An Interview With KYD THE BAND On His Latest Music and More!

Kyd the Band has returned with his third installment entitled “This Time Last Year” via Sony/Four Music in a series he coins ‘Season 2’ of his ever changing personal journey.

An ode to the evolution that comes with time, Kyd the Band reflects on just how different things were, this time last year: “A lot of things have changed for me personally and professionally… it’s crazy to look through the lens of where I was just a year or two before this.”

In a lane of his own, Kyd the Band continues to prove his ability to wear any hat musically. And as his newly released video for single “This Time Last Year” outlines, even as a child Kyd the Band echoed sentiments that went against the grain. “When I was growing up, I took music lessons and went to these really boring recitals,” he says. In the video, you’ll see him surrounded by that exact mundaneness he describes but instead of conforming to traditional music and performance standards, he does his own thing, even amid the discontentment of the crowd. Showing fans that they don’t have to “fit the mold of what is expected and wanted of them,” Kyd the Band encourages folks to “go with their gut” and to ultimately, do what makes them “happy.”

Kyd the Band isn’t looking for shortcuts and certainly has no fear going against the grain. While most artists flock to the city of Los Angeles to pursue their dreams, KTB’s Devin Guisande left California to hone in on his craft. The move wasn’t easy at first – a starving artist in true form, Guisande was sleeping on the floor of a room he shared with his ex-bandmate and brother following his dissent from the Pentecostal church at 18. Against the odds, the multi-instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter clocked in +40 hours a week while working on music each hour he had left to spare. After toughing it out and paying his dues, Devin landed cuts with NF, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Robin Schulz, gnash, and ROZES to name a few. It was his time in the studio as a songwriter that shaped his solo career and later gave way for his first support slot on tour with NF under the Kyd the Band moniker. Fast forward 2 years, KTB’s debut single “American Dreamer” has amassed over 3 million streams while his first major label releases “Human”and “Easy” were featured on Apple Music’s ‘Best of the Week’ and ‘The A-List: Pop’ playlists to name a few.Racking up over 3 million streams, his previous single “Easy” also landed Kyd the Band on the cover of Spotify’s official ‘Swag’ playlist. 

FOLLOW KYD THE BAND ONLINE: WEBSITE

Learn more about Kyd The Band in the following All Access interview-

Happy New Year! When it comes to your music, what are you most excited about for 2020?

I’m most excited for more headline shows this year. I did my first one last month, and I was the happiest I’ve ever been playing a show.

Can you recall the moment when you thought you could be a musician? What do you think motivates you day in and day out?

I don’t know if I ever had a moment where I thought I ‘could be’ a musician. When I was 18, I had a moment where I realized I loved music more than anything else and that I wanted to go after making a career out of it.

How do you think your hometown has influenced the kind of music that you make? If not, why is that?

I grew up in a small town in northern California called Loomis, it’s about 45 minutes north of Sacramento, and it really doesn’t have any sort of music scene. It’s more of a sports-centric community,  so I would say it hasn’t influenced the kind of music that I make at all.

Growing up, how important was music in your life? Was your family and friends supportive of this career choice? If you weren’t a musician today, what else could you see yourself doing?

Music was something I only was ever around in a church setting. But I loved the drums so much, and I started playing in church when I was about 10 years old. My family and friends never saw music as a career path for me, for a myriad of reasons. It’s been something I’ve really had to go at alone and without support. If I wasn’t a musician, I really don’t know what I would do. I feel like I’ve been at it for so long that I’ve kinda dug myself into a music-shaped hole that has to work out.

How did you come up with your artist name? Why not just go by your own name?

I used to do music with my brother. We started this together so we named it together, which is the first 2 letters of his name and the first letter of my name. Then we added “the Band”.

What has been the biggest surprise so far about making music your career? What has been an unexpected or welcome challenge to it all? What has been the best part about it all?

Probably just some of the rooms and scenarios I’ve ended up in. Like my first experiences with co-writing got me into a room with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, which is absolutely bizarre. I think a welcome challenge has been when certain opportunities have come along that I probably haven’t been ready for, but have said yes to and have had to figure out how to make it work along the way. I love the pressure of that. The best part of this being my career is that it’s given me a chance to connect with people. People who listen to my music, people who come to a show, people who follow me on a social platform, people that I write with, etc.

Let’s talk about your newest single “Go There.” What was the inspiration for this track? What was it like making the music video for it? How creatively involved with the making of it were you?

I’ve struggled all my life, wanting to have deep and real relationships with those closest to me but always feeling like there was a wall. This song is about that. The video was an interesting experience because so far in Season 2 of my releases I haven’t really given myself a lot of screentime, and in this one there’s A LOT of me. I have a hard time with that aspect of being an artist, the center of attention-ness. Creatively I’m extremely involved in everything that comes out with my name on it. With videos my director and I collaborate on treatment, performance, shot angles, etc.

How would you say that this song compares to anything else you have released?

I haven’t really sang like this on another track yet, it’s a belter.

Can you talk about some of your other new music? What has it been like being in the studio to create your latest songs?

The new music is just getting better and deeper, each song in my opinion. I’ve been traveling so much that whenever I’ve had the chance to get in the studio now, it’s really fun and exciting. I’ll admit if I spend too much time in the studio it starts to drive me a little crazy.

How is/was your recent tour with NF? Do you have any other tour dates scheduled for this year?

The NF tour has been incredible, his fanbase is such a special community. I’m so grateful to be able to be in front of them…I do have more tour dates, going to announce soon.

How do you think you have grown as a musician since you first started making music? What – if anything – has stayed the same about your music-making process?

One way I think I’ve grown is that I don’t care about chasing trends any more, and I have zero interest in being a part of anything that doesn’t feel authentic or real to me.

How do you feel about social media? What do you think social media has done for your career so far?

The internet is a weird place. It’s super important because it’s how you stay connected to your fanbase, and I absolutely love that part of it. I hate the obsession over statistics and analytics, I don’t think that stuff keeps you healthy.

What musicians would you absolutely love to work with in the future?

Tracy Chapman, that’s it.

If you could design your dream music video right now, what would it look like?

It would look like a David Ayer film. Big but still so raw and real.

At the end of the day, what do you hope people take away from your music?

I really want people who listen to my music feel hope, are provoked to think and know that  the real truth is that they’re not alone.