Kyle Stevens Music

Jun 01

My booth neighbor in Philly. (Taken with instagram)

May 27

Recording two new Kirby Krackle songs today. (Taken with instagram)

May 21

If you have 4-inch legs, are almost blind, and have breath that smells like low-tide…then I love you. (Taken with instagram)

May 15

Spring Changes.

Remember when I used to write a blog entry every week? Who was that guy?

It’s sunny in Seattle and for the first time in a while it seems that Spring is here to stay. I’m into it, and I know by the Zyrtec I’m popping that summer is soon to be here. This, of course, means that we’re halfway through 2012. How did that happen? Let’s reflect on that for a bit…

Lots of stuff has been going on and is in the works for the rest of the year. The KIRBY KRACKLE/ADAM WARROCK tour was a big learning experience a few months back. Adam and I rented a Dodge Nitro and hit the highway in search of fans who need to sing about Thor and Butts that do math, and find them we did. Portland, San Diego, L.A., Phoenix, Las Vegas, Utah and Montana were a few of the stops we made and it was very inspiring to see the folks who had smiles on their faces when they sang along. Half of my set was performed acoustically, and the other half performing with re-mastered albums tracks minus vocals. It was a trip the first few times, but it seemed if I performed like I believed the full band was behind me then the fans did too. I just can’t look at videos of it yet still. Yeah, I have issues. More and more I think what KK has allowed me to experience in the past year is everything I’ve wanted to in the way that music can connect a band and it’s audience. Our niche combined with the awesome folks who choose to support us let us experience all the same things the big boys do, the only difference being scale. It’s an awesome feeling and I will continue to enjoy it while it’s here. In the past few months we’ve received awesome messages from fans ranging from the tunes helping them get through cancer treatments, to us being given a medal of achievement they had earned in special services army training. Unbelievable. We’re not the cool kids band, but we’ve created a trust and a family with our fans and that’s what I would prefer any day of the week to fleeting buzz. We’re working on a lot of new stuff for the next six-months, and I’m excited to get in and record a few new songs that early reviews of have been called our best tracks ever. One in particular, “One More Episode” is something I can’t wait to share. For now though, I will…

Then there’s Logan, my furry boy. Stuff has been kind of hard around our house lately as my buddy has developed some pretty advanced doggy-dementia and we continue to find ways to help him get through his day without him feeling to confused or anxious. I’ve never really dealt with anything like this before but thankfully I have a good inner-circle from which I can learn from and gain outside perspective. We had him on lots of meds up until a few months ago, ranging from a medicine they actually give humans who experience dementia, to steroids which literally had him vibrating like a hummingbird. The first one didn’t help, the second one had him relieving himself all over the house so we’re now cold turkey au natural on nothing. This seems to be neither hurting nor helping him, and every week he gets a little slower and a little more confused; getting stuck, for getting he’s eating, etc. The funny thing is he actually seems happier which is the emotional roller-coaster of it all. It would be easier to make a decision to help him move on if he was in pain or suffering, but basically his mind is just slipping away. He and I have a secret pact though and when it’s time to move on we’ll make that decision together. Sometimes I find myself really angry that I’ve only had 6 years with him after adopting him in 2006 when he was 10, but then I remember that the timing was perfect. I saved him and he saved me. We needed each other and the least I can do is be as patient and loving with him during this transition as he was with a 25 year-old who was worried that having a pet would take away his time, but then found he wanted to give it all to his new buddy. With what time we have left together, we plan on enjoying in the best way we can.

Now on to newness of a different kind…I haven’t talked about it much, but Kristin and I are in the process of laying down the ground work for opening our own nano-brewery later this year. The past few months have been in a lot of ways spent really investigating what that means in terms of time, organization, and making it work with the rest of our lives as they exist now when taking it out of the garage. I don’t want to say to much about it yet, but there are some really exciting things that we’ll be doing in the next few months and with those moves you’ll be hearing a lot more about what we’ve been up to. It’s fun, scary as hell, and a lot of dreaming. Expect a more official announcement in the next month or so as we roll out what we’re working on. We’ve never done anything like this before and are trying to ride the wave of change as gracefully as we can. More soon!