Meet Steven Ivy | Music Content Creator

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

Hi Steven, why did you pursue a creative career?
I fell in love with music at a very early age and spent most of my life trying to make it as a musician. As I reached my 40s and being a parent became more of a priority over band life, I realized that music would forever be the biggest part of who I am. So, I first decided to start a podcast to share my experiences and excitement with the music I love, but that quickly evolved into a YouTube channel and that has been my primary focus for the last 5 years. Sharing the music I love, having discussions about that music, and getting to interview musicians from the bands that mean so much to me has made my Old Head “brand” one of the most rewarding things I have ever done.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I started making Old Head content because I love rock and metal music and talking about that music more than almost anything else in my life. I also found myself often disappointed by the amount of negativity that I saw among music “fans” on the internet and I wanted to be a positive example of music fandom.

One of the biggest challenges for me has been learning how to handle the negativity that would inevitably come my way from those who inexplicably call themselves music fans while spending most of their time tearing down others for their tastes in music. Occasionally I address the harm that the negativity does to the community, but overall I have learned to ignore a lot of it and just move on with my mission.

Another big challenge has been trying to grow my audience and make some kind of money for my efforts while still staying true to who I am. It has been a slow process because I refuse to embrace trends or create “clickbait” just to receive views and followers. Slowly but surely the real rewards have started to appear, but I still have a long way to go before I ever truly consider myself successful.

As for my brand, I feel like I bring a knowledgable, fair, focused, accepting, and experienced viewpoint with my content. I have been a musician and songwriter for over 30 years and spent 25 years being in rock bands and experiencing all the excitement, drama, disappointment, and exhaustion that comes with that life. But even more important is that I have been a genuine and often obsessive fan of rock and metal music for most of my life. The most important mission with my content is just keeping the conversations going about the bands and artists I love, especially those that I think are under-appreciated or under-represented in the rock and metal music communities.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My favorite record store in Houston is Cactus Music. Aside from having a large assortment of new and used vinyl and CDs, the store and staff always have a fun and welcoming vibe and it is easy to spend hours looking though all of the different music related products they have.

My favorite music venues are The Secret Group, which is a fun and comfortable venue for smaller concerts, and for slightly larger concerts, the White Oak Music hall is one of the best music venues I’ve ever been to. The sound is fantastic and the view is great from pretty much anywhere you stand.

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?
Aside from all the bands over the years that have inspired me. the biggest shoutout would have to go to my wife, Krystal. Her support and encouragement has been the one constant that has kept me motivated and positive throughout the last 5 years of making Old Head content.

Website: https://www.oldheadnetwork.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oldhead.tx

Twitter: https://twitter.com/oldheadpodcast

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oldheadpodcast

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OldHead

Other: OLD HEAD RADIO:
https://live365.com/station/OLD-HEAD-RADIO-a36272