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Stephen was born in the badlands of North Mobile County to a pharmacist who moonlighted as a shrimper and a teacher who moonlighted as a pianist. From an early age he was taught to appreciate many different genres of music. As an infant and toddler, the only thing that would soothe him into a nap was the sounds of Spike Jones and his City Slickers. This was followed with his mother’s love of the music of the ‘50s and ‘60s and public radio. His childhood was riddled with the sounds of Frankie Valli, the Everly Brothers and Ray Charles. His older brothers (Ross and Paul) exposed him to the classic rock of the ‘70s and a new style of music called "Punk Rock." His father kept the radio tuned to the country stations at all times. He went to his first concert at age 10, when he saw Ray Charles at the Mobile Jazz Festival, creating an obsession with music.

Since his parents weren’t a fan of public schools, Stephen was required to attend private, Christian educational facilities. With the conformity tactics and religious discrimination, it is no surprise that he found his way into the Mobile Underground music scene. After spending two seconds as the lead singer for Cloning Mary, Stephen spent his weekends at places such as Vincent Van Go-Go’s, The Four Strong Blowing Winds Coffee House and The Culture Shock. It was during this time that he fell in love with Mobile and began a romance that continues to this day.

He finally dropped out of "the scene" to attend Auburn University, where he sold his soul to the devil for a degree in creative writing. After realizing that English majors don’t get jobs, he returned to Mobile and earned his Masters in Education from the University of South Alabama. From there, he began teaching at Satsuma High School and Enterprise-Ozark Community College Aviation Center at Mobile and married the beautiful yet evil Ivy Thompson Centanni.

In 2003, Stephen realized that the masses needed to be reminded that Mobile had a thriving music scene. He gathered up his cash, friends and time to throw a free music festival in Langan Park known as Cess Fest. He is to this day waiting for the right moment (cough sponsor cough) to put on the much anticipated, bigger-than-ever Bride of Cess Fest. It was during this time that he got onboard with a national magazine called Volume Entertainment Magazine and began doing what he wanted to do: WRITING. A year later, Lagniappe was looking for a music writer, and Stephen couldn’t wait to get started. He has been a contributing writer ever since.

Stephen still continues his love of music, Mobile and writing. He loves nothing more than to talk to musicians (the weirder, the better) and know that people actually read what he has been writing (hint, hint). What does the future hold for him? He has recently applied to the University of Southern Mississippi in order to once again sell his soul to the devil for a PhD in creative writing.

Stephen Centanni is Lagniappe music editor. Contact him at scentanni@lagniappemobile.com.