If there’s one thing in this world that I know for sure, it’s that a band is truly badass when one of the requirements of membership is a massive beard. That’s right – the very awesome Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers only allow band members that can grow completely manly rock n’ roll beards!… Alright, alright – maybe it’s not a requirement... but it might as well be! Of the crew, only Kit “Goose” Karlson is currently beardless; Stephen “Skunk” Kellogg, Brian “Boots” Factor and Sam “Steamer” Getz are all sporting the face warmers.
 

However, these guys all have this in common: they’ve all been showing off their classic rock roots for years now, pulling off a mainstream coup that’s not easy to maintain in today’s scene of mega-produced music. But somehow, Sixers guitars and strong lyrics keep shining on through. No better example of this work exists than their most recent record, “The Bear”. Stephen Kellogg himself talks about the effort, “We wanted a real sound on this album… wanted fans to think ‘ok, this is how the music is supposed to sound.’ Not too much editing or sitting at a computer. We want people to understand that we know the highs and lows of life... It has joyful songs and those blues songs – you know, ‘Sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you.’”

And while the music for Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers may be heavily influenced by bands like The Eagles, it’s the 80’s Metal performances that really rub off on the Sixers stage show. Just check out what they’re doing for Halloween – they’ll be playing Club at Water Street in Rochester, NY, performing two sets: a normal one, and one decked out as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers playing “Full Moon Fever” backwards to front. Also keep an eye out for their shows at The Bowery Ballroom in New York – you’ll want to get up there if you want your screams heard on the live record being recorded November 27^th-28^th. Finally (these guys are busy), check out the upcoming “Winter Wonderland” cover that Stephen is doing with 7-year old Alicia Henry for a St. Jude Fundraiser as well as YouTube for the band’s latest music video that includes 400 UMass band members performing one giant choreographed dance. There is still so much more to learn below, so keep reading for the answers to the XXQ’s.

XXQ’s: Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers - Stephen Kellogg

PEV: So, this has never happened before – but I actually heard a live interview with you guys today, before I got to interview you. How was Elliott (Elliott in the Morning on DC101)? 

SK: You’re in the area – I had no idea! I wish I would have known (laughing). He’s awesome – you can just feel his energy. I think we’ve been there three times now and it gets more and more fun. It’s a good hang.  We love the fact that the music that he brings in is not typical DC101 music, so we’re honored to get on that radar – it’s pretty cool.

PEV: You guys are getting it done with some real classic rock roots – not many can do that nowadays. How are you able to formulate your own sound so successfully?

SK: I was just thinking about that myself – it’s a good question. With the music that we make, we’re not re-inventing anything – it’s not cutting edge. It’s never gone though; there’s always a market for classic rock but it can be limiting – it’s not something you’d call your friend about unless they were into lyrics and rock n’ roll. I feel like we can really reach a wider audience if they gave our stuff a chance. It’s been a challenge, but I feel like we’ve really been getting somewhere.

PEV: What kind of music where you listening to growing up?  What was the first concert you attended?

SK: In the beginning, my parents started me right off with The Eagles, Jackson Brown, Crosby, Stills & Nash and then my sister derailed their program with bands like White Snake and Great White, and I thought to myself, “now this is fun”. My first concert was White Snake and Great White and was immediately followed by Cinderella and Van Halen and those kinds of shows. The one thing that stuck with me was how entertaining those shows were and eventually while my roots music is more similar to the music we make now, we really get the urge to put on a great show from all that 80’s metal theatrics that used to go on. 

PEV: So some readers may not be totally aware of the nicknames – did you want to talk about that (Stephen “Skunk” Kellogg, Kit “Goose” Karlson, Brian “Boots” Factor, Sam “Steamer” Getz)?

SK: I guess its how we roll – they’re really just signs of affection – a very positive thing. I think Kit got his when I randomly asked him “What’s a goose wanna do?” and he said “A goose wants to dance.”

Boots got his… well, because he’s the biggest sleeper – he’s been known to curl up in any inappropriate place. You go anywhere and you may find Boots sleeping.

Steamer got his… I probably shouldn’t tell you how Steamer got his nickname (laughing). The PG version is that he’s like a steam engine and we’ll leave it at that.

And I got skunk because I can be really intense, especially in the beginning – I’ve mellowed out a bit now. My cousin Jessica is our tour manager, and sometimes, when things would go wrong, I would get upset with her and she would say “Oh, the skunk is coming out.” College kids across America think I’m Mr. Pro-Cannabis though (laughing)… which I’m not.  

PEV: Tell us about your creative process… What kind of environment do you have to be in to make music?

SK: We used to just write the songs, set out a block of time and then go record the songs during that time and what we had at the end would be the record. We’ve made a lot of records, but it occurred to me after “Glassjaw Boxer” that there were some things I wanted to do better in the future. I didn’t want to settle for recordings that didn’t live up to the song itself. We decided for “The Bear” that we didn’t want to settle for the usual 10 days to make a record, so we found producers that understood that, that we wanted to get it right. At one point, we were out of money, but decided to keep pushing, and to Vanguard’s credit, they came in and helped us with that. They got that we were doing this in service to the music.

We found some cheap recording space – we did some of it at this old house in Maine and I could literally see my breath at times up there. It was good motivation to get that take (laughing). But it really helped and we ended up with recordings that really characterized the band – it was an important step for “The Bear”.

PEV: “The Bear” just came out last month - What do you want fans to take away from this record?

SK: We wanted a real sound on this album, and the computer in the studio is fine and all, but we really wanted fans to think “ok, this is how the music is supposed to sound.” Not too much editing or sitting at a computer. We want people to understand that we know the highs and lows of life. It’s kind of a soundtrack to life; covers all the bases. It has joyful songs and those blues songs – you know, “Sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you.”

We have this music video out now, and Vanguard actually asked Boots to direct it. We went out and got the entire UMass marching band to do this dance. We have over 400 band members doing this synchronized dance that Boots and I came up with in a hotel room – it’s going to be up on YouTube. You gotta check it out. It’s hysterical.

PEV: What has changed from “Glassjaw Boxer”?

SK: I think we changed as people between these two records. Now, I’m a father of two, some of the guys are married and we’re kind of in the middle at an age where we still look to our parents for advice, but now I’m also a dad. You realize that you want to leave a legacy behind and what that legacy is going to be. It began with “Glassjaw Boxer” but I think there was still an element of fear there as far as worrying about success. I realized you gotta do what you do with a lot of intention, and the people that are important will really get that. And for us, that’s our family and friends. These records are the documents of how we felt.

PEV: What was it like overseas – in Kuwait and all? 

SK: It was a great experience – really signaled a shift in who we are and what the music means to us. There were so many people there, so many different groups. One day you’re playing to hundreds of Marines and next you’re playing in a mess hall to like 12 civilians that happen to be there. It really makes you understand you make music for the purpose of making music. People may not know who you are and you gotta connect – that was a healthy experience, making music for all the right reasons. It gave us a new appreciation for our job and spreading the music for what it is.

PEV: Got any good stories from playing on the road – over 1,000 shows?

SK: We’re coming up on 1,000 – we’re going to be a big show next spring – we’re in the 900’s now. But we have so many good stories. You’ve got terrible shows and some really amazing shows. What we think are the two best shows of our careers were one, at the 9:30 Club in Spring of 07’ and when we played the Bowery Ballroom in New York. We played for two hours and four encores and ended up finishing down on the floor with 600 people singing along to “Glassjaw Boxer”. We’re going to be recording a live record at that venue November 27th-28th.

PEV: So are you dressing up as Tom Petty for Halloween?

SK: Yep, we’ll be going whole-hog (laughing)! We’ll be dressing up as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and playing a show on Halloween with the first set of “Full Moon Fever” backwards to front and then we’ll play a normal set. It was something we had set up before we even started practicing their stuff… so now this kind of makes us do it.

PEV: I hear that everyone in the band has a massive beard now.  

SK: Everyone but Goose has a massive beard now. It’s funny – we have this author out on the road with us and he’s 20 and he grew this big beard. It’s really funny.

PEV: Do you have a dream city that you’d like to play in that you haven’t hit up yet?

SK: I’d play Dublin.

PEV: What can we find the each of you doing in your spare time, aside from playing/writing music?

SK: I’ve become a sentimental dad and I just hang with my kids. That’s my jam. I watch family movies and stuff… not so rock n’ roll. I balance it out by having this beard and looking as dirty as I can (laughing).

PEV: Is there one artist or group out there that would be your dream collaboration? Why?

SK: Tom Petty for sure. I did once play a show he was on, at the Mile-High Festival in Denver… but I kind of just stared at him.

PEV:  Is there an up and coming band or artist you think we should all be looking out for?

SK: I think Serena Ryder and Josh Ritter – those are my favorites. They’re not unknown at all, but they’re not as known as they will/should be. They were both on “The Bear” which is cool because they’re among my favorites. 

PEV: What's one thing we'd be surprised to hear about Stephen Kellogg?

SK: If it’s not what I do with my hobby time, I don’t know (laughing)… Jessica says that we’re total nerds… we’re all Russian literature buffs.

PEV: Does Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers have a football team?

SK: We do! Steamer is a Browns fan, Boots and I are Giants fans and Kit is a Patriots fan. (This is where Stephen explained to Steamer that PEV wasn’t going to mention him – PEV is full of Ravens fans).

PEV: So, what is next for Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers?

We got some great shows coming up – finishing up with Carbon Leaf and then heading to the west coast. I’m doing a cover of “Winter Wonderland” with this 7-year old named Alicia Henry for a St. Jude Fundraiser track too – I gotta get my duet in before she’s the next Alicia Keys.