Apple Baseball Season 2. Issue #64

There's nothing I can say that the following video can't. Though happening irregularly since 1993, APPLE BASEBALL (Official) Season 2 came and went in an action packed 45 minutes. Till next year...






Applesauce (No High Fructose),

KS

KIRBY KRACKLE. Issue #63

I’m sitting here in Edmonds waiting to pick up my dog from getting his full body Brazilian and listening to Bob Marley. In the past few years, Marley has turned into one of my top 10 favorite artists off all time and I can’t believe I hadn’t discovered my love for him earlier in life.

Parents: Make your kids listen to Legend as part of their daily chore routine, but if they’re Caucasian don’t let them grow dreads. THAT doesn’t look good on any white boy. Moving on …

Last week I said that I’d shed some light on a new project that I’m recording in "The Orange Room" at the same time as COLLIDER is working on our new album. . The new project I want to share with you goes by the name of
KIRBY KRACKLE, and here's a little back story on how KK came to be….


If you’ve been reading this blog for a while it’s pretty obvious that I’m a hardcore comic fan and a fan of that corner of Pop-Culture in general. In 2004 right after the dissolution of my band Laymans Terms I began playing around with the idea of writing music based around comic books, their story lines, and all that encompasses the world of our four-colored friends. I shared my idea with some who I thought would dig it and tried to feel out if anyone other than me thought the idea had any merit. I was greeted with as many
“Hell Yeah’s!” as I was blank stares, and shelved the idea for starting a new “traditional” rock band in the short-lived ULTRAVIOLET.



Fast forward a few years, and the idea came up again while talking to good friend and COMIC STOP co-owner Brian Meredith. We both got excited about the idea again being that it hadn’t been tried before except in the vein of 3-chord spazz outs by a few bands yelling “Spiderman! Spiderman!” over and over again. We thought it could be done better, and both agreed that the material deserved much more respect than that. A few months later Brian came up with the name referring to original MARVEL Comic’s artist Jack Kirby and the common description of his “energy” based drawings.

Fast forward to Winter of 2008 when COMIC STOP co-owner Jim Demonakos and I sat down to flesh the idea out and to see how it would really work, if at all. Maybe there was a reason it hadn’t been tried before? At first I found it really hard to wrap my brain around a completely different way of writing, but it seems that in the last few months we’ve hit our stride. Jim and I are so excited to be writing and recording songs about a subject we’ve loved our whole lives, and if you’re a fan of comics, movies, and games we know you’ll love these songs as well. It’s bizarre that it’s an almost completely untapped corner of music and if it’s true when they say they say write what you know, then between Jim and I we know A LOT of geeky shit. Does this replace my current music styling? Not at all, but I’m excited to have another outlet and to make this experiment finally happen.

Today, KIRBY KRACKLE launches our myspace site www.myspace.com/kirbykracklemusic from where you can hear our first Demo offering for the song, “One Of The Guys”. We are currently recording our debut E.P., and plan to have it released by the end of the year. We’ll also be launching a new blog in the next few weeks that follows our progress with the project, and that is where I’ll be doing most of my talking about KK from now on, so stay tuned for where you can find that. A HUGE special thanks to JG Roshell from COMICRAFT for designing the KK logo you see above. JG and COMICRAFT have done many big mainstream comic title logo designs, and you’ve seen their work on TV having created the “Heroes” logo for NBC. Thanks guys!

Other than KK you can imagine things have been pretty intense focusing on recording two albums, and we’re getting close to finishing the first studio offering from COLLIDER. Whew…off to work. :)


Excelsior!


KS

Thank You Mr. Wooten. Issue #62

I'm sitting here in THE ORANGE ROOM (my studio) with Zicam in one hand and a Kleenex in the other while listening to the sound of chainsaws dropping trees that are narrowly missing my roof in the backyard. Surprisingly, this is the first time I've been sick this year and I'm guessing it's my body making me take a break. Nose is running, progress is happening. Is this called life balance? I digress...


Last Wednesday COLLIDER rocked the Highdive with new friends IRIS I and marked the occasion as the last show with our bass player Mark Wooten. Mark served for the past year as the bassist for both COLLIDER and KYLE STEVENS BAND, and was a pleasure to work with during that time. Having exclusively played with punk bands in the past, Mark entered into a different type of world signing up as the low-end maker for both band's various brands of Rock-Pop. As the senior member of our tribe he continuously shared road dog stories of years past from a time when bands didn't care how many MySpace friends they had, and the guys from Pearl Jam worked at your local coffee shop. His energy and enthusiasm was something that I felt fortunate to have as someone who was throwing his hat back into music after having taken time off from having a full band. It's always somewhat of a sad thing when members of bands part ways even if it's on good terms because you become a sort of family from having spent many hours creating in close quarters. I'm glad for the time he gave to us and wish him nothing but the best in all he does. I also will miss the daily inappropriate jokes handed out from what he gathered working at his construction site that day. What's the difference between Jam and Jelly you ask? I wish I could tell you, but since there are possible young minds reading (and I like ruining those as much as the next person), you'll have to ask him at the next show. Trust me, it's a good one...




And what was that about my body making me take a break? It could be that I have a problem with taking on too much but that's how we roll, you know? That said, next week I'll give an update on the the current state of the COLLIDER record, and introduce the name of a brand new project that is slated to be completed in the next few months.

"Another band Kyle? WTF??!?"

Not exactly, but something really fun...


Noich Noich Noich,

KS

Tales From The Eastside. Issue #61

I fired up the engines this past Saturday for a short weekend trip to Spokane to perform @ CATERINA WINERY. It was the first time I had made the trip back there since the mini-tour last fall and being long overdue I was anxious to get back. Matt Edington accompanied me on electric guitar as I wanted to try something new by having him create soundscape textures behind the stripped down acoustic versions of my songs. A trusted Garmin GPS in hand we set forth across the pass that morning stopping only once for lunch and a piece of lemon-meringue pie. You can probably guess from the lyrics to "Thicker Than Leather" that I kinda have a pie fetish and the decision between what to get from the cornucopia-esque assortment proved to be the most stressful part of the trip...


After arriving in Spokane around 4:00-ish and having a few hours to kill we got to walk around downtown (where Caterina is located), and check out some local spots. I found a new venue that I would love to perform at and had a chance to check out the infamous "Merilyn's Comics". The sign on the outside said that it was "gamer day" and after stepping inside to be greeted by the stench of unwashed fanboys I completely believed it. Much bigger than my local shop but nowhere as good. COMIC STOP 4 LIFE.

After stopping back at the hotel clean up and pick the bugs out we departed for the show. Upon walking into Caterina I remembered something I loved so much about it. THE SMELL. Oh excuse me, I mean the "AROMA" if any connoisseurs are reading. The same vibe I get when I walk into a brewery; the feeling that GOOD THINGS are made here. I'm not going into a wine based description (would sound totally ignorant) but just trust me to stop in if you're ever around that way.


Some folks sharing the bill with me that night were SHANNON CURTIS, and DAVE HANNON BAND. Shannon was on the last leg of her 5 week tour and let me pick her brain for a good while on what that has been like since I'm moving in that direction. She treated the crowd to her beautiful voice and very well written songs. Dave Hannon was also a nice surprise in the fact that he was one of the nicest musicians I have ever met. We hope to do a mini-tour together in the beginning of the next year here and that's going to be really fun. Head of booking at Caterina is Patrick Kendrick, a busy, busy man who has worked very hard to make Caterina one the the fastest growing venues in Spokane. All booking agents should follow his example and it's always a pleasure to work with professionals like that as it just makes the whole night better. Matt and I had the middle slot of the evening and I felt a little extra pressure to put on a good show since I was following Shannon's crazy good vocals. I felt the show went well, enjoyed the different animal that was just Matt and I, and decided that that was something I wanted to explore more of in future shows.


After leaving the show we grabbed some late night eats close to the hotel and found myself ending the evening with a dish of "Wasabi-Apple" ice cream. Yes, "Wasabi-Apple". What did it taste like? Well, I'd tell you but my simple brain cannot come up with a description of what your mouth feels like when it's on fire and freezing at the same time. Truly unnatural and another omen of the end times only this time not found on FOX News.


Before I go this week please note that COLLIDER will be performing this Wednesday, August 6th @ The HIGHDIVE in Fremont. The show is +21 (oh man!), $6 at the door, and will be the only show of the summer as we continue work on the new album. This show is also our bass player Mark's last show with both COLLIDER/KYLE STEVENS BAND so come out and give him a proper send off!


Be Well,

-Kyle

Spokane Bound. Issue #60

Last week's show at HOTWIRE COFFEE was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed trying out some new songs to a crowd of regular show attendees and locals wondering who was infiltrating their local spot. TJ SHERRILL opened the night, and he and I closed the evening with a song we wrote on tour last year called, "Mexican Jail". It's a little song that could be compared to the INDIGO GIRLS stylistically and features traded off verses about stumbling across the border and getting captured by Federales. If it's true when they say to write what you know, then we have no business playing this song but in the few times we've played it it always gets a good reaction. Unfortunately, we didn't have the awkwardness of sharing the same mic. "So close I can hear you breathin'...."

Last week I re-read a script that was sent to me by new friend Todd Downing who is a local director. The script is for a film called "Duo" that follows the adventures of two friends over a weekend. I don't want to say more about it (not my thing), but was happy to be asked to be involved in some way with the soundtrack of the film. This will be new territory for me and a good challenge considering I'm in a bit of a new song rut this past week with other stuff on my mind...




In that category would be the fact that I am in the process of hiring a new publicist. Until now, most of my promotion has been self-contained so I thought it was time to let a professional out of the gates and see what happens. In talking to them I found we had a lot of the same visions and that is always a good thing. More on this as it develops...

Attention Spokane Friends! I'll be making the trip over the pass to perform this Saturday, August 6th at CATERINA WINERY. This was originally a full band trip, but do some current personnel changes going on in KS HQ I'll be performing acoustic and and will be joined by my lead guitarist Matt creating textures and animal sounds. It's only my 2nd appearance in Spokane in the past year and I'm really ready to come back. Check my website for details!




If you haven't gone to see THE DARK KNIGHT yet...DO IT!!! Amazing film that takes it's subject matter seriously (Batman), and treats the genre with the respect that it deserves. And amazing work of art that I would highly recommend to anyone who loves a good movie in general. I'm usually not a fan of symphonic driven movie soundtracks, but once you see it you have to respect how much the sounds complement the visuals throughout. Hans Zimmer is the man.


"You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villian."
-Harvey Dent


-KS

2 x 4. Issue #59

Hey! Last week I released a new single, "VOUCH FOR ME", and the feedback I've received sounds like people are really feeling it. That's makes me happy, and if you don't already have your copy you can receive your MP3 download by joining the email list! Moving on...

This Friday (7/25) I will be performing at HOTWIRE COFFEE in Shoreline as part of their summer concert series with TJ SHERRILL opening. The Show is FREE, starts at 7:30, and is ALL-AGES. HOTWIRE now serves beer and wine (still family-friendly) as well as the usual coffee house staples so come thirsty. It's been a while since my last acoustic show (other than my last minute one a few weeks ago), and I'm looking forward to stripping down songs off of SONGS FROM THE ORANGE ROOM, new songs, and a choice cover. So choice in fact, I thought it might be kinda fun if readers of this blog picked it for me since I'm feeling a little indecisive. If you care about this sort of thing, vote which song I'll play on Friday via the widget to the right. I'm in an 80's mood this week if that helps you understand what I'm going for here...

Last week I had a meeting with TECHNOGREEK (see blog sidebar) regarding our project that revolves around music and how it can blend with comics/geek/pop-culture. More about this as we get closer to some sort of a final product, but we left the meeting feeling energized about the possibility of doing something that could be pretty original in it's application. We all know few things are these days, so the more we move forward the more it feels like lightning in a bottle. More on this later...




I was able to indulge my inner EN VOGUE fantasy other day at my good friend Joe Malek's B-Day outing with some Karaoke. After seeing a woman perform a Roberta Flack song with one the most soulful voices I have heard a while, I asked her to join me and had an interpretation of "Free Your Mind". It was AWESOME, and got that much closer to my early 90's R&B cover band.


The Wifey and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary at IMPANEMA in downtown Seattle and rolled (not walked) out of there in a meat coma. Technogreek referred us, and it truly was different than any dinner I have ever been too. For those of you who need a little more info before heading out, here you go...

You are greeted at the door by a woman with incredibly bleached highlights and welcomed by the sweet smell of grilled meats. She asks you if you've been there, and it will ask you three more times before you can read through her strong Brazilian accent leaving you feeling even more white than you did before. After being seated, you are given a card to keep at your table which has different colored sides from which to signal your meat-bearing waiters. On one side is the color green which will tells them, "Bring on the meats"! The other side is a red warning, "Stop or I've going to lose my meats right here". The ONLY reason that would happen is if you over-indulge in their 16 meat selection (That's what she said?) as one-by-one skewers are brought to your table every few minutes impaling Wild Boar, Filet Mignon (and every kind of steak imaginable), Bacon Wrapped Turkey, Sausage, Chicken, and many others to satisfy the most carnivorous appetite. I can't remember ever feeling so full (meat intoxication), and make sure if you go you are starving to make it fully worth the visit (kinda pricey). Delicious!


This week also comes with a public service announcement...MAKE CAMPING RESERVATIONS AHEAD OF TIME. That is unless you want to spend 9 hours driving around north Washington looking for a campsite only to return home the shamed warrior. The Wifey and I decided to further celebrate our anniversary by going camping...next time planning ahead a little more. Not all bad though, we got up early Saturday on a quest to find a site by heading down I-90 for a few hours that turned out to be just right after bathing in "Deep Woods" Cutter. Oh, it burns...it burns...

Have a good week!

KS

New Single, "VOUCH FOR ME". Issue #58

This week I'm releasing my brand new single, "Vouch For Me". It was co-produced by myself and Matt Edington (COLLIDER, FORCEFIELDS), with cover art and photography by Joshua Stearns.

The song will only be available for FREE download by joining my mailing list via my official site, www.kylestevensmusic.com (your email will not be shared, nor will you be receiving anything other than KS/COLLIDER happenings, show updates, and newsletters!). If you aren't on the mailing list, head over to my site and follow the link instructions. Once KS HQ receives the info, you'll receive the MP3 via email!

Stylistically, it's a bit of a departure for me from the norm and that's one of the reasons I'm very excited about this release. I wholeheartedly encourage you to share it with friends, and please send them this way if they would like to receive a download as well.

Thank YOU for listening and spreading KS music!

-KS