Kevin Zarnett profile picture

Kevin Zarnett

Welcome to my failures. Use the secret knock.

About Me


My Space or Yours? Myspace Layouts and more at myspaceoryours.net!
~NEW RELEASES~
**Canadian band Longshot has recorded the Sheremeta/Zarnett song "Summer's Reign" for their upcoming CD. More details to come.
**I'll be playing guitar etc. for Kirsten Jones, and bass for Scott Cooper at their big co-headlining dealie June 6th at St. Stephen's in the Field. Could you want more entertainment than that?
**I've written liner notes for upcoming releases by Caetano Veloso (20th Century Masters), Nina Simone, Styx and Chris de Burg (Green Series). Invest as your taste allows.~OLDIES~
I don't so much live in the Toronto area as I pace, sleep, play guitar and don't answer the phone there. Sometimes I don't remember picking up the guitar, yet there it is in my hands. Occasionally, strange phrases arrive with music and we go on little adventures, explorations, expeditions. Don't say splunking.I was in a band called "The Complements" that perhaps sounds familiar. I tend to be recognized by people I've never met and meet the rest for the first time repeatedly. The C-Ments (a nickname I am inventing right...now), did make their way around southern Ontario, some radio and tv, and got some neato reviews:"...strong writing avoids the sappy cliches that bogs down lesser breakup discs." (NOW MAGAZINE)"...five originals that are definite gems, whether you base your criteria on songwriting or performing. Kevin's voice is undeniably one of a folk singer - melodic but gritty, clearly passionate about the words he is singing." (BEING THERE MAGAZINE)"...glimpses of a young Dylan are evident on "Just Another Sad Song" where Zarnett's vocals find solace. The songwriting also maintains center stage with catchy choruses and thoughtful insight." (SOUL SHINE MAGAZINE)Maybe you did hear about us after all? We actually had three sets of original material, plus a whack of covers to play. I was such a taskmaster. Was?Do I really accompany other artists? Think of me as a musical coaster, that keeps your songs from ruining a nice table. No, that's no good. Musical mustard, that leaves a yellow glob in the corner of your mouth. Even worse. Talk to Kirsten Jones, Gregg Lawless or Howard Gladstone and ask them to come up with a good analogy for what I've done to their music. They are crafty folk. I have always wanted to be some kind of musical pudding though.Some people say my songs sound like Paul Simon (mostly based on height similarities), The Wallflowers (based on weight), Blue Rodeo (based on geography) and Tom Petty (we both use the same recipe for homemade body wash: part old spice classic, axe snake peel, and something that gets spots out). But what do they know? Certainly not as much as you.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 8/25/2006
Band Website: thecomplements.com
Band Members: Kevin Zarnett - Vocals, Guitars, Harmonica, etc.
See song specific blogs for any other culprits.
Influences: Current Listening:
Ry Cooder - Paradise and Lunch
Mark Olson - The Salvation Blues
Jimmy Cliff - Jimmy Cliff
Loudon Wainwright III - Last Man on Earth
The Kinks - Muswell Hillbillies
Eric Clapton - Eric Clapton
Rickie Lee Jones - Sermon from Exposition Blvd
Jackie Greene - Sweet Somewhere Bound
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky

Always up for: The Jayhawks (been crowded in the wings), The Blue Shadows (it seems lucky to me), Jackson Browne (how long have i been dreaming i could make things right/if i closed my eyes and tried with all my might), Paul Westerberg (things i don't want to tell you but i have to...now), The Beatles (two of us riding nowhere), Lucinda Williams (did you love me forever, for those three days?), Warren Zevon (i was staying at the Mariott with Jesus and John Wayne), Otis Redding (these eyes of mine don't fool me), Bob Dylan (i used to care but things have changed), Nick Drake (why leave me hanging on a star), Paul Simon (home, where my music's playin'), David Mead (i got a name that's hard to remember), Sam Phillips (when we open our eyes and dream we open our eyes), Josh Rouse (under the cold blue stars), Squeeze (this summer we pull all the sheets off the bed), Wilco (all my lies are always wishes), pat mAcdonald (cooler than ice cream in the mouth of a debutante/hotter than hells angels at altamont)
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Recorded Faves of 2007

Scott Cooper "Tiny Increments" - You can't make a record this good and not have people think you made a deal at the crossroads.  A tremendous batch o' tunes and one of the best voices around, all...
Posted by Kevin Zarnett on Tue, 08 Jan 2008 11:26:00 PST

Halloween Bride

I came home from work on wednesday, and wondered, if I was doing a gig around Halloween, and choose to be of a festive spirit, what Halloween number could I throw into my set?  Sure there's Monst...
Posted by Kevin Zarnett on Sun, 29 Oct 2006 12:29:00 PST

Overboard and Back Porch

Both of these were recorded live to air on the October 3rd episode of "It's (A)Live" on CIUT 89.5 FM. I accompanied Kirsten Jones on a street festival gig (see the photographic evidence in the slidesh...
Posted by Kevin Zarnett on Tue, 10 Oct 2006 07:51:00 PST

Thoughtful Man

I had all the music written for Thoughtful Man, and the lyrics and melody for the bridge, as well as the first line, but I couldn't get the second line for the life of me! Kirsten Jones and I had just...
Posted by Kevin Zarnett on Sat, 26 Aug 2006 12:14:00 PST

Can I Hold You Tonight?

I moved at the end of July.  This was the first new idea spawned at the new digs, and about a week later, the first finished song and first recording - fortunately not the last. A pretty ordinary...
Posted by Kevin Zarnett on Tue, 10 Oct 2006 07:44:00 PST

Toronto Misses You

This song came together rather quickly.  Started right before midnight one evening, the bulk of it was done before the clock struck one a.m.  Picked it up again around 10 a.m. and made this ...
Posted by Kevin Zarnett on Sat, 26 Aug 2006 11:06:00 PST

Sandra Bernhard

I was playing keys for a blues-rock, female singer-songwriter.  A typical break during one of our rehearsals would see the bass player head out to the balcony for a smoke, and to call one of...
Posted by Kevin Zarnett on Sat, 26 Aug 2006 11:32:00 PST

Hindsight

Hindsight is a song I wrote with Paul Sheremeta.  It is either the second or third tune we wrote together, but I think the third.  Paul and I have a typical pattern when we write a tune.&nbs...
Posted by Kevin Zarnett on Sat, 26 Aug 2006 11:58:00 PST