Hello world, welcome to WFHR's director's playhouse session 65 your host and program director
here James Jamilov with my partner and art our head producer Seth Habhacker yeah let's
get back to our roots James let's get back to some musicians is one of the one of our
most favorite things to do on this show it's been a little while so let's bring on our
next guest right now we welcome to the WFHR stage a soulful singer songwriter creative
Kenny P Kenny how you doing I'm doing fantastic how you doing doing good man thanks so much
for joining us I want to send a shout out to Nicole and you for working with us and being
able to make this work in your schedule especially when I look at your your schedule ahead and
everything that you've got going on you are a busy man I appreciate you being able to
make the time I appreciate you having me we will before we wrap up we'll be letting
people know where Kenny is going to be playing here in Wisconsin he's got a couple of dates
that we want to make sure to mention so you can go out there and see him check him out and of
course want to play some of his music we'll be getting to some of that and we'll be diving into
certain songs in particular and some of that in a little bit Kenny but I I have to start here
like we do with every one of our guests one of my favorite things to do is find out a person's
origin story their their backstory and all that so Kenny tell us a little bit about yourself and where
you're from so I grew up about a half hour east of Cleveland Ohio and we moved to Nashville 10
years ago we've been in Nashville 10 years but I've been all over the place you know I live in
Arizona for a couple years then moved back to Ohio for a bit and just spent spent a lot of time
in the Cleveland music scene played in a band called collage we were the voted best band in
Cleveland two years in a row and the wife and I her contract with her school that she was working
with was about to come up and I was like hey man we should you know try our luck in Nashville and
see how it goes so we moved down there and had a little bit of success and you know just still doing
the things now we're on the road we're on the road about six months out of the year now and then
when we're in Nashville you know we do the Broadway thing and I've got an amazing band there
that I get fortunate enough to play with and but we do this summer tour and we we usually spend
about a month in Wisconsin itself every summer and I'll tell you what it's my it's my favorite place
the plays was constant right on right on you know you're not the first artist that we've had to
touch on that a little bit there's just something different about the audiences and the way they
from what and I don't know this but from what I've heard from artists the way they get the music
oh I'm not surprised by that at all I mean honestly we come here and the the way that people
react to music and appreciate music it's it's just it's unlike anywhere else when it comes to
you discovering music you or music discovering you as it often works for a lot of us creatives
and everything how did that happen how did you get into that I grew up in a family of
not I mean not professional musicians per se but everybody sings everybody loves music my
my entire family like we we'd go on you know I grew up at the at the end of where we didn't have
phones and tablets and everything to keep us busy so we go like so I grew up riding horses
competing in uh in uh western contesting and so we were we were driving all the time going to
work shows and everything so we'd be in the car a lot and either the radio would be on and if
the radio wasn't on we'd be singing songs the entire time uh summer vacations you know if we
if we went to like mortal beach or something it'd be a 13 hour car ride and we'd be singing the
entire time in four part harmonies and my dad grew up that same way a generation ahead I mean
and he had he had three siblings so there's four of them and then and then my grandma and grandpa
and they'd all be singing for weeks at a time in the car on their summer vacations and it did just
kind of I guess like you could say it's in our blood yeah yeah sounds like it yeah kind of leads
into my next question because I I like to ask people about their influences well and I encourage
people to check out on the uh Facebooker Kenny and look at look him up he's got a great website
great page there you can keep up to date and things he's doing and some of the stuff we're talking
about today and some of his music and also seeing some of his influences there and you've got a nice
wide range which is just oh we love that around here seeing these different names being put together
when it comes to influences both professionally or just even on a personal level like the people you're
talking about just now where were some who were some of those bigger influences oh man I you
could say I'm a mixed bag of tricks I grew up on uh everything from Frank Sinatra to uh Elton
John a lot of you know 80s rock 90s country music 90s alt rock you know goo dolls matchbox 20 that
kind of stuff as far as 90s alt rock stuff goes 90s country I mean we're looking at the great
George Strait Garthbrook's Joe Diffy Randy Travis Travis Tritt I mean all of them all of
all the names as far as big names that you've heard of guys you've never heard of my choir director
throughout high school uh by the name of James Brown not be James Brown but that they that had to
I can't imagine I've done but fun as a music director but he taught me how to sing classical
music in opera and I actually went to I actually went to school to sing opera wow and uh turn
in a different direction obviously but uh he was he was a huge influence he taught me how to
breathe right and and sing and control the soft palate and just things that uh just most people
wouldn't even think about yeah yeah thrilled at my brain yeah uh I think uh so uh little behind
the curtain look for everybody even Kenny may be here a little bit um one of the original reasons
we reached out to Kenny was our country station and uh one of five five W.I. and the sun right
show the morning show we do over there and thought it'd be fun to have Ken on with uh some of that
and talking within getting into his music a little bit more and listening to you Kenny I I think
you yes you fit perfectly on a country station you also fit pretty good on this station and this
station and this I mean you can hear some of that influence I think in your music even we'll
talk more about this in a moment but even when you're covering a song you're you're honoring the
song while also making it your own and I think that's one of the toughest things to do as an artist
and I can hear you do it uh all the time I've heard it you do it in a number of different songs
along with your kind of original stuff I don't know that I could label you I don't know that I could
say oh he is this style of musician I hear that those influences in that work that's been one of
the biggest challenges is trying to figure out where to like you said label myself um I don't I don't
think I'm country I don't claim country I love country music but uh I think I think George
straight would punch me in the face yeah yeah yeah George George he's gonna have some
bruises on those hands if he starts doing it yeah and I don't think he's a mean guy I think
no no no not at all no uh but it's a great note it it's actually a really good note on uh I think
a lot of the conversation going on right now with country music and a lot of people's push and pull
with it and stuff and and it it's such a this is such a a fun time in music I think because so much
is open and I we are getting rid of a lot of labels and a lot of that which opens things up to
more musicians being heard by more people which I think is a big part of all this but it's also got
to be extremely difficult for the artists themselves because marketing getting yourself out there
is is just as important almost as knowing the notes uh so for to wear to throw send your music
what radio stations to or what you know some of that is it can be I can't imagine how difficult
that can be I appreciate you noting that it is difficult to try and figure out what a niche
I would be in necessarily honestly one of my favorite compliments I ever get when I'm playing
a show is man just the variety of music you play it you've got something for everybody and that
100% what I'm trying to do because I grew up on so many different types of music like I said
anywhere from Frank Sinatra to Elton John the country music everything and uh I I like to
I mean honestly I'm just playing everything that I like yeah yeah yeah I'm hoping that other people
like it too one of the tougher things I had I had to learn in radio I when I first started in
radio I was an actor I'm an actor uh by trade so I was an actor trying to be a radio DJ and that's
all I was doing and I didn't realize uh how or how quickly um you you you have to if you can't
entertain yourself how can you expect to entertain anybody else it you have to enjoy yourself you
got to like it a little bit on your own nobody else having fun yeah right yeah uh so it's a really
cool note that's interesting it's just interesting hearing it from another from singing
and that perspective right what instruments do you play can I I've seen you with a guitar
idea play guitar to play anything else well I obviously guitar is my main thing and I would call
myself a mediocre guitar player because I play I play rhythm you you get me on a league guitar you're
not going to be happy about it I dabble in some other things I play a little piano I play some
melodica I'm I'm one of the worst drummers you've ever heard but I could keep a beat
play a little stand-up bass I don't know if I if I blow through harmonica you might plug your ears
but you know just even uh playing those I think is brave enough you know that's awesome that
bomb hey uh Kenny one of the things that I wanted to get into with you is uh one of the thing the
purposes of this show first is to support and you know artists artists supporting artists creative
supporting creatives and helping promote people like you and and get you out there hopefully heard
and seen by more and more people the other part of this though the secondary side quest of it
is to encourage artists and artists out there that are in those early stages or trying to figure
out what they want to do or if they want to do this how to make it happen uh it's it's a part of
the reason why we love talking with people like yourself Kenny that are in the mix and doing it
right now as in real time so I it's a difficult question but I got to ask was there a moment or
or time that you were like yeah this is what I want to do when did you know this is what you wanted
to pursue oh man that's uh I tell you one or two curve balls this is what of
us I'd like to say that I've always known this is what I wanted to do um I mean there were
there were times I've obviously doubted it right right I'm I'm getting up there an age and
you know it's you're like is it too late I said it 10 years ago I'm like I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be 28 years old uh I think I'm too old no I'm gonna be too old for the scene nobody's
gonna want to hear it and my wife obviously was just always super encouraging about it she's
like you just got to keep telling me I just keep playing and uh if something's gonna happen it'll
happen and honestly the biggest the biggest question I get all the time especially being in
Nashville um people come up to me and they're like so what are what are you doing here you trying to
make it and that that's a broad question because like what do you mean by make it do I do I want to
be Chris Stapleton I mean I'd certainly love to have his career but as far as I'm concerned I've
already made it I get to travel the country with my wife and my son and my dog and get to play
music for a living and that's that's all I that's all I have to do is drive the truck and play the
music and man we're we're having an amazing time we get to we get to see the country especially
Wisconsin which we love it's our favorite place to be and uh as far as I'm concerned I've made it
yeah yeah I agree uh and you're you're singing our song man that's something that's said that I
feel we talked about that a lot yeah yeah we're and especially when you're young and you're
thinking about these things especially you know for you you feeling it oh it's something sounds
like you've always felt um I know for me I was seven when I knew I wanted to be an actor I wanted
to do that now when you're young and the goals and the things the what you think of as making it
and as you get older and what you realize is making it uh it's it's a fun place to be in a lot of ways
to that point and kind of talking about making it and some of these things and where you get your
breaks uh I encourage everybody to check out Kenny's link tree uh you you can and I'll tell you how
you can find that before we wrap up today and everything there's so much great stuff there with his
music and a lot of information about him and there is the NBC voice blind audition you did
can you tell us a little bit about how you uh got that opportunity and how that went
well that that was an interesting journey uh I had I had done some of the shows before well
auditioned for some of the shows I'd say and not made it very far uh I had a couple of times I
had done the catacalls for uh for the voice and finally I I told my wife I'm like I'm I'm not
doing this anymore like we're not we're not trying the the reality TV voice competition things
anymore and then I was planned at a at a place called rippies in in Nashville and this guy comes
up to my wife and and he goes hey I'm a producer for the voice and I'd love to talk to your husband
about coming on the show and she goes um I'm gonna tell you you can talk to him about it but he's
not gonna be interested and and he did he came up to me he's like hey man I'm Tobin um from the
voice and I go no thanks man and he goes what do you mean no thanks I was like I've done the whole
thing he goes let me tell you this is different I want you to come to Atlanta it's you're skipping
all the catacall stuff and we just want you to do like a basically a fake blind audition so I
we went to Atlanta I was like okay I'll give it a shot so we went to Atlanta and uh
they had me sing three songs uh I think I'd I think I did simple man I think I did whipping
post I can't remember the third one off the top of my head and it goes okay well you did as
good as you could today and we'll let you know if you don't hear from us by July 1st then you
didn't make it all right so we proceeded on with life and uh my wife and my buddy Paul and I we're
headed to a gig in Houston and I think it was it was like June 30th and we had all but given up
on even here and back at this point because I like July 1st June 30th and we're about halfway
to Houston and I get a call from a L.A. number I was like oh okay see what happens to answer it
and the the rest was history as far as like getting on the show they're like once you come
up to L.A. do the thing and I'll tell you what man I had so much fun being on the show I didn't
make it as far as some of my friends have made it but it was it was one of the best experiences
I ever had it was some of the best singers I've ever met and just feeding off each other it was
it was amazing it's great story it's so cool uh it's so good to hear uh being the audience already
knows this about me but being honest with you man excuse me I um I don't do reality TV I don't
watch a lot of it I don't watch any of it I don't take any in whether it's this kind of stuff
or the survivor kind of thing or anything like that but um I for me oh I will say I am a huge
supporter of get your break I don't care how it happens get your break whatever you got to do
to get yourself out there if you're creative you do what you got to do you hustle you make it happen
we're all in the same boat and we should all be rooting for each other when it comes to that
so if however it is I feel the same way about a lot of people I have a friend who's a musician who
got a little bit of attention from a tiktok he did and he was embarrassed to tell us and his
these other teachers about it because he's he's about my age and he did it didn't happen for him
but everything on my mandate you got nothing to keep your keep your chin up you got noticed that's
what this is about it's so difficult to do for every person that is related to somebody in the
industry or whatever has a connection there are a million of us out there that are trying to
just get that attention get that break um so I like what I will say is I like programs like this
because of that for every person and whatever political you know whatever you know kind of
politics go on in the background or whatever in these shows I don't know and I almost don't
I don't worry about that if you get on the show you've already won to me you're already getting
seen by people that you probably wouldn't have been seen by otherwise or possibly right and so
that's a win and you did the other song you did was hello it's me and and I I mentioned it
because you did such a dang good job with it man I got to mention it it was great I've heard
that song my whole life I heard it like that run your run run fan on here so yeah
one of my mom's favorite songs I've never heard it sung with soul like I love Todd I miss him I
think he was an amazing artist and and much more versatile and complex and people seem to
really realize but even that said I heard it like that that sounded good sounded real good man I
liked it but so I don't know where we're at time wise set do I got time for another question or two
yeah we got thank you for that thank you because I got I have so many questions for you now I can
get into really what this interview is all about Kenny I'm gonna be honest with you I have if you
pressed me I got to say my two favorite my favorite voices of all time it is Patsy Klein and Billy
Holiday those are the two there are plenty of people like Marvin Gaye and you know a Greg
Alman and other people that I really enjoy their voices but those are the two artists that I grew
up from the youngest of ages loving and listening to and one of those songs that of course Patsy Klein
and crazy so they're and if I'm thinking songs that I've heard the most in my life I would not
argue with somebody if they said crazy is a song you've heard the most in your life I wouldn't be
surprised by that and certainly Patsy's version I've heard other versions and everything but once
again Kenny will Willie Nelson wrote that right right yeah and and he did the great one there right
I I I don't know how you take a song like that that has that kind of history and that kind of
legacy on it and do the song even just having the courage to do the song to me I don't I don't
care how big of an ego you got it's got to take something to be able to do that song and put that
aside to do this song but then to do it so honorably so with your own voice like not trying to do
anything do an homage to what she did and and divert the song that it gives but also just doing
your own thing with it again this is something you can find on Kenny's website and his link tree
I cannot encourage you enough to we'll play it during our our show here too but I mean I'm telling
people to bookmark this for later you're gonna want to hear it again you're gonna want to hear it
again and again and again Kenny what was what was the thought process of choosing that song and
what was it like performing it well honestly I'm gonna I'm gonna tell you the answer to this
is silly because I was playing with my band in Nashville this is probably really eight years
ago is after I was on the voice and some drunk guy came up and jokingly requested that song
awesome nice and I was like okay man jokes on you because I sing lady songs sometimes and I had
never sang it before and it went over really well and we just kept on doing it and it honestly I
love singing it I love playing it for people because the the reaction I get from people's
that guy sounds like a lady and I love it because it's always a big surprise to the crowd and
honestly it's it's one of those songs like you said it's an iconic song and if you if you can pull
it off which I hope I do it it just feels really amazing it's it's a it's a pleasure to
be able to do the song like that when I love that story so darn much when it comes to a guy
doing the song you mentioned that this song writer the the reddit is stranger and really has his
own version too of crazy is quite good yes and and so I certainly I've heard that but I was older I'd
heard Patsy's version before I'd heard his and everything and I like his version of it but what
you're saying about he sounds like a lady would have what I think of when I hear Willie's I could
hear it when Willie's singing I could see somebody saying that with you singing it I get such a
soulful version of this song that I didn't know that the song was capable of I wouldn't have
thought of that about it um I again I hate to be repeating myself here but it's such a great job
of your interpretation of the song while paying honor to the song it's nice work I mean that
that's that's all what we try to do as singers and artists is just trying to pay as much
honor and respect especially as long as the iconic is that right I mean that's all you can do
it's just do your best at it Kenny's also got a great version of ragdoll from Amber the sound
you can find that on his link tree too we encourage you to check that out Kenny just a couple of
other questions for you I'll let you get going here um one of them do you have any other creative
outlets do you I can't imagine you have a whole lot of time but I always like noting this Miles
Davis one of my favorite artists of all time as he got older um he didn't you know I mean he invented
seven different types of jazz he was he was always doing things like that but he kind of couldn't
play as much as he used to as he got older so he started painting and he ended up becoming a
fantastic painter but it it turns out he always liked painting just didn't have the time for it
do you got other creative outlets that you like doing or that um as far as that I mean songwriting
writing with friends um as far as painting I could paint your house but you know
right right paint a landscape but um the songwriting is a great no I did want to bring that up
with you I'm glad I appreciate your mentioning that because that's a whole other you know I'm
part of not only part of what you do but it's certainly a whole other creative thing I imagine
oh yeah it and you know some people it it comes very easily for some people and for me it's
it's pretty difficult I mean I'll come up with a line or two here and there or I'll wake up
from a dream and I'm like I got to write this line down where else I'll forget it and that's
honestly how most of my songs are written they start with a line that I came up with or
a guitar lick that I came up with or a buddy I write a lot with with my buddy Johnny Lucas
in Nashville him and I am I always almost there I think him and I wrote seven out of the 10 songs
on that album and him and I like the first time we got together we wrote the song repo man that's
on that album and we were so excited we're like we got to do this again and then I mean seven songs
in we're like the magic just keeps happening and he's he's my favorite guy to write with and
you know him and I we get into the studio and this is a unconventional way of writing songs but
what we do is we get in the studio and about four hours later we will have a fully produced
basically ready to go to album songs we you know when we're writing it we put on fake drums so
we're bringing a real drummer later to put real drums on it and then you know put harmonies on
or whatever we mix it but at the end of four hours we've got it ready to go song which to most
songwriters that's it doesn't happen that way that that's impressive I I attribute a lot of that
to Johnny because he's he's a wizard when it comes to to producing and then the way we write
together we just feed off each other so well and and I wouldn't trade it for anything you're right
on yeah that's great we've talked to many songwriters and it's fascinating the process for so many
especially when you're writing as a team boy that's that but that's the first time I've heard that
that it comes that it flows so quickly yeah it's really cool yep Kenny I wonder time I'm very
experienced it like that yeah I believe it I want to just one other question before we get to
that I did want to talk a little bit about where people can catch you you got some late summer
dates going on with your tour right now coming up on July 17th see you're going to be in Wheeler
Wisconsin at two mixed up from six to nine going to be over in Minnesota on the 18th and you come
back to Wisconsin on the 19th new Richmond the post bar eight to eleven over there hanging out
here in the state for a little bit longer you'll be on the 20th and Hudson Wisconsin at Ziggy's
two to five great name Ziggy's great name for a moment and after that it's at your last show
yeah that's your last show here in Wisconsin for a while it looks like for the foreseeable yeah yeah
we always end up back in Wisconsin even in December which we're like this is a mistake it's cold
right yes yeah yeah why do you think it's always warm it is that's right odd and when that happens
man when you got get those dates settled down and everything be be sure to reach out to us we'll
make sure to let everybody know about that because it's it's been great talking to you and I
I'll warn you right now Kenny you did too good of a job hanging out with this you're going to have
to come back on the show sometime I appreciate that I was a little bit nervous because I'm terrible
in interviews oh no no nail in this very nail in this yeah and you only got one more question so
we're almost there what was finished the finish line yeah um here it is all right out
yep he knows where it's coming up first off I do want to again recommend everybody check out
Kenny's Facebook page you can just throw into your search bar Kenny P should pop right up I know
it did for me not only you can keep up to date and everything he's got going on there but make
sure to share his posts on your page make sure other people can see this stuff that might not see
it otherwise there's also his link tree that you can find through there and so many of his great
videos and songs that you can check out Kenny our last question for you is maybe a little bit more
on the difficult end if you could have coffee with any historical figure who and why
yeah yeah that's always the toughest question if you want to cheat off somebody else's paper that's
fine you need to you want to call a friend I'd have to go with the chairman of the board
old blue eyes white natra yeah I mean the guy was iconic in his time and through many decades
and uh I just imagine it'd be great conversation and just a good hang it we probably it'd be
more like an Irish coffee yeah yeah if it wasn't before it would be what's Frank showed up
by man right yeah um you know one of the cool things with somebody like that you you certainly
have a musical connection in the singing connection to be able to talk to him about but I always
thought of Frank as such a great MC as well such a great uh you know person working with the
crowd working with the crowd not working the crowd working with them and everything I I think
that there's a lot that you could talk to him about certainly all that and just I mean the
parting they after the shows and stuff and the rat pack and so much of that man yeah that's a good one
Kenny I'd say either crank or Elton John oh either would be great yes yes oh good yeah man
oh you nailed that nicely done very cool uh we appreciate my son's name is leave on after
the Elton John saw how awesome is that that's a great name and a great that's really cool that's
great well that's that's fantastic we have had a blast getting to know you're getting to meet you
Kenny and as I mentioned I've already warned you you're gonna have to come back sometime
maybe when you guys do come back to rewards constant we can get you on the air again with us we
really appreciate the time absolutely I've had a hot dog with time hanging out with you guys I
appreciate you having me on the show we'll talk again soon safe travels out there and we'll
remind the audience as we're wrapping up here how they can see and where they can hear you thank you
very much thank you thank you both we appreciate you take care safe travels