We were lucky to catch up with Kevin Guyden recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kevin , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I think it will be best if I break this up into 3 parts: Piano, Singing, and Songwriting.

I first learned the piano by just trying to play whatever I heard in the songs I was listening to. I remember asking my mom to by me a keyboard in October of 2000, and she did! So once she got it, I would sit there and try to play songs. Once I got into college, I joined a church and became friends with the keyboard player. His family took me in like I was one of their own. But while I was there at their house, I would always ask him to teach me something on the piano. From him, I learned that I needed to know my scales. He also taught me inversions. So that was kind of the start. After that, I started to practice everyday, or everyday that I could while at school. Sometimes I would sneak into the music hall of the university, and go to a piano room and practice. Before I knew it a couple of hours had passed or one of the instructors was coming to kick me out. But it was so much fun and it seemed like time stood still. Years later, I decided to take piano lessons and it was one of the best decisions I could have made. My piano teacher used to be in a band so along with helping me with the piano, he gave me tips about performance, singing, and songwriting as well. From then I practice everyday on the piano. Practice for me could look like creating a chord progression for a song, learning a new song on the piano or working on different scales.

Growing up my friends and I had a group, we would go around the neighborhood singing to the girls. That was fun for us.So I learned to sing by doing just that, singing! But I learned to sing well after I understood there is a lot more that goes into singing than we might think. I thought singers just woke up and starting singing. But I learned about vocal warmups, vocal exercises, warm downs, hydration, and foods to avoid if you are planning on singing. I learned that it takes daily practice, understanding your vocal range, and really listening to your body and voice when it feels tired or strained.I didn’t know any of this until I took voice lessons in 2015. So with all of that, I have learned to sing better, stronger, clearer, and with good technique. I am still learning and practicing and improving each day.

Songwriting is something that really started in college. If I was going through something, I would write a song just to get those feelings out. Or if I was happy about something or someone, I would write a song about that too. As I continued to write I would listen to the radio or CD’s and I tried to pinpoint why do I like these songs, and why is this song so popular amongst the masses. And most of the songs have meaningful lyrics, catchy hooks or choruses, and it is easy to understand. The good songs also have similar structure for the verses, and of course good production, and good singing. So everyday, I try to write or tighten up the lyrics to a song I’ve already written.

Knowing what I know now, I would not let the seeds of doubt from people and society take root,not be afraid to fail, and to quit the comparisons between my musical journey and someone elses. The seeds of doubt can come from society,but also from friends, family, coworkers and even yourself. So i think if I would have ignored those things, things may be different.

Being afraid to fail is another big one. I was once afraid to fail, but I remember to listening to a guy and he asked the question “What is literally the worst thing that can happen if you fail?”. He then said to list them out on paper. That question stuck with me. And I wrote down on paper, ” People may laugh at me, people may not come to the show, no one may buy or stream the album, people may walk out while I’m singing. ” After that he said, “Sometimes when you list your fears, and label them, the fear can go away. And if you DO what you fear, the fear no longer exists.” So for many people I think fear can stop them, and fear can disguise itself as “perfection” also.

Comparing my journey to others is a huge one. I think we tend to look at people that are so far “up” there and we begin to compare. Which is unfair and wrong. We don’t know everything they went through to get there. We don’t know all that they deal with to stay there. We don’t know how long they have been toiling in the darkness, behind the scenes to get where they are. We see the glory, but we don’t truly know the story. For most of my life, I had focused on basketball. Being able to focus on something like that, I was able to go pretty far. I played in college and did well, and then went overseas and played also. But I had been playing basketball since I was 5 years old, so I had a lot of built up experience and training. So it would be silly to think that someone who has only played basketball for a year, would be as good as someone who has been playing basketball for 20 years. It’s the same thing musically, or for almost any profession that I can think of. My journey is my journey, and your journey is your journey, no matter when you start or where you are. I have had to learn that I will always finish in first place, If I run my own race.

I think the skills most essential to learn were to keep being curious about the craft, to understand that it’s a process, to seek help when needed, and that you don’t have to know or do everything yourself.

I think the biggest obstacle of learning more is time. I am a husband and a father, and I work full time also. So time is limited. Most mornings I am up at 5:00 am practicing and writing songs. I do my vocal warm-ups and exercises in the car on the way to work. Another obstacle were the things I mentioned above about comparison, fear of failure, and seeds of doubt.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I was born in Temple, Texas but grew up in Missouri City, Texas. Growing up my grandmother had piano and I would go by and sit at the piano and just press some piano keys. It was something so magical for me as kid. Music has always been in me in some capacity. The best way that I can explain it is that it “nudges” me daily. Even as a little boy, I had a strong interest in basketball and music. At the time, I was slightly more interested in basketball and stuck with it. I focused on it and dedicated my time, energy, effort, and sweat into and I was able to play collegiately and professionally overseas. Playing basketball was the only other endeavor that “nudged” me daily. What I mean by nudge is that something inside of me says ” to do something involving the craft today.” I also get that “nudge” daily about music. So I got into the industry because I love to do it. I love to write songs, come up with melodies on the piano and sing. It’s exciting! It’s fun!I It’s challenging!

The service I provide is live music for venues. So if a business wants to have live music, I can provide it. I bring original songs, and I also perform cover songs as well. i also do instrumentals as well. It’s one thing to have music streaming from the speakers, but there is a different feel when you have a live musician performing.

One of the problems that I help solve is to help businesses generate more revenue. So for example, a customer typically may come in to an establishment, order an item, stay for a few minutes and then leave. However, If there is live music playing, customers tend to stay longer. Typically the longer you stay, the more food and beverages you will buy which helps the establishment. Furthermore, if the customer knows that I will be playing again another day, they will most likely bring a friend with them, which again should result in more revenue for the establishment. And it’s not just a one sided relationship either. I will also invite people that I know and promote on social media sites as well. I love to perform, and businesses love to make money, and so it can be a really good thing. So overall, it helps create an experience. People may forget how much they paid for something, but they will not forget the experience they had. My goal is to be a memorable part of the experience. I think something that sets me apart is being approachable. I enjoy talking to the audience during certain parts of the show, and I enjoy talking with them after the show. I do my best to remember their names and something about them. So many people are shocked when I remember their name and how their work is going or how their family is doing. People are important, and I try to make sure that I show that by remembering them. I also think what sets me apart are the original songs. I write all my original songs, and put together the piano melodies. And generally, there is at least one song out of the whole set list that really impacts them in some way. Sometimes people will say ” Man, that song is the story of my life”. Or ” That song is one that my wife and I really liked and spoke to us.” Those kind words bring a lot of joy to me.

Right now, I am most of proud of the EP that is about to release. It’s called Eros. You can find it on all streaming platforms. Just search Kevin Guyden. I am also most of proud of just taking the steps and living out what is on the inside of me. I think so many people have dreams, or things they want to do, or items or businesses they want to create, but get stifled by life and all that we have to do. So I’m proud that I have fought through that, and I am still fighting through that. The main things that I want people to know is that no matter your age or stage of life, that you can still live out what is in your heart to do. You can take a step in the direction of your dreams and desires today. I also want them to know that the songs I write typically come from personal experience or the experience of a close friend or family member. And being on this earth, people will have many similar experiences. So I might not have spoken with you when I wrote the song, but it may speak to something that you went through, or are going through. And overall my songs pertain to love, highs of love, the low points of it, and some places in between.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect for me is using the creativity and sharing it with the world. It’s exciting to think that I may create a song that could speak to their current situation in life, whether it’s good or bad. So that is rewarding. It’s also rewarding to show people that you can still work on your dream and bring it to life, no matter where you are.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Growing up there seemed to be this notion that you can’t or shouldn’t rely on creative arts for making substantial income or making a decent living. And the really successful people were lucky,knew someone in the business, or their family member was well connected. There was never any mention of hard work, dedication, resilience, understanding the business side of things and perseverance. Another thing is that if enough people tell you “no”, that this isn’t for you. I’ve heard so many “no’s” on this journey, and I still hear “no”. And guess what? I keep on going. It’s part of the process. I think anyone who has ever gotten anywhere substantial has heard the word “no” or received some type of rejection, but they continued to persevere. So I had to unlearn that “no” or rejection doesn’t have to mean it’s over, it can mean “to keep going”.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Instagram.com/kevinguyden
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SirKGMusicOfficial
• Other: https://bit.ly/ErosEP

Image Credits
JRMH Photos
AG Digital Media