Steve Salazar

Today is a good day.  

Most of you don’t know this, but for the past year I have had the pleasure of managing an amazingly talented singer/songwriter from Minneapolis named Steve Salazar.  I met Steve in January of 2010 when Sing It Loud played the Garage in Burnsville, MN for a new years acoustic show.  We met thanks to the lovely Pat Brown, who after a little mix up, had me convinced that the guitar we had borrowed had been stolen.  Of course, I flipped out and stormed all around the Garage trying to find the guitar, when in the midst of my fury, I found it sitting next to Steve Salazar.  After about 20 minutes of thorough questioning, and almost bringing the poor kid to tears, we established that it was NOT the guitar Pat had borrowed and that it belonged to Steve.  Turns out, Pat had been playing the “lost” guitar for the better part of an hour backstage and didn’t bother to check and see if the guitar he was holding in his hands was the missing instrument I had been searching for.  

Needless to say, I felt terrible for the guy, so I apologized over and over.  I felt so bad that I even invited him to come play some online shows with us.  After checking out his stuff, I, just like many others, immediately saw something special in him.  He doesn’t think he’s super cool.  He doesn’t shit talk ANYONE.  He doesn’t act like a rockstar.  And most of all, he doesn’t straighten his hair.  He is just a great guy, playing catchy-as-hell music that means something to him.  This is a quality that is few and far between when it comes to young musicians.  

Bottom line is-  this kid’s got it.  We have been working our asses off for about a year now alongside my best friend Jordan Schmidt to get his music out there, and today it finally happened.  His debut album, produced by Jordan and myself dropped today, and it would mean the world to him and to me, if you could just go take a listen.  I’m not using this post to solicite another record (like I so often do).  I just want to share with you a great kid playing catchy, feel-good music that will definitely put the finishing touch to your favorite summer playlist.  Support good music.  Support good people.  

Check it out here.

iTunes

Facebook

Love

-k

Stickam

So I’ve thought about doing a Stickam show this week… would anyone watch?

Don’t Walk My Way

Hello all,

In case you haven’t fallen victim to my endless spam via facebook and twitter, I just want to let everyone know that my new band Little Bombs has finally released our first single on iTunes.  

The track, Don’t Walk My Way is the first single off of our upcoming self-titled album.  The album drops October 4.  I know the endless barrage of bands tweeting, facebooking, messaging, and spamming about their music gets old, and I apologize for taking part in it (I get annoyed by it as well).  However, this album has been a year in the works and I have personally funded the recording myself, so getting the word out about Little Bombs is very important to me.  Derek and I have worked our butts off on this album, and I am so excited to share it with everyone.  Now a little bit about the song…

I wrote this song just before I moved out to New York.  I feel like we all reach certain points in our life where we need to grow.  Much like outgrowing shoes and clothes, we all become too comfortable and too restless with our situations.  Obviously this song portrays my need for a change and a fresh start.  Not to dog on MPLS, but I needed to leave.  I am a midwest boy, and Minneapolis is my home, but it was time for me to leave, not forever, but for now.  Sing it loud was such an amazing experience for me, but I am ready for the next chapter of my life.  I have spent this last year trying to find myself.  I have dabbled in many things, but I have finally found a rhythm within my madness.  

This band is a new beginning for me, and I want to grow this baby from the ground up.  Sing it loud happened so fast, and I wish I would have appreciated it more, cause now in the blink of an eye, it is done.  Little Bombs is about being me, doing what I want and love, and about staying true to what I believe in.  So with that said, it would mean the world to me for you to check out the song/video, leave a comment and tell me what you think!  Thank you all for supporting me and my music, here is to the next chapter!

-k

Don’t Walk My Way on iTunes! - Buy it Here!

NYC Bound…

Dear Minneapolis,

After 4 years of lovely memories and awesome hangs, the time has come for me to relocate.  I will be moving to NYC this Sunday in attempt to re-light the fire inside me.  I can’t begin to express my love and appreciation for this city…  I am going to miss everyone more than they will ever know.  This place has been my rock for a long time and has been the foundation on which myself and Sing It Loud have built many memories and friendships upon.  But those days are behind me now.  I feel like I need a fresh start and new challenges for myself and my music.  With that said, Minneapolis will always be my home and I intend to visit as often as my wallet allows…  Ok, I’m not going to drone on and on about how great MPLS is.  The bars rule, the food rules, the scenery rules, the music rules, but most of all, the people rule.  Thank you all for all your support and love over the years, I will truly cherish it forever.  

I have a few days left, so if anyone wants to hang, get at me!

-K

Little Bombs!

Hey everyone!  So it is finally here!  My new band is ready to go and we will be releasing a song tomorrow on absolutepunk.net around noon.  I am extremely excited about this, I hope you all dig it.  In the meantime, like the page of facebook and follow on twitter…

www.facebook.com/littlebombsmusic

twitter.com/littlebombs

We will be releasing an EP soon as well, so stay tuned!  More to come every day…

-K

Anothernother Midwest Tour…

Upcoming Tour Dates!!!

Midwest Tour w/ Skies Alive and Famous Like You 

Apr 5th - Aimes, IA @ Zeke’s
Apr 9th - Indianapolis, IN @ ES Jungle
Apr 10th - Louisville, KY @ House of Holes
Apr 12th - NEED SHOW (OHIO)
Apr 12th - Columbus, OH @ Bernie’s Distillery
Apr 13th - Southgate, MI @ Modern Exchange
Apr 14th - Grand Rapids, MI @ Mixtape
Apr 15th - Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
Apr 16th - Mankato, MN @ What’s Up Lounge

Also…

If anyone is interested in setting up a house show on any of these days, e-mail me at kierensmith@me.com and we will set it up!

k

Songwriting Part 1 (of 4)

Hey everyone.  So I had a cool idea about a year ago…  I want to show those of you who are interested, how I write songs.  Obviously it is different every time, but there is definitely a method to it that works for me!  So I am going to do a 4 part blog on my songwriting process.  

I am recording a new record this March/April.  It is going to be a mainly acoustic LP.  It will have about 10 tracks.  I really want to bring it back and make it sound super raw and basic.  Very limited production.  Lots of acoustics, violin, piano, mandolin, harmonica, and some hand percussion.  I may throw in some other things here and there, but it’ll be a very basic record.  

Anyways, I am going to do this series of blogs on a new song I just started writing called “Keep Moving On”.  It will start with the initial idea for the song (lyrics/main riffs etc etc) with an acoustic rough demo, followed by a full production demo, the unmixed session from the studio, then finally, the finished mix!

So here is a rough idea of “Keep Movin’ On” with the first draft of lyrics I have written for it…

Keep Movin’ On (Songwriting Blog) by kierensmith

Lyrics

i know you’re the one for me

by the way that you love and the rhythm of your heartbeat

i know by the way you stall

one by one, were headed for a great big fall

oh yea

cause i don’t want to see

my only love slip away from me, but i gotta

keep moving on

this was the last time

you took too long

im not waiting all my life

to see im strong

i have to tell me

to keep moving on

you say i like to pretend

but im pretty damn sure i can love you better than them

if you give me a chance

ill be the best thing you have ever had

i can make all the pain

open up and go,  washed away

there will be no more rainy days

everything will be alright with me baby

i know you’re the one for me

by the way that you love and the rhythm of your heartbeat