K. Sloan and Swang Stewart, two rising creative forces, join Joe Kelley on Musicians Reveal to share the story behind their collaboration and the making of their new EP Blank Pages. Drawing inspiration from the timeless sounds of Motown and ’60s soul, the duo blend retro warmth with a modern edge. K. Sloan reflects on her journey from Detroit roots and musical theater aspirations to carving her space as a dynamic solo artist in New York City. Meanwhile, Swang Stewart, an accomplished producer, highlights the analog recording process that gives their music its vintage authenticity. Together, they discuss live performance, the challenges of independent artistry, and the power of musical heritage in shaping their art.

📘 What You’ll Hear in This Episode

– The origins of K. Sloan & Swang Stewart’s partnership at a New York open mic

– How Motown and ’60s soul inform their sound and creative direction

– The making of Blank Pages and recording with analog tape at Mighty Toad Studios

– K. Sloan’s transition from backup singer to solo performer

– The role of live shows, including their performance at The Bitter End, in building audience connection

– Insights into navigating promotion and visibility as independent musicians

– Reflections on legacy, authenticity, and artistic growth

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 – Introduction to K. Sloan & Swang Stewart

04:56 – Meeting at an NYC Open Mic

11:54 – K. Sloan’s Journey Toward a Solo Career

19:23 – Recording Blank Pages with Analog Tape

28:10 – Live Performances & Connecting with Audiences

36:40 – Challenges of Independent Musicianship

44:00 – Influences, Legacy & Looking Ahead

🔗 Links & Mentions

https://www.sofarsounds.com/artists/k-sloan

http://www.thefamilystonemusic.com/

Visit MusiciansReveal.com

YouTube – Musicians Reveal

Live365 – Musicians Reveal Radio

📝 Key Takeaways

– Blank Pages merges Motown-inspired retro soul with contemporary storytelling.

– K. Sloan's Detroit roots and theatrical background fuel her artistry and stage presence.

– Swang Stewart’s analog production techniques add warmth and authenticity to their sound.

– Independent artists thrive by balancing creativity with strategic promotion.

– Their collaboration illustrates the power of shared influences and musical synergy.

That's a brand new single from Reagan Whiteside.

She was a guest on ours about five years ago.

It's called Early Arrival, preceded by Brothers Wilson, the Gap Band, party train at 7:17.

You're in tune to the Upper Room with Joe Kelly here on WVOF in Fairfield, Connecticut.

And we're really excited.

We've been talking about having these new two guests on our show.

One is a great producer, a longtime friend of ours out of New York City, plays just about every instrument there has ever been made.

And.

And he has collaborated with a very talented songwriter and singer, originally from the Motor City, but making home right here in the New York City area.

And we've been playing music from K. Sloan.

As soon as it has come out, and now is a great time, we're going to talk to K. Sloan and also Swang.

So how's everybody doing?

Yeah, we're excited.

We're excited.

Yeah.

Hello, Uncle.

Hello.

That's Swang and K. Sloan.

And of course, Blank Pages is the latest release from K. Sloan.

And the two of you have just come out with incredible music with a retro feel, but a great new sound to it.

So how'd you first hook up to start writing together?

So Swang is actually an awesome host of Prohibition open mic on the Upper west side.

And I started going to Prohibition open mic about, oh my gosh, almost two years now ago.

And yeah, I talked to house band and started performing my original stuff.

Then one of the players suggested that I work on an ep.

At the time, I didn't even know what an EP was.

I spoke to Swing more about potential of him producing, and we decided to just start the venture.

And he was behind me 100%.

So, swing, you're hosting the open mic night and you see all types of musicians coming in.

And how did Kate bring her attention right to you and that you want to work with her?

The vocal ability she had was obviously very powerful, very dynamic, very wide range.

It's not something you really hear every day.

But apart from that, also, the first thing I'm listening for with every artist who comes in with original music is how fully developed the songs were.

I mean, having worked on our own primarily on these songs for the most part, it was kind of remarkable that the songs were as developed as they were both lyrically.

She had a great understanding of melody, and I could tell that she knew a little bit about the keyboard, which is always a good prerequisite for any singers out there listening.

If you don't know something about the keyboard, that's Step number one.

But she could sit down and she could play her songs for me on an instrument, which was.

It not only helped in terms of moving the process along once we started talking about collaboration, but but also reassured me and gave me the confidence, okay, when I get into the studio with her, she's going to know exactly what she's doing.

There wasn't a lot of hand holding that needed to be done.

You know what I mean?

Yeah.

And you took all this great songs that you wrote and recorded primarily out in Brooklyn, right?

Yeah, at Mighty Toad Studios out in Brooklyn.

Yeah.

Wonderful collection of vintage gear there.

So once we decided, once Kay actually gave me the direction and she started saying things to me like Motown and 60s soul and a lot of the, you know, the influences from the Detroit area.

And, I mean, she told me Motown is in my DNA.

So that kind of gave me the green light that Brooklyn was the place to go.

Because as long as we're in New York and we have access to this kind of gear, might as well use it.

Now, Kay Sloan, you originally come from Detroit, right?

Yeah, that's right.

So I'm actually about five minutes outside the city from Southfield.

Nobody ever knows where that is, so I just say Detroit.

But, yeah, I spent my time growing up hanging out in Detroit and very much knowledgeable of Motown music.

It really isn't my DNA.

It's plated every single holiday and celebration.

Yeah.

And I was really acquainted with that music at a very young age, as well as a lot of other great, talented musicians and singers.

Billie Holiday, Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald as well.

Yeah, yeah.

You haven't sent anybody who's not top of the list right there.

Great, great influences.

Now we're joined by Swang and K. Sloan.

We're gonna get into the first single, I believe, the first single, Stay, right?

Yeah, that's right.

Yeah.

So we'll get into it right now here at wvof.

Kay Sloan and Swang hanging out on the Upper Room with Joe Kelly and wvof.

And we'll come back and speak with them once again, authentic music, great new sounds from K. Sloan and, of course, producer Swang, and they make a great team.

And Stay is the first single.

Tell folks where they can pick up the music.

So you can get spay and the whole EP on iTunes, Spotify, Tidal, Amazon as well.

And you can go on cd, baby.

Their website, they'll have it in their system as well.

Now, let me ask you the question, because obviously you're an indie artist and you mentioned all those outlets Just to get your music out.

How difficult has it been for you and.

Or has it been easy just to get it out there and coordinated?

It's been pretty okay getting it out there and promoting it.

A lot of people have been purchasing it.

I mean, a couple people, not a couple of people, quite a few people purchase it on CD babies directly.

Which is also actually much more beneficial for the artist as far as like royalties are concerned.

Right.

But expense, pretty easy to get out there.

I was working with a really great PR company as well.

Okay.

So you got.

You got people behind you.

And of course, Swang has.

We first met Swang as a member of the great band Days of Wild.

And he's a busy guy.

Always getting calls.

Someone's getting calls.

Days of Wild, who continued to rule the Bitter End and all the venues down in Greenwich Village.

Yeah, it was.

We were talking about off air about the Bitter End and K. Sloan.

Tell us about the upcoming gig this week.

So this upcoming week I'll be at the Bitter End on Bleecker Street.

Okay.

Yeah.

I'll be playing a set of some new songs as well as original music.

Okay.

Yeah.

And songs from the EP as well.

Right.

So you're going to be there.

And we encourage people.

I think they still do the same thing.

When you go there, tell them who you're here to see and that helps the artist performing.

Right?

Exactly.

Yeah.

What time will you be going on stage?

I'll be going on at 9pm and it's not just me, it's my band as well.

The melodics, so consists of basic rhythm sections, so there's going to be keys, bass, guitar, drums.

We got three vocalists as well on stage with us and two horn slayers.

So it's a big collective.

Yeah.

And there's some great video footage.

It looks like a recent performance with your band performing in a New York City venue.

Right.

A lot of young people.

Yeah, yeah.

Where did that take place?

Because people can get a taste of how you and your band are alive.

It might have been the footage from Rockland Music Hall.

I played there once.

No, I played there twice, actually.

I did my EP release party there as well as a set before that at Stage one.

It was probably there.

Yeah, it was probably at Stage one.

Your band had All Black on?

Oh, yeah, for sure.

Okay.

All Black is kind of the standard for every single gig.

But yeah, we also did an outdoor music festival, so we're kind of all over New York City.

We do some stuff at Prohibition too.

We do a lot of tribute nights at Prohibition.

Like we do Motown soul tribute.

We did an MJ tribute up here, and we're trying to back another Motown tribute or a disco night.

So.

So.

So you're out gigging and bring some money.

Get that ep.

It's called Blank Pages from K. Sloan.

K, just letter K. And Sloan, S, L, O, A N. And Swang is with us as well.

We're going to play something from Blank Pages.

This is going to get everybody dancing.

A great feeling.

Heading into the early part, the summertime.

It's called Take Me Back to Summertime.

We'll come back and speak with Kay.

We're really excited because that is real authentic music.

Live music, people playing, people singing, amazing voice and great production.

Kay Sloan from her latest CD called Blank Pages and Swang produced it, and it's a great stuff right there.

Take me back to summertime why don't you take me into the studio?

And, you know, it just sounds like the band just started playing and you guys started recording it live to tape.

And what was the process?

Because I know it was real special.

Okay.

So Kay came to me and said, this is the kind of EP I wanted to make.

She starts throwing things out like Motown.

And she says, you know, she's into 60s Dionne Warwick and, you know, wall of sound.

And I said, when can we get started?

It was pretty much as simple as that.

And then taking it into the studio, I mean, I always, as a producer, I try to encourage the artists that I work with to record, to tape anyway, especially the younger artists I work with.

Most of them don't have any experience with it.

They don't know how great it sounds, what kind of character it does.

In part why the software developers out there are going so crazy, chasing their tails, trying to figure out how to make computers sound like tape.

And when they come in and they hear their voices on tape, or hear the drums and the bass and they hear that character, and they feel us driving the tape a little hard here and doing things and adding to the character and the flavor and the vibe, they instantly become addicted to it.

And with Kay, it was a special case as well, because when she started talking about a lot of the influences that she wanted to bring into the studio with her, this was how these records were made.

They were made using a lot of this gear and a lot of these, what is now the vintage outboard gear, and so on and so forth, and the tape as well, and all of that.

It may be subtle to some ears, but it does accumulate.

The more tracks that you record, the More you hear the inherent character of the sound.

So from there it was just a matter of getting in there and putting her behind a mic and getting the instrumentalists in there to do their thing.

And.

And it was honestly a really special experience for me because I remember going to visit the Motown Museum when I was younger and it was kind of just like a connection moment.

After hearing it played back on tape, it sounded a lot like that music and it captured that spirit really well.

Yeah.

So you're bringing it, you know, the modern day sound of Detroit and now you're in New York City.

What drew you to come out and live in New York City?

When I first moved here, I actually wanted to be on Broadway.

Yeah.

But I did that.

I got out here by going to grad school.

That's sort of like my ticket out here.

I did attend NYU educational theater program, so I also work as an educator and it was my grad program.

And I started going to all these Broadway auditions and everything.

And it wasn't really what I wanted to do.

After all, I knew that I loved to sing and I knew that singing was my heart.

And I had always grown up singing.

And honestly, I realized that I didn't actually write any songs since I was like 12, but thought it was a thing.

And so I decided to sing a lot of backup for people just so I could see what the theme was like.

And my friend had a band called Nene Soul, so I sang back up for her for a lot of gigs and I sang, do a lot of backup, like, and new work, people creating new work in the theater world and providing vocals for them on their new plays and readings and things like that.

And then I went overseas to Italy and met a really good friend and we still collaborate now and we taught together at a summer camp and we ended up writing like 10 songs together that summer as we traveled together at the camp.

And so that summer when I came back to New York or that fall when I came back to New York, I was like, I think I can do this solo thing.

I'm going to try to.

And so I started looking for open mics and that's where I met.

Playing in the universe was telling her, joe.

You'Re a songwriter.

Yeah, I'm glad you guys collided at the open mic.

And is the open mic, it's still happening, right?

Yes, it's happening tonight.

Okay.

Oh, okay.

So they're side eyeing me right now.

They're like, you got to get on stage, man.

I'm like, hey, I'm talking to Joe Kelly.

This is the open mic.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Thanks.

So what time does the open mic open?

Typically we run a jam session between 9 and midnight.

I'm usually here every Monday.

I've been working really a lot recently, so I haven't been here for each and every one.

But every time I'm in town or I'm off from work, I try to be here because the talent that's coming through is incredible.

We've been voted the number one open mic night in all of New York City.

Shout out to Sonic Biz and shout out to NYC.com for that.

Thank you so much for bigging us up like that.

And where's the spot?

What's the address and the name for our listeners?

Okay.

Prohibition is 503 Columbus Avenue, corner of 84th Street West.

84th Street, Upper West Side, heart of NYC, in case loan is here.

Not nearly enough.

Not enough for us.

But she's got a good excuse for not being here.

She got an EP to promote, so she got there.

That's right.

Yeah.

Hey, we're gonna listen to another track, and this is my early favorite from the ep.

It's called this is Love.

And Kay Sloan's blank pages will come back and we'll talk once again with Swang and Kay Sloan as they get ready for a Prohibition tonight open mic.

And we got this Is Love, another certified smash song from Blank Pages, Kay Sloan and Swang.

And that is called this Is Love.

So, man, you got.

Got some incredible music there.

And of course, you're awful excited to go out and tell people, and people are playing it and buying it, so.

Good feeling, right?

Yeah, great feeling.

Yep.

Now, now, once again, our listeners can go to a lot of the digital download outlets and cd baby, to get that record.

And you'll have it at the gigs as well.

Yes.

The next step is physical, physical copies.

So we'll have.

We'll be selling CDs, the gigs coming up this summer.

Okay.

And the Bitter End this Thursday night, you said 9 or 9:39pm Oh, 9pm and they do start the shows promptly there, right?

Yeah, they do.

They try to keep it moving.

That's right.

Yeah.

Right.

And Swang, of course, we know him in his many different bands he's played in.

And the RS Experiment and Days of Wild, you know, still.

Still an incredible band.

Gaioshus and Fritz and Stefan has come back with the band.

Yeah, Days of Wild is still going strong.

I think we are well beyond our 20th year now.

So I think this is year 22 of Days of Wild.

Wow.

Yeah.

Coming up on 22 years.

Wow.

And also Days of Wild.

I believe you hold the honor of playing Prince's first celebration out at Paisley Park, Right?

That's right.

What was that like?

Oh, it was probably the craziest and most exciting 24 hours of my life.

And I do stress that it was 24 hours because there was no sleep involved in keeping with Prince's mo.

Played a gig here, got on a plane and flew out.

Actually, the rest of the band had a later gig than I did, so they took a later flight.

So I flew out without them.

Prince's van picked me up, went straight there, went to a two hour sound check with no AC in June in Minneapolis, which sounds like it shouldn't be that hot, but it happened to be the hottest day of the year.

Where at Paisley park, he wasn't running the air conditioner.

Yeah, no, the AC had broken the morning off.

Oh, okay.

Wow.

So, yeah, so it was pretty.

Pretty sweaty in there at that point.

And I remember Takumi and Eric were running soundcheck for us.

And I used Prince's tuner, which was probably only useful for Prince because I couldn't make head and the tail of it.

I was playing bass on that gig.

Okay.

Yeah.

And we took so long to sound check that the entire place was cleared out.

There was nobody in there, or so we thought.

So we were trying to wander around and find our van so we could ask our driver, hey, can you get us something to eat before the gig?

Can we just find a restaurant somewhere?

And running back and forth in Paisley park and eventually run into Prince, who's very polite and says, hey, how you doing?

But kind of had a look on his face like, what the hell are you doing in here?

And eventually we found our way back to the van and got something to eat, got energized.

And Prince had scheduled us for about an hour or so on stage and showed up about 20 minutes into our set and told Takumi, let him play.

Let them play as long as they want.

And the sound was a nightmare until he got there and fixed it for us.

Apparently he got behind the sound board and clean things up a little bit, which we're very much appreciative of.

That's right.

Yeah.

And, you know, just to have the honor of being invited to Prince's house to play, you know, not too many people have that had that on their resume.

It was a dream come true.

You wouldn't be talking to me right now.

If I hadn't heard, you know, the story, if I hadn't heard that man's music at, you know, age of eight or nine and just have it completely transform me inside out.

So, you know, I'm thankful for that.

I'm thankful to him for so much, but really just inspiring me to want to play music, because if I hadn't, I don't know where I'd be right now.

I certainly wouldn't be sitting here, you know, making music with this incredible artist.

So in a very direct way, he's responsible for a lot of the moves that I've made and brought me all the way here to case law.

So there you have it.

You can thank him or you can blame him, depending on how much you like or dislike him.

No, no, we thank him.

We're gonna play a song before we head out from K. Sloan's Blank Pages, but right now, since we are talking a little bit about the Paisley and Minneapolis feel.

Swang remixed the 85 remix from 8 Deluxe.

Right?

6.

At 8.

Yeah.

The 8 Deluxe remix.

Right, right.

Yeah, yeah, at 8.

Yeah.

The.

At 85 remix.

I think any Prince fans listen when they.

They'll get the joke when they.

When they hear f deluxe at 85 remix.

All right, we're going to listen to it right now.

Come back, speak one final time.

K. Sloan and Swang.

That is, of course, great mix from our producer extraordinaire, Swang, who joins us as his great friend, and they collaborated on her record, Case Sloan's Blank Pages.

That is Swing's remix of an F Deluxe track.

And you guys are having a great open mic tonight at Prohibition on the Upper west side.

Yeah, Getting set up as we speak.

It's all fancy up there, right?

Oh, no, that's the Upper east side, right?

Well, you know, on the Upper west.

Side, you know, it's a nice area.

It's a relaxed area.

It's almost like you're not in New York.

But the music is always bumping, especially when Kay is here.

We.

We always look forward to seeing her come through the door.

Yeah, yeah.

Should be nice.

And folks can go see Kay Sloan and the Melodics, her band.

You can just go on YouTube and Google Kay Sloan and some great performance clips up there.

You'll know what you're in store with her powerhouse band and Swing.

Do you join the band every once in a while?

Don't need to.

I wanted to.

K is being very humble right now.

Very gracious, this band, truly.

I mean, I'm not just saying this because I'm biased.

This band blew me away.

The last time they were at the Bitter End and I went to see him, it was totally unplanned.

I was like, you know, Kay is playing at the Bitter End tonight.

I got the night off.

I'm going to walk in there.

And if I hadn't been working on these songs and didn't know anything about this, it was the greatest show I had seen that year by far.

Wow.

So if you got no plans on Thursday, go see Caseload and the melodics, 9pm bitter end.

If you have plans, break them because.

Yeah, that's high praise when you're doing that.

Yep, no doubt.

So we're coming up about four minutes to go in the show.

So we're gonna get into our last track from K. Sloan, which is.

I was gonna go out with Motown Baby.

Yeah, Page, and want to thank both of you for coming by.

And if you guys can come by during the summer, come in and do a live set here, you know.

Absolutely, absolutely.

We're about.

I'd say about an hour north of nyc, so you're most welcome.

Come by.

Thank you, Joe.

We appreciate you having us tonight, man.

Yeah, anytime.

And we're gonna be adding it up archived on our website, Upper room with Joe Kelly.com by the end of the week.

And to send out another announcement, people can check out, archive or stream.

And thanks to K. Sloan and Swang.

And this is Motown, baby, from Blank Pages.

Go get it and see.

We love you too.

This is Motown, baby.