alludes to outside pressures to take the show to profit, a direction he found distasteful. He is loath to give me details and instead settles on this: “It got ugly. I had to do some rinse and repeat.”

Stevens has been flooded with requests from bands that would like to be on the show. “I do my research. I look at everybody’s submissions. But if they have a big ego and they put off negative energy, I don’t mess with them.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tiny Home Central isn’t solving the San Diego housing crisis

But it does hope to help fill in the gaps
Next Article

Hip-hop artist Don Elway makes movies for his music

Not Ordinary EP tells a story of life on the streets
SD Music TV is Joseph Stevens’s one-man operation that eschews ego, money: “I wanted it to be more about the love.”
SD Music TV is Joseph Stevens’s one-man operation that eschews ego, money: “I wanted it to be more about the love.”

“I noticed the music community here was kind of lacking in terms of overall support within itself.” Joseph Stevens, a singer/songwriter and general contractor, thought he could cure that perceived ill with a television show. Hence, SD Music TV, a weekly 30-minute cable program featuring a live performance and interview with a hometown band.

“The local music community seemed like a dog-and-pony show. I wanted it to be more about the love. That’s what I inject into it,” says Stevens, who identifies some of the troubling musicians’ behaviors he sees in clubs for me during our phone conversation. “Musicians don’t stay for each other’s sets. I’d like to blame it on the economy, but I think it’s more a personality-based thing.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

A Chicago native now living in Ocean Beach, Stevens, 38, has in the past showcased such artists as Robin Henkel and Billy Watson, guitarist Roni Lee, Ease Up, Trailerpark Rockstar, and Black Market III. Of the Lakeside trio, he says this: “I’m gonna do a live episode with them. I’m kicking off the new series on January 30 with them at the Ruby Room.”

SD Music TV airs on Time Warner cable channel 19 on Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. Presently airing reruns from last year, Stevens started the show in January 2012 as So-Cal Showcase and produced 37 episodes before changing the name.

Stevens began his videographer gig in 2009 at the Cox Cable public access station. “That’s where I cut my teeth, learned the studio equipment, and how to run a crew.” That said, he wears all the hats at SD Music TV. Meaning, he works alone. Stevens is show host, interviewer, cameraman, director, and post-production supervisor. He designs the show posters, and he puts together the band showcases.

“I boiled it down to just me so I wouldn’t have to rely on anyone. I don’t want to have to rely on flaky people.”

Does the show make any money? “None. Zero.” Stevens has been self-funded from day one. “I’ve never had a sponsor.” And, there’s been no venue love, either. “They’re not paying me for the cross-promotion. But,” he says, “it wasn’t supposed to be a money-making thing.” He alludes to outside pressures to take the show to profit, a direction he found distasteful. He is loath to give me details and instead settles on this: “It got ugly. I had to do some rinse and repeat.”

Stevens has been flooded with requests from bands that would like to be on the show. “I do my research. I look at everybody’s submissions. But if they have a big ego and they put off negative energy, I don’t mess with them.”

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Dating Sites For Little People: Best Platforms & Tips

Next Article

Hip-hop artist Don Elway makes movies for his music

Not Ordinary EP tells a story of life on the streets
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.