Stephen Kellogg's Upcoming Holiday Concert Dec 10th

With Stephen Kellogg's upcoming Homevibe Presents Holiday Concert performance at The Walnut Room in Denver, CO on Dec 10th, (TICKETS HERE) I had the opportunity to ask a few questions. He recently released a short documentary, Last Man Standing, on the story of his most recent album South, West, North, East. I've included the preview at the bottom. However, in 2013 he did a Ted talk that I think is a must see if you want to make music your living. 

In 2013 I had the opportunity to give a TED talk. It's one of those things that you say yes to because you're honored and then immediately realize you're going to have to work your butt off to not embarrass yourself. They ask you to give your 'talk of a lifetime', so the stakes feel high. I guess when I got down to it I didn't feel like an "expert" at music, but I did feel like I knew how to take a punch and still enjoy working. A useful quality not just for musicians but for anyone working any job. As such that was

my goal, to provide tangible strategies for increasing job satisfaction. How to keep coming back. How to say "yes" even when "yes" feels scary. It's better to be at the bottom of a ladder you want to climb then the middle of one you don't.

 Who are you listening to now and what inspires you about the music?

Right now I have three albums on repeat.

Lori McKenna- 

The Bird and the Rifle

Emily Hearn- 

Hourglass

Gregory Alan Isakov- 

The Weatherman

I have to pinch myself that all three of the artists are friends of mine. I feel very lucky to be able to ask them questions about these songs and recordings. The production and performances are great on these records, but what gets me more than anything in music is always the lyric. If I can feel the message that's being put in the world, I can get into any genre and production style.

What is your favorite piece of gear and why?

My pen. I can (and do) use it to write it pretty much anywhere. I do occasionally write with the laptop, but if I have a pen in my pocket I know I'll never be bored. At this point, I have accepted that I have certain limitations as a music that I'm less inclined to break through. I'm not proud of that, but in the spirit of going where the light is, I have endless passion and inspiration for words, for writing and sharing ideas.

If you could travel back 10 years and tell yourself something about the music industry that you know now, what would it be?

Hmmnnn...It's an interesting question. I'd love to tell myself to really really pay attention to everyone you meet. Get to know them on a human level without regard for what they can do for you. At the end of the day, we're all part of a very small industry. I did this to some degree but I would have liked to have done it even better. Also and this is what I'd tell myself if I only had ONE thing to tell...Enjoy it. This industry isn't something that I can control and it hasn't necessarily swung in favor of organic album based music, so if you're going to be releasing albums, you need to enjoy the process of making them. Trusting one's gut and trying to avoid the people with lousy moral compasses are valuable skills to develop, but no matter what happens it's such an adventure, that I'd love to just tell the version of me in my 20's to ENJOY IT!

Stephen Kellogg's Website

Photo by: Will Byington

Stephen Kellogg Tour Dates

Reed Foehl Joins Jeffrey Foucault April 7th @ Shine

Don’t miss Reed Fohel with Jeffrey Foucault on Thursday, April 7th @ Shine in Boulder, CO! Get Tickets Here! 

Reed Foehl’s Bio:

After a move to Colorado, Reed’s clear tenor, emotional songwriting, and undeniable charisma as a front man launched Acoustic Junction in 1989, which developed a cult following in the jamband era of the 90s. The band released six albums, a collaboration with Graham Nash, and was signed to Capricorn Records and later Mercury Records. Making music with friends and seeing family all over the country fueled a tireless road schedule and devotion to high-energy performance and songwriting.

But 10 years into Acoustic Junction, Reed found himself at a famous crossroad when his son, Jaden, was born: Would he continue the life of a road warrior, or be a father to his son? “After two years of leaving Jade at home, I knew I just needed to plant myself there. To help raise my son. To build a real relationship with him. But it wasn’t easy,” Reed recalls. 

He battled with the idea that if he stayed on the road, his notoriety and financial success in the industry could grow more quickly. But he’d miss out on seeing his boy grow up. “All the money in the world couldn’t buy that time,” Reed said. “Kids don’t care about money. They just want their father there. Luckily, I realized that.” 
Not long afterward after getting off the road, the second event that would shape Reed’s next decade came; his father succumbed to a battle with cancer. It was a huge loss for Reed. But the responsibilities of being a dad and the burden of grief from his father’s death did not stop Reed’s growth as an artist. He treated his emotion as something intensely sacred, and poured it into his songwriting. His church and confessional were anywhere there was a microphone and an audience within an hour or two of home. 

Reed found a new kind of success in short trips once or twice a year to Los Angeles, New York and Nashville that earned him placements on the silver screen, television, and commercials. He put what money he could from the royalties to make three solo records: Spark (2004), Stoned Beautiful (2007), and Once an Ocean (2009). Meanwhile, the music industry was seeing some of its deepest shifts since the dawn of Tin Pan Alley. Large labels were falling by the wayside in favor of independent artists with grit, stamina, and charisma as pioneers of a new musical landscape – traits, you might guess by now, Reed carries in spades. He continued to produce his own brand of powerfully emotional, masterfully crafted music, with each new song informed by his fresh experiences with love, death, family, and solitude. 

Reed, what makes playing Homevibe shows different for you compared to other shows?

To be honest I’m fortunate enough to do a lot of these intimate shows, but Homvibe incorporates what seems to be a family vibe. People who attend home vibe shows are very appreciative of the music. Plus no other shows have lamps on the stage!

Do you remember your first Homevibe show?

I do. I believe Gregory Alan Isakov and myself played one, many moons ago. I remember the smell of fresh baked cookies (pre marijuana legalization) they offered them to the guests.

Do you plan on playing some new tunes on this upcoming show?

I do, mostly new ones but I’ll throw in one or two from the archives

We see you spend a lot of time on the road with troubadour Todd Snider. What is your favorite part about those tours?

The amazing Todd fans would have to be my favorite part of those tours. Night after night, his fans treat me with great kindness and respect. 

I remember being blown away by the band Morphine at one of the earliest Lollapalooza’s back in Chicago. An unbelievable three piece, drummer, Billy Conway played all over the pocket accompanying a baritone sax and bass guitar. I hear Billy will be playing with Jeffrey Foucault at your show this Thursday. What is your history with Billy Conway? 

Billy Conway and I go way back. In fact he came to my house on thanksgiving one year when i was around 16 years old. We went on the traditional post eating walk and he asked me when I was going to start writing my own songs. From that moment on I’ve been writing ever since. He’s been a big inspiration to me!

Jeffrey Foucault’s BIO:

Jeffrey Foucault One of the finest songwriters of his generation, Jeffrey Foucault has taken, in his own words, ‘the small roads;’ building a brick and mortar independent international touring career of ten studio albums, countless miles and critical accolades. He’s been lauded for Stark, literate songs that are as wide open as the landscape of his native Midwest (The New Yorker) and described as Quietly brilliant (The Irish Times), while catching the ear of everyone from Greil Marcus to Don Henley (who regularly covers Foucault in his live set have caught the attention of new fans nationwide through commercial radio airplay and placements for television and film.

Spend Your Valentine's Day with Ryan Montbleau

Homevibe Presents and Bolder Beat bring you Ryan Montbleau this Valentine's Day!

Ryan Montbleau returns to the Colorado to play The Riverside in Boulder, CO on Valentine's Day February 14th. This is an all ages show with some cool ticket options. Tickets come with a 3 course dinner. Couples range from $100 - $130 for the VIP Package. If you are heading out solo, tickets only cost $50 per person for the 3 course meal and show.  Find out more info and pick up tickets HERE! 

We are excited to have Ryan back for a Homevibe Presents Show. He took a little time out of his touring schedule last week and gave us some insight on how he approaches songs, videos and live shows. 

This is not your first time playing a Homevibe Presents Show. What do you look forward to most about playing Colorado?

The couch on the stage!  Wait, do I get a couch this time?  Either way...    Honestly, Colorado has been so damn good to me over the years.  I always tell people that pound for pound it's the most supportive live music scene in the country.  People just go to shows and it's heartening every time I go there and play for a full room of music-lovers.  Every time.

One of the most unique parts about your shows is how you slide in and out of different styles of music. Can you take us inside the songwriting process for you?

Thank you.  Yeah, I'm a songwriter at my core so I my life is sort of built around making songs.  It can be a slow process, some of these songs take years to write, from the time of the original idea.  Of course not all of them are that way, some come out more quickly.  But I'm constantly working at it bit by bit, line by line, song by song.  I generally get ideas for a song on the guitar or in my head while I'm driving.  And I can usually immediately hear a melody that I want to sing.  The hard part is writing the words and clearing away the debris to see what it's about.  I'm always writing in a notebook or keeping notes on my phone, keeping voice memos of ideas.  I have hundreds of voice memos that are all song ideas.  And I'm not trained in music per se, certainly not in any one area.  So I write what I hear.  And so far that has seemed to come out in various styles, because that's what I've been exposed to as a listener.

One of the many unique subtleties about your music videos is that the majority of them are you playing live. What was your favorite music video to make?

"Yeah Man."  It's an Eddie Hinton tune that I did on the For Higher record.  Spookie Daly directed it and I know Spookie from back in the day as a tremendous front man in his own right.  He put together this whole concept of a Tony Robbins-esque infomercial and it was so fun to make.  When we put it out, a few people thought it was real.  I remember one lady emailed me and said something to the effect of "I'm shocked and saddened that this is what your career has come to."  :)  So funny.  The video is so over the top it's hard to imagine anyone believing that it's real.

Feb 14th will be your last show of a pretty nice run? What do you have planned for your next tour?

After this one?  I sort of feel like it's all one endless tour, honestly, although I don't hit the road quite as hard as I used to.  Nowadays I love playing listening rooms solo-acoustic, so I'm balancing the band touring with playing solo.  It's a blessing to be able to do both and they balance me out.  As a songwriter I love to be listened to.  As a bandleader I love to physically move people.  The challenge has always been how to do both.  I'd love to keep getting better at moving bodies as well as moving hearts and minds as I go.

Welcome Rob Drabkin to the Tony Lucca Show @ The Walnut Room

Rob Drabkin is joining Tony Lucca at our show at the Walnut Room on Tuesday, January 19th. We thought it would be interesting to ask a lot of the same questions we asked Tony Lucca. It’s always fun to appreciate the unique similarities and differences between the musical journeys that take musicians to the same stage. 

You were one of the first musicians to ever play a Homevibe Presents Show. Can you tell us what you remember from that night?

The first one I'll never forget.  It was Mike Ligon's apartment complex in Park Hill. It was very early in my career and one of my first gigs ever!  You can tell Mike LOVED music and 99% of the crowd was there because of Mike's passion for music.  No one knew who I was, but he went out of his way to invite all of his friends, spread the word about a new artist and he filled the room.  The vibe Mike created was a music loving audience there to listen and have fun.  Homevibe has grown into big rooms since then!  When I attend Homevibe shows now, it's this fantastic balance between intimate house concert meets full production show.  Even if it's a band that throws on a full on party set that's not acoustic at all, there is that symbolic lamp on stage that puts the audience in a different space.  

Can you tell us more about your experience at the HollyShorts Film Festival?

Hollyshorts Film Festival was part vacation and a huge part inspiration.  Our music video "Stay (The Morning Light Fades)" was an official selection and it screened at the legendary Chinese Theater in Los Angeles.  We put on my fancy duds, walked the red carpet and our screening was emotionally intense for me.  When our video started my heart was literally pounding out of my chest.  It was a different set of emotions than you experience watching it on a computer screen.  It was over and our video received some very high praises!  It was a big honor.  I stayed an extra two days and watched an amazing selection of short films and met lots of film makers and pass on my music.  It was an incredible experience.  

What were some of your highlights in 2015?

Though it was only 90 seconds, singing the national anthem at Rockies game was a huge deal for me!    I've never been so nervous for any gig in my life.  We did a national radio tour visiting supporting stations throughout the country.  Headlining the bluebird theater for our annual birthday bash and headlined the fox theatre.  I feel like the band started to dial in a dynamic balanced show that felt more and more engaging for a crowd.  

Tell us about your experience with rocktheearth.org.

Marc Ross is the founder of Rock the Earth.  He had an amazing vision of using music and concerts to spread protection and conservation of the environment.  Marc knows his stuff and he knows how to make real change happen.  No one is more passionate about it than he is. 

Checkout Rob Drabkin : www.robdrabkin.com

Tony Lucca Plays Walnut Room on Tuesday, January 19th

On January 19th, Homevibe Presents is proud to have Singer Songwriter, Mickey Mouse Club Alumni and runner up in season two of The Voice, Tony Lucca at The Walnut Room in Devner, Colorado. Currently living in Nashville, TN, Tony Lucca is a full time touring artist and has shared the stage with artists such as Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson and Sara Bareilles to name a few.

Tony’s most recent album was released this last November and is called Made to Shine. As we sit down with Tony, he lets us know how this album is a little different than his previous releases and why you should come out to the Walnut Room on January 19th.

How did you approach the recording process differently for Made to Shine? 

With Made To Shine I simply trusted in the collaborative process, start to finish. I felt confident enough about the songs to trust that bringing someone else on to produce wouldn't detract but only improve the material. Brian Fechino proved me right at every turn. I'm real proud of how this record came out. 

We’re happy to have you back at a Homevibe Presents Show. Aside from being excited to play the new tunes, how will this show be different than your last show at the Walnut Room? 

Well, I'll be playing solo for starters. the last time through I had my band with me and although that has its own advantages, I like being able to bring the room to a whisper. that says a lot about an audience, that they're willing to come out, see some live music but also go a step further and connect with one another in such an intimate way. Quiet can be really cool.

Your fans know how creative you can be with your Patreon videos. You also make some pretty unique music videos as well. What was your favorite music video to make? I really enjoyed making the video for Delilah.

What made this video shoot so different? 

We shot it in a day at various locations in Nashville with a small but creative crew, a very committed cast and a brilliant director. you really can't ask for much more than that. as well, it's far and away the coolest video I've been a part of.  

What would you like to share about the 2015 MILE trip to Guatemala and the Music is Love Exchange? 

Our trips to Guatemala have quickly become the highlight of the year for me and my wife. We started small but over the past handful of years now have managed to grow our operation into a group of roughly 30 people, heading down to Guatemala to dig in and roll our sleeves up, lending a hand to some of the less fortunate, indigenous people there. The work is meaningful, both physically and spiritually. We've seen some pretty amazing transformations take place on these trips. 

Check out Tony Lucca : www.tonylucca.com