Kevin Sandbloom

"Sandbloom is soul. Sandbloom is the truth. Sandbloom is a man and his guitar." It doesn't get any more real than that. Be it a national music venue like B. B. King's or a local poetry gathering, Kevin Sandbloom inspires all who are in the room with his unique style of songwriting and singing that can only be described as sanctified.

Sandbloom has been singing from an early age and writing songs ever since a friend with a bent for The Ramones taught him the 3 chords it took to play "Time Has Come Today" by The Chambers Brothers .

Ever since, he has been developing his own take on Soul, Blues and the pop sounds generated by artists like Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Sade and the Style Council, to name a few. What he has come up with is a signature sound. Not quite left of center, but not straight up pop. It is, according to most who hear it, deep on many levels, yet immediate as anything you might want to hear on the radio.

He has been featured at L.A.'s own Da Poetry Lounge, the nation's largest poetry venue, as well as poetry and music stages across the country. He is a local favorite and has performed at numerous college campuses, clubs and events like the Love Jones Lounge and the FlyPoets Showcase. He is also slated to film a pilot for an upcoming TV show about working musicians performing their own music.

Some of Kevin's credits include writing the title track to Robben Ford's "Supernatural" album and performing alongside soul greats Michael McDonald and Sweet Pea Atkinson on the same record. He was also commissioned by Laurence Fishburne to write a song for his directorial debut, "Once in the Life", in which two of his songs were eventually featured.

His new record, From A Bird , is straight-forward. Recorded live at The Den Records studios, it features Kerim Imes [Tre Hardson] on drums, Daniel Seeff on bass, and touring partner Melany Bell on backing vocals and percussion. Also appearing are Dan Heflin on Sax and Sheffer Bruton [Ozomatli] on Trombone.

Containing crowd favorites "From A Bird" & "Is It A Crime", Sandbloom's decidedly personal Sade cover, the songs range from the acoustic tenor of the two previously mentioned tracks, to the Rufus inspired soul-slang of "Heat". From the singular reggae- rock balladry of "Replay" to the up-tempo "Fresh" that resides somewhere between Prince and Marvin Gaye, the record keeps the energy and mood shifting throughout. With the raw spontaneity that you'd expect from a live recording, the songs were developed over a period of about 6 months through rehearsals and shows, and right up through the mixing and final touches of horn and vocal arrangements. This is the vision of a single songwriter but it is the product of a working band, and the songs reflect that collaboration.

Sandbloom has just returned from supporting the record on a 15 city U.S. Tour, and is starting to receive airplay nationally and overseas. As well as recording, producing and arranging for local artists, he makes an appearance on the upcoming Self Scientific release as a guest vocalist. His music can also be heard on the Temple Bar records compilation #1, co-featuring with artists Medusa, Rebirth, Tre Hardson, SA-RA and many others.