We were lucky to catch up with Kenny Wright recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kenny, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

My maternal grandparents were professional musicians/entertainers and my father was a musician, although he didn’t pursue it professionally, so I was always around music growing up. I never once thought of doing anything else other than music, as far as I can remember. When I was about nine years old, I was exposed to the music of KISS, who were just approaching the Zenith of their career in the mid seventies, and it captured my attention like nothing else ever had. I remember getting a magazine a year or so later, and it had pictures of them at a party or something, and they looked like they were having the best time and living a lifestyle that I wasn’t even aware existed. From that moment on, I never considered another line of work.

Kenny, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

As I said before, I was always around music. There was always a guitar, harmonica etc. around the house, and my parents encouraged me in my musical interests. My aunt and oldest cousin weren’t musicians, but they loved music, and exposed me to artists like Elton John, Led Zeppelin and, most importantly, the Beatles, so I got a great musical head start. I kicked around Nashville, playing in local bands or as a side musician for other artists and working jobs I wasn’t interested in, until I was in my late 20s. I started touring with various bands, and later joined a group called Bonepony in 2004. For nine years we were on the road full time, and I really began to understand the real hard work and dedication it requires to maintain a band without label and tour support. When my tenure in that band was nearing the end, I joined my current band, The Great Affairs. I’m thirteen years into this project, and still enjoying it very much. We have around ten albums out, still tour and it definitely satisfies my creative needs.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

About twenty years ago I was touring, and one night our trailer was stolen. It had absolutely everything in it that we used to stay on the road: amps, drums, sound equipment, merchandise. Everything but our stringed instruments. For some reason, our insurance did not cover the loss, so we were left to figure out a way to keep working with only a few days until our next gigs. That was probably the toughest time in my career. Not only did I need those tools to continue to work, but there was a huge sentimental attachment to a lot of the instruments that were stolen. We made it work, but it was a long climb financially, emotionally and practically recovering from that. On a more positive note, in a very serendipitous turn of events, I was lucky enough to recover about 75% of my gear that had gone missing. Sixteen years later, no less!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think one of the more rewarding aspects of being a musician is creating something that moves people in some way. You basically make songs up out of thin air, I guess. Then, to see people respond to what you’ve created in some kind of way, is really a good feeling. For a great many people, music is a very important part of their lives. When someone tells me that something I wrote made them happy, made them cry or that they could really relate to the subject matter in the lyrics, that’s very satisfying to me. Or, when someone responds positively to just the production of a record or something specific in a performance, that gives me affirmation that I had the right instincts or did my job well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thegreataffairs.com
• Instagram: thegreataffairs
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegreataffairs
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGreatAffairs
• Soundcloud: The Great Affairs
• Other: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/the-great-affairs/339444080