Kami Kehoe on Festival Culture, Authenticity, and Spreading Love Through Music

0:04 Hey, you're listening to The Adventure of Spider-Man on W4CY Radio. This is Spider-Man here on The Adventure of Spider-Man W4CY Radio, and I'm here with. Kami Kehoe. What's up? Hot. You're hot, and you're an artist, and I'm like, fuck, man, how are you going to perform in this? Like, every artist I talk to, I'm like, oh, my God, I feel so bad for you guys. I don't know how I did it. We played at 1240 on the Decibel stage, and I was... I got up there and I was like, holy shit.

0:47 Right? It is hot. And, like, you still have to put on a major performance. So, it's not like you could be, I'm too hot, guys. I'm just going to sit here and do nothing. I definitely said, it's fucking hot a couple times up there. I was like, are you guys hot? It's super hot. And I kept throwing water on everyone. Nice. Throwing water on myself. I'm like, stay hydrated. Come on, like. It was, it was hot, but it was fun. Like, you know, it's a festival and like, I love festivals, even just like going, not performing. Like I love festival culture and in all genres. So to me, it's like, it comes with the festival. We're outside. It's weather. Exactly. You know, I love it too. Cause it's like my youngest daughter, sometimes I'll bring her to festivals with me and like end of first day, she'll be, or halfway through first day, she'll be like, dad, I don't know how you do this every weekend. I'm done already.

1:34 And I'm like, I don't know how I couldn't do it. Like when I'm home, I'm like in seclusion and you know, that come down the same as you experienced. It's like, yeah, you're here amongst 200,000 of your closest friends, you know, but you have all your friends here. You're in the energy and we're escaping the bullshit of the fucking world right now. Like, I have a solution, by the way, to the world's problems. Yeah. We just have one big music festival. I think you told me this last interview. Yeah, see? I love this. Yeah, keep it going. I agree. I'll play. I'm down. I know, right? And, like, seriously, because look at this family we have out here.

2:18 Yeah, it's beautiful. There's never any issues. We all love each other, even in the mosh pit. Yeah. You know? Everyone takes care of each other. Exactly. You pick them up. And then you hug afterwards, right? Yeah, yeah. People think we're like a bunch of scary people. Oh, yeah, no. You know? Yeah. Some of the nicest people ever. It's like I go home to South Florida, and I think they're scary people. Okay. Florida, yeah. Yeah, totally. Yeah. You know? And, you know, I come here, and I feel like I'm home. And that home could be any festival anywhere. I love that. Festival culture. I love it. I'm into it. Even on my show today, I talk a lot about...

2:59 My whole thing is, like, cure the world, and I want to help people through my music and what I say on stage. And I just say, like, we live in a broken world, and we all just need to love each other. Like, spread love to people you don't even know in the audience. Like, all we need is love. Like, even if you feel you can't receive love right now or give love right now, our hearts are endless. I always preach that. Like, we have endless love to give. Exactly. And you know what? I have this philosophy, too, of all these people... No matter what they are. Yeah. Anti-LGBTQ, anti-whatever race, anti-whatever. Yeah. How does it really affect your life in any way, shape, or form? It doesn't. They worry about what other people do that doesn't affect their life in any way, shape, or form. Yeah. I'm all about you do you.

3:47 Yeah. As long as you're not intentionally hurting people and being a douche. Yeah. You do you. Love is love, and spread the love as much as you can. Exactly. I just wrote a song about this. I just released an album called Love is a Weapon, but the first song on the album was called Love is a Weapon, and it's about that. It's about just, the world carries so much hate, and people are so judgmental, and People are outcasted because of that, for loving whoever, being themselves. I always want to inspire people to be themselves, number one. Be authentic to you. Always be yourself. And just love. It's not hard to love. It takes more to hate somebody than it does to love somebody. It actually makes you more angry when you hate somebody, I feel. And less healthy. Yeah, it is.

4:27 Accomplishes nothing. Yeah, yeah. And, you know, I even talk about people that have opposing views. When you're trying to convince them of your side, and when you're using hate to do so, you're not convincing anybody of anything. Yeah. You know? You need to love them to prove what they're thinking in their head is wrong. That's the way I look at it, you know? Yeah. Because you're not going to prove it by being an asshole. Yeah. You're only going to prove it by showing them... That you are an amazing human being. And it dispels all the bullshit that they've been brainwashed with. Yep. Love conquers all. No doubt. You disarm people and you love them. And that's just how everyone should walk in love. Always. No matter what.

5:13 Absolutely. And I think that's what music is in general anyway. You know? And it doesn't matter the genre. I agree. That's the thing with live music, like you said, festival, doesn't matter genre. Listen, I have my favorite music. Yeah. But I don't give a shit, no matter what. If I'm at live music, I dig it. It may not be what I would listen to in the car. Sure. But it doesn't matter. It's real. It's a connection. You're there in the moment. Like the phones and the parasocial relationships and the social media, it's like, it's great. And I'm blessed that I've made an impact off social media and that's the reason I'm here. But it's like, the live shows are where it's at. You get to meet people and you get to experience that together. And it's like, only lasts you 30 minutes or an hour or however long your set is. It's like, you get that little bit and then it's gone. You can't replay it. You can't rewatch it. You're just there and you have to enjoy it.

6:03 Exactly. 100%. And, you know, I watch these people when I'm out there in the crowd watching a whole set through their phone. Like, I'm okay if you video. Like, I'm media, so I have to do that. But I'll hold my phone to the side. I'll set it up. I'm like, okay, it's filming. But I want to watch the actual set. Yeah. And I do it for a short time, like not the whole set. But when they're watching it through their phone at the set, I'm like, that is just so weird to me. Yeah. You're at home watching YouTube while you're in the middle of a crowd at a live set. Yeah. There's something to be said to immerse yourself in the whole thing.

6:45 It's the whole point. You buy a ticket to enjoy the show. Exactly. People are so scared to lose the moment. Yes. They want to be able to re-watch it and post it and do all this stuff, which is awesome. That's great. But it's like learn to just live and be free and fucking throw your phone. Don't throw it actually. Put it in your pocket and just be there. Be present. That's so important. I'm 23. I'm always on my fucking phone. So like, I want to learn to be more present in moments where I'm not on my phone as much and I thankfully have a career where I can be, I don't have to put my phone on stage and be an influencer. I can actually perform and do what I love. But it's like, I encourage even people my age or older, it's just like, get off your fucking phone and like, look outside of your phone. We're living in this world where you just brought tickets to a festival, enjoy the festival, like, have fun.

7:29 Exactly. You know, it's funny. One time I told my youngest daughter, I'm like, Some days I just want to drive down the road, throw my phone, my iPad, my computer out the window and keep driving. She's like, Dad, who are you kidding? You're just as addicted as anybody else. I'm like, yeah, but I remember a time when I didn't have these things. Yeah. And it was better. It was better because you had no choice but to experience it. I wish I could go back in that era when it wasn't a thing. You know, I think music was stronger and it... and it was more impactful, I think it takes a lot to impact somebody now. And that's okay. It's a lot of work for you guys as an artist. I feel bad for artists, all the work you have to do nowadays.

8:11 I edit all my own videos. I direct all my own music videos. I post twice a day, like three times a day. This is my thing. I have to take it out of... Being a musician is like... I could be a musician and make music and that be my hobby for life. Okay? I'd be happy. That's fine. But if I want this to be my career, my job, other things come with that. I have to do things maybe I don't necessarily love. So content creation, I'm not an influencer, whatever. But I have to do it in order for people to hear my music and I want music to be heard. So... It's like, that's the things I have to do for it, you know? And the positive side is you can get your music out easier and more. And reach so many people, yeah. You know, so there's pros and cons. For sure. And yes, I am as addicted as anybody, you know?

8:54 Yeah. But I can tell you what happened to me on the way to Lowering Life and the attitude I took towards it. As I'm getting on the plane, I'm on Facebook, walking on the plane on Facebook. Somebody hacked in from Vietnam. And so I was so consumed with getting on the plane and I was already on Facebook. I thought it meant me. Somebody just logged in. So I hit yes. And it was a hacker. And within 10 minutes, Facebook. permanently deleted my profile, my meta, my Instagram, my WhatsApp, and my Messenger. Now, I could have taken two points of like, okay, there's 20 years of fucking blood and sweat building that shit. But then I said, You know what?

9:48 Maybe I'll enjoy the festival more this weekend because I won't be able to go on that shit. See, that's a good way to look at it. That sucks, though. I'm sorry. It does totally suck because you can't even talk to a human being. Believe me. I'd freak out. Freak out after Louder Than Life. I was like, I can't afford to freak out during the festival. Everyone follow him on Facebook. Let's get his views back up. I know, right? It's like... You know, but it's everything. They blew away everything. The only thing I got left now is, like, Snapchat, LinkedIn, X, and TikTok. And I hate X. Yeah. LinkedIn's okay for certain things, but I'm hardly ever on there. Instagram and Facebook for me. Yeah, Instagram. Like, oh, my God. Yeah. And Facebook, too. Like, I...

10:31 thousands and thousands of festival photos in there. Now, luckily, I have them on my computer. Yeah. But you can't even talk to a human being. Oh, man. It's like, I tried for two days trying to reach a human being at Facebook, and they're like, it's AI, and then it's like, nope, it's final. Wow, that's crazy. Right? That's crazy. And it wasn't even because I did anything. You know? That's crazy. But there's that other side of like, Maybe if the whole world that was all shut down. Everything shut off. Maybe people could get used to, like, living life instead of living it through their phone. See, that would be amazing. I think that should happen. I've, like, had this, like, movie idea of, like, having something be, like, unplugged and, like, the world just unplugs for a second.

11:17 I think it would be such a cool concept. At the same time, it's, like, technology has helped us so much in so many ways. And, like, me growing up in technology, like, I was born in 2003. Like, my first thing I listened to was, like, Apple iPod. You know, it wasn't even, like, the old school iPods. It was, like, the Apple iPod, right? Right. So it's, like... You know, I had the first iPhone and all that. So I grew up in that. And, like, I think watching that over time has been so amazing. But it's something I just grew up in and I've watched. And now I'm older and I've, like, done my history on, like, Joan Jett's one of my favorite artists and all, like, old school rock and everything. And I'm like... Damn, like, everyone was so in it back then. I feel like there's pros and cons, like you said. I love social media. I hate social media. I wish people were more, like, involved in real-life shit, and I wish people were more active online. You know what I mean? So I think there's two ways to go about it.

12:04 And then there's the other side, like an artist like you. Maybe you wouldn't be at Ladner in life with all this stuff. I wouldn't. Yeah, no shot. Well, maybe. I would have faith in myself. I've been doing this since I was like six, so I would hope that I would make it here. But yeah, without social media, I wouldn't have reached all these people. Exactly. No one would have known I'm a drummer and a singer, and that's how I popped off. I think, I thank social media and all the people, all my supporters, all my followers for, like, getting me to this point. And I could play louder than life because of it. So, it's sick. There it is. So, I want you to tell me about your merch because you're wearing it now. And people cannot listen to my show unless they buy your merch. Okay, okay. But besides that, your merch is cool as shit. Thank you. So, tell everybody about it.

12:45 To start, it's two Ks. My name is Kami Kehoe with two Ks. So... I had to make it a cool little emblem. And, yeah, it's a cool little design. I have, like, hats, shirts. I'm making more merch soon. I'm going to start a clothing brand for, like, people that wear androgynous clothing. I'm pretty, like, wear unisex clothes. Sometimes I wear boys' pants, girls' pants, girls' tank tops, boys' tank tops. I just wear whatever the fuck I want to wear. So I'm starting up my own clothing brand pretty soon. I love that. That's exciting. Aside from that, I have merch if you guys want to go get some. And, you know, I like what you just said now, like, Who gives a fuck what you wear, too? That's another thing. Whatever you feel comfortable in. That's all that matters. You should be comfortable. And who set these... I always say that all the time. Who set these rules?

13:27 Yeah. I don't know who the fuck set any rules. I don't know if you know this, but originally... High heels were only for men. Women weren't allowed to wear high heels. That's crazy. Right? You should see the platforms I wear. Look at this. Oh, look at that. Those are cool. It's like five... Sorry, I almost kicked you. There's like five inches on that. It's just crazy. And so what it was is it was a sign of wealth and women weren't allowed to... So the women, that was their way then of... Women's liberation is where and that's why we're high heels now You know and then even wigs same thing only men were way. I know this I know that right yeah Yeah, like back way way back dad like the fucking white big ass wigs the ones.

14:11 Exactly Exactly leave it to the men to pick ugly wigs. Yeah, they could keep those ones right one. Oh Right? But, yeah, like, who gives a fuck? It's like, even with tattoos, okay? Yeah. I have a brother, he's, like, really judgy, okay? And we were at a restaurant one night, and he saw somebody with a tattoo, but he didn't see everybody else around. And he's, like, made some comment. I'm like, dude, you do realize pretty much everybody... Has a tattoo nowadays. Oh, yeah. He goes, maybe everybody you hang with. I'm like, did you open your eyes and look around the restaurant? Everyone's got a tattoo. I dare you to find somebody without one. Yeah. If you opened your eyes. And, like, who cares? It's not your tattoo. What do you care what they do?

15:01 This is true. Let people be them. If a guy or a girl wants to wear high heels, fuck it. If they feel cool and confident, fuck it. Let them do their thing. If I want to wear boys' clothes, if I want to wear girls' clothes, fuck it. Who cares? Exactly. You should be able to walk around and be free and be yourself. We live in America. We live in a world where you can do whatever the fuck you want. Right. Kind of. But we're not going to get into that. Exactly. But, yeah, it's true. Like, who cares? That doesn't affect your life. How does it affect my life? You wearing that hat. It doesn't. Exactly. Unless you let it. Exactly. And I'm not going to do shit about it. I'm not going to take my hat off. Exactly. 100%. Anything else you want to share with the listeners we haven't covered already?

15:42 I would say I just released an album, Love is a Weapon. If you guys want to go check it out, 15 songs. I wrote all of them. Nice. I track drums on everything as well. It's a genre blend of rock and a bunch of other genres and put my whole heart into that album. So if you guys want to check it out, but yeah, I would say like words of inspiration, be yourself always. Live your life, and who cares what other people think? Well, Cammie, you are a badass. Thank you. And I'm glad you're here at Hodderton Life. Thank you. Because that's my new name for the festival. Yeah. And thanks for being on The Adventures of Pikeman. Thank you for having me, man. Thank you for listening to The Adventures of Pikeman on W4CY Radio.