Fast Forward

With a head full of songs, Kentucky singer-songwriter KEVIN ELLIOT got to work, cut a great modern rock album and hit the road in record time

Singer-songwriter Kevin Elliot hails from Appalachia, East Kentucky. Although a new face on the rock scene, he has already accomplished a lot. With a new album, Damage of this Day, recorded with his band The Broken, and produced by Luke Ebbin (All-American Rejects), a recent U.S. tour and growing buzz, his music career is shifting into high gear.

Tell me about how the album and your band came together.

I'd been playing music in bands my whole life and about three years ago, I was in L.A. and something just clicked. I started writing a lot of songs really quickly and I recorded an album. It was a little too toneddown for me. So I started writing new songs. My manager at the time, Kathy, heard some of the new songs including "Teleport," which is the first track on my new album, and said, "I really like this, go back home and keep writing." That was the last thing I wanted to hear, but I did. I went back to Kentucky for another three or four months and just wrote constantly. I came up with a new album's worth of songs and went back to L.A.

How did you hook-up with producer Luke Ebbin?

Most of the producers I met were just cheerleaders. Then I met Luke Ebbin. He was just really straightforward and really hard-core. He would say, "If there are two right ways to do something, you will go with your way, but if there is only one right way and your way is wrong then I'm going to tell you and we're going to do it right." I didn't have a band together, but I went in with Luke and recorded in Henson's studio. At the time there was a lot of history being made in the place because Paul McCartney had just recorded there.

Was it intimidating or inspiring to be recording in a great room?

It made me feel like "wow, I'm really doing this and people really respect my music and I'm in a place where I can get more people to hear my music and make my music better."

When you recorded this album did the arrangements change a lot from your original vision?

Luke and I spent a few days in pre-production and would just throw ideas around. Although I wrote the songs, Luke would suggest things like "we don't need this pre-chorus, or maybe we should stop this here," just doing what producers do. We brought in Dave Levita on guitar, Vic Indrizzo on drums and Curt Schneider on bass, who is also a great producer in his own right. Just hearing the interpretation of these songs by these great musicians was almost like having three producers. It was a group effort. We all did our best to make this album the best it could be.

What keeps you motivated?

Whether you're an accountant, musician, businessman or a trash collector, as long as you're happy, that's what counts. I just hope and pray that this album is enough to allow me to do music for a living and to get me to that next album that can get me to another level and another level. If I can make a living and support a family playing music and traveling that's what I'll do. I don't have to be a superstar as long as people respect the music and I can keep on doing it.

— Erik Philbrook


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