One of the finest Pop/Rock albums recently released out there is Kefs
outstanding and bright "Alright" CD. This guy is in exactually in the
same vein as Michael Tolcher, in other words ... Happy Pop/Rock with the
warmth of the sun shining in your neck. We had a nice conversation with
this very talented and polite guy ....
For all the readers, can you tell us if the excellent ALRIGHT album is your first ?
Kef: "Alright" is actually my second full length CD, although it is the
first with this particular sound. My first CD was called "Poppaloopa."
It was released in 2000, but it was more hip hop inspired than the
straight up pop of this latest CD. It still had a lot of pop hooks,
but it was definitely more programmed and electronic. When I was
promoting that disc, we had the whole setup with the DJ and the
dancers. It was pretty funny actually. After that I guess I was
feeling a bit more acoustic, and so I taught myself how to strum a
guitar. The resulting songs are far more organic and melodic, and they
Where were you born, raised and where did you get your musical
skills
from ?
Kef: I was born in a town called Scranton, in Pennsylvania (USA), but my
family moved us to St. Paul, Minnesota by the time I was two years
old. We always had music in our house, because my mother was active in
a church musical group, and we had a piano on which my sister and I
would try make noise. Growing up, I taught myself how to actually make
music with it instead. My sister was always taking lessons, and I
would try to mimic what she was doing, so I learned mostly by ear.
As a teenager, I went to a performing arts magnet school, so in
addition to all the basic music studies, I had the benefit of a full
sixteen track recording studio. But, the most intense learning
experience came after high school when I began working as an
electronic drum and sample programmer for the musical artist, Prince.
I worked with his band for over two years on concert tours, and in the
studio, and I soaked up as much as I could about songwriting,
arranging, melody, harmony ... whatever I could learn. That was a fun
time!
After that, I moved out to Los Angeles, and just started plugging
away.
I would describe your style as a mixture between Michael Tolcher,
the
Canadian Daniel Powter, Gavin De Graw with some reggae and happy
Pop/Rock, this is a compliment .... do you agree with this ?
Kef: Well, my stuff is definitely happy pop/rock! I like to have fun with
music, so that tends to come through on most of my tracks. I dig what
Gavin DeGraw and Michael Tolcher are doing. In fact, I wish that I
could approximate the emotion that some of DeGraws tracks have, so
Im humbled by the comparison.
I think the biggest difference, though, lies on the production end.
The lions share of this disc was recorded in my personal studio, and
it was released on my own independent label. As Im sure any
independent artist can attest, the job descriptions become very
blurred in that situation. In order to get a project finished and
released, its necessary to be not only the artist, but also the
producer, graphic designer, business manager ... even the caterer
sometimes!! You know, drummers can really eat ... you have to keep
them fed!
Hopefully, as I continue to move forward, there will be more
opportunity to collaborate with talented producers and other artists
who can help elevate the material even more.
I wonder if some songs on ALRIGHT like "Round & Round" and
"Evangeline" are based on true stories ?
Kef: Most of the tracks on this disc come from something in my life. Of
course, theyre all embellished a bit for the sake of the story, but
there is a bit of truth in each song. "Round and Round" is from the
perspective of a man who falls for a woman whom he knows he cant have
... or maybe shouldnt have ... but with whom he knows he could be
happy, if the situation were different. It was actually inspired by
someone who is a dear friend of mine to this day.
"Evangeline" on the other hand, is a bit more of a fabrication. I do a
lot of work in Los Angeles as a television editor, and on one project,
I was cutting promos for a new television pilot for the ABC network
called "Lost." On those jobs, you never know if the series will
actually be picked up or not, but in this case, I became a bit smitten
with the female lead, Evangeline Lilly. For fun, my co-writer, Mark
and I started singing these comical songs about Evangeline from the
perspective of a brazen fan who had fallen for her. Of course, she was
unknown at this point, so it was even more entertaining. But, the
ramblings slowly took the shape of the song that made it to the CD,
and in fact, I liked the resulting track so much that I actually
pushed another song off the playlist to make room for "Evangeline." It
was the last song that was written for this project, and because of
the success of the television series, its probably been the most
downloaded track Ive ever had!! Who couldve known!
Of course i enjoy a happy tune like "Red Head Girl" very much,
still
the next one "Pinocchio" is my favorite track on this fun album. Which
ones are yours ?
Kef: "Pinocchio" is also one of my favorites. I feel like I got to a deeper
place on that track. Most of my songs arent very deep! I also like
"Steal My Life Away" and the track "This Side of Beautiful," which
somehow feels like the most complete pop song on the CD.
I enjoy hearing which songs people like, but I personally tend to go
up and down. Sometimes when I put the CD on I think its all trash!!
It might be a standard artist thing, but sometimes I question
whether or not I have any idea what the hell Im doing! But, then the
creative stuff starts flowing again, and I cant help but do something
with it.
What is your personal taste in todays music ?
Kef: I dig a lot of different kinds of music. I listen to pop radio, adult
alternative ... even old Frank Sinatra stuff. Most of the things that
really inspire my now, though, are the more independent and edgy stuff
thats starting to get out more and more. I just got the latest
Jonatha Brooke CD, and shes incredible. I wish I could write a song
the way she does. Ani DiFranco will always be at the top of any list
for me. And I like the fact that the male singer / songwriter types
are really hitting a stride right now. There are a lot of talented
people out there making good music. I just wish it was easier to find
some of it!
Do you have your own band for club gigs ? If so whos in it ?
Kef: Im actually in the process of putting together a live show right now.
Im trying to use some of the players who played on the CD, but well
see how the scheduling works out. Ill be sure to keep you informed
when we get some tour dates.
With what other acts have you played on stage so far ?
Kef: Well my most memorable gig so far was during promotion for my last CD.
I played a show in Miami where I was the opening, opening, opening,
opening, opening act for BBMak, Mandy Moore, and Enrique Iglesias!! I
dont think it gets much bigger than that, does it?!?!?! (please note
the sarcasm in my voice!!)
Was is difficult to record en produce this fine album all by
yourself
? How long was the process in total ?
Kef: I wouldnt say that it was difficult, since thats the part of the
process that I enjoy the most, but it is a lot of work. I usually just
try to treat it like any other job. You have to wake up in the
morning, and commit time and energy to the project every day,
otherwise it tends to stall. Some of these tracks had been floating
around for over three years. I was initially trying to shop the
project to another label, so I had some tracks that were in demo form
for a long time. When I finally decided to complete the project
myself, I would say it took about a year before I had a mastered CD in
my hand.
It can be a huge undertaking, though, and it takes a lot of effort to
complete a package that is able to compete with more mainstream
products. But, I realized several years ago that writing and recording
music is the thing that I love the most in my life, and even if I only
sell two CDs and I never have huge success, Ill continue to do this
for as long as I can. I may never have the biggest house on the beach,
or the fanciest car in the lot ... but Ill probably be much happier
picking up my guitar and writing a stupid little song about my dog
than I would ever be chasing those other dreams.
Where and how can our readers order a copy of ALRIGHT ?
Kef: Anyone can order the new CD directly from my website at
www.kefsplace.com, but its also available on Apples iTunes as well
as Amazon.com and CDBaby.com.
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