Steven Machat

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Steven Machat (born October 18, 1952) is an American entertainment mogul, lawyer, and the producer of Bird on a Wire, the documentary film of the Leonard Cohen 1972 European tour. In addition, he is the co-founder of SSK Records, where he serves as a music and film producer[1][2][3]

Biography

Machat was born in Manhattan, New York, to Roslyn Golden Machat and Marty Machat, known for representing artists such as Phil Spector, Sam Cooke, and The Rolling Stones.[4] He attended University of Miami as an undergraduate, where he studied accounting,[5] and then attended Vanderbilt University Law School.[6]

Machat has been a worldwide entertainment attorney, music publisher, manager of music talent, and record label owner as well as film producer, among other commercial endeavors. His clients have included

Manu DiBango, Rita Lee, and new artists from Sweden, Yung Lean
and The Sad Boys. In addition, he was associated with Jet Record Business in legal affairs from 1978 to 1985.

In London, Machat wrote the book Gods, Gangsters and Honour, filled with stories about the celebrities he worked for.[7] Machat wrote the book to share the light he discovered handling the careers of many of the top icons of the music industry. The first edition of the book was published in the UK by Beautiful Books Limited (UK) in August 2009.[8]He also published Unraveling the Bible in 2023. The book focuses on the alternative perspective on the creation of mankind based on his research of different religions, cultures, and traditions, which he learned during his travels. According to Machat, all religions in the world came from a shared, and a single source, and the spread of this realization can free the world from wars, discrimination, hate, and poverty.

Machat lectured across Europe and the United Kingdom at universities, including both

Cambridge University, as well as at musical festivals and book fairs.In 1990, Machat became a co-owner of Acid Jazz Records, where served until 1994. He served as a co-owner of Hippos in Tanks along with his son Barron Machat and his associates from 2011 until Barron died in a car accident in 2015.[4]

In 2021, Machat announced his return to the music industry with the label SSK Records, which he co-founded with his wife, Debbie Kuhn Veltri Machat. He also introduced Music Orbit and the signings of Roxx Revolt & the Velvets and an eclectic album by the legendary Bob Daisley, who has previously worked with, among many others, including Gary Moore, Rainbow, and Ozzy Osbourne. As of 2023, SSK Records represents 5 bands, including The Gulls, Rox Revolt & the Velvets, The Upstarts, and others, and a musical artist, Issac Ryan Brown[citation needed]

Background

Machat has a traditional law background; he graduated from Vanderbilt Law School and University of Miami Business School. At Vanderbilt, he got his feet wet in the real legal system as a public defender in Davidson County, Tennessee for 2 years. He started his commercial career in 1978 as a law partner with his father the late Marty Machat at their law firm Machat & Machat in New York, Los Angeles, & London.

Machat has ventured into the creative and business process of theatre, movies, and movie soundtracks. These include "Elvis", West London Production, "Private Lives" with Elizabeth Taylor, Flashdance, Streetfighter, Judge Dredd, Stan Lee Properties, HOPE an album with the Dalai Lama dedicated to Peace[clarification needed], and the award-winning musical documentary Bird on a Wire about Leonard Cohen's travels from Dublin, Ireland to Tel Aviv, Israel. Steven’s latest film Saving The Motherland is an epic Russian WW2 drama centered around the Battle of Stalingrad . Next up is the Climate Live documentary in which Steven draws into sharp focus the irretrievable damage mankind has inflicted on the planet.. He is also on the advisory board of an upcoming TV series God’s Gang.

Steven has written 9 books: Highways of Man – The Odyssey Almanac; Man, Community & Living The American Dream; Gods, Gangsters and Honor: A Rock 'n' Roll Odyssey; Sacred Knowledge, A Rock 'n' Roller's Guide to Higher Consciousness, Spiritual Insomnia, The Colonization of Earth, The Making of Man, The Creation of Ozzy, The History of Viruses and Taking Jesus off The Cross .[9]

In 2016 Steven ran for the US Senate as an independent in Florida . In 2018 he ran for Congress in Florida’s 26th District as a progressive Democrat . His Press Secretary in 2018, who was in charge of his campaign in 2016 in Tampa, was the activist/writer Al R Suarez.

Personal life

Machat was married to Lisa Benson Torres from 1979 to 2006. The couple had two children Margaux Lorraine Machat (born 1983) and Barron Alexander Machat (born 1987 – died 2015). He then married Mischa Marie Estrada in 2011 and divorced in 2014. Since 2022, Machat has been married to Debbie Kuhn Veltri Machat, who is also his business associate at SKK Records.

He lost his son Barron, the co-founder and co-owner of the record label Hippos in Tanks, in a car accident in April 2015.[4]

Publications

•    Highways of Man – The Odyssey Almanac

•    Man, Community & Living The American Dream

•    Gods, Gangsters and Honor: A Rock 'n' Roll Odyssey

•    Sacred Knowledge

•    A Rock 'n' Roller's Guide to Higher Consciousness

•    Spiritual Insomnia

•    The Creation of Ozzy,

•    The History of Viruses

•    Taking Jesus off The Cross.

•    We’ve Got to Get Out of This Place

•    Unraveling The Bible

•    Revelations

Filmography

Year(s) Title(s) Credit(s)
1974 Bird on a Wire Producer
1977 Elvis music producer
1983 Flash Dance music producer
1984 Paper Dolls actor (as Steven Elliot)
1994 Street Fighter music attorney: CAPCOM
1995 Judge Dredd executive music supervisor
1996 Caught executive music supervisor
1997 Shadow Conspiracy music consultant
1997 This World, Then the Fireworks music consultant
1997 Warriors of Virtue executive music producer
2001 Bully executive soundtrack producer
2006 Racin’ for a Livin’ executive music producer
2006 Splinter Producer
2007 One Long Night executive music producer
2010 Tapping the Source executive producer
2019 321-ya sibirskaya co-producer and voice-over artist

References

  1. ^ Rousseau, M. (August 13, 2010). "Bird On A Wire: Steven Machat talks to Saga" Archived August 16, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Saga.
  2. Clash Music
    .
  3. NME.com
    . July 23, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c "Remembering Hippos in Tanks co-founder Barron Machat". Fact. April 9, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  5. .
  6. ^ Tracy, Liz (March 12, 2013). "Steven Machat Teaches The Secret And Sacred Knowledge Of Music To South Florida". New Times Broward-Palm Beach. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  7. ^ Croft, Mat. "Gods, Gangsters & Honour by Steven Machat". Record Collector. Diamond Publishing. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  8. ^ Excess all areas: A Life in Rock n Roll, The Independent, July 31, 2009.
  9. ^ "Books by Steven Machat". Goodreads. Retrieved September 29, 2022.