Steve Msarsa

(Guitar/Bass/Vocals)

Steve grew up on the south side of Knoxville, Tennessee. Every weekend, his dad Maurice would fire up the console stereo in the living room, pumping out everything from Elvis to Dean Martin to Tom Jones.

On the weekdays, he spent time on the farm with his grandfather, where the Bakelite radio on the kitchen table would resound with everyone from Patsy Cline to Jim Reeves, George Jones and Marty Robbins. 

Riding to and from school with his mom was filled with music too, 60s AM radio playing the hits of the day, from the British Invasion to The Carpenters, Three Dog Night and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Once Steve was almost to his teenage years, he took over the console stereo in the den. His first album purchase in 1972 was the second release from Texas-based band Bloodrock. From there, he dove into everything from the most popular bands of the day. In 1975, Steve saw Kiss on the Midnight Special, and his direction was set. He asked for and received a bass and small amp for his 15th birthday. Thus began a life-long pursuit of music, with Steve playing in a variety of bands of various styles over the years from New York to Nashville.

Steve relocated to Raleigh, NC in 1994 and continued to play in bands in and around the Triangle area. He had "an itch to to do something different" around 2018, and started writing the music that would evolve into the Hoots eclectic "y'allternative" style. He spent the next few years trying to find like-minded musicians around Raleigh who could also write, sing and create in a more roots-oriented style. He met with Roland and Will for the first time in the late Summer of 2021. Earl and Howard joined later that year, in October and December respectively. In early 2022, The Hoots were hatched.