ABOUT STEVE

Steve Tatone grew up in southwest Ohio and worked in his family auto business based in Fairborn, Ohio while attending Wright State University and General Motors Institute. Steve’s marriage to his high school sweetheart and the onset of the joys of fatherhood inspired him to purchase his father’s dealership and, powered by marketing campaigns featuring creative, out-of-the-norm television commercials he wrote, produced and starred in, Steve built the enterprise into one of the top 40 Buick dealerships in the USA during the 1980’s.

Steve’s love of live music and marketing expertise served him well when Jazz-Blues impresario, Jerry Gillotti, offered him the opportunity to present Concerts staged at his legendary nightclub in downtown Dayton known as Gilly’s. Steve’s Sold Out shows featuring bands from the 60’s & 70’s like The Grass Roots, The Turtles and The Association, as well as Gilly’s favorites like Ray Charles and BB King, were a harbinger of things to come.

The massive media exposure from the award-winning commercials promoting his automotive ventures opened doors for Steve to become involved in numerous community activities, chief among them, the creation of a charity to support the hungry and homeless in the Dayton area known as Holiday Aid. Inspired by the call to action of the international We Are The World movement to relieve African famine, Steve teamed up with master music producer/musician Mark Fraze to record and market annual Christmas albums to help make a difference in their hometown. Traditional and original songs of the season performed by regional singers, musicians and a local celebrity choir filled the annual Holiday Aid albums, and Primetime Television Specials co-produced by Steve & Mark with the powerhouse CBS affiliate, WHIO-TV generated awareness, funds and food donations to the Miami Valley’s Red Cross Emergency Resource Bank.

In the early 1990’s Steve & Family relocated to Florida’s Suncoast where his sideline hobby in the Live Music business became a full-fledged career move as the midwest General Motors dealer transitioned into a national Concert producer/promoter. Over the next 30+ years, Steve presented concert acts across America like The Beach Boys, Beatle Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band, The Monkees, Three Dog Night, Roberta Flack, Little River Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Willie Nelson, Tammy Wynette, Waylon Jennings, Lee Greenwood, Lonestar, Miranda Lambert and countless other Pop, Rock, Country artists and Tribute shows.

Scratching the itch to add screenwriting to his entertainment repertoire, Steve formed Midnight Pass Entertainment, whose first feature film, Beautiful Noise, written, produced and directed by Steve and starring Jay White, King Errisson and Danielle White, set box office records at the Sarasota Film Festival. His original screenplay of Turk, depicting the true story of the life and times of Boston Bruin NHL hockey legend Derek Sanderson, was optioned to be developed for the big screen, and Steve’s production of the drama/thriller Blind Pass, that he wrote, produced, directed and filmed in Florida and Ireland starring award winning actor, Armand Assante, Danielle White and a talented ensemble cast, is scheduled to stream in 2024, as is Steve’s +update to his fictional musical/drama, Beautiful Noise, now retitled Starlight.

Steve’s first book, Man of God, part memoir and part homage to Neil Diamond’s iconic Rock N Roll Hall of Fame career, is a personal reflection on contemplative songs of Diamond’s that spiritually impacted the author over the course of his life. The book will be released in Summer, 2024.

Steve and his wife, Linda, reside in Sarasota, Florida.