What are you chasing? With Kyle McKearney

We sat down with Kyle McKearney to talk about his journey through the alternative country music scene, from growing up in Northern British Columbia to making waves in Nashville and beyond. Kyle shared how his early musical influences, including his family band, shaped his sound and led him to where he is today.

He opened up about his evolution as an artist—moving from rock to Americana and country—and why creating music for personal joy has become his focus. Kyle also reflected on Calgary’s supportive music community and the special bond he shares with his wife, Sarah, who is a key collaborator in his career.

We got into his recent career milestones, including his music being featured on Heartland and winning Alternative Country Album of the Year at the CCMAs. He also talked about the highs and lows of songwriting, the creative process, and the balancing act between family life and touring.

Oh, and did you know Kyle has a passion for construction and renovation? Turns out, music isn’t the only thing he builds.

You can follow Kyle McKearney on Instagram, and Facebook.

We’re so excited to bring back Season 4 of On The Porch with Front Porch Music. If you liked this episode, please rate, review and subscribe … It's the easiest way to support our show. 

Grab a drink, pull up a chair, and join us On The Front Porch, every other Tuesday.

On The Porch with Front Porch Music is a Front Porch Production and hosted by Logan Miller and Jenna Weishar. On The Porch with Front Porch Music is produced by Jason Saunders. 

The theme song for this podcast was written, produced, and performed by Owen Riegling.

This week, British Columbia's alternative country father-son duo Son of John provide the intro. You can listen to their new song "Jesus & Johnny Cash" is out now. Learn more here >>> 

Transcript

Logan (00:00.342)
So welcome to the porch. I can't believe this is the first time we're having you on the podcast. Kyle McKierney, how are you doing today?

Kyle McKearney (00:22.031)
Sure.

Kyle McKearney (00:33.085)
I'm good, how are you?

Logan (00:35.042)
No complaints. A few complaints. What are your complaints? It's cold out, it's rainy out, but we're inside so I guess that's not really a big complaint.

Kyle McKearney (00:43.567)
Could be worse.

Logan (00:45.454)
Could be worse. You're joining us from Alberta and I'm sure you have about 35,000 feet more snow than we do.

Kyle McKearney (00:52.239)
Yeah, there's a lot. it's nice today. It's sunny outside. So no complaints here either.

Logan (01:00.11)
Will you be heading outside at some point this lovely Saturday?

Kyle McKearney (01:03.831)
I mean if I need to go to the car probably but no not today we're gonna chill today I think my kids are just on their their gaming devices today so

Logan (01:05.854)
So no.

Logan (01:15.83)
It's a nice slow day in the McCurney household. That's the way Saturdays are supposed to be.

Kyle McKearney (01:21.23)
I think so.

Logan (01:22.926)
So we have a lot to cover today, a lot of ground to cover. I've decided to call this little segment back to basics and that means you tell us who you are, where you're from, how you grew up, and how you got into music. Did you get all that? I'll remind you. So let us know a bit about yourself, where you're from, who you are.

Kyle McKearney (01:40.396)
Right? I think so.

Kyle McKearney (01:50.413)
Sure. I'm originally from Northern British Columbia. It's Fort St. John. There's an oil town up there.

Logan (02:00.962)
How far north is that?

Kyle McKearney (02:03.112)
It's far, so it's two and a half hours north of Grand Prairie, if you know Grand Prairie in Alberta. yeah, it was also cold, kind of a northern guy, I guess. I've always been in areas with that kind of climate. I'm just comfortable with it. Yeah, Fort St. John was like 20,000 people, I think, something like that.

Logan (02:16.238)
you

Kyle McKearney (02:33.564)
And yeah, mostly just industry, like oil industry and beautiful place though. Like in the summer, it's gorgeous up there. My grandfather, he won a ranch in a card game, I think the story is, or he traded someone a property from Alberta. And so he moved up there and homesteaded a...

Logan (02:55.235)
Huh.

Kyle McKearney (03:03.293)
a ranch north of Fort St. John and that's where my dad and his sisters and grandpa and grandma grew up and they were musicians and played weddings and dances and the kids started playing in the family band when they were really young. So yeah, they grew up doing that and my growing up wasn't much different up there.

I was always surrounded by family. No, I was enjoying the property that was one of the card game though. Yeah, it seems like kind of an all in moment, but no, I didn't win anything like that. I just meant that I grew up just around music a lot and country and bluegrass and you know.

Logan (03:34.668)
retrading property in a card game. That's a big bet. You know what? That's good.

Kyle McKearney (04:00.316)
Western and folk, that's kind of what they did. It was all that kind of music. that's what I remember and what I grew up with before I could choose my own music. And when I started to choose my own music, went into, I really loved the Beatles and I loved rock music. got into Offspring and Green Day and during that era and then the grunge stuff and

Logan (04:27.576)
Yeah.

Kyle McKearney (04:30.345)
Nirvana was big, I loved that. Used to play it in the high school bands and stuff. And yeah, that's kind of it.

Logan (04:41.39)
Did you play like, did you pick up a guitar first or did you start singing first? Or is it kind of all at same time?

Kyle McKearney (04:47.337)
No, sang for it. My dad tried to teach me chords and guitar stuff when I was really young, like five or seven or both. I think both actually, now that I think about it. I distinctly remember the day. was 10 years old and I don't know what was different that day, but I just picked it up and...

It just clicked and I remember that moment vividly and then I just couldn't put it down after that. I played for six hours a day every day and learned every song ever and loved it. So that's kind of when that happened when I was about 10.

Logan (05:24.701)
Mm-hmm.

Logan (05:33.432)
Did it kind of become a bit of an outlet?

Kyle McKearney (05:37.486)
Yeah, it was more a love. It was more like an obsession and a passion and a,

You know, it was my identity and it was, yeah, I just really, really enjoyed it.

Logan (05:54.574)
That makes sense. So let's set the scene as a teenager and you're playing in bands. Like what are those bands playing? Where are you playing? Because I'm picturing like the local bar and perhaps if you're in a small town, the school dance. Am I on the right path or no? Yeah?

Kyle McKearney (06:13.402)
Yeah, yeah, we were playing those kinds of things and it was fun in the town. They had a talent show every year and we would go play that every year. So that was really fun because you got to play in the nice theater and there was a big crowd. And so that was really cool. Yeah, we played everywhere. We played anywhere we could. Yeah, school functions. Played some parties and, you know, dances and we...

We traveled around a little bit too, like we would go to Chetwin sometimes or Dawson Creek or out of town. It was really fun. I had a crazy teenage experience. I left home when I was 14 years old and I went and lived with some of my friends from school and they were musicians as well. And so we kind of lived in this house.

It was kind of as you would imagine it, know, where teenagers are running the roost and it was a bit wild. yeah, lots of playing and just lots of dreams, you know.

Logan (07:21.782)
in the wild.

Logan (07:28.014)
What were the funniest, what would you call yourselves? What were your funny band names?

Kyle McKearney (07:35.551)
man, I think I, okay, my first band when I was like 11 years old with my little brother, we were called the Young Riders.

Logan (07:46.756)
that's cute! That is cute.

Kyle McKearney (07:48.825)
Yeah, we had shirts and everything. And then the next band, I was in a band called Blacktop. I was in a band called Synergy. I was in a band called Society. I was in a band called, I think that was most of them for the most part.

Logan (08:10.028)
None of those are lame. No, it definitely sounds like- How'd you say that? Like rock, punk rock music.

Kyle McKearney (08:17.496)
Yeah, that's kind of what we were doing. were writing songs and it was kind of a, yeah, all mostly rock. It was cool.

Logan (08:25.698)
you were already writing songs when you were a teenager too.

Kyle McKearney (08:28.515)
I was writing songs when I was 10, when I was, yeah, when I first started playing guitar, that's what I love to do.

Logan (08:38.712)
So where did the transition to more of the Americana, folky country kind of vibes come into play?

Kyle McKearney (08:47.926)
Um, that happened much later because I, in my twenties, like out of high school, like right out of high school, I moved to Nashville because my dad lived there. My dad spent eight years in Nashville as a, trying to make it as a country artist. um, and so that was really neat for me. I got to go there a few times, you know, for the summer or whatever, when I was a kid. And then I got to move there after high school.

Logan (09:02.188)
Kyle McKearney (09:16.738)
just see a lot of how it all worked and, you know, just experience those musicians and songwriters and just be in that ecosystem for a while. was, it was my education and I loved it. And, uh, and I loved it for a year, I think. And then I left, I moved to Vancouver. Just, um, you know, you can only live with your dad for so long. And, uh, so I,

Logan (09:41.262)
Tell me about it.

Kyle McKearney (09:46.432)
So I left for Vancouver and joined a rock band called Mr. Green. And yeah, we played a lot for years and just carried forward and was in and out of bands and just trying to survive at that point. I was like so broke and poor and living on my own again. And I ended up in Calgary and started a, had a

a pop band before. It started off as a rock band. We had like a, we had a top 30 hit in Canada in my rock band.

Logan (10:21.964)
No. No way. When was this?

without giving away your age.

Kyle McKearney (10:28.449)
2012, I'm 40. Yeah, like 2012. It was called Hard Honey. And the song was called Hard Honey as well.

Logan (10:36.514)
What was the band? What was the song? Yeah, what the heck?

Logan (10:43.458)
Because it says like prime me being right into the rock music scene.

Kyle McKearney (10:48.638)
Yeah, yeah, so it was like we were more of a classic rock sound like kind of sound like ACDC meets I don't know something from the 80s. It was cool. It was fun. And we had a hit and it was just kind of at that moment when rock wasn't doing very well anymore, you know, and it was hard and we were trying to shop it and it wasn't wasn't landing.

And so we kind of morphed into this pop band called the New Electric. And we had another hit, we had another radio hit and got to tour a lot. And we toured with Nick Carter and toured with...

Logan (11:30.51)
That is pop as hell. That's real cool. That's

Kyle McKearney (11:33.841)
Yeah, that was hot. Yeah, I was I was I was not good at that. I didn't like

Yeah, I just always felt like I was, I don't know, pandering and lying. then, and then, yeah, so the, the pop, the pop band morphed into kind of a alt pop band called Crowns. And we had another shot at the, at the U S and at, you know, doing, had a, were in conversation with Scooter Braun and he was going to fly us to Coachella and

and sign our band and to his new label and stuff. And then he went to book our flights and saw our passports and how old we were. And he was like, no, I'm not signing you, sorry. You're too old to be playing pop music. And I was too old. Yeah, I was like 32 at that time.

Logan (12:21.342)
Aw man.

Are you too old or too young? what? He said too old. Too old.

You probably dodged a bullet anyways.

Kyle McKearney (12:34.278)
Yeah, it's possible. think I'm thankful for it. I I was sad at the time because we were really excited about that, but it was. Yeah, it just wasn't what I wanted to do anyway. And then after that happened, it was the whole thing kind of fizzled like my brother and I have been playing together for so many years and so many kicks at the can and so many different bands and records and. That I was just done, you know.

Logan (12:38.52)
Totally.

court.

Kyle McKearney (13:03.613)
just didn't want to do it anymore. I was tired of chasing songs and just constantly morphing and changing and being something else. I hated it. And so I just, I quit. I was like, I just don't want to do this anymore. But I needed to make money. I needed to work. So I got the opportunity to go and play guitar on the We Will Rock You Tour, like the Queen musical.

Logan (13:31.726)
Cool. Fun.

Kyle McKearney (13:33.648)
Yeah, it was cool. So I jumped on that and toured North America for six months, like 160 shows in six months around, you know, US and Canada. And I got to play at Madison Square Garden like four nights and got to play the Microsoft Theater in LA. it was cool. So I got to experience like, you know, as a guitar player in a musical.

Logan (13:53.112)
Wow.

Logan (14:04.333)
Yeah.

Kyle McKearney (14:04.619)
some of these really cool things and venues and experiences. And I think just, I think the whole time, probably since the rock band, I'd always been writing these other songs. And I was like, man, if I ever, you know, retire from music or this is what I want to do. I want to just have a band that's like this, like the Eagles, you know, that's like, kind of like country rock.

And then on that tour, it really started to like manifest. I was just writing a lot still. I always write So I was working on the songs and I started to get a vision and I started to like really see this thing. then, yeah, I got off that tour and started it.

Logan (14:54.69)
Wow. The musical versatility that you've had from like pop, rock, musicals is very insane. Like that's really cool.

Kyle McKearney (15:07.77)
It's all just music at the end of the day, you know? It's like I'm a music lover and I like all kinds of music, you know?

Logan (15:20.472)
So you got off that tour and then decided that you're gonna pursue more of this, the sound that we hear now or has it evolved even since then?

Kyle McKearney (15:30.21)
I don't think I had any... See, that was the point. That was like... That was the beauty of it, is that I just wanted to make a record for me. I just wanted to write songs and have no outside pressure or, you know, thought even. I didn't want to think about anyone else. I didn't want to think about what anyone would think about it. I didn't care anymore. I was just done.

And so, yeah, that's what I did. And some people liked it, and I was lucky. But I just keep that space now. So every time I make a record or write, I try not to concern myself at all with anything outside of my tiny little bubble. I just stay in that bubble until it's done.

Logan (16:28.054)
That's probably the healthier way to do it than trying to chase something.

Kyle McKearney (16:33.494)
Yeah, I I think so. And I think a big realization that I had also was like, you know, when you're chasing something, what is it that you're chasing? Like really getting to the bottom of it, you know? You're chasing money, you know? You want success so that you can have money so that you can keep doing it because it's not easy, it's not cheap to do this, right? So.

So I think when I really realized that, that I was just like chasing money and chasing hits, I just stopped. I was just like, I'm never going to do this for money again because it just takes the joy out of it for me. And it kind of, I guess with the idea of making money, you know, just takes the joy out of it. And I think that as soon as I stopped doing that and I started just

you know, doing it to do it. It felt like when I was a kid again, I felt that connection to it and that joy. It's like just doing it because I enjoy it, you know.

Logan (17:46.574)
That makes sense. That makes sense. So...

I guess like you've had this like very like like we're talking about like your sound now is definitely like a fusion of like Americana and some folk and country. Living in Calgary and around Calgary that's like the best place to be making like whatever kind of country music you want to so what's that community been like and you live in Airdrie but it obviously it's not too far away so what's that kind of like community like in in Calgary now? Is that a good place for you to find that too?

Kyle McKearney (18:17.886)
Yeah, it's awesome. I think that when you're, you know, you're surrounded by farms and wheat fields and mountains and cowboy hats and boots, it's, I don't know. Yeah, there's something about that that that inspires and you feel like you're, you know, a part of a part of that culture in Canada. don't have. It's funny, I would say that in Canada, it's like it's everywhere.

Logan (18:29.528)
You

Kyle McKearney (18:50.441)
But it's also just a little different. It's different here than it is in the States. And I think that Calgary is the best place for a country in Canada. Yeah, we have the stampede. Come on.

Logan (19:05.326)
Totally. So your wife is a musician too, no? She sings with you sometimes. How'd you guys meet and was it like a creative thing that you met or was it something you're like, hey, you have a nice voice, you have to sing with me.

Kyle McKearney (19:20.724)
I think a bit of both maybe. think that like we met young. We've been together for 18 years and Sarah was 19 and I was 23 and she had just gotten out of dental school and I was, it was pre like successful rock band and we met at Vern's Tavern in Calgary and

story goes, her friend was there to see the band that we were opening for and dragged Sarah along because, you know, she didn't want to go by herself and they were good friends. And yeah, that's how we met and we started hanging out and think eventually I just, we were singing a Beatles song around the table or something. There was always that going on.

And Sarah was singing along and singing harmony and I was just like, shit, I have to marry you. Yeah, she could sing and it was really cool, a good connection. yeah, and so we always just sang together after that. always just kind of, you know, we did some cover bands and fun things and she was part of one of my first bands for a while and then didn't do it for a long time.

while I was up doing these other things. then when it came back to it, it was really cool because when I decided to do Country Americana, Alt Country, I was like, this is sweet because you can be in the band because that's what she sounds like and she loves country. So yeah, it was a no brainer. Yeah, she's been on every record and plays with me every show. It's awesome.

Logan (21:02.337)
You

Logan (21:14.262)
That's a really special thing to be able to share with each other.

Kyle McKearney (21:17.904)
Yeah, it's cool. And it just makes sense, you know? You don't miss each other because you're on the road together. you don't... I don't know. It's just cool for me that she gets to experience what that life is like after being home and maybe wondering about it while I was out there.

Logan (21:39.406)
Did she also have aspirations to be a musician, like a professional musician, or is it kind of whole new world?

Kyle McKearney (21:44.465)
No, didn't want any of that. She just loves it and she's good at it. She likes when we do it together, I guess.

Logan (22:01.038)
Does that mean you've discovered musical inclinations in at least one of your sons already or not quite?

Kyle McKearney (22:09.019)
What do mean?

Logan (22:10.2)
Like are they, are you, are you? Are you putting together a family band anytime soon? Yeah. Can the boys sing? Do you find them tapping away at stuff? Yeah.

Kyle McKearney (22:18.452)
my kids, I see. Not right now, but they love music. You can tell. I can tell right when they were little babies just how they respond to it and listen to it. It's just different. can tell that they'll likely play something. They already sing. My oldest son, Sabin, he's eight and he sings. He's really good singer.

Logan (22:48.974)
Huh, family band in the works, I think. He's almost 10, so I think you should wait to teach him guitar till he's 10, because that's when it clicked for you. So maybe that's when it clicks him, right? The McKearneys. The McKearneys. It's easy. So you've had a pretty big couple of years. lot of great music coming out, been touring across the country, playing lots of shows.

Kyle McKearney (22:58.756)
Yeah. Yeah, maybe

Logan (23:16.334)
And you also had one of your songs appear on the TV show Heartland. Not only that, but it was live. I didn't see it.

Kyle McKearney (23:21.839)
Hmm.

Kyle McKearney (23:25.283)
Yeah, they did four of my songs in that episode and yeah, the band played in the show and it was cool. They said my name, it was awesome.

Logan (23:36.014)
Okay, what's that like, like that's a little, is that a first, that has to be a first time thing for you, right? Or is this part of your history too that you forgot to mention that this was no brain, like a breeze, easy.

Kyle McKearney (23:47.094)
No, was it it was I've done that before, but this was the first time that it wasn't a cover or like, you know, someone else's music where we were playing my music and they were saying my name in the show. It was really cool.

Logan (23:51.799)
Okay.

Logan (23:55.99)
Okay. Right.

Logan (24:03.064)
Yeah, that must feel different. But also, do you watch back and like, wow, we got to do that that day. That's pretty cool.

Kyle McKearney (24:11.595)
Yeah, it was fun to watch it and show my kids and yeah, they did a good job of it. So it was, it was enjoyable to see. It was cool.

Logan (24:21.262)
Totally. That's really cool. I think we should talk about your music now. your, was it your previous album that came out in 2022 or 2023, you won alternative country album of the year at the CCMAs for that album, which is really cool. What's the, I'm thinking about like alternative country and how.

Kyle McKearney (24:39.981)
Mm-hmm.

Logan (24:47.774)
many forms of it are becoming so much more popular and maybe this segues into a conversation around like you and Noeline Hoffman collaborating on some of your music too and she's kind of shot up over the last year too but this this alternative country that's like being welcomed and embraced now is really cool and exciting how do you how do you i know you've mentioned like

you're making the music for you and you live in your bubble when you're creating it so it's something you truly love but is there a validation from the industry that you feel and that you're like I like that they like what I'm doing regardless of the fact that I wasn't asking for it?

Kyle McKearney (25:24.774)
for sure. I I just stay in my bubble until it's done and then I put it out there and hope to God they like it, you know? I just try not to let it influence me while I'm creating it because then it feels dishonest. yeah, I love the adoration and the community and the support. Everyone's so kind.

Logan (25:32.545)
you

Logan (25:37.72)
for sure.

Kyle McKearney (25:52.413)
in country music. It's a lot different than the other genres I've played in. And it's like a big family, and I love that. love connecting with people and like-minded people and seeing other people do cool things and have successes and stuff. It's fun to watch, and it gives you something to do.

Logan (26:17.198)
Totally, totally. So now that you've got your newest single out, To The River, that's actually the title track for your upcoming album, which is on its way in April. How are you evolving as a writer, as an artist, as you are releasing this third album?

Kyle McKearney (26:29.013)
Yeah.

Kyle McKearney (26:41.726)
I think I'm improving. I can hear it when I listen to the first record, second record, third record. I can hear that I'm getting better at writing and that I'm getting better at singing and playing. So that's really neat. I like that. like to get better at the craft. And I've always been

hyper-focused on that. And I think that...

Kyle McKearney (27:18.139)
It's become more about the substance and the song and story than the delivery of it, if that makes sense. I feel like in my first record I was just singing a lot, like over singing a lot, just to...

Logan (27:33.774)
Yep.

Logan (27:42.734)
Okay.

Kyle McKearney (27:46.971)
I know, I needed to get it out. And then this third record I feel like is just more laid back in that way and more about the music and the story.

Logan (27:50.456)
Yeah.

Logan (28:03.662)
That makes sense. We, Jen and I, well, you know, fair enough. It's wiser. You're getting wiser. Jenna and I were in the kitchen earlier and we were grooving to, to the river in like, there's a really fun, drum beat in there. It's really fun.

Kyle McKearney (28:06.492)
It's getting older, that's what happens. Yeah.

There you go.

Kyle McKearney (28:21.959)
Hmm.

Yeah, it's a cool song. I'm glad you like it. It's one of my favorites on the record, for sure.

Logan (28:32.354)
Going through the track list, we noticed that you have a few really frequent collaborators in terms of who you write with. You have Lydia Sutherland and Aaron Pollock show up quite a few times. I think it was so far from what I've seen four or five co-writes there. What about working with those two gels with you? What's that process like with the three of you?

Kyle McKearney (28:56.615)
I think we kind of clicked right away because I feel like they just got what I was doing and lots of time when you get in a room, songwriters are trying to make money too and earn a living. so I feel like they, often I go in those rooms and it just feels like they're trying to craft a hit. so, yeah, it took me a lot of...

testing co-writers and hanging out to find people that I was comfortable with because I need co-writers to just kind of like see what I'm doing and get it and help it rather than steer it to like a commercial bubblegum lane. So Aaron and Lydia are great at that. just...

They have lots of great ideas and are able to just volley what I'm doing and run with it.

Logan (30:06.349)
I've noticed with lot of Lydia's songs that she can fit a word into any space. is. Along with your new record, you're also hitting the road in Western Canada for a tour. That's great because it's January and you've already got your spring-ish booked out, so that's kind of nice. What are you looking forward to about hitting the road?

Kyle McKearney (30:12.441)
Yeah, she's brilliant.

Kyle McKearney (30:27.493)
Yeah.

I like all of it, really. I like the adventure. I like being out there. It's like its own world. You kind of get into this mode with everyone and it's a lot of fun. I like hanging out and playing the shows is the payoff. It's the beautiful part.

Logan (30:52.43)
Totally, yeah. Is there anywhere you're going that you haven't been yet? Slash, am I asking you this and you're like, I can't think of where I'm going yet. It's too early.

Kyle McKearney (31:01.028)
Oh no, no, I know that tour pretty good from... Yeah. No, there's nowhere... Oh yeah, actually, I've never played in Duncan.

Logan (31:03.949)
Yeah.

Logan (31:11.938)
Where is that?

Kyle McKearney (31:13.339)
yeah. Duncan, BC. It's on the island. Here, I'm just gonna move this. Yeah, sorry, I'm just gonna move this. The sun's in my face. There we go.

Logan (31:16.706)
Thank you,

Logan (31:21.799)
No worries. It's a natural light. Nice. wow.

Kyle McKearney (31:24.353)
Yeah, Duncan BC. And Sarah grew up there. So we're kind of excited to go back. We're going to drive past our child at home. Yeah, it'll be fun.

Logan (31:32.747)
Where do the kids go when you're on the road?

Kyle McKearney (31:39.095)
usually with grandparents. Yeah, it was my mom or Sarah's mom and, yeah, they'll come and stay at our house and look after the kids or the kids will go to their house and hang out. So yeah, there's, there's been a lot of that over the last couple of years. I want to take them, you know, I'm planning to take them. Another thing I did in my twenties is I bought an old Greyhound, bus and I

Logan (31:41.954)
Yeah? Yeah.

Logan (31:51.832)
nice.

Logan (32:00.163)
Yeah.

Kyle McKearney (32:09.1)
gutted it to the studs and built a tour bus out of it. It was kind one of my first Reno projects. yeah, I think we're gonna get that going this year and use it again. Yeah, I drive it, yeah. Yeah, I usually drive it.

Logan (32:13.646)
Cool.

Logan (32:23.406)
Are you gonna drive or are you gonna find someone to drive? You driving? Holy shit.

And you also just said that was one of your first reno projects. else did you, what does that mean? What else have you got, Haydn?

Kyle McKearney (32:37.026)
I, I love that stuff. Like I love, I love construction. love building and learning how to, you know, do house things. So I've done, I've done a lot. I've done, you know, several, vans. used to convert vans into cool, nice, reno-ed living spaces. And I did the bus and I done houses like.

I've renovated this whole house and, our last place I did some stuff, quite a bit of stuff. Yeah.

Logan (33:14.584)
Who were we talking to recently that also did this? Tim from Tim and the Glory Boys. He also built his, his bus. And he, and he was also saying that he will often build immense sets for his own stage for their shows that they have to lug around the country. No, they hate it because it has to go on a, there's a big moose involved. There's shit he's bought on Facebook that nobody's happy about, but yeah, yeah. He's creative.

Kyle McKearney (33:23.767)
cool.

Kyle McKearney (33:33.247)
that's cool.

Logan (33:43.598)
And handy too, like that, yeah. That's funny. I forgot about that. You should build some elaborate set for your show. And get somebody else to haul it. That's funny, I love that. Okay, so I think the last thing we want to do is something I did spur of the moment with another interview, and that is go through some of your catalog and you're going to tell me like what either...

Kyle McKearney (33:45.568)
Nice.

Kyle McKearney (33:50.078)
Yeah, that'd be cool. Yeah, yeah, there you go. Yeah, that'd be great.

Logan (34:11.426)
what the vibe was, like what you were feeling that day when you were writing or what it was like putting it out. Just kind of give us an overview of where you were at during that time of putting something out.

Okay, you gotta find a name for this segment at some point. I know well get there eventually Okay, i'm gonna start with an easy one that is I think well loved anyways, let's go with mercy Usually I I went in I went in order of like how they came out last time, but i'm feeling reckless So let's start with mercy

Kyle McKearney (34:40.767)
Mercy was one of the only songs that doesn't have a big story. That was kind of a song that, yeah, nailed it. That song was more just a songwriting session and I had the idea and just thought that the chorus was hooky and fun. I just wanted to write something upbeat. so Lydia.

Logan (34:49.366)
Good pick.

Kyle McKearney (35:10.238)
kind of took it and we spun it, you know, into the idea that I think it's like show me mercy by letting me go or being mean to me so that I don't feel, you know, attached still. It's a cool concept. I like that song.

Logan (35:22.875)
Yep.

Logan (35:29.782)
know what it definitely is. Okay, what about Devil Water?

Kyle McKearney (35:36.958)
Devil Water is a song that was a lick, like a riff that I had for a long time. That was one of the OG songs that I wanted to develop and

You know, I think I've had many, many stints with drinking and alcohol. it's just so, it's everywhere in this industry, all day, every day. And I've been in the industry since I was, you know, a teenager. And so I've drank a lot and...

Logan (36:12.298)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yep.

Kyle McKearney (36:23.898)
That song was like...

You know, I was feeling at the time, like what do you even do? How do you stop because you won't get any business done and you won't be able to meet anybody because everyone does this. This is just what they do. So do you just like surrender to the fact that you're going to be a brutal alcoholic forever? You know, that's the question. That's kind of what Devil Water is about.

Logan (36:52.494)
Hmm. Yeah, this industry definitely needs to get a handle on that. Like it's, it's rough.

Kyle McKearney (37:00.372)
I don't drink anymore, but I just... Yeah, there's a lot of it.

Logan (37:08.11)
Next one. I have no idea. I've never experienced it. Please. Next song. Whispering Pines.

Kyle McKearney (37:08.72)
Good time. It's a good time.

Kyle McKearney (37:21.328)
Whispering Plains, that was, I was working in the oil patch, so I was in camp and I was working on the Trans Mountain Pipeline out here.

And my shifts were odd. was a weird job because I was doing security for the pipeline equipment. And so I would drive around and I would get up at 3 a.m. and work till 8 in the morning and then sleep and then get up again at 4 p.m. and work till 8 p.m. So it was like this.

know, split in your sleep and in your day. And it was I wrote a lot of songs driving around on that job, I'll tell you that. That was a good thing. And I enjoyed it for the most part. But, you know, just being away from Sarah and Sabin when Sarah was like fully pregnant, ready to have Jones, our little guy. I missed her a lot and wanted to be there for them.

And so Whispering Pines was just, you know, I wrote it in the truck while I was out in the field.

Logan (38:45.162)
Okay. What about wedding day?

Kyle McKearney (38:50.092)
wedding day that was

Kyle McKearney (38:57.07)
What did I have?

I can't remember what I had of the song, but that was a lot. That song was a lot of help with from Aaron and Lydia because.

I had that verse. That's what it was. Yeah, I had the verse and I had the...

some of the words, you know, of the verse. I remember when the daisies were falling blue. All those those lines and I didn't know what it was about yet. And it was actually Erin and Lydia that that had the idea for wedding day and about, you know, writing it about watching, watching someone that you were supposed to marry, marry somebody else.

So that's nothing that I've experienced before in real life, but it's kind of a fictional song. And that's the old story. It's like, you've heard that story before for sure. You can picture it. It's like...

Logan (40:01.131)
and

Kyle McKearney (40:06.538)
church and at the end of the story you know you just you can see the the person that was sitting there jealous and having to watch them get married you can see them like walking out of church bloody and it's like a quentin tarantino i like that

Logan (40:22.67)
I like that too. Okay, last one. Tomorrow.

Kyle McKearney (40:31.435)
Yeah, tomorrow I wrote with Jimmy, my keyboard player, and Nolene Hoffman. I had that chorus and that idea and it was like, I think that song started off...

inspired actually by the something in the orange song, that Zach Bryan song. I was like, man, that's just, and it gave me this feeling. And then I was working on Tomorrow and it was kind of giving me a similar feeling of like, you know, will I see you tomorrow? Are you gonna show up for me? Are you gonna be here? The uncertainty of like just being in a relationship with another human being. And it just morphed into this like,

Logan (40:55.136)
Mm-hmm.

Kyle McKearney (41:20.21)
As we wrote and wrote, just, we dug deeper. got dark and sad and deathly. It's kind of a Romeo and Juliet story, that song. And that was fun, write. We sat at the kitchen table and wrote quite a few songs with Noeline actually.

Logan (41:40.654)
Jenna said that was the last one but I have one that I want to hear about. Alberta saved my soul.

Kyle McKearney (41:44.661)
Okay.

Kyle McKearney (41:48.894)
Yeah, that's, I love that one too. Yeah, that song, that was like one of those, we wrote this in 15 minutes kind of songs. I had a, I had a write booked with my friend Drew from Edmonton and well, he lives in Nashville now and I was like, let's write. And I was just in a mood. I was just like tired of like, you know,

the conformity of sitting in the studio for, was making the record at that point and doing vocals here and it was just like so much work and trying to get things right and blah, blah, blah. I just needed like a quick outlet of expression and randomness. I, yeah, when I got on the Skype with him, it was like.

Just so fast, I just spewed the whole song out right away, basically. I love that song. I love the idea that you feel safe in your hometown and at home and kind of going out in the world and just seeing how shitty it can be. It's nice to have a place where you feel comfortable and safe.

Logan (42:49.23)
Hmm.

Kyle McKearney (43:14.639)
That's kind of what that song is about for me.

Logan (43:17.592)
How did that become something that you decided to raise money and support the Alberta wildfires then? Did that come to you or is it your idea?

Kyle McKearney (43:27.271)
Yeah, it was a combination of things. So my idea was that, you know, I was playing that song quite a bit at the start. I think it was after Wedding Day and Broken Hearts was out and we're out. And I had these gigs, I was playing like this Mayor's thing and this other thing. And I was like, I'll play Alberta because, you know.

it makes sense that I'm playing these political functions and sing a song about the province. And just the response to it was really strong. And so I was like, I really want to release this song. I think it'll do well. I think people like it. And so I told Jeff, my manager, that. And he was like, well, what can we do? And he started doing research. And he was like, Alberta Day is coming up. That would be a great opportunity to put this song out. And then

He was like, what can we do to like, and then I think while we were talking something happened and he just saw, you know, the Jasper situation and got the idea to turn it into a whole, you know, campaign and try and help those folks there. So yeah, the idea to put the song out was mine. And then Jeff created all the other

other parts of what we did there.

Logan (44:55.246)
You've been working together for quite a while, yeah?

Kyle McKearney (44:58.481)
Yeah, 15 years, I think.

Logan (45:00.91)
Oh, longer than I expected. That's not what I thought you were going to say either. Wow. So you know each other quite well. He's yeah, he's like a person in your corner forever, basically. That's really cool that you found somebody who gets you and can, you know, help you.

Kyle McKearney (45:04.485)
Yeah. Yeah.

Kyle McKearney (45:13.893)
Yeah, we kind of grew up in the industry together. I'd been working the whole time. It's like he was a design guy back in the day. Yeah, long time. Yeah.

Logan (45:17.688)
Yeah.

Logan (45:26.03)
Mm-hmm.

really cool. Okay, I think I have, I want to end this off with something, one big theme throughout your conversation here has been, I'm gonna sum it up to the words of like authenticity to yourself with whatever you're creating, putting the blinders on and making music that matters to you and kind of ignoring that noise. That's a hard thing for people to do so.

What is your little tidbit of advice for artists emerging or emerged and who are like, want to do this for me, but it's really hard to ignore all of that noise.

Kyle McKearney (46:07.798)
Yeah, is. Well, I would say that it gets easier when you get older. That's that's one thing. The other thing.

Logan (46:13.71)
Fair. Fair.

Kyle McKearney (46:19.114)
is my buddy, my buddy Mark Spickalock taught me this long time ago. He said, it's just music and everyone takes it so seriously. And it doesn't need to be taken seriously. It's just music. You know? And I think that that's really good advice because...

Logan (46:36.814)
Mm.

Kyle McKearney (46:44.408)
You know, it's not your identity. It's not anything. It's just something to be enjoyed. And if you're not having fun, then you need to make a change. if you're too focused on... If whatever you're focusing on is making you stressed or worried, then you need to shift your focus. I think that staying...

Logan (47:11.086)
Okay.

Kyle McKearney (47:14.518)
Staying true to yourself is.

Kyle McKearney (47:19.373)
is about being able to hear your gut, really practicing that, being able to listen to it and identify what it's telling you and when it's telling you something, and just trusting it because that's what your truth is, right? So.

Logan (47:46.862)
I like that. I like that. Yeah, that's a great place for us to end it on, I think. Thanks so much, Kyle, for joining us. We really, really appreciate you taking the time on your lazy family Saturday to join us. And we're so excited for your album to come out in April.

Kyle McKearney (48:00.97)
No, my pleasure. Thanks for having me. It was fun. Cool. Me too.

Logan (48:07.15)
All right, I'm just gonna hit stop here.