Brandon Kinder's "other" musical project hits just the right tragic notes

The Wealthy West sounds like the name for a Warren Buffett vanity band, doesn’t it? In fact, it’s actually Brandon (The Rocketboys) Kinder’s gentler side project. So far, Kinder has only released one EP under this one-man-band’s name, titled Enjoy the Wealthy West, Volume One, An EP. By tamping down the volume significantly, however, Kinder’s sadly honest lyrics are all the more powerful. A track like “Love Is Not Enough,” in fact, is darn near tragic.

Kinder is one of those blessed souls, with more songs than he knows what to do with. While some songwriters struggle like a mother in childbirth to create new songs, Kinder is more like that Catholic mom in The Meaning of Life, popping out musical kids almost as though this act was an every day occurrence. (Or so it seems.) On second thought, comparing what Kinder does to a factory line-esque, one-person maternity ward isn’t truly fair – or all that kind, for that matter. His art is so much more crafted than that. So let’s skip the whole Monty Python angle.

You may not get any good stock purchase tips from The Wealthy West or even a good childbirth metaphor from listening to Kinder. But you may just learn a few helpful life lessons.

SSv: You have another band, The Rocketboys, right?

Brandon Kinder: Yes.

SSv: So, the Wealthy West is more of a kind of folky, country-esque outlet, right?

Brandon: Exactly.

SSv: Is that something you really felt like you needed for your musical personality? You needed that outlet?

Brandon: It wasn’t something that consciously I needed, per se. It was just songs that were naturally coming out of me as well, as well as The Rocketboys stuff. I think subconsciously I needed to just be writing songs all the time and some of them wouldn’t have really fit into Rocketboys. So now I have this other outlet to pursue with the other side of my creative songwriting, I guess.

SSv: Do you want to be the next Jack White? Do you want to have multiple bands, like maybe Osama Bin Laden had multiple wives?

Brandon: [Laughs] I don’t know if I would use that analogy. I don’t know if I want to have it in that same capacity, but I’m definitely having fun on the road as The Wealthy West, just as myself, as well as the full band, The Rocketboys. I guess I’m just in the beginning stages, so we’ll see what happens. I’m really loving what I’m doing right now.

SSv: So is The Wealthy West just basically you, or are there other full time members?

Brandon: It’s just me.

SSv: What’s the significance of the name?

Brandon: Actually, I’m glad you asked, Dan. I was in a band in Memphis many years ago, and those guys went on to form a band after I moved to Texas. And then they talked about starting a band called The Wealthy West. I always thought that was, like, the coolest band name. Then they never did anything with it. Then I was talking to my managers and they were, like, ‘You know, you should come up with a name for all these solo songs you’re writing.’ And I was just kind of half-kidding, ‘What about The Wealthy West?’ And they both really liked it a lot. And as I said, I really like the name anyway.

I got to my friends in Memphis and asked them if they were ever really going to use that name, and they weren’t, so I just used it. It’s not like a deep thing. I’m not trying to be political or anything. I think it has a nice ring to it.

SSv: How do the songs differ with The Wealthy West versus the ones with The Rocketboys? How do you know the difference between where a song will go?

Brandon: I don’t always know. I just write songs because I love to write songs, it’s a passion I have. I’m just writing songs, and sometimes you can start to tell if it’s a little more folk-y sounding. Some of the songs I wrote with The Rocketboys in mind just didn’t work out for whatever reason. So I have them in this capacity now.

SSv: You have the five-song EP out now. Do you have a full-length on the way?

Brandon: Yeah. I’m trying to decide if I’m going to do another EP and then a full-length, or just go straight to a full-length. I definitely have plans to do a lot more music with The Wealthy West.

SSv: The songs are kind of sad. Is that just the place you’re in when you write, or are you just sad about love?

Brandon: Um, it’s not really a place that I’m in. It’s just I try to be honest with the words that I say. With the song, “Love Is Not Enough,” the idea kind of came to me when I was thinking about a lot of friends who have been going through hard times. You know, we’ve all gone through tough times with people that we love and sometimes, just because we love someone a lot, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to change anything about them.

SSv: When you talk about love, are you just talking about sort of the romantic love, or are you kind of referring to more of a spiritual love. I guess my next question is are you a spiritual person?

Brandon: I’m a very spiritual person. Love can be romantic. It can be spiritual. It can be anything. I guess I’m not really trying to pin any specific one down, necessarily.

SSv: One song is called “Give Me Resurrection.” What is that song about?

Brandon: It’s just about unconditional love. It’s actually about loving someone, no matter what. It kind goes a little extreme in the verse, ‘I’m gonna love you, no matter what you do.’ It’s like a parent would tell a child. It doesn’t matter how bad they get, they’re gonna love them forever.

SSv: Are you at the point of parenthood in your life?

Brandon: Oh no!

SSv: Not even close, huh?

Brandon: No.

SSv: Are you married?

Brandon: No, not yet.

SSv: So it’s the perfect time to be a rock and roller, huh?

Brandon: Yeah, exactly. I can stay out late every night. I can drink beer.

SSv: Did you go to college?

Brandon: Yeah, I did. I have a history degree.

SSv: Really. What were you planning to do with that?

Brandon: I was planning on pleasing my parents with the degree they wanted me to have [Laughs] then play music. I definitely wanted to dropout so many times, but it was important to them. And it was mildly important to me – having a degree. But I wasn’t planning on using it for anything, necessarily. It was something to do for a while.

SSv: Where did you get your degree from?

Brandon: From Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas.

SSv: You say it’s in history, so what area of history in particular did you study most?

Brandon: As matter of fact, it’s an inter-disciplinary Bible and history degree. It’s really kind of a joke degree. It’s like two half degrees, but it counts as one. It turned out that that was the easiest way for me to graduate, which had the least amount of hours. I went to school at the University of Memphis for a couple of years trying to do a commercial music degree, then transferred out to Texas. But I’d been there for four years and still had a lot to do. So I talked to my advisors, and they said I could do this and it would make it a lot easier. I just wanted to play music. That’s all I wanted to do, so I just did this.

SSv: So you knew, even before you went to college, that music was what you really wanted to do?

Brandon: Yeah. Music has been something I’ve wanted to do for as long as I can remember, honestly, in some capacity. I never ever would have dreamed when I was younger that I would be having album after album and going on tours across the country and stuff, but I love it.