GREENWOOD KEYBOARDIST RETURNS TO AREA

Steve Hornbeak, vocalist and keyboard player for the Lee Greenwood Band and a native of Tamms, Ill., will make special appearances at two area nightclubs tonight.

Hornbeak said he'll perform several songs he has written, along with some Greenwood favorites.

"I'm just hoping to have some fun and to see some friends who have never seen me play," Hornbeak said.

At about 7:30 p.m., Hornbeak will perform at the Country Music Hall in East Cape Girardeau, Ill., and then at Legends in Cape Girardeau after 9 p.m.

One of Hornbeak's original songs is titled "When Her Daddy Cries." It's written for his 3-year-old daughter, Jaclyn.

"It's about me being on the road all the time," he said. "My family is a big influence on the songs I write."

Writing songs is the first step toward establishing a solo career, Hornbeak said, something that has been a dream since breaking into the music business.

Hornbeak, 28, has been with Greenwood for about two years, but it was with local bands that he started his music career.

As a student at Egyptian High School, Hornbeak played saxophone for The Runaways. After three years with the band, he moved to Florida and was part of The Southland Band and a band from Tampa, Fla., called Mosiac.

It was while on the road with that band that Hornbeak met Greenwood. Months later when Greenwood needed a keyboard player, he called Hornbeak.

After appearances in Cape Girardeau and East Cape Girardeau tonight, Hornbeak will perform with Greenwood Saturday night at the DuQuoin State Fair in DuQuoin, Ill.

Hornbeak said a few days off will follow, and he'll travel back to Tampa, home to his wife, Alida, and daughter.

"Our summer season just ended, and we did a lot of shows," Hornbeak said. "Hopefully, I'll have more time off this winter to work on my writing."

Hornbeak said he hopes to have several original songs recorded and use them to audition for record companies. He hopes a solo career will follow someday.

"I hope to be signed as a writer-artist," he said. "Some doors have opened for me because I'm with Lee, but it's not going to happen overnight.

"I just don't want to be stuck in the rut of always being known as Lee Greenwood's keyboard player," he said.

Hornbeak said new country acts that are most popular now are "hat acts," solo country singers like Garth Brooks and Clint Black.

But Hornbeak's style is a little different.

"I'm not a cowboy and I'll never have that `crying in your beer' kind of voice,'" he said. "I'm more of a ballad singer, and I'm very energetic on stage."

He describes his style as similar to the bands Restless Heart and Exile.

"It's almost a crossover type of music, very much like adult contemporary," he said, "and a lot like Lee's."

Hornbeak said a less-packed schedule in the coming months with Greenwood will allow for more time with his family and more time writing songs.

"I'm enjoying what I'm doing," he said, "but I'm real anxious to make it on my own."