Conversations with Rob Steiner

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rob Steiner.

Hi Rob, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’m originally from the NYC area, & was raised in North Jersey. I grew up not having a piano in the house, only one of those split level organs with foot pedals that you used to see being sold at the malls back in the 70s and 80s. My feet didn’t reach the pedals at the time so they stuck me with the accordian. By the age of 6 I was jamming out to polkas and foxtrots.

My family were a generation older than any of my friends parents, so the music in our house was from the ‘30s-‘50s. Glen Miller, Sinatra etc up to early Elvis.

The other big genre we listened to were musicals. As a little kid, I can recall going to more Broadway shows than seeing a movie in the theater. We always managed to go see whatever was hot at the time, since the city was only a 20 minute bus ride away.

The one that changed my life was seeing Liza Minelli star in Chicago alongside Chita Rivera and Jerry Orbach. Every single syncopated rhythm from Kander & Ebb still makes its way into every showtune I arrange today.

It wasn’t until I discovered the Beatles that I got the bug for rock music. Right around the same time, MTV had just launched & 80s were in full swing. I tried to go to as many concerts as I could. Billy Joel, Elton John, Madonna, Duran Duran, Genesis, Cyndi Lauper, The Beastie Boys, Springsteen, Prince, Tina Turner. I even stood outside Radio City Music Hall’s stage door at the first MTV awards to catch a glimpse of the artists.

After high school I spent a few years at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Learning Jazz Is a very inward journey & I wasn’t ready for that yet. I discovered Emerson College down the street and immediately jumped into their huge musical theater program. Every student & every recital, revue, ballet class and improv troupe needed a piano player & I did them all. It was absolutely what I needed at the time.

Once I moved out to LA I discovered ‘extra’ work. They fed you, paid you & all you had to do was walk back and forth. I can do this! I was born to walk left to right, and sometimes right to left!

What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was a character. I was just a piano player. Being short, skinny, balding and having a big nose is what I assumed all piano players from NYC looked like and we were a dime a dozen. Within 3 months I had gotten my SAG card & the gigs turned into something I was able to support myself with.

My other hustle at the time was doing piano bar gigs in restaurants. That’s where I discovered the Persian music community. One of the band members was there one night and said his band was looking for a keyboardist and I should come play with them. Within a few months I was doing 3 European tours a year & a ton of local parties and weddings every weekend while weekdays I was on set.

Somewhere in there I was told to go out and get an agent. Despite being on stage all the time, I was still just the guy in the back. Me in the spotlight was terrifying. In fact I was even afraid to go to karaoke. So here I was getting in front of producers, directors, name actors. The more nervous I was, the funnier they thought it was. I wasn’t acting!

At some point I realized I had to overcome all this. I forced myself to go to karaoke. I forced myself to try stand up comedy. Took acting & improv classes. Again, there was nervous me. I wasn’t great but people laughed. At me or with me, either was fine lol.

In the early 2000s I became music director for an eclectic children’s theater group who would write original plays with edgy dialogue and topics such as religion, capitalism, serial killers. All performed by 6-17 year olds. They let me put together a band for the performances, so I really started to hone my arranging skills there. For a few years one of the parents would always say in his big booming voice I LOVE YOUR BAND! I LOVE YOUR BAND! One day he says to me, ‘Hey, I. just bought a club! You want to play there with your band?’ Sure ! what kind of show? He said ‘How about Burlesque?’

I wasn’t really sure what burlesque was other than playing my parents “Stripper” LP by David Rose from the 60s. I went out with my co-producer and saw every show we possibly could; sometimes 3 a night no matter where in town they were. I would have a band gig in LA until 2a and we would drive to Vegas just to catch a brunch show at 11.

In my mind, every single show I do I picture myself in Chicago the musical. I imagine Liza on stage wearing pretty much the same outfit that the performers still wear today. Or maybe it’s the Rat Pack in front of me & we’re in Vegas at the Sands putting on a revue with music and kitsch.

When the pandemic hit, my main sources of income were gone. Movie work, gigging with the band. So I started putting myself out there for online piano lessons. I’ve had students in the past but as a music director for children’s theater for so many years & teaching adults in my band how the arrangements go, I figured it’s what I’ve been doing all along anyway. I took on every single inquiry knowing that the pandemic would end eventually & most people would go back to in person lessons. The great thing was that I could have students from anywhere in the world. When society opened up again, I just kept doing what worked. Today I have a full roster of students & the show is celebrating its 13 year anniversary this August.

These days I put in about 16-20 hours a day to keep the show on schedule for a 30 day turn over. I spend the mornings transcribing 15-20 new tunes and arranging them for the band. Then I do all the social media posts by culling pics and videos from past shows, (thanks to all the photo & video editing skills I learned at the internet company.). The afternoons are spent teaching. Most are in person in the Hollywood/East Valley area, but I still have a few kids online from the pandemic days. In the evenings I am a home care provider for my roommate & fur babies and make sure she has food on the table and whatever else she needs to get through the day.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
When I moved out to LA after college without the safety net of school that’s when the reality check kicked in lol. I found a few theater companies that needed some piano accompaniment. Tried my hand at some cabaret open mics, but I lacked a direction towards anything stable or creative.

I took a job as a PA working for TV game shows and talk shows. I was fortunate enough to write a few jingles for them in-between getting them coffee, and felt like I was making small dents in the world.

In the early 2000s, a group of friends decided to start an internet TV broadcasting company. Back then, there were none. Our tech guy figured out one day that he could plug a high 8 cam directly into his computer and our internet tv channel was born. I produced a live music show and would book local bands in our studio. Other shows we had featured comedians & one would have local politicians on. It was here I got to learn Final Cut and Photoshop and would cut together all the music shows for post live streaming and do all the artwork for it.

The problem was that in 2001, no one watched because no one had any high bandwidth streaming capabilities. We had to close shop a few years before streaming took off. It was the right thing to do at the time, but the what ifs will always be there.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As a teacher, I’m driven by wanting to help every student become a better musician & person because of it. I realized early on that teaching wasn’t just a way to make money, it is most definitely a calling. I think that everything I’ve experienced in my life up to this point has come together to teach the next generation from a very unique perspective. Years of the movie business, comedy, world travels, band gigs.

Beyond learning the basics of music & piano which I try to make as fun as possible with the lesson books, I think flexibility in the course work is important. If one student is feeling jazzy, I tailor the lessons to that. If they’re in a Chappell Roan mood, by all means let’s learn a few of those songs too. I can build the lesson out of any piece of music where we learn about harmony, chord inversions & how to sing & accompany themselves.

Each student I take on I do so with the intention of turning them into a star. I don’t necessarily mean playing to sold out stadiums. Music is a common language that everyone can understand on a personal level. It has the ability to be a positive influence on everything these kids do for the rest of their lives. If I can help students recognize, manifest & harness that spark of creativity, then no matter what level of piano proficiency they achieve or whatever profession they end up in, they will always be stars that shine brightly in the universe.

My other creative venture I’m proud of is the show. After 13 years my co-producer Trixie and I have gotten it down to a well oiled machine. I try hard to match the arrangement of the recordings that the dancers use because the acts are often choreographed with specific cues in the song that make their performance special. The band is there to hit those beats without the dancer having to compromise the routine. I get to have fun with the little ditties we throw in to make musical punctuations & jokes. Very late night talk show style.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
If anyone wants piano lessons for their kids or themselves they can contact me at RobSteinerMusic@gmail.com
If you’re an adult I promise not to make it as traumatic as when your parents forced you to learn when you were 8 lol.

If you are 21+ and want to come see the band & performers live, we would love the support!

Sultry Sweet Burlesque has a residency at the beautiful Kookaburra Lounge in Hollywood. Our shows for the rest of 2025 are Friday Aug 29th, Friday October 24th & Friday December 12th. Tickets can be found on their website at www.TheKookaburraLounge.com

You can find more info about me at www.RobSteinerMusic.com

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.RobSteinerMusic.com
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/rob-steiner-music-burbank-3
• Other: Www.SultrySweetBurlesque.Com; www.thekookaburralounge.com

Image Credits
Rob old timey- photo by Ginger Liu
Gold Jacket pix- photos by Mackenzie Lenora
Purple jacket featuring performer Sarah Winesalot – photo by Sam Prudencio