Old music, upcoming music, and realizations..

Hello and welcome to my second blog entry.
Currently it is 4:15 am Los Angeles time and I am in my music studio, which is the first place I go after completing my morning workout at 3:00 am.

OK I admit its insane but my day has to begin early otherwise I won't have time to practice and exercise. I actually like the early morning and the night because it's quiet and It seems a bit easier to think and get my ideas out.

OK, enough of that and on to business.

My first CD "The EP" from the year 2000 has been remastered and is now available on iTunes.

You can go to www.kevinkeith.com to listen.

That CD was originally some music I put together as a demo to help in getting some club gigs but the demo was passed around and I began getting emails from fans asking if they could buy it so "The EP" was born.

I am listening to it as I write this and I am asking myself, "how and why did I let so much time go by without releasing more material"? OK, Suddenly I begin to remember…

When "The EP came out I was playing with my band in the Hollywood area and I was approached by a guy who said he was a music supervisor.

He asked if I would submit some music to him and I did. He called a few days later, critiqued the material and asked me to submit 3 more instrumental pieces. I sent more music and a week passed. I had not heard from him but I decided to wait at couple more days before I called him. On day eight I received a registered Fedex package labeled "confidential material".

I opened the package and inside was a writer/ producer contract with Warner Brothers Television. I almost passed out. My whole life I dream of a record or production deal and this is how it happens? By accident? OK!

I was thrilled and wanted to put my best foot forward so I spent every extra moment writing because I recognized that this was a rare and special opportunity. My music was getting placed on a lot of shows and soon I began placing music with Universal Music Group.
I was happy that my music was being accepted but with acceptance comes increased demand which can get intense when you're dealing with a corporate entity. Next thing I know I am writing all the time, early morning, late night, anytime I have a spare second.

Meanwhile my career as a recording engineer was accelerating. I began mixing bigger and bigger artist and that too began taking more and more time from an already full schedule.

Unfortunately I allowed all of these things to take away from being a Stick player and years went by before I knew it. I became so obsessed with being successful that I became overworked, exhausted and miserable. I had somehow lost the very thing that made me want to be a musician in the first place.

I have since realized that being a Stick player is a priority to me because it makes me happy so I have made some changes in my life.

Moving forward, no matter what happens in my life I will write and perform with the Stick on a regular basis. Although I enjoy writing for picture (and will more than likely continue) I believe that being a Stick player is my true calling. I know that sounds crazy but I think we all ultimately know what it is we are meant to do verses what we choose to do, the difficult part is maintaining the proper balance. Alright, enough said about that.

In a couple of weeks I will be releasing the first song and video from my new CD "Common Man". The song is a blues tune featuring Stick and vocal and I'm just putting the finishing touches on the video right now.

I look forward to releasing and touring this new CD and I am excited (and nervous) about seeing the response. Its exciting and scary to hold something creative so close to yourself and then finally letting it go into the ears of the people but that too is part of being a musician.

My next blog will be the announcement of the video's release.

Thanks for reading and thank all of you so much for your support and emails throughout the years.

Thanks for everything.

Kevin

Welcome to my first blog..

Ok this is my first Blog so here we go.

First I am thankful. I am thankful that the LA years have been good.
I am thankful and excited about playing Europe in 2011 and I am thankful for the many lessons I have learned throughout my life, both good and bad.

Second I am challenged. I am always challenged by time because I am balancing two careers, the first as an audio engineer and the second as a musician/ music producer.

As an audio professional it is nice to be working because honestly, working in the Los Angeles entertainment industry is fun, exciting, intense and a blessing considering that LA is a crazy expensive place to live.

The challenge is that it's a feast or famine type of working environment right now and the current US economy doesn't help. In short, you're either struggling or you're swamped.

I am swamped, which is a blessing and a challenge.
I accept them both because this is what I prayed for when I first came to LA and despite the workload, I am incredibly fortunate and extremely thankful.

That being said, I am currently (and finally) finishing the last tracks of my upcoming solo Stick CD which should be completed in early 2011. Due to the balancing of my schedule this has taken FOREVER to finish, so its exciting but embarrassing that it has taken so very long.

Next I'm putting together the 2011 European tour. This is really exciting for me because I love to perform and don't have the opportunity to play live as much as I would like to.

I played in France earlier this year at the "Folies Tapping Festival", a festival celebrating tap instruments. A tap instrument is basically a string instrument that by design is played with both hands on the fretboard.

The musicians that performed there and many of the fans were from all over Europe. It was AWESOME!!!!

The audience was amazing, the music was incredible! Honestly, that gig was one of the greatest experiences of my life. The French are a nation of wonderful creative people and have been since the beginning of time. Like most Europeans, they value and enjoy musicians and music. I made many new friends there and can't wait to see them again so I look forward to returning there to play.

After the Festival was over many of the musicians gathered at the home of Youenn Landreau, one of the Festival organizers and performers. Youenn's living room was filled with guitars, amplifiers, Chapman Sticks and a grand piano. Questions started between musicians about their playing styles and the next thing you know, we were all taking turns playing for each other which eventually led to a jam session.

I was in a room with some of the most incredible musicians. Youenn Landreau, Jan Laurenz, Preston Reed, Jim Lampi, members of the French band Costik. Many of us didn't even speak the same language but when we counted to four and started playing together there were no barriers. It was awesome.

I love being a musician.

Thanks so much for tuning in to my first blog.
Until next time...

Kevin Keith