Kyle Stephens

When I was young I was captured by the honesty of acoustic music. All the laurel canyon hippies, the rambling folk singer of the depression era, the delta blues singers, country musicians from the days of the Grand Ole Opry. There's just an emotion I found with the simplicity in that music that I could not find in other places. Now you know 50% of my musical background.

The other half comes from an obsession with the sonic connection that "psychedelic" music has with those around it. It felt like methodical chaos the first time I heard the music coming out of San Francisco in the mid-late 60s. And that has been a feeling that I have strived for ever since when playing with other musicians.

The combination of the two of these different parts of me would be the way in which I define my musical aspirations. It's a part of me in constant flux. When I discover a new folk singer, I am drawn towards the songwriting side of myself again. And likewise when I hear a band doing the history of psychedelic music justice, I focus on that side of myself for a while. In this way I don't allow myself to become stagnant in my musical pursuits, both as a musician, a song writer and as a music historian.

Working with Daniel Romano and Aaron Goldstein were the perfect people to work with because they have the same respect for the history of the music that they create as well as the knowledge and expertise with the incredible vintage gear that they have.