“30 minutes with the guitar, and I’m in another world”, he says, with the combination of a smile and a pensive look on his face. He means it too. You can tell plenty of thought goes behind the things that Kurt Shobe says… And the average Kurt Shobe fan would probably offer more than a penny to find out the thoughts he never shares. Reason being his heart felt music and sharp mind always leave em’ wanting more….
It’s rare to find a good musician who’s also a good businessman. It’s even more rare if you find one, for that person to be humble. But that’s exactly what Kurt is. Ask those around him. They’ll tell you. Kurt doesn’t like to talk about his success in business. He’d much rather try to talk about music. And not even his most of the time. His choice would be to talk about bands, that inspired him like the eagles or Steve miller. You’re more likely to get him to talk about the chord progression of “jungle love”, than one of his own songs.
And even more so he’d love to tell you how he wants to try to help those younger artists that are coming after him. There’s a sense of service to the craft you can tell he feels bound to, and it comes straight from the heart.
The sense of service and community probably goes all the way back to his work ethic that was learned at a young age. Kurt will tell you it wasn’t uncommon for him to be working on the weekends even at 14. It was part of life for him. And a part of life that he embraced. That’s why when it came time to pick up the guitar and really put his mind to it, the work ethic kicked in with the natural talent that was already there.
So, it made sense when this young developing business mind got the guitar fever, that he would start his own band by the time he got out of high school. And just as much sense is made by the heart behind the crusade, he is on to help other artists around the Midwest, and the country as a whole to find their sound and further their creative process. it’s a true combination of passion and purpose that drives the goal of Stonebridge music. Kurt has started the process of reaching out and soliciting the help of professional musicians from the Midwest, reaching even as far as Nashville, to begin the building of an artist community and safe place for music.
“Our goal here is to not just create good music ourselves, but to help others do it, and then protect the best interest of it, moving forward for them” says Shobe. He continues. “Our first step was to create the website and begin to draw together a coalition of like-minded thinkers who were also musicians themselves. We will build out from there.”
Kurt Shobe
Kurt is true to form with his claim of being a musician who helps other musicians. He shows this on his first effort as a solo artist “something old something new”. Where a large portion of the proceeds from the project will go back to the effort to help other artists.
His leadership and musical mindset are not just creative outlets, but also a way to show the other artist that he wants to help and that he is speaking their language. He shares their desire to make good music because the same desire is burning in him. Track after track it’s evident on his new effort and we recommend the listen time out of your day-to-day. We think when you do, you will definitely hear his heart and begin to understand his purpose.