In 1975, after graduating from high school, Stevens joined Indiana hard rock band Magi, who released their sole album Win or Lose in 1976. It was recorded in August 1976 at Uncle Dirty's Sound Machine Studios in Kalamazoo, Michigan and co-produced by the band and Bryce "Uncle Dirty" Roberson, a former session guitarist with Chess Records. The self-financed album was released with no major distribution in a limited edition of 1,000 copies, and the band toured Indiana, Michigan and Illinois in the late 1970s. "We were very, very popular in those areas, drawing big crowds everywhere we played. To this day more people in Northern Indiana know Magi than the Long Ryders," Stevens said in 2004. Trying to attract music industry interest, the band relocated to Los Angeles in 1979. However, with their style of hard rock being out of fashion in Los Angeles at the time, the band unsuccessfully tried to adapt to a scene dominated by punk and new wave. Lack of success led to the band slowly falling apart in 1980. Magi reunited for a one-off show in August 1994 at the Elkhart County Fairgrounds and again in March 2011 in Nappanee, Indiana for a benefit concert.
