Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kevin Koplar. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Kevin, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
The album I’m working on now, “To a Better Dark,” means a lot to me. I know most artists probably answer something about their current work, but in this case I’ve never had any project or life decision come close to the number of hours, meaningful collaborations and sheer grind as this effort. Too, even though it’s my debut solo record, these ten songs are a combination of stuff I’ve come up with recently with stuff I’ve been honing for years. My past and present self is wrapped up in this album– I hope a future me can prove myself wrong with the feeling that I can’t, and never will, come up with anything better than “To a Better Dark.” If I got married and had a baby, I’d have to tell said wife and that child (when they’re old enough to understand) that they are the 2nd and 3rd most defining moments of my life respectively. Good thing I’m still a bachelor. “To a Better Dark” will be out sometime this year on streaming and vinyl.
As far as those collaborations goes, my journey started with Rick Wood, who co-produced the single “If You Knock Hard Enough.” Huge props to Chris Cosgrove, AKA Future People, who is doing a fantastic job as sound engineer. They are both great artists in their own right who I’m honored to have believing in this vision. And props to the talented Mark Bade for introducing me to Canvas Rebel! The number of talented session people we have featured on this record is amazing. Like we have seven drummers (unfortunately not at the same time.)
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.
My influences have been shaped as much by 60’s folk rock as they have AC/DC. I’m much smaller than average, rather mild-mannered in person, but I kind of turn into a freak on stage. I have trouble separating which part of me is Calvin & which one Hobbes. I’m striving to keep a certain spirit alive for the few genuine rock fans left. I’ve always wanted to make a great rock record, and whether or not it has commercial appeal, I want it to be the kind of record that I could proudly take to the grave.
I’m convinced I’ve gotten dumber since my more bookish years for better or for worse, but I still aspire to take a poetic, if not word-vomited approach to rock n’ roll. The sound is all pretty vintage, because we all know vintage is better, or maybe because I can hardly name a record after 1979, but I stay as best as I can in touch with contemporary anxiety. Fans of Jack White will find something to like, and so will fans of Daniel Johnston. Some current fans have even compared my songwriting to the stylings of Modest Mouse or Paul Westerberg. I tend to drive pure and simple melodies, or honest bluesy riffs, and splatter paint them with yaps of transcendence… lyrics that I suppose are as much larger-than-life debauchery as they are ordinary self-loathing dread.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
I think non-fungible tokens could be really fungible tokens if they knew how to party. It just takes a little social skills, believing in themselves. Maybe the NFT world has lost it’s edge- When the album comes out, I’m going to sell it as an NSFW.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
The people who believe in you are super important. The support you are given is super important. I’m constantly reminding myself not to take that for granted! I have much to thank of my family and friends. In the past I really dug into the music journey, playing around my hometown of St. Louis, a stint in New York City, a good year in Nashville harassing country dudes a lot and Jack White just a couple of times, but eventually I burned out a little. I took a hiatus and lived in Thailand for 6 years. I wore ties and taught English. I practiced martial arts and got my ass kicked a lot. That felt good. I occasionally played at a little expat bar called Fatty’s where a guy named Matthew Fischer (whose real name is Fatty) taught me to believe in myself again. We made a music video that is sort of about that called “Insecure in Isaan Blues.”
Though it’s impossible to compare point-by-point or level of intensity, I think the journey for creatives looks a lot different than for non-creatives. Non-creatives have more definable measures of success and improvement– at the very least they have functional LinkedIn profiles. Creatives could spend their whole life wondering if their state of mental health would eventually be entertaining. And a lot of times nothing works, until it suddenly everything does. The path is never linear.
For everyone the journey is difficult, but for creatives there’s often a hard slog, which is often uniquely invisible, and all there is to feed on are these micro-moments… maybe a fan really gets your style, maybe a show goes well, maybe a song idea lifts you out of the dirt. We have to build on those micro-moments of success. We’re always somewhere between greatness and sucking, and it’s only our own perspective that counts. That never seem to change– the people on the top say the same thing. I’m telling myself this even now. But until you receive those external micro-moments, the only real option is to do it for yourself. So do it – You won’t survive unless there’s something in it for you, the whole way through.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kevinkoplar.com
- Instagram: @kkoplarmusic
- Facebook: Kevin Koplar music
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Kevinkoplar
- Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1qhu3Z3ggHAIbTlGSQjSLo?si=Rx25vszgTUCiFFPyrF-JIA
Image Credits
-Laila Alamiri -John-Michael Bond