Today we’d like to introduce you to Steven Saenz.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started playing music when I was a Freshman in high school, way back in the 1900s. My father was a teacher at my high school in Cy-Fair ISD, but we lived outside of the district in Katy, so I didn’t get a chance to have friends over that much. I spent my time teaching myself to play drums, guitar, and bass. In college, I met my wife, and we started a Christian punk band called Poster Child for Christ, or PCFX. We cycled through about 13 drummers, me included, over the next 20 years. We play in the Bryan/College Station area and in Dallas when we moved there. I had a passion for writing and performing live. We would play anywhere that would let us. We both worked at a school in Grand Prairie that did not have an arts program, so we put our stuff on stage, enlisted the talents of a math teacher, and played about every afternoon for the kids while they were waiting for the bus.
In 2018, we moved away from Dallas and our drummer, and have been on hiatus since. Last October, I was trying to be in a band, but our schedules would never work out, so I decided to go at it alone. I started writing what I would call “Country adjacent Folk Punk” songs. I began playing at every open-mic I could find in Galveston. Galveston has had an explosion of musical artists, and many places offer open-mic opportunities. This past March, I played my first solo show across the street from the Proletariat on 23rd for a Sidewalk Session. From that point on, I have had pretty steady gigs around town performing my originals as well as a mix of 90s alternative and early 2000s punk and emo. Since last October, I have written 12 original songs in which I play guitar or ukulele while using a suitcase as a bass drum and a foot tambourine. I pride myself on having a sound that is very different from those that I play with. I do my best to keep the energy high and the mood light.
Beyond playing my own music, my wife and I have started a small session recording studio in our house. Artists are able to come and record a couple of songs while we film. We call it “In the Books Session,” since our studio is set like a library
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t think anyone in music can say the road has been smooth, and I am not different. Juggling teaching full-time while helping our son and daughter navigate young adulthood takes a lot of time and energy. Beginning as a newcomer with so many talented artists who focus all their energy on playing shows and booking gigs makes it difficult to break into the rotation. I feel I get left out of a lot of opportunities, but I am paying my dues. With all the great things that have happened in 2025, such as playing shows and recording artists, it seems like something always gets in the way. House issues and car troubles are just the tip of the iceberg. Music has really made the issues that have come up bearable.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My stage name is Vtephen (Stephen with a V). It is a joke because that is what I say every time people have to write my name. Steven with V. I am a one-man band in that I play guitar while using a bass drum foot pedal on a suitcase and a foot tambourine. I saw this being done by buskers out in New Orleans and the bluegrass/folk punk bands coming out of the Pacific Northwest. Several others in the area will play a cajon or tambourine while they strum the guitar, but I try to do it faster and louder. I want people to feel the energy while I play and laugh with me at the lyrics about daily struggles.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Most people don’t know about PCFX. Not that we are ashamed of it or anything, it just doesn’t come up in conversation. I play many of our songs in my set because they sound good with the suitcase. Many also don’t know that I have a Master’s of Divinity I earned from Liberty University. I had planned to quit teaching and become a military Chaplain. Unfortunately, I am allergic to bees, which resulted in my disqualification. I don’t write songs of a religious nature, but instead try to write songs that everyone can relate to in some way or another.
Pricing:
- $100 an hour to perform
- $25 a song to record in the Library
- $150 an hour to record on site at a venue
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/vtephen
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vtephen79
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vtephen
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@vtephen
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@vtephen.79
Image Credits
Mid the Pines Photography
