Formula Indie Sessions : Interview with Ken-Scott
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
KEN: Hearing music blasting from my older brother’s room when I was 5 or 6 – Led Zeppelin, Queen, The Kinks, Aerosmith, etc.
SCOTT: Listening to LPs with my dad when I was around age 4 – Dave Brubeck Quartet, Henry Mancini, Herb Alpert, etc.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
KEN: I’ve always had the urge to create. I drew constantly as a kid and wrote poems in elementary school, which eventually became lyrics in my early teens. Once I picked up the guitar in my mid-teens, songwriting took over.
SCOTT: When I got a tape recorder for Christmas at age 8.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
KEN: Ken-Scott is two old friends making music together. It started in the early 2000s when I asked Scott to lay down drums on my first solo record, Your Head Belongs Here, recorded at a friend’s studio. After that, we started writing together more consistently, and our weekly sessions became our first release, Vodka and Diet Cola.
Then life happened – families, careers – and we took a long break. Some personal losses pulled me back into writing, and Scott and I recorded the core tracks for Looking Ahead to What We Leave Behind together, finishing the rest in our home studios. Writing for our latest release, Ghosts of Our Own, began almost immediately after LATWWLB came out.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
KEN/SCOTT: It’s always tricky because every musician wants to believe they sound like themselves – but we’re all shaped by the artists we love. Broadly, we write music with heart and edge. If you want references, we land somewhere between Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins and Stone Temple Pilots, with occasional traces of Rush and Led Zeppelin – and a healthy dose of warmth.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
KEN: As a writer, I learned that accessibility isn’t a crime. I used to write intentionally vague lyrics, but over time I gravitated toward clearer stories that mean something to me. When those connect with someone else, that’s incredibly special.
Practically speaking, learning to record at home was huge. It lets me work when inspiration hits instead of watching the studio clock. (Studios are amazing—just less flexible and more expensive.)
SCOTT: The never-ending quest to get the best drum sound I possibly can.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
KEN: My beat-up acoustic – the guitar I’ve had since the beginning – is still my main writing companion. It’s cheap, worn, had its neck broken, but it feels perfect and suits my voice. Beyond that: a Martin acoustic guitar, PRS electric guitars, a Fender bass and Logic through an affordable 2-channel input.
I’ve moved from Marshall tube amps to modeled amps like Amplitube since I record at home – they sound great to my ears. I use very few effects aside from reverb during mixing. For open-mic recording, I use relatively inexpensive condesor mics for recording vocals and acoustic guitar.
SCOTT: Good mics, smart mic placement, and the latest version of Cubase Pro.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
KEN: Queens of the Stone Age – always evolving – and Jason Isbell, who’s simply a phenomenal songwriter.
SCOTT: Mark Lanegan, Tom Petty, Queens of the Stone Age.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
KEN: A few major moments shaped everything:
- Meeting Scott. I’ve known him since before I played guitar, and he was already a killer drummer. That set the bar. His belief in my writing – early on and again years later – helped push this project forward.
- My niece Hannah’s birth. I wrote a simple song for her when she was born, and it was the first time I remember getting emotional while writing. It taught me that clarity and honesty can resonate more than obscurity.
- Losing my father and brother within eight months. That kind of grief reshapes your world. It brought me back to songwriting as a way to process, reflect, and cope. Music became therapy, and writing became necessary.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
KEN: All of them. Mostly, I want people to feel less alone. Everyone goes through hard stretches. I hope our songs feel like the arms of an old friend reaching out at the right moment.
SCOTT: “Damn, that awesomely written song sounds amazing!”
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
KEN: Just go for it. Kick out the self-doubt. Focus on what you can do and do it well. I know my limitations – I’m not the greatest anything – but I have stories worth telling. Not everyone will like what we create, and that’s okay. No artist is universally loved.
SCOTT: There’s no wrong approach. Follow your own path..
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
KEN: MSG or Wembley would be incredible, but honestly I love small-to-mid-sized venues where you can really feel the connection.
SCOTT: The Beacon Theatre in NYC.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
KEN: I’d love to jam with Alex Lifeson – one of my all-time favorite rhythm and lead guitarists. And I’d love to talk song-craft with Lennon/McCartney, Josh Homme, Eddie Vedder, Jason Isbell, or Sara Bareilles.
SCOTT: No effing clue.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music?
People can find on most digital platforms (we’d lvoe to make some new friends):
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
KEN/SCOTT: To keep evolving and have something new to say. To explore different sounds and textures while keeping things organic. We’re already writing the next batch of songs – some brand-new, some we may revisit and reimagine.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
KEN/SCOTT: That we’re two old friends who genuinely respect what the other brings to the music. After all these years, we finish each other’s musical sentences but still surprise each other. We’ve built trust and our own language – no arguments, just pushing each other to elevate the songs.
We made a pact to keep doing this until we’re at least 80, so there’s plenty more music coming from Ken-Scott.
If you want here you can add a representative Youtube video to insert below the interview 🙂
We’re working on this, but don’t expect to have anything to share before this gets published. In all honestly, we’re pretty terrible at self-promotion – our priority is always on the music.
