Thanks to all the following people for their contributions in the studio and on stage: Jacob Detering(production, arrangement, guitars,) R. Scott Bryan(percussion, guitars,vocals,) Joe Meyer (percussion) David Aholt(piano, keys,) Logan Detering(bass,) Christopher Hughes(drums,) David Nichols(drums,) Steve Cakouros(bass,) Obeid Khan(guitar), Ross Bell(horns,) Chris Bosslet(bass,) Grover Stewart(drums,) Lauren Markow(Red Pill Entertainment,) Ken Zarecki (Version Train,) Alan Copeland Photography, and Blake Travis (Percussion)
Influences
FM radio, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Muddy Waters, The Clash, JJ Cale, John Hiatt, Tom Petty, John Prine, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Westerberg, Neil Finn, The Minutemen, The Pixies, Michelle Shocked, Robert Hunter, Bob Mould, and everyone else who ever wrote songs that I couldn't get out of my head.
“I was a writer first. I didn’t know I wanted to sing until I started putting my words to music,” says Bilchik, of St. Louis, Missouri. Blending rock and contemporary folk, his words and music offer a personal perspective with wide appeal. “When I perform my songs, it’s like taking a tour of what I’ve learned about life in the past 10 years. Every time I play, it’s a reminder that your whole life comes along with you wherever you go. You can’t run away from it. I’m hoping that people who hear my music feel that I’ve said something they’ve been thinking about, too.”
Kevin’s life path swerved significantly from the expected. “Like a lot of people, I knew there was something out there for me, but I didn’t know what or where it was,” he says. “That’s when I started taking my own route. I caught rides to random places out West. I followed bands around on festival tours. I apprenticed in non-traditional jobs and lived in unconventional communities. Those times and places and people led me to some of the ideas and lessons that drive my songs today.”
But there was always a guitar, he adds. “As a little kid, I took about two piano lessons before I quit, and I played the trombone for a couple of days. But I grabbed a guitar whenever things were uncomfortable socially, or when nothing was happening. So there was always the opportunity to channel my experiences into a song.” And he did. “I’ve spent the past 16 years finding my voice as a singer and writer, playing music on back porches, in basements, coffee houses and bars, working restaurant jobs, and writing lyrics on napkins and take-out order forms.”
A chance meeting in a St. Louis guitar shop jump-started Kevin’s official music career. “The people I met that day are still some of my best friends, collaborators and critics,” he says. “And I still look at every day as another chance to pick up my guitar and see what happens.”
Red Pill, St. Louis's Indie Record Label dedicated to the nurturing and cultivation of singer/songwriters, presents a Songwriters-In-The-Round concert celebrating the music of their emerging artists Kevin Bilchik, R. Scott Bryan, Javier Mendoza and Amy Petty on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. at The Sheldon in St. Louis. Tickets are priced at $10.00 and will be available electronically by clicking the ticket above or at the door beginning at 7p.m. This Red Pill line up promises to introduce audiences to well crafted songwriting in the tradition of icons such as James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, John Hiatt, Elvis Costello, Sarah McLachlan and John Mayer.
The Sheldon is located at 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, MO, 63108
Thanks for the add! Our new CD titled Psychonaut will be available on line soon. Three of the ten tunes are on our myspace site for review. Please give us a listen. We are playing at the Ten Mile House in Afton on July 24th. The Dead Records from Indiana will be the opening act. Show starts at 10:00 pm. Hope you can stop by...
tell all your friends, about" the KIngs of Punky Tonk-the outlaws of
Bluegrass",JASON AND THE PUNKNECKS, are comin to a town near you..check our profile for tour info..add a comment.. http://punknecks.com
NEW TRACKS POSTED!!! BRAND NEW SONGS!!! Hear what we have been doing in the studio. The rest are being tracked. Tell us what you think. Tell your friends. Thanks for the ad.
Have you been to www.CultureSurfer.com yet? Why not?! St. Louis producer Naomi Silver is the ONLY ONE in St.Louis doing this- an online inside to the REAL local arts scene! I’m often shocked at how little people know about St Louis’ great local fine arts, and how little our local press covers the real local events- they all pretend to care about, but do little to support it. For that matter, I see very few of our local art galleries getting behind this, which blows my mind. Listen up local artists, galleries, and art institutions: someone really cares about us now- SPREAD THE WORD.
Hey Kevin, I totally missed you at the Deli the last time but I hear you're coming back to play! We will DEFINITELY be there!!! Dress pretty and I'll take your picture!
If you live in St. Louis, there is a benefit tonight at BB's Jazz Blues and Soups for Gus Thornton, local bassist who's played with everyone, a living legend and just an all around amazing human being. He may in fact be the nicest musician I've ever met.
It starts at 5pm, so it's an early one. Gus has recently had a battery replacement surgery for his pacemaker and is trying to cover the enormous costs from the surgery and hospital stay.
Please stop by, help out and have an all around good time tonight. Again, it's an early night and a great man.
“I was a writer first. I didn’t know I wanted to sing until I started putting my words to music,” says Bilchik, of St. Louis, Missouri. Blending rock and contemporary folk, his words and music offer a personal perspective with wide appeal. “When I perform my songs, it’s like taking a tour of what I’ve learned about life in the past 10 years. Every time I play, it’s a reminder that your whole life comes along with you wherever you go. You can’t run away from it. I’m hoping that people who hear my music feel that I’ve said something they’ve been thinking about, too.”
