Drink is the first new music since the release of Daniel’s second EP, Myself Through You, a spiritual awakening that featured the climatic conversations, ”Born A Preacher, “Golden,” and “Hardcore Medicine.” With flourishes of pedal steel guitar, flugelhorn, and bluegrass banjo, Myself Through You is a sublime lamentation of the country-tinged Americana Daniel wears with eyes wide open.
His music career started when he was five years old, singing Disney songs into a turkey baster turned microphone. A year later he was enrolled in music lessons, starting on piano and saxophone, and by middle school was playing in state symphonic bands, touring with classical horn trios, and singing his heart out while exploring a growing passion for guitar. By the time he graduated from George Washington University, Daniel had played in two quartets, four high school orchestras, two jazz and blue bands, one bluegrass band, one punk ska group, and even sang tenor in an acapella group. But it was his move to New York City in 2013, and a sudden and unexpected tragedy, that set Kevin on new path.
That winter, he received a devastating phone call from his sister. His mother and stepfather, adventure-seekers and amateur pilots, had been flying back from their mountain house in western North Carolina when their plane crashed, killing them both. During his return to Tarboro, North Carolina to help with family business, a dozen songs poured forth, all fueled by grief while celebrating the large lives his parents were known for. Six songs became his inaugural EP, FLY, including “Denny’s Song” written specifically for the memorial service. Excavating a passageway out of the depth of distress, Southern sounds of banjo and country-loving three-part harmonies were backed by rock riffs and pop lyrics, which spoke true to life and the celebration of living.
In the years since, Kevin’s songs, with their ability to burrow into one’s soul, have become his salvation. As 2019 comes into focus, he has his eyes on the horizon. With the refrain of “Pour me a drink as sweet as the sunset, as sweet as the day you were born,” Kevin will soldier on the path he loves the most, the open road.
Vents Magazine Music and Entertainment Magazine
