Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kevin Embleton. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Kevin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
It was my older brother who showed me how to write songs. His main discipline has always been illustration, but when I was nine and he was eleven, I observed him writing these funny rap songs. I don’t know what possessed him to do it, but it made me think “wow, you’re allowed to write songs?”
So began my journey. As with most writers, I would never show you my early work. Still, I never found myself hating my songs as I wrote because it was the only method of self expression that ever made sense to me. I often say I have a love affair with every song I’m writing. To this day, ask me what’s my favorite song I’ve ever written, and I’ll probably say “the one I’m writing right now.” It’s that kind of love that keeps me coming back.
I’d write for hours in my bedroom, and when there were people visiting, I’d come out to the living room and share my newest creations. The more I performed live, the more I got a sense of what was working and what wasn’t. Then, in my teens when I started recording, I got even more feedback as to what kinds of feelings a song could generate.
Fast forward a few years and full-length records later. I was feeling stuck. I had fifty songs in the hopper but felt the time had passed to record them. Life had got in the way, and I wasn’t sure how to move forward. What if I couldn’t write any more? I decided I needed a clean slate.
I shelved everything and started fresh with something I called the 30 song challenge. I wrote and recorded thirty songs in seven weeks and made accompanying videos each day. This discipline really reminded me of my first love and why I started writing in the first place. I say this as an encouragement to anyone hoping to grow as a writer. Sometimes in order to discover or rediscover your love for something, you have to sit down and just do it. Dreaming about it won’t do.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Kevin Embleton. I’m a singer songwriter based in Nashville, TN. I’m originally from Northeast, Ohio, and I started Embleton in 2014 after a long run with my first band, A Minor Bird. The band had broken up, and I was a little directionless and heartbroken. The loneliness of not having a band around me felt crippling in the beginning, but I knew I needed to keep going. Music is pretty much all I’ve ever known.
I released my debut album, It Did Me Well, as Embleton in 2015. We produced the album live, in a small living room in Canton, Ohio. I remember being super inspired by Tom Petty, Jackson Browne, and Dawes at the time. I have no doubt those records inspired a lot of the sonic decisions we made during production. After the record came out I did a few short tours, then moved to San Francisco, where I eventually started a small recording studio in the Tenderloin District. I released a handful of singles out there, and started cutting my teeth at producing more seriously.
I returned to Ohio in 2019, right before the world shut down. After a few years working jobs that weren’t the right fit, I finally went full time into music in February 2021. Since then I’ve released two full-length albums and moved to Nashville to pursue being an artist and songwriter.
I write a lot about growing up, what it means to be in a committed relationship, and being a dad. I’m drawn to real instruments, anything that moves air. I love to tell stories, and I hope to draw the listener in with something they can relate to that’s still personal to me. I guess indie folk rock is where I live the most.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I’m going to preach to myself here. I’m in my mid-thirties and you won’t find me making POV reels lip syncing to my own music (probably). It just doesn’t feel like me. My audience is growing slow and steady, and I’m committed to doing it in a way that reflects who I am as a person and creative.
I am learning that my music is not going to sell itself. So I do have to put myself out there, often. When it feels repetitive, I probably just need to get over that feeling.
Market your art every day, and if you can do it in a way that feels authentic to you, then that’s living!
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
Yes, The website builder, Bandzoogle is rad! The email campaign feature is one of the best parts of their offering, and it’s not even the main thing. I’d choose them again and again.
Contact Info:
- Website: embleton.us
- Instagram: instagram.com/kevinembleton
- Facebook: facebook.com/embletonmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Embletonmusic
Image Credits
Nathan Cantleberry