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LOS ANGELES, CA (November 3, 2025) – When Steve Bardwil says it’s been an unforgettable year, he isn’t being hyperbolic. Last spring he and the band that bears his name released Nothing But Time, a rich set of 11 captivating songs that blends Americana pop-rock, soul and blues to brilliant effect. But the wonder of it all isn’t that the record received critical raves while winning over music fans; it’s that Bardwil was able to pull the whole thing off at all.
“I think I’m kind of a case study that it’s never too late to follow your heart and your dreams,” says Bardwil, who until recently served as Chief Counsel for Walt Disney Studios – it’s as important and stressful as jobs get in Hollywood. All the while, however, Bardwil, a strikingly gifted singer-songwriter and guitarist, was keeping his true passion – and perhaps his calling – at bay.
“I played music with my band, but I had to do it more as a side thing,” he says, “which was hard, because my job, which I loved by the way, was all-consuming. There wasn’t a lot of room in my life to take my music to the next level. We got good gigs and opened for great artists like Lyle Lovett and Robby Krieger, and people really loved what we were doing. Still, I knew that if I wanted to focus full-time on my music and promote it properly, something had to change.”
And so Bardwil took the plunge and left Disney, right around the same time that he wrote a batch of new material he wanted to record.. “The band and I worked up the songs in rehearsal, and they were down for making the album,” he says, “but I knew I wanted to work with a really good producer. The question was, who?”
After asking around, Bardwil was given the names of three producers. Of the three, 11-time GRAMMY® Award winning producer Joe Chiccarelli was his first choice. Joe had worked with the likes of Elton John, U2, Beck, White Stripes, The Strokes, My Morning Jacket and Weezer – even Frank Zappa. Bardwil reached out to the in-demand producer (then recording with Morrissey in France), and the response he got was a simple text: “What do you want?” Bardwil explained that he was looking for a producer and sent along his demos. Chiccarelli suggested they meet upon his return to the U.S. as Bardwil says, “When he got back to the States, we met and talked about the kind of record I wanted to make and what Joe had in mind for the album. Before long we were cutting the album at East West Studios.”
The Steve Bardwil Band includes Johnny Stachela (guitar), Max Butler (keyboards, vocals), Vince Fossett (drums) and Aaron Leibowitz (saxophone, flutes), Catherine Jayne (vocals), and the newest member of the band, Frank Coglitore (bass). George Sugarman who had been with the band since its inception and played bass on most of the album left the band earlier this year. For Bardwil and his band, the experience of working with one of the industry’s top musical visionaries was equal parts challenging, validating and revelatory. “Everybody in my band is a great player, but we all learned a lot when we were in the studio with Joe, myself included,” Bardwil says. “Some producers just start recording and tell you to play. Joe isn’t like that – he’s very hands-on. He would do things like switch our tempos around, he’d change keys and work with us on changing up our arrangements.. He really listened in a thoughtful way, and because of the care he put into it, he brought out the best in all of us.”
The resulting album, Nothing But Time, is one of those rare treats in music: a first-listen winner that demands repeated plays. The hypnotic dream pop gem “Wonder of It All” casts a magical spell, as does the easy-going, earthy rocker “Luckiest Man Alive.” “Magic Night in Paris” sweeps the listener away with frolicky pizazz, and the playful ode to global oneness while a song like “Send ‘Em Love” (a No Depression ‘Fresh Track’) imparts its message gently but earnestly. As Bardwil explains, “When we open a show, I always say, ‘We’re the Steve Bardwil Band. We don’t play sad songs.’ I know I can be bummed out about something, but all it takes is the right song to lift me up again. I want to do the same thing with my music.”
Chiccarelli brought in guest musicians like bassists Kaveh Rastegar (John Legend) and Sean Hurley (John Mayer), as well as background vocalist Roger Manning, but he never imposed an artificial gloss on the production – it’s polished but not overproduced, and like all great albums, everything feels spontaneous and wonderfully alive. “Probably the best thing I can say about what Joe did for me was help to make these songs sound like I always dreamed them,” Bardwil says.
Reviews have been positive across the board. The Sharp Notes called Nothing But Time “an album that sounds both timeless and contemporary, echoing Bardwil’s deep respect for rock traditions while embracing modern studio craftsmanship.” Relix Magazine cited how the band “serves their message in a rich tapestry of psychedelic verve.” And Songfacts wrote, “Bardwil brings a reflective, heartfelt sound that’s clearly rooted in real experience.”
Summing up what’s been a remarkable 2025, Bardwil says, “Everything that’s happened with this record is beyond what I could have imagined. When I read reviews, it’s almost like I’m reading about somebody else. But it just goes to prove that there’s nothing beyond your reach if you want it that bad and are willing to go for it. It doesn't apply just to music. It can be anything.” He pauses, then adds, “That’s kind of what I’m saying in a lot of my songs. I’m really trying to give myself a pep talk. And my hope is that these songs can help or inspire others.”
While gigging steadily since the release of Nothing But Time, the band hasn’t stopped writing. For Bardwil, writing is a cathartic process as well as artistic expression - a process that yields songs drawn from his own personal experiences and expansion.
As the band are now readying plans to record new music, Bardwil’s vision is clear. He continues to string together a robust repertoire of songs blending new colorful stories into his vibrant mosaic exploring environmental and spiritual consciousness woven within the essence of the human condition steeping in self-reflection and wisdom.
Entering the studio with more than a dozen songs under their belts, Bardwil and the band are excited to once again be joined by Chiccarelli at East West Studios in Los Angeles this November to begin work on their new album.
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