1) Tell us about your musical background
I grew up playing classic rock with my stepfather who is a fantastic drummer. honed my skills playing with his band, a bunch a great guys all over twice my age at the time. Though that music wasn’t my real passion, the 90’s really shaped me as a musician. I really loved a lot of the acoustic based rock groups and songwriters during that time. That really shaped my songs and playing style.

2) What are you working on now?
A couple of things actually. My band Screams and Whispers is in the midst of recording our 3rd album. We are very DIY so we are engineering and producing it ourselves. We are very excited about that. Aside from that I also run a Youtube Channel, where I do gear reviews for guitarists. I have been building that up for the past 2 years. That is also a big focus for me.

3) What is the role of education in music?
Music education is VERY important to me. I grew up in vocal programs throughout my school years. It stimulates creativity and fosters teamwork. It teaches you how to be a part of something bigger than yourself. So important.

4) How do you feel about the current ‘state of the music industry’?
It is a double edged sword. The path to be heard is open to everyone now. The platforms exist, the opportunity is there. That said the days of the mega star are over except for a select few break through artists. Making a living is MUCH harder through the business. Also getting heard over the abundance of people making music is very hard. The options are limitless, the opportunity is there but you have to creative.

5) Why do you play Dr J pedals?
Being somewhat a gear head I have amassed quite a collection of pedals and run a pretty large board live as as result. With Dr.J, quite simply they make pedals that are exactly what a guitarist like myself needs. The Armour Buffer REALLY helped me tame my pedal board and deal with any signal loss I was getting across that many jumps. The Aerolite is a very Flexible Compressor allowing 2 options not commonly seen in other compressors. One, being a mix control which I find extremely useful and the other being an input level select which really comes in handy when switching guitars and allows me to quickly compensate for differing pick up output levels. This was key for me. Dr. J offer innovative solutions for these problems and others we commonly encounter, as well as tried and true mainstay gain pedals. Just a great company really trying to push the boutique sensibility into its more, mass market, parent company Joyo.

Click here to learn more about Kyle, and click here to check out his YouTube Channel.