Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kellie Burkhalter. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Kellie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
I’m (Kellie) a singer, writer, and guitarist for my band, That Pokey, and everything I do in the band was self-taught, the same as the other two members, Tyler and Chase. When I was a kid, I would write poems and little stories and keep them all stored away in a notebook that I didn’t want anyone to look at because I was fiercely protective of my creative side. When I became a teenager, I started pursuing guitar playing, which was an interesting journey. I wasn’t the quickest learner in a more traditional sense. I enjoyed making sounds, creating moving parts that worked together and told a story, but it was never in my mind that I was learning anything particularly “technical.” Songwriting was my main focus back then, and it still is.
Starting this musical project with Tyler and Chase has been an especially rewarding learning experience because of the talent they both bring to the table and the chemistry we have musically. Tyler is extremely talented all around, playing drums, guitar, and writing songs, and Chase is an excellent bassist and songwriter, as well. For the last couple years, we’ve all been learning how to bounce ideas off one another, when to chime in and when to sit back and see what can happen, and the skill of allowing that musical growth has greatly paid off.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Our band, That Pokey, consists of me (Kellie) as singer and guitarist, Tyler on drums, and Chase on bass guitar. The three of us have been collectively playing music in one form or other for several years but became a solidified band in 2020.
I moved to Atlanta the summer of 2015, and Tyler moved there not long after. That’s when he met our bassist, Chase, and they formed a friendship and musical kinship, which led to the three of us becoming friends and, ultimately, a band several years later.
That Pokey had its beginnings at a small acoustic punk show in 2019. I (Kellie) had been writing songs since I was a teenager, and Tyler, our (now) drummer, asked me if I wanted to play a handful of them for a small crowd one Friday night. Even though the microphone went dead right before our set, it was one of the best nights we’ve ever had.
The band originally started as an acoustic ensemble with our former slide guitar player, Judson, on Dobro, and Tyler and I on acoustic guitars. After some time went by, I was still writing lyrics and songs, and we came back together with Chase to form a four-piece electric group, which has since gone back to a three-piece.
We learned our sound purely by feeling things out and allowing for creative freedom to reign. It was never our intention to be one thing or another until we realized what felt right. Since our first proper electric gig, we’ve been steadily molding ourselves into a hard rock group, based both on song structure and a certain attitude that presents itself in our music.
Since 2020, we’ve created our own brand of what we call Outlaw Grunge Punk. Our musical influences range far and wide, and the beauty of it is that we all dabble in styles that are a bit different from one another, but our band brings us to a meeting point that’s full of rock and punk overtones with some alternative and maybe a little bit of metal thrown in at times. Our goal is always to have a cohesive sound while still maintaining a working variety of the genres we love, and it’s been a cool experience to see how we grow in our writing styles and what kind of combinations we’ll come up with.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a musical artist is the ability to express ourselves in a way that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to with a verbal conversation. When I’m going through things in my life, it’s easier for me to pick up a pen and write down lyrics or grab my guitar and let the notes guide me through whatever emotion I’m experiencing. It applies to any instrument, too; drums, harmonica, flute, whatever fits your fancy. The other, equally amazing thing about being an artist is the effect that it can have on other people. Our stories, hopes, devastations, and personal outlooks get rippled out into humanity, and when someone out there feels connected to what we’re trying to say with our art, something that means so much to us, it’s doubly rewarding.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
The music world specifically is different than it used to be, and like anything else, there’s pros and cons to that. I think it’s wonderful that so many great artists have a broader venue to showcase their work by way of streaming services, social media, and indie label companies. People have the ability to be exposed to a plethora of genres, independents, and styles. The downside to this process is that it can be difficult to get noticed purely because of oversaturation, and “being trendy” has overshadowed pretty much anything creative since the dawn of time, anyway.
I would say that society, music fans in particular, could best support artists by “giving them that second look.” In a world full of instant gratification, take the time to listen to a band’s work, really delve into it and see if it holds meaning for you on a personal level. Maybe you like it, and maybe you don’t. But at the very least, you know gave it a fair shot.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatpokeymusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thatpokey
Image Credits
Katie Claire Carter Russell