Longtime Daybreak Open Mic Performer Releasing New Album This Week

By Justin Adams

If you’ve attended any of the Daybreak Open Mic Nights over the past few years, there’s a good chance you’ve heard Kyle Shoop, or as he’s known professionally, Guy+Guitar.

“I’ve been playing at Open Mic Night for years,” Shoop said. “I used to play almost every month, but these days it’s usually more like once every three or four months.”

At the most recent Open Mic Night, held last week at Biscott’s Bakery, Shoop played four songs from his new album, “Life’s a Story,” which comes out on Wednesday, April 17. It’s a fitting title for an artist who loves to tell stories.

“I’ve been writing my own songs since I was 18,” said Shoop. “I grew up playing the trumpet for the school symphony, but in my late teens, I had to have some minor back surgery. I was stuck in bed for 3 or 4 months, so I figured I had nothing better to do so I might as well learn a new instrument.”

So he started learning some basic chords and some songs, but what he really fell in love with was writing his own original songs.

“I love the idea of creating and telling stories,” he said. “Stories have the power to motivate people, to make people feel things - whether that’s just to have a good time or to help them get through something.”

Shoop’s love for storytelling isn’t limited to just music though. He’s also a self-published author, having written 8 novels over the course of the last 13 years. Among those are a romance series where each book is written from the perspective of one of the 5 senses, and some teenage adventure books, which have been enjoyed by his own teenage kids.

So how does he find the time to record albums and write novels while also being a family man with a full-time job… He says that having these creative outlets provides a balance to his life in such a way that his creative life and his professional life support one another.

“It’s like the yin and yang,” he explained. “Having a creative outlet helps me focus on my job during the day. And working hard at my job makes me want to go home at night and work on one of those creative outlets.”

Of course, family comes first, so most of his creative work happens late at night after his kids have gone to bed.

This new album has taken a year of such nights to put together. A multi-instrumentalist, he records each track himself, vocals, guitar, bass, piano, drums and more. He’s even dug into his symphonic roots to write an original orchestral piece that serves as the midpoint of the album.

As for what kind of music you’ll find throughout the rest of the album, Shoop said there will be a variety, as he likes to play around with different genres.

“Some of them are foot-stomping singalongs and others are more serious,” he said.

You can listen to “Life’s a Story” on Spotify and you can also check out Shoop’s published novels here.

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