"You want to play the blues, you've got to listen to the masters." That's exactly what Steve Anderson has been doing for the last fourteen years."When I first started learning to play the guitar, I didn't even want to play in a band, the only thing I wanted to do was learn how to play the blues so I could play them for myself." Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Buddy Guy, "the Three Kings"-- B.B., Albert and Freddie were among the first blues guitar influences, along came others like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert Collins, Johnny Winters, George Thorogood, and anything else he could get his hands on. And that's just where it starts.

Fast forward another decade and we find Steve putting those lessons learned to good use in Given Permission. From the fast Texas shuffles of SRV to the Chicago style of Muddy Waters, to their own originals-- you'll find Steve putting his signature on them all. "At first I played the blues for myself, now it's for the band and the fans. The blues is a style that has never left, whether it was popular or not, the reason for that is that is the dedication of the people who play it to keep it alive. I'm happy to consider this one of my obligations-- to spread the blues! The first time I heard the blues, I was hooked, that's the type of feeling that I want to share with everyone."