Happy New Year to everyone in the Stick community!
First off I want to thank all of your for watching my videos and for all of the wonderful comments.

I've been in Reno about 5 years now and it's granted me the flexibility to practice a lot and gig on a regular basis. Unfortunately I was never able to do that in Los Angeles because my day gigs were so demanding and the LA cost of living was so aggressive.

I was also still learning the Stick and LA is not really a great place to learn an instrument. Don't get me wrong, I am eternally grateful for my time there, the opportunities I was given, the people I met and the things I learned.

It's just difficult to gig in a place where half of the musicians are world class and/or famous. In LA if you step on a stage you really need to be seasoned and polished because that's what exists in the majority of performance venues. It's also the expectation of the venue owners.

Being in Reno gave me a safe place to return to the fundamentals of the Stick as well as experimentation - which to me is extremely important.

Reno has been a safe place for me to make mistakes and grow so I am grateful to have had that flexibility in my time here.

That being said, for the first time in my life I am becoming confident and excited about the possibilities of my playing. I have a lot of work to do but going forward I will be practicing even more and posting videos more often.

I also want to thank Grace and the entire staff at SE for all of your hard work creating these amazing Stick instruments and for all you do for our community. Like I told Emmett - your work has changed my life.

I'm looking forward to creating a lot of music in 2024 and spreading the word about the Stick. For the first time in a very long time I feel like I'm exactly where I need to be doing exactly what I should be doing.
I sincerely wish the best to all of you with your music and your playing, Happy New Year!

Kevin

Inspiring as ever, Kevin. I'll look fwd to your blossoming sounds.

Harry

Thanks for the encouraging words on "small town" living. I can relate. For me, I discovered that it helped to change my environment because the locals have no perceived expectations on me or my life. Almost like starting over, choosing to be whoever you wanted to be.

Many thanks for the new years greetings. All the best to you as well!

Thank you very much Harry, much, much appreciated!



Thanks Brian, you just nailed it - the locals have no expectations.
The majority of them don't even know what the Stick is until they come into my gigs.

They are excited to see this new instrument and it feels wonderful. I always start the night by explaining what the instrument is, how it works and I'll share a story about Emmett.

Thanks again Brian, wishing you the best in 2024 my brother!

Kevin