Kevin Arizona

Born in Manitoba and raised mostly in the Vancouver area, Canadian, Kevin Arizona (a.k.a Kaz) was bitten by the performance bug at age 13. After an early childhood in a home immersed in music, including a mom who was into drums (“She set me up with spoons and upside-down Tupperware”) and dedicated to singing, Kaz, remembers a particular moment when music became his prime focus.

He was with his 16-year-old bandmates, and he recalls, “It was a big party…We got to go and hang out with this band. At the first break they took, they said, ‘We’ve got some local boys here that are gonna get up and play a song for you!’…I was bitten from that moment on.”

He pursued performing in earnest until the birth of his second daughter, at which point he “settled down” into a job with A & B Sound, the well-known western Canadian electronics and music store chain. Now, 25 or so years later, with children grown, he has jumped back into sharing his music.

As for the style of that music, over the years, Kaz experienced a gradual shift from his rock roots toward, ultimately, Americana. “I set to working on my craft as a songwriter. So, in doing so…I got into more heart-felt story-telling…”

“I’ve been through those stages as a writer,” Kaz explains further, “writing for rock & roll, writing for [country radio]…you don’t have the courage to throw in something that’s really, really heart-felt. You feel like you need to keep it in the main driving lane. And I feel, for me personally as a writer, that Americana has allowed me to veer off that main way…The story is king. At the end of the day we serve the song.”

Kaz’s has a new EP, Crazy Town, was recorded at Bucket Brigade Studio, where Kevin found his new Americana sound. It is due for full release by Christmas 2022 or in early 2023. You can check out the tracks at his website or on the popular streaming sites.

To find out more, visit www.kevinkband.com. To hear the full interview, click here.