Searching for the Elvis Knob
Searching for the Elvis Knob is an intimate glimpse into the life and mind of one of the most independent and original souls I’ve ever met.
Kenyata Sullivan is best known to his friends for his role in the music trading mail underground and the founding of the WE Fest in NC. An annual event that brings together the best DIY, underground bands to Wilmington, NC to play and party. I have discovered many new and interesting artists through bulky packages crammed into my PO Box and long car trips to Wilmington.
Several years ago, Kenyata retired from the music biz. He told me he was just tired of the bullshit and wanted nothing more than to sit at home, drink some beer, sell his wares on ebay and write simple little ditties.
It was around this time that he first played “I Don’t Have a Job” for me. With the lines, “…don’t get mad if I don’t care that you don’t like my songs ’cause I don’t have a job,” it’s a country-tinged rock assault that epitomizes his attitude towards corporate slavery.
This CD is the result of gathering up those simple little ditties, putting together a band and making a nice package for the rest of the world to enjoy. Simple, stark and well produced stories of dispair, hospitality, comfort, darkness, happiness and good old fashioned rock n’ roll energy.
Majestic Twelve is a project brought about thanks to the help of musicians Alex Alexander [guitar], Joey Stewart [guitar], Peter Gottovi [drums], Jerry Kee [drums] Jack Boyd [bass], and Kenyata [vocals, guitar, piano, bass, etc.]. They’ve created some of the best soulful bluesy expressions around. Inviting you in and exposing you to the real places and characters of the generations who have lived here in this beach community. Such as in the tune “Swim Out to the Jetty”. A heart wrenching a’ capello mourning for the once proud Cape Fear now suffocating in the grip of over-development.
Kenyata has changed my attitude, and that of many others, about the difference between music and the business of music. Whether you have $1,000,000 or $10, the goal is the same. Get your music to the people. If you can avoid the obstacles often associated with corporate support, then all the better.
I advise any band starting out to get this CD and, more importantly, get in touch with Kenyata. He’ll teach you a lesson or two I promise.
See Also:
The Majestic Twelve
