Kevin Renick

Hey out there, fans and peeps!
I haven't posted for a while...life has been utterly crazy, and of course I am always busy trying to make new music. Getting closer to the finish line on my new album RIVER OF CHANGE. I posted two songs from it for streaming; these are "Disappointed," a tune about those days when you feel you just can't get things right (this one features the gnarly guitar of my pal Ted Moniak), and "Thoughts For When You're Anxious," an acoustic song about reassuring an insecure loved one that you ARE there for them even though maybe you're preoccupied sometimes or caught up in trying circumstances. But hey, it's time to remind them you DO care and you want to help soothe their anxiety just like you hope they can soothe YOURS! I want to thank you guys for the high rating my song "Something So Wrong" continues to get; many of you have even written to me about that one. It's a song for our times, I guess, when there are so many dour, uncontrollable things happening in society that remind us not all is well. We have to pay attention to what's around us, and speak up about injustice. I believe that with every fiber of my being.

Along with RIVER OF CHANGE, I can also announce that Walter Whitney and I have finally completed our ambient collaboration, a major first in our respective careers. This album is called LOST IN FAMILIAR TERRITORY, and while it's hard to sum up, I would say it's an attempt to evoke literal wilderness as well as the "wilderness of the mind." I'll post a track from that shortly, just have to figure out which one. This is a strange album, but I have always LOVED ambient music and this is my first chance to share any of my work in that area. Walter was like a benevolent mad scientist in the making of this record.

Most musicians I know certainly CARE about what their fans think. Every one of you out there matters to me, and I LOVE hearing from you! Keep sending me messages about the songs that speak to you,and when you're able to, please download or stream my music. There is lots more to come; I have so many songs in the works it's ridiculous. An epic mini-suite that I recorded nearly two years ago is called "Hoping For An Alien Invasion," and this song speaks to the insanity of modern times more than anything I've done. However, mixing that thing is gonna be a bitch; it's long and complex. But boy is it sounding good! And I'm in the midst of recording a poignant song about growing older, titled "A Question For You." Not sure when that one will see the light of day, but a couple of people have said it's one of my best songs. Just letting y'all know, I suppose, that I am ALWAYS trying to conjure new music, but it takes time, and it can be expensive. Stay with me on this journey; I NEED you guys! We live in troubled, exhausting times, and feeling a sense of COMMUNITY is more important than ever. Stay on your path, friends, and look for the magic wherever you can find it. And thanks for letting me be a little part of your soundtrack...

Hello and Happy Autumn, everyone! Lots of big news from my corner. Some of you have asked when new stuff would be available, and the answer is...NOW. I have a new 5-song EP out this week called FORECAST. A few of the songs have been posted here at N1M, but for those of you who still listen to and like CDs (and I hope that includes plenty of you), this limited-edition physical product is available for only $7 (plus $3 for shipping if you are here in the link.). You can get it by sending a check to me at PO Box 31785, Des Peres, MO 63131, or by sending your payment via Paypal to: kevinrenickbusiness@link. If you're overseas and you'd like a copy, you will need to write me directly. My very popular song "Beer and Wine" appears on CD for the first and ONLY time...that song will not be on the regular album I'm working on now to be called RIVER OF CHANGE. You musicians out there know that the recording and mixing process can take a long, long time. I've been in and out of the studio over the past year, and have a ton of material in various stages of completion. Among the examples: "Walkin' Along," which I think is a pretty commercial little pop/country song, awaits only the lead guitar part. Another new one called "Scared of This River" is in scratch track form, although it came out pretty well. I'll be sending to to my full band, Shakey Deal, to work up and add their parts to soon. I envision this one as a Neil Young-style composition, in a similar sonic universe to "Cortez the Killer" and other Neil classics like that. Anyway, there is plenty to work on and I will be doing so all winter. Speaking of Shakey Deal, my Neil Young tribute band, we have perhaps our biggest gig EVER this Friday night, Nov. 4 at 8 pm at a nice theatre called the Westport Playhouse. If any of you out there are in the St. Louis area, please consider attending this concert. Our opening act will be Hard Rain, a Bob Dylan tribute band headed by Michael Twente (who performs with me on the song "Something So Wrong" from this new EP). You don't often get to hear Neil Young and Bob Dylan classics in the same show, so this is a special opportunity! You can get advance tix for this show by simply going to link and choosing your seats. It really is a wonderful, comfy venue to see a concert in!

The world is surely an unsettling place these days, and I can't even talk about the importance of the upcoming mid-term link I CAN say that we all need to focus on our own journey and abilities, AND the best way for us to make a positive contribution somehow to society. For me, as a writer and musician, the way seems clear, although my thoughts do get muddled at times. But every fan I have matters to me, and I hope to keep writing better and better songs. There is always a LOT to say. Just wish time would slow down, y'know? Life goes too fast, and I have lost many people important to me, as I am sure many of YOU have. So don't take things for granted. Appreciate every day, every close person in your life and every song that touches you. And as I have said before, I appreciate hearing from every one of you, and I hope some of you will get in touch about the new EP. Have a GREAT autumn and upcoming holiday season, folks!

Greetings, my lovely subscribers!
Last time I tried to do a newsletter, there was a still incomprehensible glitch and it did not go through. So I am being super careful this time. Essentially, I won an Artist Support Grant not long ago from the St. Louis Regional Arts Commission, and it is allowing me to record two very separate albums simultaneously. One will almost certainly be titled RIVER OF CHANGE. I am about two thirds the way through this one, which will be a document of personal changes, passing time, dealing with loss, and figuring out your identity in the midst of chaos...all favorite themes of mine! I am pondering the interest in the very idea of "artistic expression" these days, as I still intend to do limited runs of CDs, but recognize that streaming is how most people seem to do their listening now. I am not so fond of that reality, but...what can ya do? I want to encourage my listeners to check out my song about fighting depression, "I Might Want Out," which I've had a powerful response to so far. It comes from deep personal experiences, and I think many of you will find it relatable. Any day now, I will also be posting a rocking song I wrote inspired by the movie "No Country For Old Men." The song is titled "Call It, Friendo," and though it dates back some years, I did a thorough remix of it with one of my ace engineers, and now it has a fresh new sound. I think it is genuinely relevant to our times, as it is a song about taking chances and recognizing that there are consequences to virtually every move you make. I really like this song, and it rocks! I'm in the midst of polishing off three newer songs in the studio: "Disappointed," which is a straightforward mid-tempo rocker about things not quite going according to plan; "Walkin' Along," an ambling country-pop song about a long thought-filled stroll, and "Go and Tell the Others," an oblique sort of look at the nature of "true" spirituality. And brand-new stuff is emerging from my restless mind as fast as I can focus on it and make something tangible.

A shout-out to one of my performing partners, Denise Chappell, whom I've now been doing shows with for 7 years (we had a great gig this past weekend in St. Charles). Denise is about to get her first co-songwriting credit with me if I can just finish up an arrangement for a set of lyrics she wrote. And it goes without saying that I am grateful to ALL the musicians I play with, like the dedicated, versatile Theodore Moniak, who appears on more of my songs than anyone else. Check out his eerie guitar ambience on "I Might Want Out," and contrast that with, for example, his fiery playing on "Promise Man." Versatility, man!

My tentative plans call for the release of an EP, containing 4 or 5 songs, in the next month or two. I'm calling it FORECAST. Exactly when a full album will be released depends on many factors, but certainly by the end of the year. As always, I welcome your emails and comments about any aspect of my music. I encourage you all to support the music you like by buying directly from the artist when possible, as we make almost nothing from streaming. Do you guys know that some platforms actually email me to say "Congratulations! Check our your latest royalty statement!" And when I do so, it's about 5 cents for x number of streams. Or in a really good quarter, maybe a dime or more! Frankly, I have found more money just walking along in parking lots, than I've made from Spotify or other services. Thank God for ASCAP, where I still get decent royalties from "Up in the Air" and a couple of my other songs. Anyway, I'm not bitter...just contemplative about the realities of the modern music industry. I love what I get to do. And I greatly appreciate the support and feedback from each and every one of YOU! This is a busy time for me, and I'll be putting new songs together throughout fall and winter!

MY NEW SONG, and SOME CURRENT THOUGHTS ON STUFF...

Greetings to my N1M subscribers and friends! As I write this, we are approaching the intense holiday season that includes both Thanksgiving and Christmas. And while things are superficially going "forward" in that holiday manner, many of us are encountering understaffed restaurants and stores, crazed debates over masking and vaccinations, and an uncommon level of intensity regarding health and economic matters. Unrest is the order of the day, wouldn't most of you agree? And yet, the arts are still there to soothe us and affirm our values, and friends (and hopefully family) are there to connect and bond with. From both those things, I take my inspiration and find ways to keep going. And I love to write and record songs as much as ever before.

My forthcoming album, "KEVIN-ish", has proceeded in fits and starts, with the schedules of both participants and the engineers influencing the rate of things. Some of you have already heard finished tracks that will be on this disc such as "Something From Your Heart" and "Beer and Wine," but I'm pleased to post a brand-new mix for a song called "Broken Joe and Broken Jane." This is mixed but not mastered, so I am only making it available for streaming for a few weeks. Many of you have been clamoring for new stuff from me, so I hope this will whet your appetite for what is to come. The "Broken Joe" song is a collaboration between me and New York poet/photographer Ami Wilber-Mosher. Ami and I seem to have a mutual interest in the plight of the downtrodden and the intense struggles that life imposes on many people. Her little tale of two troubled souls who miraculously find love and solace with each other, touched me deeply, and I suggested we make a song together out of the poem. At last the results are here, and I am very pleased. Jacob Detering at Red Pill Studio engineered the session, and some nice harmony vocals are provided by rising St. Louis singer/songwriter Caroline Steinkamp. I'd be very interested to have some of you drop me a note to let me know what you think of this track and the theme it embodies. EMPATHY is at the heart of most of my music, and this song certainly aims to illustrate that concept.

What else is going on? Well, November 12th was Neil Young's birthday...many of you know that Neil was a huge influence on my music and life, and one of my bands is actually a Neil Young tribute group called "Shakey Deal." We will open for the Bob Dylan tribute band Hard Rain, led by my buddy Michael Twente, on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 6:30 pm here in St. Louis at the Sky Music Lounge, a supercool and classy venue. It would thrill me to see any of my N1M subscribers at this show, however unlikely! I am working hard at organizing my music and my song publishing concerns...I am nearing the milestone of 300 original songs, which constitutes a "catalogue" in most respects. However, only a third of those songs exist in some recorded form at present, so I have my work cut out for me. i still truly believe that many of my very best songs are things no one has yet heard. I hope to remedy that in the next few years. I'll say this, though, there is NEVER a shortage of things to write about. My preferred themes such as loneliness, societal distress, the ups and downs of love, dealing with one's past, friendship, loss and the passing of time...are all more relevant and omnipresent than ever. My problem is never WHAT to say about things; it's more a matter of finding TIME, and being organized. That can be hard in the age of Covid, and apparent non-stop divisions in our country and the world. But music can be a unifying and affirming force; I've seen it over and over again. And I believe in what I'm doing. It heartens me that many of you also seem to support me; I appreciate your notes so much. Keep it up! I will likely post another new song in January, and then this thingamabob I am trying to shape into an album should "bloom" by early spring. That's my plan. But ha...SPRING is a ways off. We are having autumnal moments at present, and a cold winter still awaits us. As that comes about, may you all stay healthy, engaged in the compelling activities of this thing called life, and warmly connected to your loved ones. Happy Holidays, my fans and friends, and may surprising and welcome gifts always be just around the corner for you, just as my song "The Box it Comes In" states!