Photography by Shawn LaChapelle

The late 2000s and early 2010s were a strange time for Steve Callander. That’s because while the Saratoga bouncer was busy keeping patrons of Gaffney’s safe, a man who looked oddly similar to him was topping the R&B charts with songs like “Crazy” and “Forget You.”

“Every bar in Saratoga used to fight for me,” says Steve, who you probably know by his nickname, CeeLo. “Because if I was standing at that door in the front…50, 60 people—I’m taking pictures with them. They came every year to see CeeLo.”

These days, while the real CeeLo Green’s popularity has waned, the Saratoga lookalike has remained a stalwart of Saratoga nightlife. The Brooklyn native now serves as the doorman for Putnam Place by night, and as a monitor for Shelters of Saratoga’s 14 Walworth Street shelter by day.

The thing I love about CeeLo—and I’m sure countless other Saratogians would agree—is that he always greets me like we’re old friends. So I decided to get to know this unrelentingly positive, dapperly dressed man-of-few-words a little bit better.

How’d you wind up as a bouncer in Saratoga?

I always did security in the City; I worked in a lot of celebrity clubs. I used to visit Saratoga, and then I ended up saying, “You know what? I’m gonna stay.”

What’s your favorite part about doing security?

Just interacting with different people and the community—being a people person. Working at the door, everybody knows me. Hospitality—that’s the key.

You always seem so happy to see everyone. 

I’m old-school, so my thing is de-escalation—talking to people and seeing what’s going on.

Did any big opportunities arise because of your resemblance to CeeLo Green? 

I was getting offers. Big bands that used to play at Putnam would say “CeeLo, we can take you to Vegas.” But I never took it serious! I just did it for the job and for people to be happy.

Can you sing? 

Yeah, a little bit.

If you could change one thing about Saratoga, what would it be?

Nothing, really. To me, everything’s beautiful.