HOP ON TOUR: Brewing for Hop On Tour Kick-Off

Hop On Tour is an interactive fan experience. Throughout The String Cheese Incident’s Roots Run Deep tour and Kyle’s kick-off shows in Colorado, Kyle will connect with fans via his Facebook page (www.facebook.com/kylehollingsworthmusic) and blog (www.kylehollingsworth.wordpress.com) to provide a behind the scenes look into life on the road as well as the craft beers and brewing that come into picture along the way. To top it off, fans will have the opportunity to win an invite to exclusive meet & greets and tastings with Kyle and others through various contests at select SCI shows. Stay tuned to Kyle’s Facebook page for regular Hop On Tour updates...

BREW DAYS! After a night of raging to the motet on Halloween, I woke up at 6:30am, hungover, and drove to Odell's, in Fort Collins, to brew some beer for the Hop On Tour kick-off in November. Some good stuff going on here!

Hop On Tour Kick-Off Kyle Hollingsworth Band feat. Michael Kang with Roster McCabe 11/18 Hodi's Halfnote | Fort Collins, CO 11/19 Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom | Denver, CO

Both shows will feature these two one-time-only craft brews - a vanilla porter from Odell Brewing & Kyle and Solstice Spice from Dry Dock Brewing & Kyle. Cervantes' will also feature Hoopla Pale Ale from Boulder Beer & Kyle. In addition, all Kyle drafts (Odell, Dry Dock) will be FREE in Denver until 9pm.

Hoppy Holidays: #1

So here we are at the final keyboardist. As I look at this list I see so many amazing players. And although I had to choose the ones that made an impact on my playing I have so many more that I admire. From Red Garland and Brad Mehldau to Chester Thompson and Matt Rollings, there are so many great musicians out here. And, of course, my college teacher ,Greg Hatza, had a big influence on me and helped me get started on my journey so many years ago. And I thank him for that... #1: Herbie Hancock

So yes, every keyboard player is expected to cite Herbie as an influence. And with good reason, he is sooo the man. I first found him in college after my piano professor turned me on to Speak No Evil (a Wayne Shorter album). Of course I had heard of Herbie from the Eighties hit “Rockit,” but the earlier Miles Davis side of him was so was so soulful. Every note had so much feel and intention. And although in college I was studying all the greats, such as Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Bud Powell, etc., I kept coming back to Herbie. The live Miles Davis 1964 discs Four & More + My Funny Valentine were constantly playing in my room. It was, and remains to be, one of my favorite recordings of all time. There is great compositional improvisation on that record, so much musical intuition between the players. It wasn’t until later that I discovered the Headhunters' records. This was another level for me as well. Not only funky playing, but also that tone coming from the Rhodes was something I had to have. Herbie’s feel is always at the center of his playing whether a piano, Rhodes or Clavinet. He was a great inspiration for me.

Hoppy Holidays 12/10 Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom | Denver, CO – KHB feat. DJ Logic & Liza Oxnard w/The Nu Classics plus signature beer by Kyle and Boulder Beer 12/11 Hodi’s Half Note | Fort Collins, CO – KHB feat. DJ Logic & Liza Oxnard w/the Nu Classics plus signature beer by Kyle and Boulder Beer 12/12 Avery Brewing Co. | Boulder, CO – KHB plus signature beer by Kyle and Avery Brewing and much, much, more! – SOLD OUT!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hmVHhH96es&fs=1&hl=en_US]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76uSD1-u34Y&fs=1&hl=en_US]

Hoppy Holidays Countdown: #3

In anticipation of Hoppy Holidays, I will be counting down the top five keyboardists whom have had the most influence on my playing. I’ll post a different artist every few days between now and the first day of Hoppy Holidays: Friday, December 10th. I am often asked to name the most influential keyboardists in my life. I usually just rattle off my favorites from then and now, but I wanted to really take a look at who influenced my playing. I didn’t want to select just keyboard players that I admire and study, but those that have made an impact on my performance and writing. So I scanned my iTunes library and dug up my old cassettes from the basement and this is what it came down to…

#3: Bernie Worrell via Talking Heads

Seriously, from ages 17 to 21 I went a bit psychotic over the Talking Heads. This band was my high school obsession. You know, the time in your life where you kind of find an identity based on the scene you are in and music you listen to? It was not until I saw Stop Making Sense that I really got hooked. I dug in deep. I got every recording I could find and listened until the grooves on the vinyl wore out (records were large discs that would play music, they predate the modern CD). I then followed the musical genealogy of the separate band members from The Tom Tom Club to The Modern Lovers to Bernie Worrell and Parliament. It was the sounds and the groove that Bernie brought to the Heads' music that most likely made me like them in the first place. I was discovering funk from the back door. Maybe not the back door, but some sort of super white, geeky, artsy side entrance. Some of those songs had great moments. “Life During War Time” and its super funky Clavinet and wailing prophet tones made my head turn. What the hell was making those sounds? Parliament was a later addition for me, and although Bernie was an integral part of those tunes, I kept falling back to his work with the Heads for funky inspiration.

Hoppy Holidays 12/10 Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom | Denver, CO – KHB feat. DJ Logic & Liza Oxnard w/The Nu Classics plus signature beer by Kyle and Boulder Beer 12/11 Hodi’s Half Note | Fort Collins, CO – KHB feat. DJ Logic & Liza Oxnard w/the Nu Classics plus signature beer by Kyle and Boulder Beer 12/12 Avery Brewing Co. | Boulder, CO – KHB plus signature beer by Kyle and Avery Brewing and much, much, more! - SOLD OUT!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsksSWOxq2Y&fs=1&hl=en_US]

Fall

Hampton Coliseum. The mothership, hell yeah. I had heard of this place for years, but I had never been there. It was incredible. Nice to be in a venue that has so much history. The shows were pretty rocking, a bit more edge than our usual “diverse“ String Cheese sets. We purposely mixed up the tunes a bit and tried not to put traditional tunes in the same old spots. For example: “Shine” to open second set or “Restless Wind“ to end the show. Although, by doing this, it did put some not-quite-as-strong songs in the hot seat for opening and closing the sets. But it came off pretty well. And really it just comes down to committing to the tunes and making them rock. Overall, I thought the shows were great. Plus “Jump” was awesome. Travis nailed it! So I’m keeping super busy this Fall. Next week my solo project, KHB, is playing in the Midwest. We are touring with a band out of St. Louis called Messy Jiverson. They are making some waves in that area and I’m looking forward to hanging and jamming with those guys. There are a lot of good collaboration possibilities, so the shows are sure to be slammin’.

I am super psyched to announce my Hoppy Holidays run December 10-12. The three shows are here on the Front Range with my band and also feature DJ Logic and Liza. It is sure to go off, we did this same line up at YarmonyGrass Festival last Summer and it was one of my favorite sets of the Summer. And, of course, there is always awesome beer. In conjunction with Boulder Beer and Avery Brewing, I will be making special brews for this event. In fact, the Sunday show is a benefit for Conscious Alliance at Avery Brewery in their back barrel room in Boulder. Tickets will include a lot of great stuff as usual.

And, in my ever-changing need to try new things and challenge myself, I am doing a few unique shows this Fall as well. I am playing a children’s concert at the Yo Gabba Gabba show here in Broomfield this Sunday, November 7th. Also I will be touring with Bonerama and Steve Kimock on the East Coast for a few select dates.

Check the website for all the info: http://www.kylehollingsworth.com/ontour

Thanks y’all.

Kyle