Kitchen Dwellers, a bluegrass band from Bozeman, Montana, joins KGNU’s Greg Schultz in the studio. The band performs tracks from their latest album Seven Devils. The album, released earlier this year, is their most collaborative work yet, inspired by themes of good vs. evil and modeled after a modern-day Divine Comedy (Interview date: 11/14/2024)
Greg Schultz: We’re going to take you into the KGNU Kabaret room where I have the Kitchen Dwellers. Hey guys, thanks for coming in.
Kitchen Dwellers: How’s it going?
Greg Schultz: Good. Just wanted to let everybody know the Kitchen Dwellers from Bozeman, Montana, will be playing some tunes for us, talking about their latest release, Seven Devils, and their upcoming show tonight, tomorrow and Saturday night at the Mission Ballroom, tomorrow night at Cervantes in Denver.
Again, welcome guys. Thanks for coming in. Why don’t you just kick it off with a tune and we’ll come back, talk about the record, the show and all things Kitchen Dwellers.
Holy moly. You guys are cooking, man. The name of that tune again?
Kitchen Dwellers: “Unwind”.
Greg Schultz: “Unwind”. We all need to do a little of that these days, that’s for sure. People are pretty twisted up. Folks, Kitchen Dwellers. That’s a kick butt tune, man, I really like that one. Again, thanks for coming by and sharing your tunes and your story with us.
We had this debate, which must have been an hour ago, who was gonna speak. There’s only one microphone and there’s only one dude in front of the microphones. The other guys are like, I don’t want to do this. So Torrin, you’re the guy. I want you to first of all introduce your band and then let’s talk about the new record.
Kitchen Dwellers: Yeah, my name is Torrin Daniels and I play the banjo and this is Joe Funk on the stand up bass And Max Davies on the guitar. We have Silas Herman on the mandolin with us.
Greg Schultz: Nice. You guys definitely know how to handle those instruments. That’s for sure, man. Impressive. So let’s get into this new record because I was intrigued by it, as I’m sure everybody who’s read about it or listened to it. Why don’t you talk a little bit about Seven Devils? I know the whole premise, but let the folks know how you came up with the idea. I know y’all chimed in with different songs, if I’m not mistaken. Let the folks know the premise, the background, and the genesis for the project.
Kitchen Dwellers: This album came out earlier this year, and it’s our most collaborative work to date. Everyone has a little piece of something in every song, and I think that’s probably when we do our best work. Seven Devils is a name I came across in our travels that’s pretty ubiquitous between cultures in America in several different parts of the country. From the song “Seven Devils”, we came up with this concept of going down a rabbit hole of modern day Dante’s Inferno, or the Divine Comedy, where everything is based on a battle of good and evil over the human soul, and there are sins to be had and lessons to be learned. It’s a journey, for sure.
Greg Schultz: You captured it pretty well. I sat down and listened to the whole thing, and it’s nice to sit and just put something on and listen to it. I can’t just skip around. If I don’t have the time, I’m not gonna listen to it. The direction that you went, the songs that each of you chimed in on, it’s coming from many perspectives. It is a pretty cool thing. How has the reception been? You’ve been touring around. I can’t imagine people not just really digging it.
Kitchen Dwellers: Yeah, people have been loving it. It’s been great. This tour that we just went on has been fantastic.
Greg Schultz: That’s always a good word. So you’re based out of Bozeman, but I know that you, Silas, live in Nederland, and I know Torrin, you live in Denver now. The other two guys, Joe and Max, are you still up in Bozeman?
Kitchen Dwellers: I actually live in Michigan now.
Greg Schultz: Oh geez. I guess the Bozeman band thing just exploded.
Kitchen Dwellers: We play a lot of shows, so we’ve been given the nice fortune of, some people can be closer to family, some people have that kind of luxury to do that. We’re together a lot and so we’re making it work.
Greg Schultz: You have to give things up to make great things, right? It doesn’t come easy. I saw that bass case of yours, Joe, and I thought, geez, that thing’s all banged up.
Kitchen Dwellers: I took it on a couple of flights and realized how expensive it was to fly with the big bass. So I ended up buying a little bass and that’s what I fly with now. Now I’m back to the big bass. But that big case is a good bus trailer protector.
Greg Schultz: Oh, no kidding. It’s bigger than people.
Kitchen Dwellers: You could fit a couple people.
Greg Schultz: Let’s check and see. No, I’m just kidding. That’s fantastic. We’re looking forward to the show and we have some tickets to give away for a Saturday night show at the Mission Ballroom. It’s three nights, two nights at Cervantes. That’s a testament to your popularity, skill and people who love your music, so I think that’s just killer. Why don’t you give us a couple more tunes, we’ll come back and chat a little bit more. Let us know what you’re gonna play.
Kitchen Dwellers: We’re gonna play “Pendulum”.
Greg Schultz: It’s from the new record?
Kitchen Dwellers: Yep.
Greg Schultz: Wow. Max. You write that one?
Kitchen Dwellers: I did.
Greg Schultz: It’s really nice. The titles of your songs are short, but they’re there. They’re in the pocket. Is that what they say in the music business? I really like the lyrics. All this time, I thought Joe didn’t sing. He didn’t want to be near the microphone, and he’s taking the front and he’s harmonizing.
Kitchen Dwellers: Most people think he doesn’t talk.
Greg Schultz: By listening to this song, you could tell you wrote that song, Joe. Which is a good thing actually. Really good song. I love it.
Kitchen Dwellers: Before that song was written, they were like, yeah, Joe’s got a type of song. That’s definitely Joe’s song. Then I wrote that song, and they’re like, that is the most Joe song that’s ever been written. The essence of Joe, if you will.
Greg Schultz: There’s the title of the next song. As you’re traveling down the road somewhere, you guys can just make that one up. “The Essence of Joe”, I like that.
Now, I love your harmonies. You guys really love playing together. It’s just so evident, right? And that’s what resonates with the audience, George and me today. But it’s what folks can expect at these shows. Speaking of that, tonight’s show and tomorrow night, you have Cervantes. Have you guys played Cervantes before?
Kitchen Dwellers: Many times. We played 10 shows in a row during Covid. We did distanced shows in Cervantes. We did two a day. And they fit 50 people in there, all distanced out in the ballroom that normally holds 1100 people. We played two a day for five days in a row. So you could say we know the inner workings of Cervantes.
Greg Schultz: If the walls could talk right? What can the folks expect to hear? A lot of the new record, you have some other new material you’re working on?
Kitchen Dwellers: Expect to hear almost anything I think. A lot of our shows, the entire catalog is on the table.
Greg Schultz: Nice.
Kitchen Dwellers: It’ll be great. We got our buddy Daniel Donato opening up for us tonight. He’ll be closing tomorrow night. There’s definitely going to be some collaborations. We’re gonna see where we can take it.
Greg Schultz: Daniel Donato and Cosmic Country. I love that. That’s my era. It fits today, right? It’s been around for 60 years and it’s still going strong. That’s fantastic. I think it’s refreshing that you guys just look at each other and decide which tunes to do. A collective that likes each other a lot and just has the confidence to just go, yeah, no problem. That’s pretty cool. ‘Cause not everybody does that.
Listen, we’re going to let you guys take us out with one more song. So tonight, tomorrow night at Cervantes, Saturday night show at the Mission. You have to be excited about that. Lots of folks in this Front Range area will be there to dig the show.
Kitchen Dwellers: Yes. Thank you. We are about to run outta tickets for that one. So if you’re thinking about going, I would get your tickets today.
Greg Schultz: That’s fantastic. We love to hear that. We’ve got a couple of giveaways, like I said, after we send you guys down the road ’cause I know you have to get ready to get set up.
Social media. Where can we find all things Kitchen Dwellers? Why don’t you let the folks know?
Kitchen Dwellers: You can find us on Instagram and on Facebook. And I believe we have a Twitter or X or whatever Twitter is now. We have TikTok. Our website is kitchendwellers.com, so that one is not too hard to find.
Greg Schultz: Fantastic.
Kitchen Dwellers: We’re easy to find.
Greg Schultz: Yeah, I know you are. That’s a name you don’t forget once you hear it too. Can I ask you about the name? How did you come up with that? Because it’s pretty catchy.
Kitchen Dwellers: Shawn, our mandolin player, lived in student housing my freshman year. And we always rehearsed in the kitchen because it was the only place big enough for all of us to stand in together.
Greg Schultz: Nice.
Kitchen Dwellers: Yeah. That’s where it came from.
Greg Schultz: That’s where everybody goes when they go to a party, isn’t it? Especially if you don’t like who’s in the living room, you go to the kitchen.
Kitchen Dwellers: That’s the first thing that someone says to us when we say that.
Greg Schultz: I guess I’m part of the masses in that respect. Thanks for coming in. We loved having you. We’re loving giving the tickets away. Come back anytime. Let us know when you’re coming through. We’d love to have you in here again. These rustic digs that we have here is a pretty cool room. It sounds great. I got a couple of friends texting me saying, man, it just sounded great.
Good luck with the new record. It’s not brand new, but good luck with the show. Good luck with the tour. Watch out for the Michigan guys, you just never know about those Midwesterners. Anyways, have fun with the tour, have a great time on the next three nights, and again, our pleasure to host you guys. What are you going to take us out with?
Kitchen Dwellers: This is one of Silas’s tunes, since Silas has been playing this year with us. This is called “Hummingbird”.
Greg Schultz: Alright, thanks for tuning in, folks, and thanks to the Kitchen Dwellers right here on KGNU.
