Dylan Keawe does it "All For Love"

Hawaii-meets-soul-meets-SoCal; allow me to introduce Dylan Keawe, one of the best kept secrets in Southern California reggae. Dylan is a singer, multi-instrumentalist ready to take off! He has been a touring keyboardist for such artists as KBong, Leilani Wolfgramm, Josh Heinrichs, Skillinjah, Cityside, among others and has stepped out on his own. When he started performing solo 4 years ago he noticed a shift. “I felt immediate freedom and control over my career when I decided to start performing under my own name,” he said. “It allowed me to try new sounds and styles that I may have otherwise been too shy to suggest to a band.”

After releasing his self-titled EP “Dylan Keawe” during the thick of the pandemic in June 2020, he immediately started working on his follow-up. He reached out to San Diego producer Patrick Hizon to create an amazing 12-track full length LP, “All For Love.” It is a mix of dance beats that make you want to move, soulful lyrics that make you want to hold your loved one a little closer, and a groove that makes it easy for both. “We collaborated through zoom meetings and were able to complete the album even through COVID restrictions. Once we were both satisfied we sent it off to Dan Coutant at SunRoom Audio Mastering.”

Dylan is Maui-born and San Diego raised. He taught himself to play guitar and keyboard, but it was in middle school band playing percussion where he gathered much of his musical knowledge. His family is  rooted in music as well. “I have family members who play music and all of the exposure really planted the seed for my lifelong commitment to pursuing music professionally,” he explained. “After performing for a couple years by myself creating a one-man-band sound using a keyboard, guitar, and looper pedal; I was fortunate to find the group of musicians who currently back me in full band situations.”

The live band Dylan refers to are Emilio Martinez on drums, Brent Ford on Bass, Michael Chambers on guitar, and Kiki Curiel on keyboards. All profoundly respected veterans in the San Diego reggae scene and were the live band for the “All For Love” album release party at The Holding Company in Ocean Beach San Diego. Dylan is ready to hit the road. “I plan to do some touring to promote the release of the album. I love to see bigger bands helping newer artists to have an audience, and the reggae scene is full of bands doing exactly that!”

The future is bright for this young dread! He has so much going for him with an outstanding quality of music, his intentionality to show love and positivity, and the determination to make the most of every opportunity. There is an infectious, soulful vibe in his music and he’s just getting started!

The World Needs to Check Out "The Whole Year Inn" Courtesy of Barefoot

When the pandemic hit back in 2020 the band Barefoot, took advantage of the time provided and wrote. Their finished product was arguably some of the best songwriting I have ever heard! The new album, "The Whole Year Inn," is stacked full of catchy riffs and rich tones from guitarist/backing vocalist/keyboardist Dylan Heinrich; ballad-like, anthemic choruses & meaningful lyrics from vocalist Dylan Fay (aka D Fay); chest-pounding, dead-on drumming from Christian Aroz; and smooth hooks and bouncing bass lines from Patrick Smiley.  

D Fay says, "Life was so weird at the time and we didn’t know what to expect next… Emotions were high, failure to know the future made us all high strung. I always like to write lyrics with a bit of satire in them, but also can be serious."

Since 2013 Barefoot has been steadily releasing new music. Their discography is an impressive 3 EP (Barefoot, Charming Souls, Trip) and now 6 studio efforts (Stories to Scare the Young, Yesteryear, Shook, Leisure Fever, Bare Vol. 1, and The Whole Year Inn). Majority of their studio experience has been with the amazingly talented Matt Keller (Lydia, The Maine, Katastro). Unfortunately, because of the awkwardness of the pandemic, they weren't able to get into the studio so they took to different measures.

"This album (The Whole Year Inn) is actually the first album we wrote, produced, mixed, and mastered ourselves. Dylan Heinrich did an amazing job. We ended up sending it off to Joe LaPorta from Sterling Sound for mastering and afterwards we loved what he did." They continue, "We LOVE Matt but with the 'shut-down,' 'quarantine,' COVID mess, we decided to take what we’ve learned over the years and attempt an album all ourselves." Side note; that's multi-Grammy winning Joe LaPorta. Working the ranges of J Cole, David Bowie, Imagine Dragons, Foo Fighters, as well as many others. 

In 2018, Barefoot invited fellow Arizona native Andy Chaves from Katastro for the track "Chemicals Unknown." The connection stemmed long before that, going back to high school in Tempe, AZ. Before ever starting Barefoot, some of the members of Katastro handed them a self-made demo CD in the hallways. D Fay recalled "I remember thinking it was so awesome and it was a pivotal moment of me starting to listen to Katastro as a band." 

Over the years when Barefoot started playing shows with Katastro at Marquee Theater in Tempe the relationship grew. So much so that Katastro's bass player, Ryan Weddle, even co-wrote a couple of the new songs. "It got to the point of us wanting a 3rd party opinion on songs we were writing," they said. "We write all our music and have learned a lot over the years, but having an outsider come in and provide constructive criticism, along with Ryan’s experience as an artist, really progressed us as a band and our writing alone."

There was a connection that brought them all closer during quarantine and the results showed. Barefoot collectively created "The Whole Year Inn." They really wanted to connect with their fans, but they couldn't play live shows for about 18 months. They are ready to bring "The Whole Year Inn" back to the stage. Keep an eye out for their new reservations. "You know," They conclude, "Connecting with fans is all I do this for. I just want our music to relate and connect with people... Excited to play this new album more and see which ones people grasp on to!"