STEPHEN KELLOGG and THE SIXERS & JON MCLAUGHLIN
On sale: Friday, August 5 at 12:00pm CST
STEPHEN KELLOGG and THE SIXERS
On Gift Horse, their second album for Vanguard and fifth studio effort overall, Stephen Kellogg and his bandmates— Kit “Goose” Karlson (keys, bass, vocals), Brian “Boots” Factor (drums, vocals) and Sam “Steamer” Getz (guitars, vocals)—bring the rich legacy of American rock & roll into the present tense. This is thrilling music, muscular, immediate and life-embracing, steeped in tradition but addressing the present moment boldly and eloquently. To get to this point in their evolution, SK6ERS (as their loyal fans fondly refer to them) simply had to come to terms with their collective identity once and for all, and producer Mark Weinberg had a hand in getting them there. “Every time you make a record, you learn a whole bunch of new things, and this was no different,” says Kellogg, who formed the Sixers with Karlson and Factor eight years ago in Western Massachusetts. “When we met with Mark, he encouraged us to be unapologetic about who we are, not masking our influences but embracing them and running with it. He kept reminding us, ‘You’re not gonna be Bob Seger if you spend your whole life trying. You’re Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers, so just play this music the way you write, from your hearts.’”
OFFICIAL SITE :: MYSPACE :: FACEBOOK :: TWITTER
Kellogg chose to title the album Gift Horse for a clear-cut thematic reason. “When you name a record,” he says, “you’re looking for something that feels right. There’s the old saying, ‘Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,’ which translated to me as showing appreciation for what you have.’ And I thought, that’s exactly what this record’s about - appreciation that I have a job right now in 2011, with all that’s going on economically in our country; appreciation for my family, because there’s nothing that I value more; and appreciation of America in general.” By and large, the songs of Gift Horse are real-life narratives, most of them directly relating to personal experiences. “There’s not one lyric on the record that’s not about me or somebody I know,” he points out. At the same time, the album is set against the broader tableau of contemporary America. In Kellogg’s new songs, this is no static backdrop but a turbulent, often bitter reality that works its way into every aspect of our lives. “In terms of what’s going on in America right now, I have definite opinions, and pretty passionate ones,” he says. “I see a lot of division, with extremists on both sides, but I think there’s a huge number of people who have opinions that fall right in the middle of all that. I’m one of them, and I hope that I can speak to those people and say, ‘Hey, it’s OK to be moderate about things; being radical doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re right about something. I try to take that point of view and bring it into our music. Let’s establish the fact that we all belong here, and then maybe we can work through our differences with a little more grace.”
What’s particularly striking about Kellogg’s aesthetic in general and this group of songs in particular is the very normalcy they project. He’s a guy with his feet on the ground, as he directly acknowledges in “Gravity,” the first single and opening track. “By way of the journey we’ve been on as a band,” he explains, “we’ve now come to this place where we can ask the rhetorical question, is it OK to be the guy next door and rock & roll? We don’t need to be bad boys, or say things we don’t mean, or try to be cool in order to be accepted. This kind of music is the meat of this country. What I care about is feeding my family, living a life that I can feel proud of and doing an honest day’s work. Those are the motivating factors in our music.” Gift Horse stands as an unambiguous statement of belonging and persevering during these times—the record is as straightforward, and as resonant, as that. “I’ve been putting out records for 10 years now and I’ve made plenty of mistakes, Kellogg says. “They say you get one shot, but I don’t believe that for a second. You get as many shots as you’re willing to hang in there and go for. We’ve learned a lot, and that’s worth something to me. I’m trying to focus on the things that are real and within my grasp: the people who come to our shows and listen to the music, my kids and my wife and my friends.” There’s nothing hidden or tentative about Kellogg’s music or the values he stands for. If you’ve been itching to crank up some bracing, timeless rock & roll that speaks to these values loudly and proudly, then Gift Horse is exactly what you’ve been waiting for.
JON MCLAUGHLIN
Just four years ago, Jon McLaughlin’s Island Records debut propelled his song “Beautiful Disaster” up the charts, with “Beating My Heart” following quickly after. Hollywood immediately took notice of the young songwriter and didn’t stop at just using several of his songs for films and commercials. McLaughlin himself was offered a role in the hit film Enchanted, performing a song that was later nominated for an Academy Award. In 2008, he found himself onstage at the Oscars reprising the tune in front of 32 million US viewers. In between the hit songs and television appearances, true to his hardworking Midwestern roots, McLaughlin spent his nights opening for the likes of Sara Bareilles and Kelly Clarkson, recording with Jason Mraz and writing for other artists.
OFFICIAL SITE :: MYSPACE :: FACEBOOK :: TWITTER
But the affable McLaughlin was never quite comfortable with the artistic compromises he made along the way. Largely inspired by an extraordinarily close relationship with his fans, he left Island to create an album like he had never done before; one that was filled with lyrics that were a part of him. Careful to note that he genuinely loved working with other songwriters and found great meaning in their collaborative work, McLaughlin nonetheless couldn’t shake his need to be completely responsible for the songs he delivered to his extremely loyal fans. An ardent social media aficionado, his interaction with his audience influenced him to release this album on his own for the first time. “A lot of songs over the past few years, there’s nothing wrong with them,” Jon explains, “but there was no weight or significance with me. I felt like I was in a way not being completely fair.” “It feels really good to have a record that I’m working on that I can really deliver wholeheartedly knowing that the fans are getting a piece of me,” he continues. “There isn’t a note on the record that I didn’t spend hours scrutinizing over, or at the very least sitting with and playing over and over again. I feel like it’s a real connection to me.”
Once Jon began writing the new songs that would ultimately fill Forever if Ever, the rest fell into place just as quickly as his career took off. He began producing for the first time, drawing from hours spent with brilliant producers he’d worked with throughout the years. He experimented with equipment, including some a former tour manager had sagely told him to explore. He wrote exactly what he wanted to, spending weeks upon weeks making sure every lyric, every note was just where he needed it to be. And perhaps most importantly, he recorded with the musicians he’d been touring with not only his entire career, but his entire musical life. Convinced to use studio musicians by his former record label, McLaughlin was finally able to make an album with his longtime bandmates. And it resulting sound plays just like that – warm, familiar, comfortable and seamless. They finish each others’ musical sentences. “It’s the first time that I’ve listened to something at the end of each day in the studio and I loved it,” Jon says excitedly, “every single day, from beginning to end.” But McLaughlin’s liberating euphoria surprisingly isn’t the theme for Forever if Ever. Ironically, the album is filled with powerful, agonizing, gut-wrenching songs about love and loss thereof. “Making Forever if Ever reminded me that music is a personal thing,” McLaughlin reveals. “It’s not a corporate business. It’s just music. On my previous albums, I was tied up in a lot of red tape and meetings and actually heard myself say ‘fourth quarter budgets’ at one point.” “And now I get to be a musician again!”
AMY LENNARD
I have always been one to follow my own heart come what may. I grew up in Roslyn Long Island. My family was not at all musical but I requested a guitar at the age of 10 and learned the basic chords. When I graduated college I got in a car with my boyfriend at the time and drove to California where I found a remote commune to live on. I was determined to live off the grid at the time. It was there I found my love and talent for song writing. I played around many campfires and outdoor festivals. The roosts scene was amazing. At 30 though I was in crisis.
Varsity Theater
