Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Carroll.
Hi Kevin, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I hail from Boise, ID and came to Austin in 1991 to pursue my dreams of being a songwriter and a musician. Austin provided a tremendous amount of learning opportunities, some wonderful and some painful. Highlights include getting a small record deal with an Italian record label as a singer-songwriter; touring Japan as a solo act; touring as a guitarist with Texas legends the Flatlanders; playing for a decade with SONY recording artist Charlie Robison; performing twice on the Austin City Limits TV show; and playing a sold out show at the Cotton Bowl. Lowlights included living in horrid house which backed up to I-35 near Oltorf to help subsidize the “dues paying” part of living the dream. This house flooded regularly, but, was affordable. The depressive struggles of poverty and struggling as an artist took a toll in various ways. Self-care has been a vital piece of my personal story. Therapy, feldenkrais, and meditation have been undeniable assets in my journey.
Once I was in my 40’s, I decided that I wanted to create a different life for myself and hopefully, others. I made the transition from being a touring guitarist in a major-label Texas country act to elementary education. Along the way, I was trying my hand at self-care and found a PT, Mark Hernandez, to help me with my chronic shoulder issues. Strangely, he offered me a chance to trade services if I would teach his daughter ukulele. I had to say yes, though, I had never successfully played ukulele. Within one year, I decided to dive headfirst into teaching ukulele. Many doors have opened in this journey. Besides teaching private lessons, I created programs for teaching ukulele in group classes, I’ve authored four books on (1 on Celtic music and three on ensemble music), am launching a new business in 2022 dedicated to ukulele sheet music (edUKEcation.com) and have led ukulele teacher training workshops. The opportunities have grown exponentially since dedicating myself to the ukulele.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have been many challenges in creating and running a teaching business. Most of the challenges center around knowing which hat I am wearing at a particular moment: conductor, teacher, arranger, accountant, bookkeeper, manager, web designer, marketer, musician, mentor. Beyond those changes, the pandemic has been a very difficult dance partner for me and my business. I have stopped teaching in-person group and private lessons and also stopped traveling to festivals, workshops and retreats. Pivoting to all virtual teaching has been very challenging as a businessman, teacher and human. I’m starting to get used to it, but, am very much hoping for a return to hearing the beautiful music of my students in a space together. I found a good deal of success teaching classes in Austin and traveling the US, Canada and Mexico to teach and perform at retreats, festivals and workshops. These events really fed my soul and I miss them deeply. Overall, I credit persistence, flexibility and stamina for keeping me on the musical paths for nearly four decades. I’d also like to credit the wonderful global ukulele community which has been so welcoming, supportive and educational to me in so many ways.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My work centers around helping individuals and groups find their musical voice on ukulele. My classes vary from beginners to advanced and cover a diverse array of styles and genres like African music, classical, Celtic, Jazz, Blues, ensembles, solo pieces, music theory and more. In Spring of 2022, I’ll be launching a new website dedicated to ukulele sheet music for beginners through advanced with pieces for solo players and ensembles. If you read music there will be parts in standard notation, if not, ukulele tablature is also available. education.com is the url and it will launch late January of 2022. My website kevincarroll.net has my books, classes, albums, workshops and more for those interested in taking lessons. The pandemic has forced me to lean more on virtual classes through Zoom. This has helped to expand my reach well beyond Austin. That has been a huge positive to have students from all over the country and, often, from other countries, too.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
As I contemplate the outlook of the music teaching industry, I’d say it has been shaken mightily by the pandemic. Zoom classes have been an integral part of the transition for most of us who teach music independently. My job is to figure out how to get more music into people’s lives. It looks like virtual teaching is the way and I need to embrace to possibility of pre-recorded classes, workshops and teaching paths. This will entail a lot of technical learning for me to become a videographer and audio engineer to continue to provide world-class music teaching services to as many people as I can. My hope is that my arrangements will provide a source of joy for ukulele ensembles and listeners all over the globe!
Contact Info:
- Email: kevin@kevincarroll.net
- Website: https://www.kevincarroll.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edukecator/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edUKEcator
- Other: https://www.edukecation.com
Image Credits:
Photos by Kelly West
