What are your names?
Kevin Gullickson
What is the band’s name?
Radio Drive. I should note, the band Radio Drive was once an actual band with 4 guys. About every 6 months someone would leave the band. I soon found myself as the only member, so I decided to keep the band name and go it alone. For the last several years, I’ve hired musicians for live gigs and recording albums.
How did you come up with the band’s name?
There’s a street named “Radio Drive” in Woodbury, Minnesota. I used to drive through there quite a bit and one day saw the street sign and thought that would make a great name for a band.
What is your genre of music?
Alternative Pop Rock. I need three genres to cover it all, since it’s quite a wide variety of influences and songs that have been released.
Give us a little bio about you.
I’m originally form Rochester, Minnesota, USA. In my early 20s, I moved to Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota and started playing in bands. We did quite well and played all the major clubs, including the main stage at First Avenue. A few years later, moved to New York City. I absolutely loved it there. So much excitement, energy and opportunity. I had some great things happen out there, played some clubs, and I met my wife there. We got married and later moved back to Minnesota. I stepped back from music for several years to focus on starting a family. Then around 2008 started up again. That’s when I bought the equipment for a home studio and began recording my music. In the last 14-15 years, I’ve released 11 full albums (3 of which are the remixes), 3 Eps and 2 singles. I’m pleased to say that my music has won several awards and nominations, received massive indie radio play and topped charts, and received amazing reviews. I have been very blessed to see the momentum continue and grow each year.
What made you go into music?
I’ve always had music as a part of my life starting from an early age. I started playing drums and writing songs when I was 7 years old. During my high school years I picked up guitar, piano and singing. During high school and just after, I would squirrel away in my parents basement in my music room and write and record songs. I eventually sent some around to record companies and Capitol Records called and expressed an interest. Unfortunately, that never amounted to anything. I didn’t have the foundation to leverage such an amazing opportunity. But that was an encouraging start. After graduating high school, I moved to the larger city of St Paul, Minnesota and began playing in bands. I’ve been doing that ever since.
Who are your influences?
I have so many influences over the years. The main ones are: The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, U2, Cold Play and the Foo Fighters.
Are you a signed?
I’m signed to an indie label called 12 Story Records.
You recently released a new EP “One Breath Away”, tell us more about the creation of this.
I released an EP “One Breath Away” in August of this year, 2022. I had just finished a full album in 2021 titled “Before The Day is Through”, which released in September 2021. It didn’t feel like the right time to get the band back together to play live shows, so I squirrelled away in my studio and began working on a new project. Since I just finished a full album, I didn’t want to take on another huge project. I had a few songs that came together nicely, so I released them as an EP.
Describe each track in two words.
There are four songs on the release. That’s tricky to describe in just two words. I’m afraid I need a few more than 2 words to adequately describe each track, but I’ll keep it under 4 words or less. I’ll describe the song lyrically, not so much musically.
I Believe I Believe: Trust and Believe
Moment by Moment: Enjoy the moment
Be Yourself Tonight: Know your true self
Don’t You Know: Being your best self
What was the writing and recording process like?
I’m thankful to have my own home recording studio. Which means I can squirrel away and work anytime I want for as long as I want. I live here in Minnesota and do not like the cold in winter. It’s dark at 5pm and it’s cold outside. This is my time to hibernate in my studio and write and record music. I had recently updated my software and had lots of fun “toys” to play with. I use midi quite a lot and have an extensive sound library. I wanted to try some new things. Plus, I bought new software to help with string and piano arrangements. I spent a lot of time learning all this and having fun coming up with all sorts of variations. Typically, when I write a song, it starts with either a melody or phrase. Sometimes I sit down to the guitar or piano and start messing around and come up with something. From there, I’ll start recording a scratch/reference track and start adding parts from there. I play the guitar parts, bass guitar part, keyboard parts and vocal and harmonies. For the drums, I use midi as a place holder then hire a drummer. For this latest release, I hired a session drummer from Italy. He’s worked with me on my last 3 albums. He gets my music and does a great job. After recording all the tracks and editing in the drum tracks, I worked with a Sound Engineer out east to do the final mix and mastering.
Who did you work with on the album?
I play all the instruments except for drums. Those were played by my Italian Session Drummer, Matteo Andrigo. I was thrilled to work with Steve “Mr Mig” Migliore to do the final mix and mastering. He’s worked with some amazing artists including Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Madonna and more. They were both wonderful to work with.
Will we see any visuals for any of the tracks and if so what can we expect from them?
Yes, I would love to create a few music videos. I’ve been so busy with promoting the album and other things, that I haven’t had time to put any videos together. The short answer is “yes”. I just don’t know what and when.
You also released 3 albums recently: “Life Today (2022 Remix), “I Can See The World From Here (2022 Remix) and “This is Our Time (2022 Remix)”. Are these all remixes of previously released albums? Tell us about this.
These albums were all initially released back in 2010-2012. Back then I was just getting started with my home studio and didn’t have the best equipment or technology, or even skills, to really do the mixing justice. Looking back, I felt they could be better. The performance was fine. It was just the mixing and mastering. Plus, now that I’m signed with 12 Story Records, we all decided it would be a good idea to remix and remaster the albums and release on 12 Story Records. It felt like it was the right time to do this.
What else can we expect in 2022?
The year is quickly drawing to a close, what with November just days away. I have so much I’d like to do. Currently, I’m revising a couple of old songs I did a long time ago on acoustic guitar. I hope to release a 4-song EP early in December. While digging through some old recordings, I came across another song of mine that I’ll plan to redo. I never recorded or released it, so this will be fun for me. Looking into 2023, I do hope to pull the guys back together to play more live shows.
Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
Doing what I’m doing except on a much bigger scale. I’ve had a few European Tours formulate over the years, but never quite come together. There are so many parts to put into place for that to happen. I would love to see that as a regular occurrence in 5 years. That and plenty more albums and sales to continue doing what I’m doing.
What quote or saying do you always stick by?
There’s one that comes to mind that has always encouraged me. You may find the source of this quote a bit funny. It’s from Star Wars, The Phantom Menace. When Kwai Gon and the team were facing some challenges, he said “An opportunity will present itself”. Something about those words have always given me hope when facing a “seemingly” dead end or when things aren’t going the way I thought they would. It makes me believe that something good will eventually happen.
When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
-Certainly the obvious: My guitar, chords and equipment.
-My lyrics: Recently, I’ve had to come up with my “lyric cheat sheet” so I don’t forget my own lyrics! I’ve got so many songs now and have been busy with so many other things, that I haven’t rehearsed them for quite awhile. So when I go to play gigs, I have to have a lyric cheat sheet. Basically, it’s just the first line of each stanza to put me in remembrance. Once I have that, then the rest all comes back.
-My tea: I’ve come up with my own drink concoction consisting of Throat Coat tea and lemon juice. It feels great in my throat drinking this. I always make sure to have a thermos or two when I play gigs.
-Merchandise: I always bring my CDs and merchandise for fans to take something home.
-Be thankful: I cannot forget to thank the warm up band (if there is one) and the club for having us come and perform. I always remember to be thankful to the people that came to the show and everyone who helped put it together.
Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
Yes, I’d love to connect with your readers.
You can find me and Radio Drive all over the internet.
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Spotify
vickie gullickson
November 10, 2022 at 11:48 pm
I ENJOYED YOUR MESSAGE AND YOUR INTEREST YOU HAVE IN YOUR MUSIC AS A SINGER AND PLAYING ALL THE INSTRUMENTS AND THE BAND THAT YOU GET TOGETHER with.
MUSIC IS A Pleasure listen to and especially your videos.