Kem Anderson Music

James Hinkle has already accomplished more as a musician than many do in a lifetime, but today he is just grateful and happy to be alive. He narrowly survived a horrific car wreck almost 39 years ago to the day and required surgery for a serious health event last year that has just a six percent survival rate. That level of adversity would shake up and could even demoralize a person, but for him it provided a new perspective on life. This is a very different paradigm from the ego-centered approach that…

I recently saw Stefan Prigmore and Garrett Owen together in a showcase at the famous Fred's Cafe. The whole place was shaking as these two talented artists traded songs. In my opinion, they are among the elite of North Texas singer/songwriters. Garrett is getting some great radio play, and Stefan continues to do what he do does best: writing and playing songs of a depth and quality that is very hard to find these days. Both have been featured in our Fort Worth Sounds newsletter, and we hope to continue to…

For those of us who grew up in the early days of Rock'n'Roll, GarageBand meant just that. It was a group of teenagers getting together with secondhand guitars and used drums, trying to learn the latest song on the radio. All across the country if you simply drove down most any neighborhood block, you could hear music spilling out of neighborhood garages on Saturdays and Sundays.
It was glorious!

Nowadays, GarageBand means something completely different. I've recently started working with this recording…

If you regularly attend well-known live music houses like Fred's Cafe, Woodshed Smokehouse or Lola's Saloon, among many others, Big Mike Richardson is likely no stranger to you. The Denison native has long been one of the busiest musicians on the local music scene and continues to entertain scores of fans with a seemingly never-ending schedule of live gigs. As such a prominent member of Fort Worth's entertainment community, it only seemed right that we give our readers a glimpse into how he became what he…

The Deep Ellum Arts Festival is coming up from April 7-9, 2017 and should once again be one of the premier artistic celebrations of the year in North Texas. Self-described as the biggest party of the year, the D.E.A.F. will feature over 200 decorative and visual artists selling and commissioning original works, the renowned Pet Parade, a brand new People's Parade as well as craft beer and food from local artisans (don't bring coolers), but the main attraction once again will be the unbelievable music…

I had a very long career in real estate, much of it was spent in the resort property business which I really loved. Buying a second home is a great concept to sell but may or may not be a great concept to buy into. Here's an alternative plan to owning a second home, instead of having one home, in one location that requires maintenance (i.e. spending your cherished time away from work doing things like mowing grass and cleaning out gutters), or having a monthly overhead and ownership dues that never go…

Occurring each spring just before Ash Wednesday, Mardi Gras has long been known as the biggest party in the country this time of year, particularly in southern Louisiana. However, Galveston, TX has become known as the next best celebration around, and now North Texas is making a push to enter the conversation. 

Mardi Gras, Texas Style is entering is 16th year in existence and is planning to put in Dallas' most extravagant celebration to date on Saturday, February 18th. 20 bands will be playing on five…

Guthrie Kennard has come a long way, both literally and physically, to this point and is spreading his "swampy" sound all over the region with his new solo endeavor. 

Coming up in Richmond, Virginia, Kennard's musical career began in earnest at the age of 14. He began playing music with a friend and attributes his biggest influences to radio stars such as Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Bob Dylan and the prominent blues musicians of the 50s and 60s. After traveling with his friend Joe Russell, who was signed…

Sharon and myself recently had the opportunity to take a trip to beautiful Northern California. We spent five days traveling around and saw Big Sur, Carmel, San Francisco & Santa Cruz. Mother nature is very prevalent in that part of the world and we were able to experience different types of weather, scenery and landscapes all within a few miles of each other. Below is a video of the gorgeous scenery at one of my favorite locations, Big Sur National Park, and more videos from the trip can be seen at my…

One of Fort Worth's consummate showmen and band leaders, Mark Ballew, is speeding up while other musicians his age are slowing down.

Starting in 2013, Ballew headed a very well-known cover band called Rastus. The band enjoyed tremendous success but he made the decision to change directions and pursue a long-awaited solo project -- a decision that took a great deal commitment given the stability of his previous role and the uncertainty of his new path.

The title of his new project, an eight-song album…