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| Local talent receives
support in solo career |
Becky
DiVerniero
Features Beat |
Jacque Lenz | The AppalachianSenior solo artist Ken Krahl
owns his own equipment and has been working on his upcoming
solo album in a studio he built himself. Touring and work by
his publicist has given him some name recognition.
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When it comes to
planning for the future, Appalachian State University senior Ken
L. Krahl is ahead of the game.
Krahl, with a double major in journalism and
creative writing, took his love for music a step further than
most. He is currently producing his own CD, due out in late January.
“Music is a big part of my life; it always
has been. I’ve been interested in performing as far back
as I can remember,” he said.
About three years ago, after a suggestion from
his mother, Krahl began to seriously pursue his interest.
“I went out and bought some musical equipment
and starting going around to restaurants and playing my music
to people who would listen,” he said. “After I had done
that a little while, I decided I really wanted to make a real
profession out of it.”
Krahl said he initially had trouble finding
a place to record his music. |
“I
had looked into studio times and things like that, and it’s
all very expensive,” Krahl said. “One of the problems
I have with it is, just about everyone that you go to, to do recording
work wants you to do it their way and pay them. That’s good
and you really are paying for a lot of their experience, but for
my first effort it was really important to have my vision realized.”
Finally, Krahl purchased his own equipment
and created a home studio, where he has been working on his first
solo album.
“It’s very time consuming because
I can’t just go into the studio and record and it’s
done with. I’m writing all the songs and because I don’t
have a band to back me up, I’m having to play all the instruments.
I’ve had to learn how to play bass and how to arrange drum
tracks, because the drums are synthesized.
“I find myself recording and re-recording
a lot because I’m kind of a perfectionist when it comes to
my music, so I sometimes don’t get things like I want them
right off the bat.
“I’m funding it myself. I’m
currently touring by myself to pay for the studio equipment, which
was a pretty elaborate and extravagant expense. Right now I’m
touring around Boone and Fayetteville.”
Krahl recently performed at Crossroads Coffee
House in Plemmons Student Union in front of a crowd of around
25.
Freshman Taylor K. Pelchar and sophomore Juanita
Gainsford, who know Krahl through their residence halls, attended
the performance.
“He’s really good,” Pelchar
said. “He has really good eye contact with the audience.”
“He’s a major talent,” Gainsford
said. “He works really hard. One day he’ll be a rock
star.”
Krahl said he spends roughly two hours every
day working on the album.
“I was doing it in my spare time, initially.
Now I do it like a job, and even though it doesn’t pay a
monthly paycheck, per se, I try to put the same amount of time
into it. That really takes a lot of discipline because there’s
no one sitting there making me, [saying] ‘Sit down Ken and
loop these drum tracks because you’ve got a deadline.’”
“I know when I was making my single …
I produced it in its entirety in four days in my bedroom at home.
This was when I first got my equipment and it was very exciting
to me, and it went along at a breakneck pace. I’m looking
forward to hitting my stride on the entire album in the same way.
But because I’m doing a lot of songs at a time, it’ll
take me awhile to get to that point.
“When I really get into looping tracks
and stuff or arranging the drum sequences and things like that,
I’m sure it will get to the point where it’ll get a
lot more hectic. I’ll be putting a lot more time into it,
but it really won’t be because of a deadline; it’ll
be because when I start seeing a lot of progress, it’ll get
a lot more exciting.
“It’s a big endeavor to try and do
this on my own, but it’s a hobby and it’s a passion,
so it’s worthwhile.
“My parents are very supportive. They’re
helping me any way that I can. They’re making sure of course,
like any good parents do, that I have a good education to fall
back on, but they realize that this is me following my dream,
and they are all for it.”
Thanks to both his touring and his publicist
in Fayetteville, Krahl has begun to enjoy some name recognition.
“It’s been nice; it’s been kinda
strange though because occasionally I’ll get a wave or a
hello from someone and I don’t know if I know them or not.
It’s nice to be recognized that way and know that people
are listening to my music.
“It was a huge rush the first time I looked
out in the audience at one of my shows and saw someone singing
my single along with me, because I didn’t even realize that
people had been listening to it.”
Krahl said his music fits in the alternative-rock
genre, citing his influences as Matchbox 20, Jump Little Children
and Weekend Excursion.
“Sam Fisher, the lead singer of Weekend
Excursion, has been a huge encouragement to me. Pretty much since
I started my career he’s been keeping tabs on me and helping
me if I needed anything.”
Fisher said that he was impressed with Krahl’s
passion for his music.
“He struck me as a guy with a real heart
and real passion,” Fisher said. “I remember when I was
his age. I had someone to help me … and I’m not around
much, but whatever I can do to help him I will. Music needs somebody
like him.” |
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