Rising Stars: Meet Kai Heers of Tecumseh

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kai Heers.

Hi Kai, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ll try to make this short, it goes back a bit! I’ve been playing guitar for almost all of my life and have always been interested in all it had to offer. Whether it was building and repairing guitars, teaching lessons or playing in groups, I always knew deep down that I was meant to do one thing: play. In regards to my playing career, it was a bit of a rocky road. When I was 14 i essentially gave up all hopes and ideas of being a professional musician and explored different career fields as I got older only to form my (our) band in 2022, The Blank. As we grew, those hopes and dreams flooded back in little by little until it was all I wanted again. Soon after recording our debut album we were asked to be the live band for Marty Gray and his project which has been so fun and eye opening for me as a player. Along side my playing career I also repair guitars in Saline. I attended Bryan Galloups’ School of Lutherie from 2019-2020 where I learned to build and repair. I mostly repair these days as it speaks a bit more to what I enjoy tinkering wise. And lastly, the teaching lessons avenue of guitar (sorry, I know it’s a lot!). This is still a new facet for me as I haven’t been doing it long, but the idea is there! I remember the first time I wanted to play guitar: listening to Crazy Train. With Randy Rhoads as an inspiration I knew there was a lot of work to be done for myself, in a good way of course! For me, being able to inspire even just one person and encourage them to be better than they were is such a cool idea to me.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Y’know, I’m not sure if smooth roads exist in this industry! For all it’s worth though, I would say it has been as smooth as can be! My own experience with music and being an artist in general has always been a bit of a sore spot, unfortunately. I tend to be a perfectionist when it comes to what I do and music is no exception to the rule. With that said, i’m very proud of what I have achieved personally in my music as well as my work with The Blank and Marty Gray. It is just tough sometimes. One dry spell without shows can make you feel like you’re losing progress, other times a show doesn’t go as planned and you leave feeling unsatisfied. As for teaching and repairs, those have somewhat of the same struggle in finding clients/students. It has taken some time but slowly things are picking up! The main struggle is patience and understanding that these things take time, even slow progress is still progress!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
So I’m the lead guitarist for The Blank and for Marty Gray’s live band. I specialize mainly in improvisational playing which is my most powerful tool for lead work. I started learning how to improvise when I was 13 and immediately thought it was the coolest thing! Many of my idols were amazing improv players as well so the inspiration was always there in a sense from watching live videos of them performing. I’d say i’m probably known for my tone and my licks/solos. If I’m being honest I’ve never put much thought to that question, but that’s what I know my favorite guitarists for so it could be true for others! I’m most proud of our latest recordings (coming soon!). The music is much more mature and there’s a clear growth within the band as a whole and players individually. It is so cool to look back at where we were even one year ago and see what we have achieved! I’m not so sure what sets me apart, I tend to think of myself in the same light as the people/players around me. At the end of the day we all just want to play music for the rest of our lives and we’ll take our own roads to get there!

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Not much except thank you for taking the time to read through! Come see me at a show and we can talk more!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shaggy_heerz?igsh=MTc3d3pnNjhwaDRqdQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1YGXRiJSNn/?mibextid=wwXIfr
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6SsHk6pLc8RFsZLKwvYF9K?si=vfRWpleKRAmIaFp6hGsjTg