If Gene Simmons is right and rock music is dead, Kenton Place doesn’t care. Why should they? Those who know better know that lack of commercial prominence doesn’t mean something’s no longer viable unless money is your only barometer for success. They know that so long as there are still guitars to play, amplifiers, cords, and electricity, someone will always be learning chords and writing rock songs.
Kenton Place has a classic rock band origin story. The band’s co-founders lead vocalist/rhythm guitar Logan Smalley and drummer Noe Hernandez met in high school and, of course, started a band. These are two “lifers” who will be playing music as long as they are alive and their tireless efforts pushing Kenton Place are a big reason why the band enjoys the success it now has.
Lead guitarist Roque Techera and bass player Curtis Bird are lifers as well and their contributions to the band’s single “Haley’s Comet” pack quite a wallop. It is debatable if the rhythm section would steamroll listeners quite as well without Bird’s pairing with Hernandez. The bassist and drummer are absolutely mammoth for this song without ever being obtrusive in the mix. Techera’s lead guitar touches are dazzling without ever sounding ostentatious and his chemistry with Logan Smalley’s rhythm guitar is clear.
Kenton Place – Haley’s Comet (Official Music Video)
Kenton Place’s Debut Music Video for our single Haley’s Comet. Make sure to follow us on social media. Hope y’all enjoy!Available on Itunes & Spotify Now!Spo…
There are extended passages where the guitarists bulldoze listeners with gigantic riffs. Longtime fans of metal and hard rock will be grateful, however, that the band’s playing always has a melodic foundation despite whatever power it brings to bear. Another side of the song where Kenton Place never forsakes the melodic is, naturally, its vocal. Logan Smalley is an outstanding singer more than able to carry the performance alone.
This is a song that the band believes in and they play it like it, so it is even easier to sell us on the idea of “Haley’s Comet” being one of the representative cuts included on their Terminal EP.
Haley’s Comet
Listen to Haley’s Comet on Spotify. Kenton Place · Song · 2021.
It’s tantalizing to think about live versions of this song. Kenton Place is obviously capable of flourishing in a studio environment but listening to this song even once shows they are a live band at heart. “Haley’s Comet” practically demands live performance and there’s nothing about its construction that suggests translating it to stage might be a difficult or even impossible task. It also seems to have the potential for the band to “stretch out” during each performance.
It is already generating tremendous buzz and there’s more to come. Kenton Place has scarcely scratched the surface of their gifts. The band hasn’t neglected or diminished the importance of any songwriting element and such a comprehensive approach transforms the band’s single “Haley’s Comet” into one of the most satisfying hard rock/metal releases in recent memory.
Clay Burton