Stephan Sylvester

I know Stephan ("Steffen") through Johnny Hayes.  He showed up on the shores of Mobile Bay next to a town called Fairhope. You might have seen him on Season 18 of American Idol where got a golden ticket and got as far as the Hollywood Week.

Stephan wore a broad-brim hat and a carbon fiber guitar.  He was stoked to show me his shirt, which was from one of Johnny’s albums.  I got this wonderful warm feeling of community from the musicians of Mobile.  They seem to like, admire, and support one another.  Granted, that might have been because my musical contact, Johnny, recommended all the folks.  However, it felt like it extended a bit deeper into the fabric of Mobile Bay.

Like Amanda, Stephan sang about Alabama and invoked the bay we rowed upon.  It’s a bay I’ve looked out on from my grandma's porch and drank ice-cold lite beer to cool my pallet from pounds of Christmas red crawfish.  It's a place where I remember the first smell of the seaside and where I first looked out at the broad expanse of the sea and wondered what lay beyond.  

Stephan sang some songs he wrote and played his guitar powerfully.  His gravel-like voice and enthusiastic strumming shook the boat.   Like all these moments it was over too soon.  He had places to play that afternoon, and I was heading to another tinyboatsession. @realstephensylvester