Kevin Rieth released his song 'Hug The Line' on December 20, which is the first single from his debut album 'Up & Up'. Kevin and Aaron met on Craigslist to form the Chicago-based band the Donderos in 2018. After Kevin relocated to San Diego in 2020, he built out a custom studio space with his friends in the band King Whisker for recording purposes. After many tough months of quarantine in 2021, Kevin conceptualized this project, and Aaron was able to fly out to drum on the tracks. Rob, Gage, and Jake are wonderful and talented friends who collaborated virtually on the tracks.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Hey Kevin Rieth, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What have you been up to over the past year in this big old mess?
Hey! So nice to be speaking with you too! The past year has truly been a whirlwind – in 2020, I relocated from Chicago to San Diego during the pandemic with my ex-boyfriend. I started a new job and joined a new band but went through a very painful breakup in March of 2021. This set the wheels in motion for my debut album, Up & Up. The recording process was very cathartic and helped me process my grief. I’ve since quit my job and am planning to move back to the East Coast! Craziness.
How do you balance your time in the studio with other commitments such as a part-time job, family, admin?
For me, this album was actually a great way for me to kill time during quarantine when nothing else was going on. This past year, I’ve had so much free time to create, but finding the inspiration during such a stressful time was a major struggle; in some ways, the bitterness and betrayal of the breakup rekindled this inspiration and drive. In general, I try to finish my day job before 5PM, which gives me time to go into the studio after work each night. I also like to go in on the weekends for a morning session – this helps me stay fresh and caffeinated for recording and relax for the rest of the day.
Your latest track is 'Hug The Line'. Can you share with us the background of its creation and did any unusual things happen during its creation?
I’d love to! I began composing ‘Hug The Line’ in 2017 and was waiting for the right project to release it; this seemed like the perfect opportunity. The lyrics are inspired by the experience of finding yourself and who you want to be; others will have plenty of opinions as to what you do with your life, but you owe it to yourself to trust your gut and practice self-compassion. As someone who struggled with his sexuality as a gay man, I experienced this first-hand, and only recently became comfortable enough with myself to look past any hate I might receive.
When you are working through problems in your work, who do you talk to?
When I have an issue or need an opinion, I will typically reach out to one of my bandmates in the band King Whisker; Alex, Ash, Charlie, and Jeremy helped me immensely by providing thoughtful feedback throughout the process. I also made a point to bounce ideas off of the drummer for the project, Aaron Russo. I find that it also helps to step back and revisit a song, just like a difficult essay, so you can recontextualize it in your mind.
How useful has social media been for you?
This is a very relevant question – I have been fighting with Facebook all morning! Grrr… It is a gift and a curse, but I find it amazing that you can reach such a diverse audience from your living room. I’ve preferred TikTok recently (@kevinriethmusic) as it allows me to post short clips that reach many people that I don’t even know. I appreciate that you can collaborate with other artists through the app, but I also struggle with the short-video format. It’s a shame that it’s so hard to capture attention for longer than 30 seconds these days.
How do you structure your day?
Since I’m currently between jobs, I generally wake up, have coffee, and catch up on my emails and social media. I’ll then typically create a TikTok video or two and manage my music outreach campaigns. Afterwards, I like to pick up a guitar for a bit and see if any ideas fall out of the sky. I’m trying to take advantage of beautiful San Diego while I can, so I make it a point to visit the beach on a daily basis. I also enjoy working out and reading to pass the time.
What are your long-term goals?
Long-term, I plan to simply keep improving as a musician; I just want to move as many people with my music as possible. In my mind, if I focus on that, everything else will fall into place.
When faced with making a big decision, how do you decide what is the right thing to do?
Recently, I’ve been working on trusting my gut more when it comes to big decisions. For instance, I was just in a professional role that was detrimental to my mental health. At a certain point, I decided that I had to trust my gut and restore my happiness, despite the inherent risk; I am so happy I did. I also strongly value the opinions of my family and friends and will typically reach out to several of them when making a big choice. I am so grateful for my support system!
Do you have a mentor or coach?
I have a few – I credit Gage Markey with teaching me how to record my own tracks, which enabled me to entirely self-record this album in a DIY studio. I also had the pleasure of working with one of my musical heroes on the track, engineer Dan Molad (Lucius, Coco, CHIMNEY). I learned SO much about what is possible by just listening to Dan’s amazing mixes, so I consider him a role model and mentor as well.
What are your plans for next year? Do you have any productions ready to be released?
I plan to relocate back to the D.C. area to begin a new chapter of my life. My debut album Up & Up comes out on January 21, and I aim to start a brand new band and release a few new singles as well – I am so excited!