Kian Byrne: How Jamming With Superior Musicians Accelerated My Musical Growth

As a part of our interview series with leaders, stars, and rising stars in the music industry, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Kian Byrne.

Irish-born Kian Byrne was playing music before he was born. Literally. Kian’s mother said when she was expecting Kian, she could feel him keeping the beat. “Music has always been his way of communicating,” she said. Kian picked up a fiddle at the age of 3 and instinctively knew how to play. Today, he lives in Kansas City, Mo., and is a skilled multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. He performs as a solo artist and as the drummer for the Emmy Award-winning band, The Elders, which blends Kian’s Irish roots with Americana and Celtic rock. Kian tours as a solo artist and with The Elders nationwide, in Ireland, and throughout Europe, playing over 100 shows a year. As a solo artist, Kian’s unique sound is folk-influenced, featuring layers of downtrodden pop melodies with strong rock rhythms. He is a Telly award winner, in which his videos have premiered on PBS. Recently he was honored as the Heartland Song Network Artist of the month. When not on tour, Kian is a regular in the Kansas City music scene. He plays bass, guitar, mandolin, the drums, and fiddle with several bands, including the reggae band The New Riddim and country rockers The Grisly Hand.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit about your “origin story”. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I grew up in a musical family. When I was born in Dublin, Ireland, my Irish father was in a band called “Regent Street” in Ireland, and my American mother was a musician and an on-air personality. My mother says she knew I would become a drummer because when she was expecting me, I would keep the beat when my dad played the drums on songs like ‘Radar Love” by Golden Earring.

We moved to the United States when the Irish economy was in a slump in the 1980s. We lived with my Irish-American-tenor grandfather and my Mexican-born-torch-singer grandmother for the first three years of my life. My routine every morning was to crawl up the stairs to my grandfather’s room and listen to his CDs. His musical taste varied — from opera music like La Traviata to country music from Kenny Rogers to the Mexican trio Los Panchos to Irish music from Dennis Day.

I started performing in homegrown family variety shows. For instance, I put on an Irish-themed show for my grandfather’s birthday where I danced the Irish jig. For my grandmother, I put on a Mexican-themed show where I danced La Bamba and sang Mama Yo Quiero. I always played the violin in these shows. In fact, I had my first Suzuki violin lessons at 3 years old on a 1/32nd size fiddle.

I taught myself the guitar, bass, banjo, and mandolin. My aunt, who was a Catholic nun and a multi-instrumentalist herself, had her own band and taught me my first riff on the guitar. How lucky I was that our family was musical because we already had all the instruments at-hand! I began my drumming career around the age of 6 when my mother found me playing “Wipe Out” on my dad’s drums. She thought it was him!

My first bandmates were my two sisters. Older sister Kaitlin played the piano, and my baby sister Andreina and I played the violin. We were the hit of the family Christmas show with our medley of Christmas songs.

Growing up I guest-appeared with various bands, played different festivals, and joined the Kansas City Youth Symphony. I played in the high school orchestra, formed a pep band, and started several of my own high school bands. These experiences helped me branch out to play a variety of instruments.

Music was in my blood from as early as I can remember.

What inspired you to pursue a career in music, and how did your journey begin?

I don’t ever remember thinking that there was any other choice than to be a musician because music was all around me — from my parents to my grandparents to even my great-grandparents. In fact, my Mexican great-grandfather played violin and was a brilliant classical guitarist, as was my great-grandmother.

But if I had to pinpoint when I knew I would be a musician, it would be when I played a Mickey Mouse drum set for the first time that Santa left under the tree. After that I couldn’t get enough.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I have shared the stage with many fabulous musicians over the years and from a very young age, but I have to say nothing compares to the feeling I have when I take the stage with my dad.

BUT it wasn’t easy. His band, The Elders, have toured all over the United States and Europe. I grew up watching from backstage, never thinking I would someday join him. I mean it is a dream come true that I am in a band with him. And when I say it wasn’t easy, it wasn’t. I had to audition, and my dad is a perfectionist.

So, what’s the most interesting that happened to me since I began my career? That I get to tour the world with my best friend, my dad.

It has been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

At the age of 15, I was asked to join a band as a drummer with some of Kansas City’s most iconic blues stars, Cotton Candy and So Many Men. Now the lead singer, Miss Annetta Washington, was a seasoned performer known as Cotton Candy. She told me to always keep my eyes on her so I would know when to end a song or repeat a verse, like a conductor.

You may notice that some musicians shut their eyes when they play because they are really feeling the music. Well, when I really felt the music, I had a bad habit of looking off to the left without even realizing it.

Cotton Candy was very patient with this newbie musician who thought he was a seasoned musician. After a while she worked with me to break the habit. It may not seem like a dealbreaker, but that is one of the cornerstones that helped me become the musician I am today.

I could have been her grandson as she was decades older, but on-stage we were both equal musicians showing each other respect, another lesson this wise woman shared with me. She was my dear friend who actually passed away while performing, doing what she loved best.

Miss Cotton Candy will never know how much I really owe her and how much she still influences me today.

A funny side note and inside joke — my dad renamed the band from Cotton Candy & So Many Men to Cotton Candy & So Many Men & a BOY.

None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

My mother has always pushed me to practice and get better but to stay humble along the way. I owe much of my start to her since she was the first person to put the fiddle in my tiny hands. Not to mention she attended every lesson, every recital, and every show.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I have two solo albums in the works with a total of 31 original songs. There will be an acoustic release and a full rock and roll album. I’m very excited to get more new music out.

I am also about to tour Ireland with The Elders. On the tour I will play several solo gigs along the way.

Another project that I’m working on is developing a curriculum to teach and inspire young children to write their own music. I have had several schools approach me about music appreciation courses, and I think this will be so advantageous for future songwriters.

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in music, film, and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

Diversity must play a significant role in the entertainment industry, or else it would become stale and false. It’s important that people are represented in a truthful way through music, film, and television — and the truth is we are diverse.

In the music industry, the diverse music styles evolve over the years to represent the current generation but also build upon the past and bring it forward. The diversity in music, film and television keeps the creativity flowing.

I have been influenced in my musical career through the diversity I have experienced, whether it’s Celtic, country, or reggae, ska, and rocksteady from Jamaica — these diverse influences make my music real.

Keep it real and leave it for everyone.

As a successful music star, you’ve likely faced challenges along the way. How do you stay motivated? How do you overcome obstacles in your career?

I think any career choice comes with its own obstacles or challenges, but it’s the way you face them — head on, with conviction, and determination — and in the end, you come out a better person.

Some may think being a musician is more of a vocation rather than a career. You’ve heard the saying “get a real job — a real job garners a paycheck.” We musicians don’t perform necessarily for compensation. We play because it’s what we were born to do. Playing music for a living can be difficult but staying focused is the reward.

Bottom line, I stay motivated because I love music. I love to create, and I love to share what I have produced. Judging from what people say who listen to my music, it gives me great satisfaction that it has touched them. When you have a fan who has feelings for one of your songs, that the song has moved them, that moves me.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why?

1. You can never practice too much

Understanding your instruments should never end. I’ve been playing fiddle since I was 3; the guitar and drums since I was about 6. I have played the bass guitar, fiddle, mandolin, and banjo and other instruments for years now. But even though I have played instruments for most of my life, I am constantly learning something new.

2. Try something new

I played and wrote a lot of ska and reggae music. Recently though I traded some guitar strings and a ukulele for a trombone. Now I have a trombone to learn!

3. Don’t worry

Writing and creating music is your own journey. You can be inspired by other music, and things all around you, but you should never doubt yourself or your creativity. Don’t worry what others think. Just keep going in your direction that you’re feeling, and you’ll know if you’re right or wrong.

4. Play with musicians better than you

If you can, reach out and jam with others that are far superior to you. Playing with better musicians allows you to rise up, learn and be a better musician.

5. Own your own style

I play reggae music. I play Irish Celtic music. I write a lot and folk and Americana, and occasionally psychedelic rock and roll. Who cares what style it is? Create it and make it your own! The more you create original material, the more you will stand out as a unique and creative musician.

Can you share some insights into your creative process? How do you approach songwriting? How do you approach musical collaborations?

I have a few different methods of writing music.

Sometimes I’ll have a lyric in mind and start there. I’ll put a few chords to it and see how far I can get.

Other times, I’ll play some chords or a guitar line for a while before it becomes something else like a chorus or a bridge.

On the best days, I will start at the top and write some lyrics, and after I’m happy with my chord structure, the whole song falls into place.

Sometimes it’s easier than others. Either way, though, I love the process.

Your music has resonated with so many fans worldwide. What do you believe sets your music apart?

A lot of the music I write and play with other bands seems to have similar messages like stories of family, stories of lives lost, moving across the world, and general feelings of travel, love and loss, and the history that surrounds us. I think these messages connect with fans.

Between reggae or Celtic rock music, I feel like my music already holds an advantage to being unique and sets itself apart from most. It’s fresh and original and tells a story.

How do you connect with your audience?

I really enjoy chatting with fans before and after live gigs and hearing their stories. Some have lost loved ones, and some have gotten married and had babies. I love how the fans share these special moments in time with me and then relate these special moments to my music. It’s a special feeling realizing that the lyrics speak to another person in ways others can only wait to experience.

With your busy schedule and demanding performances, how do you prioritize self-care and maintain a balance between your personal life and career in the music industry?

I have a strong family support system which helps immensely because they understand what goes into performing and what the life of a musician is all about.

I also reach out to a non-profit called The Roadie Clinic for further support based out of Niles, Michigan.

They support musicians and roadies and their families. They really do some amazing work. Check them out!

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

If I could start a movement, I would encourage a hard reset on people’s priorities today.

For instance, how folks are so worried and dedicate so much of their time toward what celebrities are doing and what they’re wearing or who they’re dating. All the while, there’s a local show with some local acts and some touring band and you can’t even get people to support them.

I’ve wanted to change that for a while now.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

I would love to share a meal and have a chat with Willie Nelson. He’s been on the road almost his whole life. His family is amazing. He’s still rocking! Who wouldn’t want to have some hang time with Uncle Willie?!

How can our readers continue to follow your work online?

YouTube

The Elders Facebook Page

The Elders Instagram

The Elders Website

Kian Byrne Instagram

Kian Byrne Facebook

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!