The Band

MILJENKO MATIJEVIC, Lead Singer & Founder

KEVIN CHOWN, Bass - MIKE HUMBERT, Drums - JOE PESSIA, Guitar

SteelHeart, the band, is a renowned rock group that has captivated audiences worldwide with their powerful music and electrifying performances. With their unique blend of hard rock and melodic ballads, SteelHeart has established themselves as one of the most influential bands in the industry.

Formed in the late 1980s, SteelHeart quickly gained recognition for their exceptional musical talent and charismatic stage presence. Led by the extraordinary vocalist Miljenko Matijevic, the band has consistently delivered unforgettable performances that leave fans in awe.

SteelHeart's music is characterized by its soaring vocals, blistering guitar solos, and infectious melodies. Their songs are a testament to the band's ability to create powerful and emotionally charged music that resonates with listeners of all ages.

Over the years, SteelHeart has released several critically acclaimed albums, including their highly sought-after "SteelHeart 30th Anniversary Album." This album, available in both CD and vinyl formats, showcases the band's evolution and showcases their ability to create timeless music.

SteelHeart, the band, continues to push the boundaries of rock music and captivate audiences with their electrifying performances. With their unwavering passion for music and dedication to their craft, they have solidified their place as one of the most iconic rock bands of our time.

Lead Singer & Founder

Miljenko Matijevic

Who Is Miljenko Matijevic?
Born Miljenko Matijevic on November 30, 1964, in Zagreb, Croatia. He moved to America, with his family, at the young age of six, and began crafting his singing voice. Miljenko knew in his early teens he wanted to be a rock star. He joined a newly formed band named “Red Alert” in the 1980’s who later changed the name to “SteelHeart”.

SteelHeart became popular for the multi-octave range of Miljenko’s singing voice, well- crafted melodies, power ballads as well as heavy hitting, hard driving, edgy guitar riffs. Miljenko also was the voice of Mark Wahlberg’s character Chris “Iggy” Cole in the movie "Rock Star"....

Key Points:

• Miljenko played a huge part in the ROCK STAR (2001) movie by lending his voice to Mark Wahlberg’s character Chris Cole in a Steel Dragon cover band and later as his alter ego Chris “Iggy” Cole of Steel Dragon.

• In 2010 Miljenko joined Ray Manzerak and Robby Krieger as the lead singer transcending the late Jim Morrison of “The Doors”. Two remarkable tours performing theatres and festivals throughout the US and Europe including a 52 piece orchestra in London, Dublin and Wolverhampton with “The Royal Phil Harmonic Orchestra”. Miljenko delivered a remarkable performance every night with rave reviews.

• Performing on several continents such as Europe, Asia and North America. Early January 2016, Miljenko was in Korea for six months – a country where he’s a super star – performing on various TV shows, festivals including The Dream concert. Miljenko is the only foreign artist ever to perform this concert to a 60,000 audience strong and televised to many countries. Miljenko’s’ performance that night received outstanding reviews with the whole stadium singing the chorus alone. He also penned two songs, one late 2015 and another early 2016, for two of OST Korea tv’s top hit dramas, “My Love Is Gone” and “Stay.” Miljenko then took just one week off from touring/playing Korea to join three festivals in the US and perform at the Hollywood Bowl for the sold- out Los Angeles Korean Times Music Festival on May 7th 2016

Read Full Bio Here

Guitar

Joe Pessia

Hailing from Boston, MA, Joe started playing guitar in his early teens inspired by The Beatles, AC/DC, Aerosmith, and Queen.

Playing in bands throughout high school lead him to attending Berklee College of Music in Boston where he graduated with a degree in Professional Music. As a member of the bands Dramagods – with Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme / Rihanna,  Tantric, the platinum selling band with albums produced by Toby Wright of Alice In Chains fame, and Hurtsmile – featuring Gary Cherone of Extreme and formerly of Van Halen, and currently Steelheart, Joe has toured the US, Europe, Asia, and Australia and performed on national television programs like The Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

Joe has shared stages with the likes of Perry Farrell of Janes Addiction, Mike Mangini of Dream Theater, George Lynch of Dokken, Michael Anthony of Van Halen, Warren DeMartini of Ratt and has opened for artists such as Alice in Chains, Sammy Hagar, Bret Michaels, Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck, YES, and Judas Priest.

Joe has also collaborated on various albums as a guitarist, bassist, co-writer co-producer, and engineer. His music has been used by ESPN, The NHL, MLB, and on the video game ‘MLB-2K10’ featuring former Tampa Bay Ray’s 3rd baseman Evan Longoria as his walk up music.

Drums

Mike Humbert

Mike was born into a musical family in 1969 in Reading, PA; his parents bought him his first set of drums when he was 10 and would soon be racing home after school to practice to Led Zeppelin, Rush and Frank Zappa’s albums. 

It wasn’t long before he joined the family wedding band and after high school began playing in local bands, developing reputation for being heavy, groovy and stylistically diverse. This diversity kept Mike in demand in the local music scene, landing him gigs playing in rock bands, show bands, jam bands…and tribute bands covering artists as varied as the Doors, Judas Priest and Amy Winehouse. 

In 2004 he was introduced to amazing rock singer Miljenko (Michael) Matijevic, singer from the band Steelheart and also singing voice of actor Mark Wahlberg in the movie Rock Star; Matijevic was looking for a drummer to help him begin work on demos for some new songs he had written for his forthcoming album.  Mike recorded drums for what would become the 2008 Steelheart album Good 2B Alive and has been a touring and recording member of the band ever since, including Steelheart’s latest 2017 release Through Worlds Of Stardust.  Mike uses DW drums, Meinl cymbals and Zildjian sticks.

Bass

Kevin Chown

Kevin Chown is a bassist and composer based in Los Angeles, CA. He is best known for his work with Finnish vocalist Tarja Turunen; as a member of funk/rock/fusion quartet Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats; progressive metal bands Edwin Dare, Artension; instrumental bands Cosmosquad, and Der Elefant; and blues rock band Bleeding Harp.

He has toured and recorded with artists such as Paul Gilbert, Sebastian Bach, Uncle Kracker, Chuck Berry, Tony MacAlpine, and Tiles.

He is an in-demand session player, songwriter, producer, and television actor. His music can be heard in film, television, and commercials.

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