We were lucky to catch up with Kyle Mayfield recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kyle , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the toughest things about progressing in your creative career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?

In November of 2022 after battling more and more health issues I was diagnosed with a rare condition called EDS and it changed everything. There are so many problems that come with this diagnosis, but it finally explained why my joints are painfully shifting around at their own pace. I have to wear several different braces to keep them in place- wrists, knees, shoulders for while I sleep, neck, and my lower back. It is so bizarre to me that I will experience 10/10 pain and have to my hand and actual hold my discs in place. I am no longer able to drum, I currently cannot hold anything remotely heavy, so I cannot play guitar.. I currently attend the Academy Of Contemporary Music in Downtown Oklahoma City and can no longer physically make it to my classes which has forced me to drop one, but I was luckily able to work the other 4 out to continue remotely. I’ve had to shift my priorities around entirely with my health taking a front seat. Even with all of this, music prevails. I have a ten year album/music release plan set up to start next year. It will comprise of ten albums, several singles and music videos, collaborations, a secret reveal album, a hidden concept album reveal and a Larry Chin album that has taken 13 years to finish, and I do believe it to be my opus.
Trying everything I can to keep my head up. EDS is progressive, so every day is a battle. My girlfriend is amazing and helps me so much. As does my cat.
We all agree that music shall prevail.

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 name is Kyle Mayfield but I go by LC. I run an independent music collective called Outpost 31 Studios. We are a collection of genre-bending artists and bands that like to make music thats a little off-the-beaten-path, if you will. Although experimental, we are an eclectic crew. If one band or album or song doesn’t suit you, the next just might.

I also score an award winning web cartoon called “Happy Transmissions” with my very talented friend Blotto Films(Dusty Saunders).

I am in a cover band named Alanis Moranis who is working on our next two songs.

I am in several studio bands myself, which is all apart of my ten year album release plan which will include these bands:

Larry Chin
Astral Traveling Crickets Band
Kyle Mayfield
Fright Night Club(another music collective– Dropping a new compilation later in Oct. 2023)
TreeBones
Willow Way
Dr. West And The Thing
Alanis Moranis

and Im sure more Happy Transmissions :)

I have been in the music industry for 23 years and started out as a bassist/drummer in my first band. About a year into that band I joined another band and since then I have consistently been in several bands while producing/engineering for several bands as well.

I have always been the odd one in the group, and the music I make reflects that. I like to make my own rules, and create something totally different. I also can’t stay in just one genre, or on just one instrument. Thats why I am in so many different bands, playing so many instruments. I have an obsession with sounds and the emotions they pull out of you. The endless equations that can deliver the same two chords in such different ways that your emotion reactions are total opposite of each other.
How we can communicate so much without saying a single word to someone across the world living in a completely different day than I am is baffling. To connect so hard with someone you have never met.. its all so magical.
Outpost 31 Studios is a reflection of all of our passions for music. It’s our little hidden corner that has so much heart and soul and is never dull.

My ten year plan will all be released through the Outpost 31 Studios bandcamp, as is most of our releases. I am almost finished with them, so I will be able to focus on my health and my family while still releasing music.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Since my illnesses have stripped me of being able to play guitars and drums, I have had to find other ways to make music. I wound up downloading garageband on my phone a little while ago so I have been adding as many instruments as I can to it. With garageband I am able to make not only full songs and edit them, I am actually able to play the drums. They have a live kit section that has a drum kit pulled up and you hit it like a normal kit and it works! I can’t tell you the joy this has brought me when I thought my music life may be crumbling. The smile on my face a sI type it says everything. Music has helped me through every part of my life. Being able to transmute emotions through it, to get a better understanding of something, or just to be free to be myself in music, all of these things were being torn away from me. But now I am able to play a drum kit while in bed. Like I said before, EDS is progressive so this battle changes daily. Each day brings its own set of problems. Music is a way for me to handle these problems.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

For the past 3 or so years I have been studying the Soulquarians. Their music, their interviews, their documentaries, all of it. They are who inspired me to turn Outpost 31 Studios into a music collective instead of a record label.

Dilla is one of my two spirit animals(Nai Palm is the other) and I really started reading about him and listening to his music when my second knee surgery happened. I had several different problems/illnesses at the same time and was stuck on my couch(futon stuck as a couch where I slept) bed staring out of the one window I had in my room. I watched interviews, documentaries, and a bunch of his friends talking about him. His battle with lupus really got to me. Reading that he was in his hospital bed with a small amount of gear still working… that is what I needed to keep me going doing the same. On his last tour he was being carried on stage in his wheelchair performing. The LOVE and PASSION he had is insurmountable. This genius has I am sure over 1k beats/songs, but the amount of people he has inspired and continues to inspire is far greater a number than his catalogue.

Questlove is another person who has inspired me a lot. He is so insightful and intelligent. He also was involved with the music of different Soulquarians that I connect with him the most out of the group.
D’angelo and Erykah Badu round out the four who I have and continue to deeply study and listen to for inspiration and guidance. They are gurus of a different kind.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outpost31studios/?hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-mayfield-69526b1bb
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_iP_H4KXgfbu0OW39uB5pQ

Image Credits
Photos by Kyle Mayfield except- colourmusic Album Cover- Ryan Hendrix