Balcony is Steven Lester (he also uses Stephen or Steve as a first name in album credits). Lester is a native of Birmingham, England, but came up with the idea for Balcony after moving to Los Angeles. Much like Chris Connelly, Lester's vocal often sounds like Scott Walker by way of David Bowie. The first Balcony CD, 777 (1998), is a unique record, finding acoustic guitars, saxophone, and strings (usually via a mellotron) merging with abrasive synthesized effects and loud lead guitar, topped off by Lester's robust vocal delivery. A distinctive style is the result, where Baroque pop meets industrial. Before Needs followed in 2001, in which Lester shed many of the abrasions found on Balcony's debut. ~ Bart Bealmear