Bio

“Few things are more gratifying then hearing everything fall into place for a promising band. That’s just what happens with Glassjaw Boxer.” – USA Today

“The best [singer-songwriters] (Springsteen, Petty, Dylan) scale intimate songs up to epic proportions and similarly narrow the focus of bigger songs to make them feel intensely personal. Newcomer Stephen Kellogg now seems poised to earn himself a place in their Company.” – HARP

“Kellogg’s music is semi-gritty, melodic alt-country. Think early Wilco, Whiskeytown, or Tom Petty. Relaxed, yet passionate.” – BOSTON GLOBE

Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers is a Massachusetts’ trio made up of two distinct parts. In one corner stands the unmistakably jubilant personality of rock-n-roll’s The Sixers; in the other sits an authentic American songwriter in a period of profound growth. Rising triumphantly in the center is a band whose music is the perfect marriage of the two.

A few months after the band formed, they experienced a harrowing flight to Florida where they collectively saw their lives flash before their eyes. The experience caused them to all do a lot of soul searching. The result is Glassjaw Boxer – a lasting letter to the world about family and friendships, released in July 2007. As a songwriter, Stephen emerged from the flight with a new found appreciation for everything and everyone in his life and his heartfelt songs reach out to those he cares most about. Delving into thoughts and issues we all struggle with on a daily basis.

Glassjaw Boxer was met with widespread critical acclaim, named a Top 5 Album of 2007 by USA Today. With this success of Glassjaw Boxer under their belt, Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers are poised to make a triumphant return with the release of American Standard in early 2009. Recorded throughout the summer of 2008, American Standard is set to follow in the footsteps of Glassjaw Boxer as an intimate and sometimes rollicking look into the life of a songwriter, a friend, and a family man.

On stage, these new songs will add another layer to an already engaging live show that effortlessly mixes energetic shoulder-to-shoulder singalongs, casually-spun three-part fables, and triumphant moments of musical synchronicity. With the Glassjaw Boxer material, the emotional spectrum expands even further, as Kellogg takes a quieter moment to share a soulful ballad or a poignant reflection. “It's that much more of a ride,” says Kellogg.

Live, the Sixers - Keith “Goose” Karlson (bass/keys) and Brian “Boots” Factor (drums) - play together like brothers, effortlessly sharing the stage and the spotlight. Honed over hundreds of gigs across the country, the Sixers shows are vivid celebrations of camaraderie and friendship. “There is a realization in the band,” says Kellogg, “that this is a journey. It's not just an end result. What you have is what you make of every day.”

For the past five years, Kellogg & the Sixers have toured non-stop, some years clocking in close to 300 shows. They’ve shared the stage with such notable and diverse artists as Guster, James Brown, Jason Mraz, Kathleen Edwards, Carbon Leaf, Mike Doughty, Josh Ritter, George Thorogood and Hanson.

With a full North American tour lined up for the fall and the release of American Standard at the start of 2009, the future of Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers looks brighter than ever. And their broadening base of dedicated followers: teenagers covering their binders and MySpace profiles with “SK6ERS” and their parents re-discovering how rock ‘n roll can speak to them, deeply, through the words and music of Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers, will continue to find what they’ve been searching for – a growing musical legacy of a life honestly and actively lived.