Dead Ven

If you dig punk rock inspired acoustic music then check out Dead Ven. With a celtic punk sound and activist roots, I would recommend Dead Ven’s street folk to anyone who really loves the working class ethics of The Clash or resistance of Crass. Dead Ven has become a Kansas City staple, but Ven Smith (band namesake and lead vocalist) has deep West Coast roots that shine through in progressive ways. The band’s most recent release was a split with Kevin Seconds (of 7 Seconds) for the Money Wolf Music Collective. Dead Ven is the perfect band to check out after a long day of work when you just want to throw back a pint of Boulevard Beer (Dead Ven has a Boulevard brewing themed song!) and sing-a-long to some good old fashion celtic inspired anthems. Dead Ven will be contributing a song to Nate Allen’s Kickstarter Mixtape.  For more information visit: facebook.com/DeadVen. Check out “Plough/Stars” below. Hear There Be Wolves – Free Sampler by Dead Ven Click here to turn Nate Allen into a video game. Make your order by 10:59pm CST on Wednesday Nov 5.

5 Things I Love About Kansas City

I moved to Kansas City, Missouri from Portland, Oregon with some hesitancy. I’d never lived in the Midwest before, we didn’t know many people and our shows here over the years had rarely been amazing.  But a chance to have our own apartment and enjoy a change of pace helped motivate us to pack our vans and head east. After about 10 months  Kansas City has grown on me in surprising ways. Here is my list of 5 Things I Love About Kansas City. 1. This is sports town. I get to go to Kansas City Royals games for a reasonable price. I can’t think of a better way to relax after a long day than watching a baseball game. I hope I can make opening day 2014. 2. The art scene is very vibrant here, more than I ever imagined. There is a lot of fine art (world class ceramics, free museums – the Nelson Atkins Museum) and the music scene is small enough that is easy to get to know people. 3. Our friends in Bent Left said this is a town you can make things happen in and I agree. If you want to build something in …

So We Moved To Kansas City

Hi. My name’s Nate. I’m a husband, communicator, teacher, consultant, musician and extrovert who just moved to Kansas City from Portland, Oregon. This is my new website. When it’s done it will look very different. Check back often for updates. If you want to collaborate on a project  or have me play a solo or duo show (as destroy nate allen) drop me an email. Until then here is a song I played a few times in Portland.