Kyle Bain

Multifaceted musician

From blue-grass to hard rock, Kyle Bain’s reflects on his musical journey

By RODNEY HARWOOD staff writer

Kyle Bain sat sipping a beer, glancing down at the foam, one of those maneuvers a guy might use when someone asks a question he doesn’t have a ready-made answer for.

Considering the guy asking the questions can remember song lyrics to ‘60s songs faster than he can tell you why he went into the kitchen, the 31-year-old, long-time Kittitas Valley singer-song writer did a pretty fair job picking out the bits and pieces of his life to expand on.

“You know, to tell you the truth, I don’t really know what the difference is between Metallica and Led Zeppelin,” he finally said with a smile. “I grew up listening to Metallica, really like the way they play. Zeppelin is considered one of the first metal bands, but other than Jimmy Page, I don’t know much about them.”

Bain’s musical interests are as multi-dimensional as the layers of music he produces. He used to front a bluegrass band called “Centaur Midwife.” He currently plays guitar for “Cobrahawk,” which previously opened for Smash Mouth (September 2017) at the Central Washington State Fair and won the Yakima Apple Jam battle of the bands that same year. Bain’s also the frontman and rhythm guitarist in the “Chuck Boom.”

After taking a little break from the business, he’s writing, producing and more active than ever. His musical influences range from Metallica and the heavy metal sound to bluegrass banjo to the revival of the pre-revolutionary Cuba sounds generated by the Buena Vista Social Club, produced by Ry Cooder.

He’s written everything from heavy metal songs and power ballads, to folk songs to children’s music for the YouTube show Blippi (2014), where he also appeared as the character Nicky Notes until 2017. He’s been writing songs for a good, long while and there’s still a lot of music balled up inside, just waiting to come out, he said.

See Bain, Page 13

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Contributed photos TOP RIGHT: Kyle Bain as “Nicky Notes” in a YouTube video. TOP LEFT AND BOTTOM RIGHT: Kyle Bain playing guitar in Cobrahawk. BOTTOM RIGHT: Kyle, right, poses for a photo with Centaur Midwife.

BAIN

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“I remember writing lyrics when I was in third grade,” Bain recalled. “I really liked the Wallflowers and Jacob Dylan at that age. I wasn’t even aware that he was Bob Dylan’s son, I just liked the song ‘One Headlight.’

“So I wrote my own lyrics to ‘One Headlight’ and would sing my lyrics along with their recording. After that, I started writing lyrics and gravitating to writing music.”

His first original song was called “Birdseye View,” a simple melody about a bird flying over a red house, then a whale flying over a red house. “The third verse was about a crow flying over a red house,” he said. “My first real accomplishment was a lullaby to my brother when I was 14 and he was 4 called ‘It’ll be Alright,’ which was just a song to try and get him to sleep.”

The countless garage bands and musical projects along the way added to the experience that has made him a pretty savvy songwriter over the years. Unlike the Nashville music scene where songwriters use a 9 to 5 business approach or collaborators like Elton John and Bernie Taupin, where one writes the music and the other writes words — Bain gives his songwriting effort a half an hour.

“Whether it’s magic or not, if it doesn’t come in that amount of time I log it away and work on something else,” he said. “I store voice memos on my phone and go back to it later.”

As he sat there at the table at the D&M Coffee on Pearl Street, he flicked the screen with his thumb two, three times and the voice files flew past. As he kept going, six, seven, eight flicks, it became evident there must be hundreds of files, combinations of words, musical ideas, key or note information, stored away for that time when he goes back to turn it into magic.

Bain is multi-dimensional to be sure, but at the end of the day — he’s a music man. Whether it’s hard-driving metal or the Slightly Odd Christmas songs he gives away every holiday season or children’s music for the YouTube show Blippi — he’s making music.

“I do five songs a year for the Slightly Odd Christmas project — different songs, different keys, not your standard Christmas song — and give them away,” he explained. “I’ve been doing it seven years now, so there’s 35 songs available.”

He ran into some business differences with Blippi, but his character Nicky Notes is still popular even after it ended in 2017. On a Facebook page Albert Tsang calls to bring back the popular character. On Jan. 12, Tsang posted, “His lyrics, instrumentals, voice, and overall composition were amazing. He was a huge part of why we love Blippi. We listen to Amazon prime music Blippi machines everyday in the car.”

It’s not quite a Rolling Stones crowd pushing up against the stage, but praise is music to a music man’s ears, and there’s a certain amount of satisfaction, Bain said.

“It’s an ever-changing business. I don’t make much, if any, from songs because it’s all on YouTube and people don’t seem to mind about the poor sound quality because it’s free,” he said. “Touring and merchandise is where you make your money,” he said. “For me, music is more of a hobby than a way to make a living.

“I get paid for shows like Blippi to write songs. There is another show in San Francisco called Xsploor that’s just getting started. It is a children’s entertainment show focused on education and I’m just starting to write music for that.”

Between all the different styles, it’s been an interesting journey.

Kyle Bain didn’t have to stare at the foam on the bottom of the glass — to borrow a line from the Band, “,,, Life is a carnival, believe it or not. Life is a carnival, two bits a shot ...”

To hear Kyle Bain’s music, visit https://www.facebook.com. KyleBainsMusicAndCreations.

2020 IN DOWNTOWN

First Friday Art Walk* Hosted the †rst Friday of the Month between February-December. From 5-7pm, enjoy art and community venues throughout the downtown.

April 25 Downtown Clean-Up

Join the Ellensburg Downtown Association and volunteers from throughout the community from 9am-12pm and help make downtown sparkle for its summer guests!We are coming up on the most popular season to travel and nothing welcomes out of town friends like a clean downtown.

May 2 Kittitas County Farmers Market Begins* 4th Ave from Pearl to Ruby

Shop every Saturday 9am-1pm through October to buy local, fresh produce, unique artisan crafts, and fresh baked bread.

May 7 Girls Night Out Downtown shops, taverns, restaurants

A fun evening for the ladies †lled with deals, giveaways, and pampering. This year’s theme isGroovy!

May 9 Children’s Day Downtown Rotary Pavilion

During the second Farmers Market, enjoy local youth music performances, sign kids up for summer programs, and check out activities and treats provided by the merchants.

June 20 Dachshunds on Parade 4th Ave from Main to Pearl

Dachshund costume contest, parade, tricks, and races make a day of fun for the entire family.

June 25 EDA Appreciation Celebration & Fundraiser

Enjoy drinks, light appetizers, an awards ceremony, and learn more about how you can get involved in the organization. This will take place at HotelWindrow’s “Top of the Burg”Rooftop Lounge.

July 26-28

Jazz in the Valley* Three day music festival in intimate venues, all within walking distance.

August 17 Rodeo Kick-oBreakfast* Rotary Pavilion

Kick-o the Ellensburg Rodeo and Kittitas County Fair Season with a pancake breakfast downtown.

September 2 Ellensburg Rodeo Hoedown in the Downtown

Rotary Pavilion Kick your heels up with great music and some of the best beers and wines Kittitas Valley has to oer.

September 25 Buskers Comedy Kicko

Third annual Buskers comedy show!

September 26 Buskers in the Burg

Various locations, 4th Ave, Rotary Pavilion A weekend of family fun, music, arts, street performers (buskers), and an art parade.

October 31 Downtown Trick-or-Treat Downtown merchant shops

Bring your kids out in their spookiest, cutest, and most creative costumes for a trick-or-treating extravaganza!

November 27 Moments to Remember

Downtown Ellensburg Shop local for Plaid Friday. Take the kids on a cookie scavenger hunt. Enjoy kids dancing and activities, and end the evening with the Streets of Bethlehem and lighting ceremonies.

December 5 Teddy Bear Tea Kelleher Motor Co.

Kids! Come dressed in your Sunday best for tea and stories with Mrs. Claus, performances, and lots of teddy bears! This year, we ask that you donate cold-weather clothing, such as hats, scarves, gloves etc. to help children in need. Everything will be donated to the Court Advocates for Children.

December 10 Holiday Girls Night Out Downtown shops, taverns, restaurants

Just in time for the holidays! A fun evening for the ladies †lled with deals, giveaways, and pampering.

This is just a snapshot of some of the great happenings downtown! Visit

ellensburgdowntown.org

for a more extensive list.

The EDA works to strengthen our downtown through events such as these, our entrepreneur course, beautication projects like the street furniture, and general promotion of our downtown.

Join us as a volunteer or contributor. Contact (509) 962-6246 and get involved today. *Not an EDA event, butworth mentioning!

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