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"I think of myself like Seabiscut, an underdog" says songwriter Stephen Kellogg."Not because I come from a hard place, but because I come from a very 'normal'place" But if these"normal" places compelled more people to spend half the year cooped up in a van, incessantly touring the country with their band, we'd have a very different picture of "normal" American youth. No, Stephen Kellogg is a product of pure American ingenuity, blending the classic folk-rock tradition exemplified by Fleetwood Mac and Van Morrison with the modern-rock chops of the Counting Crows and the showmanship familiar to hard rock (or, on a good night, even stand-up comedy). Kellogg's musical interests were piqued at a young age by his sisters' Motley Crue records, but took more realistic focus under the guidance of his parents' folk-oriented collection. Nevertheless, this juxtaposition of unabashed showmanship and heartfelt songwriting has gone on to inform Kellogg's unique take on modern rock. First as a solo performer, and now backed by a full band, Kellogg has developed a following the old fashioned way, through rigorous touring and the blind devotion to his work common to most any successful musician. Kellogg and company's commitment to questionable hotel rooms, successive weeks of peanut butter and honey sandwiches and the soul-sucking silence of an empty room has paid off in a supremely loyal fan base known to sell out venues in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and all points between in a heartbeat. In 2003, Kellogg and his band logged over 150 shows, from Fargo to Florida, and are set to eclipse that promoting the February release of Stephen's fourth full-length, Bulletproof Heart. And though Kellogg's songs hew towards emotional and occasionally grave subject matter, his live show is heavily leavened by self-described "shenanigans" ñ acts of goofy band humor that lend the performance a more festive air than the more staid environs of the singer/songwriter world. On Bulletproof Heart, the promise and poise Kellogg showed on 2002's Lucky 11 and 2000's South of Stephen comes roaring to a head on rock numbers laced with lament, a new sense of world weariness, and a further commitment to this"normal" act of artistic dedication. INDIVIDUAL BIOS Raised by lions on a cattle ranch in North Dakota…Ok, not quite so dramatic, but these biographies need to have artistic thrust. Stephen Kellogg was born November 28, 1976 in Westchester, PA. The musical urge started with a mixture of his dad's records (Cat Stevens/Jim Croce) and his sister's (Motley Crue/Bon Jovi). The songwriting of the former and the showmanship of the latter was the beginning of the musical attitude that pervades Stephen's work today. In high school Stephen did theater and started singing in a hard rock band called Silent Treatment with long time pal Ian McHugh (Bomb Squad). Ultimately the rock n' roll won out (it always does). "I used to tell my parents, I'll be a musician and I'll have the acting as a fall back if it doesn't work out." When Kellogg made his first demo of solo tunes "for some friends in the dorm" it was 1995 and he was a freshman at the University of Massachusetts. What ensued were three years of playing every weekend and many weekdays. During that period Stephen lived near the campus with bandmates Darian Cunning and Tim Edgar. Drummer Tim Newton went on to play with Holly Palmer and Duncan Sheik. And so on and so on, until eventually everyone had chalked the time spent playing to one grand learning experience. With a degree in communication and an education in road tripping Kellogg started working for the clubs in Northampton, MA. Hanging posters in the legendary Iron Horse Music Hall one night, Kellogg found himself walking the club noting every performer on the wall. All the photos signed…Jewel, Edwin McCain, Tracy Chapman, Bonnie Raitt, Richie Havens, Suzanne Vega, Whiskeytown, Dave Brubeck…all people who decided that their life was going to be about making art. Doesn't that sound amazing? To have a life where your job is creativity. That was a turning point. Not necessarily in the way things appear on VH1 Behind the Music, but enough so that Kellogg recorded a new record and began building his own label from the ground up. Releasing South of Stephen February 6, 2000, Kellogg began two years of solo shows (with the occasional band show mixed in). A couple shows a week. "At first a lot of the gigs were a bit of a drag…steakhouses, bars, coffee shops with no one in them. I just wanted to be playing and I really needed and still need the opportunity to get out there and just figure stuff out." Over the last couple years the gigs have gotten better and Kellogg has had the opportunity to meet and play with many wonderful musicians continuing what has in essence been his study. "I found myself on stage with Melissa Ethridge, Sally Taylor, Mark Erelli and Fuzz. Found myself hanging with Jimmy Buffet, Adam Duritz, Jeffrey Gaines, Alana Davis, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Emo Phillips…I don't know it's just incredible to talk to these people because they've helped me to want and expect more from life. Some of them I just met from hanging around a tour bus after a show like a crazed fan, but I feel like it's a great way to learn. I want to make music that feels the way my hero's music is. I don't need to be famous, but I do need to make music that feels legendary." I was born on September 22, 1976 in Fletcher, NC… and let me tell you, being a bicentennial baby isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Anyway, my whole family came over on the boat from Germany, so I guess that would explain my blonde hair, blue eyes, and propensity towards bratwurst and leiderhosen. As a youngster, I moved around a great deal; when I was 10 my family finally settled in New Hampshire. I started playing piano when I was four and I took lessons my whole life. I began playing guitar when I was a freshman in high school. During the summer after my junior year I joined my first rock band, Ardent Ways. We were a hard core band and stayed together for a couple of years. Those years were spent listening to Helmet, Sepultura, Metallica, and cast of other metal bands. After high school I attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Coincidentally, Stephen and I went to school at the same time, but never met. I guess fate is not without a sense of irony. During my stay at UMASS I got heavily into jazz piano and drumming. I performed in a multitude of ensembles ranging from marching bands and jazz bands to percussion ensembles and drum corps. After having many different musical experiences in college, I came to the realization that being in a rock band was what I really wanted to do. I graduated from UMASS in the spring of 98 with a degree in Music Education and a concentration in tuba (if you can believe that.) I guess I couldn’t escape the pressures of my inward desire to be in a polka band; those German roots can really take hold of you. After college I started playing the bass guitar and joined a band called Traveling Matt. Traveling Matt was a great experience and taught me all about the music business. Towards the end of Traveling Matt’s three year run, I began playing in a Latin Jazz band called Los Platanos with some people from Deep Banana Blackout. Stephen was playing with Fuzz from Deep Banana at the time, and we were brought together through those mutual friendships. After having a chance encounter with Stephen at a McDonald’s on the Mass. Turnpike at four in the morning, I ended up playing some keys on Lucky 11. When Traveling Matt broke up in the summer of 2002 I started playing with Stephen on a regular basis. The rest is history. check out www.brianfactor.com Born on a rainy summer night while Jimmy Carter was packing his bags, disco was phasing out and new wave music was invading its electronic sounds into everyone’s FM radio, Brian Factor began to bud his young head out of his mother’s womb on August 14th 1979. Raised in Suffern NY, Factor began studying the drums privately at the young and tender age of 11, while also spending a lot of time in the pit orchestra of many community theater productions through out high school. He was first introduced to Rock and/or Roll by his father, which ensued a great deal of interest in the young lad’s mind. “He gave me Led Zeppelin IV, I put on the first track, heard John Bonham’s thunder on the drums and decided that’s what I want to do in my spare time”. And that’s exactly what Factor has been doing ever since. While attending The University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Factor manned the drums in the regionally well-known group Tuscan Groove. The funky quintet was talented enough to open up for such notable bands like The Mighty Bosstones, Strangefolk and Cypress Hill. Factor received his degree with a major in Psychology and minor in Film in the spring of 2001. With a college diploma under his belt he decided to get a job that had no relevance to any of his majors - working for an indie record company. “It didn’t pay very well, but I learned aspects of the business that I couldn’t get in any classroom”. Failing to juggle playing behind a drum kit as well as working behind a desk at the record company, Factor decided to drop the latter, taking music as his full time job. Factor met Stephen Kellogg on an informal get together with some mutual friends at Kellogg’s secluded cabin in Western Massachusetts. They played music until the wee hours of the night until it was time for Factor to leave and head out to Europe for a semester. Factor and Kellogg had not spoken for almost two years when they had coincidentally met again at an attempted drug bust (other choices might be “met at a hippie commune, met at an informal orgie/sex party or met in jail- coincedentally both doing time for tax evasion) at an acquaintance’s house in the spring 2002. Factor has joined Kellogg on stage on many band dates as well as a few shows with Kellogg and Fuzz’s (Deep Banana Blackout) side project titled All Stripped Down. He expresses the joy of now being a full time member of Stephen’s band and ante rouge. “Steve is a great guy to work with, while only taking advantage of his title as band leader when he wants you to dress up in women’s under garments or berate you in front of others for eating all his brown M&M’s.” Eh? | ||||
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Uncommon Ground Past Show Dates | |||||
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| Stephen Kellogg | |||||
