Stephen Pate has been playing guitar since he was 16 years old. He is a skilled player and his passion for music is obvious in his playing, singing, teaching, and song-writing.
A full-time musician, Stephen influences budding musicians daily as he teaches guitar lessons at Encore Music in Nacogdoches. In addition, Stephen plays on stage and in studio. Stephen performs most often and in many different venues with The Hot Rod Cadillacs but has been involved with several different bands, including The Whodu Voodoo and Dennis Ivey’s Texas Opry Band. He has worked with up and coming artists Sam Moore, Stephen Bobbitt, and many others. He also enjoys performing and writing original music with his wife Jan (RockingP).
The oldest of 3 children, Stephen grew up running around the woods and neighborhoods of Sabine County. His original music is highly influenced by memories of his boyhood, including hard work in the mills of Temple Inland to afford his prized stratocaster and the loving but firm discipline offered by his parents, Mike and Susan.
In addition to his many musical talents, Stephen is a devoted husband and father. He treasures time spent with Jan and their beautiful daughter Averey. He also loves hog hunting with his dad, brother Bradley, and cousin Rodney. He likes playing and watching sports, four wheel drive anything, and his wife’s good cooking.
Jan Pate has been singing since she was very young. Her love for music started on a front church pew at a little Baptist church, where, as a child, she sat by her Granny Vivian and Aunt Robbie most Sundays. She loved listening to the beautiful harmonies produced by the sisters and soon joined in singing.
Jan grew up on a farm in Carthage, Texas, where she learned the value of work, family, and faith. She is the youngest child of educators, Johnny and Patsy Mills. She and her older brother Jonathan spent many afternoons at the schoolhouse, waiting for the grading and planning to get done. Consequently, Jan thought she’d never follow in her parents’ footsteps, but she eventually realized that teaching was what she was called to do. She loves her students and is passionate about the skills she teaches. She has taught a variety of subjects and levels in a few small schools over the years, but she currently spends her weekdays teaching English to the seventh graders of Woden, Texas.