A storyteller who throws a lot of coliseum rock
punches. This is Americana delivered at high velocities.

9 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Roots Rock, ROCK: Americana



Details:
Born and raised at the foothills of the Cherokee National Forest, Kevin Abernathy grew up on a heavy diet of country, gospel, bluegrass and âcoliseum rockâ. An older cousin visiting from Florida one summer played a record album called Frampton Comes Alive and from there Kevin knew the path he would take. When he was eleven he asked for a guitar for Christmas, instead he received a hockey video game which he immediately traded for his first guitar and amp. Kevin locked himself in his bedroom everyday after school, donned in headphones and concert t-shirts striking rock star poses, learning Van Halen and Jeff Beck soloâs until his eyes crossed and strings blurred from sleepiness. He would often wake, guitar still in his arms, late for school where he was perpetually distracted from homework due to an over active imagination and an abundance of melodies swirling in his mind.
After high school graduation Kevin boarded a greyhound bus bound for California. He landed in the Bay Area where he joined One, a pop rock combo that open for such acts as Night Ranger and the sixties band Blue Cheer. Times were tough on the west coast where Kevin took to a streak of bohemia, sleeping on couches, in barns, basements and cars. But as long as he had his guitar he was happy. Kevin began writing songs and after One disbanded, he packed his beat-up Izuzu and headed home with his sites set on Nashville.
Via a country rock outfit in Chattanooga and hair metal favorites Shag Nasty in Knoxville, Kevin finally arrived in the Music City in 1993. He began writing and performing his songs at the Bluebird Café and other Nashville staples. Longing to be back in a rock band Kevin answered a guitar player wanted ad and helped form the critically acclaimed Shapeshifters. With the release of their debut âAlienatedâ, the Shapeshifters wowed crowds all over the south east, opening for such acts as Southern Culture on the Skids, Billy Joe Shaver, Web Wilder and Junior Brown.
After the Shapeshifters, Kevin decided to move back to the mountains of east Tennessee where he sat on the porch of his south Knoxville home for two years, penning songs of his own brand of music he describes as âArena-cana.â Kevin Abernathy is a story-teller who throws a lot of classic rock punches. He can send a chill with sophisticated guitar riffs while sketching well crafted parables of rural subjects. He can take you back to the time of the coliseum, and forward to a time where you might just get the urge to chant that long forgotten mantraâ¦..Rock and Roll!â¦â¦Rock and Roll!â¦â¦â¦Rock and Roll!