In a world filled with laggard guitarists devoid of much personality, Steve Marion stands out almost as a relic from different time when rock bands succeeded or failed at the hands of their guitarist. The keyword is “almost” though, as his band Delicate Steve is anything but an ode to the past. With the release of 2011’s Wondervisions, Marion established himself not only as a guitarist, but also as complete musical auteur, writing and producing each track as well as playing every instrument.

With the separation of only a year, 2012’s Positive Force found Delicate Steve developing Marion’s original artistic identity even further. With soaring melodies derived from deep, emotional places, this record not only prompted Marion to find a growing audience with his full band, but at the same time gave him a sincere boredom with the creative limits of the guitar.

Steve Marion took some time to further explain where he sees the band going, the differences in the new record, and the constant pursuit to blow his own mind.

StageBuddy: I think the first thing everybody notices about Delicate Steve is the distinct, unique sound you have. What is the inspiration for this?

It kind of happened by choosing the things that I thought were cheesy at the time when I was making the first record. The pedals I took off my shelf and decided to use on certain songs were pedals that I had put there because I thought they were not cool. When it came time to make the first Delicate Steve record, it was about choosing the things I thought were questionable.

I love how you call it “cheesy”, because I feel like if anyone else were to have your sound, it would be so. You have great sincerity and authenticity over the music however. How do you feel you are able to pull this off?

I think the gear that balances the vibe out makes it so that I can be really emotional with it but not come across as wanky. That’s what separates all of my favorite guitar heroes from the guys who go on stage and just blow chunks. Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page, who are two of my heroes, had a flamboyant quality to them. Although there was a certain masculine aspect to it, there was a balance, especially in Jimi Hendrix’s feminine energy. That balance allows me to be as emotional as I can without people cringing. Finding ways to do that in the sound was helpful for this band.

It’s funny you mention the phrase “guitar hero”. When I saw you guys open for Tame Impala last month, their lead singer (Kevin Parker) called you a true “guitar hero”. With a lack of standout guitar players today, how do you embrace this identity?

I think nowadays, in the world of indie rock, there’s a lot of people who don’t care, who think it's stupid, not really a concern for them, etc. In the last few years especially there have been some people trying to navigate around the whole idea of the guitar player. I’ve always liked players though who were really powerful and had their own voice. I grew up listening to and playing along with many of those musicians, so I feel like after a while you internalize a lot of these people and they become part of your voice. Once new people, like Dirty Projectors or Ponytail for me, then inspire you, you have something that is fresh instead of just tapping into the past.

You’ve been talking for a while now about a follow-up to 2012’s Positive Force, is there any new information or update you have on that?

We started working on the new record about two years ago, and it’s something we’re doing right now more as a band. At the time of starting it, I was actually really sick of guitar and didn’t want to do what I had been doing. I’m still trying to just blow my own mind. What this means is trying to do stuff you don’t think is actually right, which is what Wondervisions was for me as a guitar player. As a creative person, I wasn’t doing any of that stuff before that record. There was nothing going on that was leading up to that moment. It was a total sonic change of direction and breakthrough because I had the mental willpower to think, “I’m going to do this even though I don’t think this sounds right.” Afterwards you can really appreciate how fresh it is to your ears because it is not what you thought was going to happen. You never want to be able to predict what you are going to do.

Considering that you recorded the last two records entirely on your own, how is the approach different for this one?

This one will be different in many ways. It’s still too early to find out actually what’s going to happen with the end result of it. The exciting thing for me is this not knowing what will happen with it.

Your show next week is one of the last before the closing of Glasslands. Since you’ve played there before multiple times, what is the significance for you having one of the last shows ever there?

We’ve played there 7 or 8 times, so we have a pretty strong relationship with the place. It’s where this band really found their footing in New York, and a lot of my friends’ bands too. I’m so happy they’re having us, but we’re not looking at it as a particularly sad event. This just means there will be new opportunities in the future. I care about the people who run the venue more than the actual place itself, all of whom are already talking about doing different, exciting things soon. In New York, things change all of the time, and though it is bummer, the meaning has always been the people for me.

Don’t miss Delicate Steve perform at Glasslands on December, 18th. They will be joined by Celestial Shore and Jason Bartell (of Fang Island), with music beginning at 8pm and tickets for $12.