Stephen Kellogg to tour with Gregory Alan Isakov

UK and EU Tour Dates

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 Stephen Kellogg will be touring with Gregory Alan Isakov

 

Stephen Kellogg claims that when he was growing up, his musical interests were divided between his father’s record collection, devoted to ’70s singer/songwriters like Jim Croce and Cat Stevens, and his sister’s rock & roll discs, dominated by hair metal acts such as Bon Jovi and Mötley Crüe. In a curious way, Kellogg’s music represents a meeting point between these two styles, with songs that delve deep into the personal, but make room for a sense of fun, while the music, which is intelligent and intimate, is also full of passion and electricity. Kellogg was born in Westchester, PA, and he began playing music in high school, singing in a hard rock band known as Silent Treatment. After graduating from high school, Kellogg enrolled at the University of Massachusetts in 1995, where he studied communication and theater, but his passion for music traveled with him, and he began performing on weekends with friends Darian Cunning, Tim Edgar, and Tim Newton. Kellogg also began working on his songwriting during this period, writing and recording solo acoustic demos, and when he graduated from college, he found himself working at the Iron Horse Music Hall, a celebrated venue in Northampton, MA, which inspired him to take a serious shot at making music his career. Kellogg began playing gigs anywhere and everywhere he could, and in 2000 he self-released his first album, South of Stephen, financed by his day job selling newspaper advertising. A second album followed in 2002, Lucky 11, which boasted a more pop-oriented sound, and Kellogg’s busy performing schedule was helping him make a name for himself in the Northeast.

However, Kellogg’s fortunes made their biggest change when he put together a band to accompany him on-stage; the Sixers, comprised of Brian Factor on drums, Keith Karlson on bass and keyboards, and Chris Soucy on guitar, added a new fire and enthusiasm to Kellogg’s concerts, and they helped make his 2004 album, Bulletproof Heart, his breakthrough release. Thanks to heavy touring, Bulletproof Heart became a strong seller at shows and in independent record stores, and the band’s growing fan base caught the attention of Universal Records, who signed the band to their Foundation imprint and released Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers in early 2005; early copies of the album were packaged with a bonus EP, One Night in Brooklyn, recorded during a 24-hour session with a handful of friends, including former Whiskeytown members Mike Daly and Caitlin Cary. While the self-titled album fared well with fans, Kellogg and the Sixers soon parted ways with Universal, and for their next studio album, 2007’s Glassjaw Boxer, the group partnered with the independent label Everfine Records, best known as the home of popular jam band O.A.R.

” I’m thirty-six years old. I say that I’m from Northampton, MA because that’s where I got my start, though now I live in Southern Connecticut. I’ve spent the better part of the last ten years on the road or in the studio, but I have four daughters and a beautiful wife  too. I asked if I could write my own biography, partially because it saves money, and I figured if someone wanted to learn about me, I’d just as soon tell them myself.My music has been described as Americana, Country-Rock, Folk, Singer/Songwriter, and, somehow, pop. I have always thought of it as American-rock n’ roll. It’s a product of my father’s record collection, from Jim Croce and Cat Stevens to Eagles and The Band. Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with showmanship and acts that put on great concerts. Sometimes that meant Van Halen, other times it meant the Grateful Dead, and most recently it’s probably more to do with John Prine. For what it’s worth, Tom Petty is my favorite artist. Although it’s been pointed out to me by one quite popular publication that I’m “no Bruce Springsteen”, I’ve decided to continue making music anyway (I’m laughing as I write this in case that’s not clear).The thing is…I fell into this job. I like people. I like sharing a world-view. I don’t mind singing and playing guitar, but I never expected that I’d do it for a living. Like a lot of folks, I think I just figured I wasn’t good enough or that maybe it wasn’t possible. The fact remained though that I needed a way to provide for my family, presumably just like those of you reading this biography (or for the younger generations, the same way your parents have). Ultimately writing songs and playing them for people has become that living. There are many occupations for which I have immense admiration – doctors, soldiers and teachers topping the list. But there isn’t another job I think I’d necessarily be suited for, so this is what I do.