"It's The End Of This Blog As We Know It" / New Blog. New Site. New KS Singles. Issue #159

Yep. This is the end. In some ways that is...

3 years ago I set a personal goal, something I had yet to try and didn't know if I was disciplined enough to do. I gave myself the challenge to write a blog entry EVERY week for a year without fail. A year turned into 2 years, which turned into the recently reached date of 3 years...every week. Some weeks it was easy, and some it was literally the last thing I wanted to do. It became something I had to do which is both good, and bad. Good in the fact it kept me writing even when I'd rather jump in front of traffic, and bad in the fact I never want creativity to be a have to. The majority of the time...I wanted to write something my fans would think is interesting and create a journal that I would enjoy following. That mindset isn't changing...

I'm really glad I did it because what originally was set up as a diary of my job as an on-staff songwriter for Island Film Group soon became a recap of the adventures I had releasing my first solo-album, the journey of producing a disc with Australian actress Gigi Edgley, the rise and fall of COLLIDER, the struggle of maintaining any kind of desire to write going through my divorce, and the continued adventures creating a new kind of music with the nerd-rock of KIRBY KRACKLE.

Someday I plan on going back and reading the 3 years of entries and experiencing the evolution of things by locking myself a way for a week with a laptop...but that's not now. See, it's not the end of something...it's the evolution into something I feel will work way better for me and something I think you all will enjoy much more as well.

Let me share with you the 3 fun things happening this week...


NEW BLOG:

This week, my blog moves to a new locale....http://kylestevensmusic.tumblr.com/

This blog as you know it was created during the time before Facebook and Twitter. Since then, I've enjoyed using those mediums of social media, but also knew the place and value that writing in more than 140 characters brings. For this reason, I need the blog format. With all the changes going on I felt that Blogger no longer served the purpose I needed it to serve. By moving to Tumblr, I will able to share more pictures, videos, official releases/demos, videos, links, and journal entires in what I feel is a richer and more intuitive environment. AKA...A whole lot more fun! I'll actually be posting more than once a week now and almost daily as I share in more detail things I think you'll find interesting vs. the "Greatest Hits Of The Week" vibe of this blog. I can't wait, and I hope you're gonna enjoy it as much as I already do.


NEW WEBSITE:

With the massive blog overhaul, I thought I'd take the opportunity to redo my site www.kylestevensmusic.com and add some cool new features. Among them inluded now is a discography where it's easier to track the albums I've played on and where you can purchase them. I've put out a lot of stuff over the years and now it's all in one place for folks to easily find if they choose. Feel free to navigate and peep the newness!


iTUNES EXCLUSIVE SINGLES RELEASED:


Earlier in the year, I realized it had been a little over 2 years since I had released any formal releases under my own name. With all my work in COLLIDER and KIRBY KRACKLE, new KS releases had been understandably taking the back burner to my other projects. I'm always writing new material and performing it at my solo concerts, but as far as public releases? It had been a while. I'm changing that today with a brand new track "Matches In The Walls (live)" available exclusively through iTunes. The second single released today is "Vouch For Me"; a yet available to be publicly available track released a little over a year ago though my email list. Today, it's available for purchase via iTunes as well. Expect more singles over the next few months, and I'm enjoying a stripped down sound these days when I'm not attending to the rock bombast of KIRBY KRACKLE...


So, lots of newness and it feels good. Not the end, but an evolution of this site that I know will be that much more fun moving forward. THANK YOU the reader for sticking with me on this site for 3 years. It's been a blast and I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have.

Hopefully, this blog serves for you as the place where notes of distorted guitars and unexpected adventures of both professional and personal life meet to create a chord you can enjoy.

I know it does for me.


See you at the new digs!

KS


Now blogging at http://kylestevensmusic.tumblr.com/

EXPLONE...Dreamers/Lovers. Issue #158

Hey my friends...a great thing is happening this week! This Thursday, June 17th EXPLONE drops it's first album in 3 years in the form of Dreamers/Lovers. Readers of this blog know that I joined the band last fall and since then we've been putting the finishing touches on the new album that we couldn't be more excited for. BTW, I like that band shot but wish somebody told me Liza Minelli had possessed me for that hour.


Here's the way it works...


SIRENS SISTER
EXPLONE
THE ADMIRALS' CLUB
and special guests

The Crocodile
2200 2nd Ave
Thursday, June 17th
8:00 PM, 21 , $8

We've been fortunate enough in the past few weeks to get some good play for multiple songs on KEXP 90.3 fm in Seattle, and it's gonna be a solid rock night throughout... Come out and play with us!

www.explone.com


Like I said in the last post, next week brings massive changes to this blog and some pretty exciting solo material music news...see you then. :)


KS

Chasing The Buffalo. Issue #157

If there's 2 things that North Carolina taught me, they're that I will forever be a fan of southern hospitality and that I am now in a new found love affair with all things "buffalo". I'm cereal. Somehow in my 30 short years on this spinning space rock of chaos, the cooling and sweet mix of spiciness and curled cheese has eluded me only now to become my mistress that calls to me daily. By this, I mean that over the weekend at HEROES CON in Charlotte I took a southern tradition with force by indulging after a long days of KIRBY KRACKLE selling in many a nom-worthy hot wing. Momma like.







If you've been reading this weekly blog for a while now, you know the routine of Jim and I flying into any-city-USA and spreading the gospel of nerd-rock. This time was very similar with a few exceptions. First, it was our first time in the south promoting E FOR EVERYONE and it was really cool to meet our friends down there we didn't know we had. It's always a trip and simultaneously extremely cool to hear enthusiasm for the music from folks who you would never otherwise never know existed. May that always be fun and somebody feel free to throat punch me should I ever that for granted (not too hard).



Secondly, this weekend marked the first time KK had ever been invited to participate in a convention "panel". For those unfamiliar with the format, it's like a class put on by the artist/writer/actor ABOUT whatever said artist is involved in. In our case, we were invited to do whatever we wanted to do. Dangerous I know, but we pulled something out that we thought would be both informative and fun and something that would make it new for us. One of my favorite shows to watch in my early-20's was VH1 "Storytellers"; an in-the-round type performance atmosphere where a band/solo artist first talks about a song, then performs it with hopes that the audience reaches a better understanding of the music.



We decided to go with the concept and jumped in BK Lights first for a full hour of stories, laughs, and hopefully more connection between the band, fans and our music. For example...."On And On" is more than a song about Wolverine's overworked schedule, it's also a commentary of how we go through much of our lives jumping from one distraction to the next without ever really centering ourselves. "Vault 101"? Sure it's about the many, many, many, hours we spent playing the hit 2009 game title FALLOUT 3, but it wasn't until I picked up the final master and listened to it in my home with the lights out that I realized it's very much about my recent divorce; a slipping in of the subconscious ego it place unexpected. I have to admit that I was a little nervous taking what people may feel is only fun and light themed music and revealing it was about much more at the same time, but sticking with honestly as policy we were rewarded with fans saying they felt closer to the music and had enjoyed the peeling of layers. It feels different talking about the KK in that context, but at the same time more fulfilling and multi-dimensional. After years or making sure my non-comic themed music held that spirit as well, it felt good to go there with KK when it holds true. We were thankful the fans wanted to go there with us...

Check out this nice review/interview from HEROES CON with the fine folks at COMICS ALLICANCE!



While Jim and I were holding the front line in Charlotte, director Todd Downing was breaking ground beginning filming on our as-of-now no longer secret music video for "On And On". I'm so excited for this and cannot wait for it to be completed after receiving emails with the first if the footage stills. Over the past 2 months, actor JD Greene has become Logan and you're gonna smile when you see it. :)


Hope everyone is doing good! Next week is the big EXPLONE show on Thursday, June 17th, and then the following is lots of exciting site changes and new KS release news to share with you...see you soon!


Feeling good in the neighborhood,

KS

Phoenix & The Subpar Haiku. Issue #156

Let me just say that after 5 days in Phoenix with KIRBY KRACKLE I realize that I need the rain. The layer of mold that lies ever so daintily below my skin needs the dampness that the NW brings and living in that oven is crazy town. The end.

Seriously though, we did have a great weekend despite the fact that sales weren't too great due to the crowd mostly made up of the manga-anime set. We write songs about fish women and capes so you can see how that might not work so much for that demographic. Still, the band flew down for a full rock show set which is always fun and I had a great time hanging by the pool and downing gallons of water to make sure I didn't shrivel up in the 101 degree desert heat.

Even though we only got back 2 days ago I'm already packing my bags and stringing up the guitar to head out early morning tomorrow for Charlotte, North Carolina for HEROES CON which should be great for us since it's mostly the meat and potatoes comic book crowd. We'll be doing a panel for the first time which should be interesting since I don't know what we have to talk about for an hour but hopefully fans will have questions about the writing process we can take in between playing songs and talking about what we've experienced blazing a new path in the genre of "nerd rock".

So, since there's a ton of pictures to post up to give you an idea of what it was like, and since I just found out how to write haiku...here you go for something new this week. Don't judge yo. Actually, please do as a documented public deterrent I hope to be reminded of should I ever write them seriously.


Creepy airport pics
I like signage very bright
security calls







Our spaced out hotel
Purple lights were everywhere
High School raves return







Convention floor cool
Navi, mice, Boba, Bo Duke
Smelled like super nerd












Immigration march
I saw it with my own eyes
Moved me and got chills








Band arrived to rock
Spike, James Marsters played folk rock
Alice Cooper beer












That's why I don't do poetry jams,


KS