ENG 101, Project 1 Rhetorical Analysis

You Are Invited to the Church of Music

Music has the power to bridge divides. It can be joyous and lively or dark and brooding. No matter what you are feeling, there will always be a style of music to match your mood. Kenneth Rexrode, the founder of Rexrode Productions, knows this all too well. Kenneth is a music promoter by trade, but he is also a friend to many, a father, and an avid hiker and photographer. Not unlike a preacher in a pulpit, Kenneth is spreading the good word, that is the gospel of music. Whether the offering plate gets passed around or not, you are guaranteed one heck of a show if Kenneth has anything to do with it.

For this rhetorical analysis, you will be considering Kenneth Rexrode’s public Facebook profile https://www.facebook.com/kenneth.rexrode.3 Facebook is a social media platform that allows content creators to share information with 2 or more people simultaneously right from their computer or phone. The beauty of Facebook is the sheer number of people who use it. You can easily share information, in real-time, with a huge audience. One possible drawback is that Facebook employs a social media recommendation algorithm. According to an article written by author, Christina Newberry at Hootsuite.com, this algorithm;

“…determines which posts people see every time they check their Facebook feed, and in what order those posts show up…”

https://blog.hootsuite.com/facebook-algorithm/#What_is_the_Facebook_algorithm That can make hitting your target audience a little tricky. In Kenneth's case, his target audience covers a wide range. Kenneth is trying to appeal to people of all ages, genders, and walks of life who all have one thing in common, that is a serious love of music. While Kenneth does post links to the occasional free concert, most events cost money. To some extent, one could imagine that Kenneth is hoping to reach a demographic who earn enough money to be willing to part with some of it in exchange for access to live musical performances.

Scrolling through Kenneth’s Facebook page you will find personal snippets of information, lots of beautiful photography, and even invitations, such as the one pictured below, to join his hiking club for a hike. He does a wonderful job of presenting himself as approachable, trustworthy and someone you could be friends with. Digging into Kenneth’s profile, you might expect to find a music promoter whose main rhetorical goal would be increasing ticket sales. Of course, earning a living is important to performers and the musical community at large, and that includes the founder of Rexrode Productions. Certainly, increasing ticket sales is one of Kenneth’s goals, but there is more to the story. Overwhelmingly what comes across is simply Kenneth’s passion for music. The main rhetorical message of his social media information stream is spreading that passion. Kenneth successfully portrays himself as a true lover of all kinds of music. More than anything else, he wants to connect you to that music.

Right away, when you open Kenneth's Facebook profile, you will notice that he is the founder of not only Rexrode Productions, but also The Six String Society and The Piano Project lending Ethos to his persona. Further evidence of Ethos is the artists Kenneth promotes. From bands like Daring Greatly, who blend Canadian Rock with US folk and Americana, to Solo artists like Soul, Blues, and Rhythm singer, Whitney Shay. Their success and popularity help to increase Kenneth’s credibility.

www.daring-greatly.com www.whitneyshay.com

Kenneth posts information on upcoming shows that include ticket prices and other information such as location, which fall squarely under Logos (and Kairos). Watch this fun video that Kenneth and musician Sir Robert Parker made to promote the Firefly Music Festival: https://www.facebook.com/100006273485645/videos/405869491178767/ We see both Logos and Kairos at work again when Kenneth writes about and shares photos from the setup of a music festival a week before it is scheduled to open as illustrated in the screenshot below. He keeps you informed and at the same time reminds you, that you still have time to buy a ticket!

Kenneth cleverly uses Pathos when he describes all the beautiful scenery around the city where the upcoming music festival is going to take place. Those descriptions along with video clips of featured performers really make you want to be there.

Lastly, you might notice a more subtle example of Kairos woven throughout the fabric of Mr. Rexrode’s profile. The artists whose music Kenneth promotes are from many different cultures, age groups, and backgrounds. Just as the artists are varied, so too are the audiences taking in their music. There is something transcendent about being on a dance floor or at a concert and getting lost in the music with the crowd. You are not thinking about the salaries of everyone around you or what side of the tracks they come from. Like an evangelist, Kenneth invites you to come worship in the house of music. As the blood of Christ is to Christianity, the music both heals and unites us. Considering the state of the world today; war, hunger, racial inequality, and political divides, to name a few, what could be timelier?

ENG 101, Project 2 Profile

Building Community Through Music

If you attend a music event produced by Rexrode Productions, you will most likely be greeted by the founder, Kenneth Rexrode, himself. Kenneth has a large presence that extends beyond his tall frame. With a full head of sandy brown hair, that occasionally falls over his eyes, Kenneth appears much younger than his 55 years. He exudes joy and gives hugs easily. Kenneth is there not only as a promoter, but also as a member of the audience and a fan of the music. Everything that Kenneth does, from hiking and photography to music production, is geared towards bringing people together. He is building community as much as he is promoting musicians. That’s why his advice to anyone wanting to become a music promoter should come as no surprise, “It’s all about building a community. Do it because you love it, but don’t think you’re going to make a ton of money.”

Kenneth never intended to be a Music Promoter. He was a reluctant musician in his youth. When Kenneth was in elementary school, his mother, a talented pianist herself, signed him up for piano lessons. After 3 years he begged his mom to let him quit. He was much more interested in sports. Eventually, Kenneth convinced his mom to let him take a year off, but soon enough she gave him an ultimatum, he could either take up the trombone or the French horn. Neither instrument appealed to him, but the trombone seemed the lesser of two evils. Kenneth suffered two more years of music lessons, “I played the trombone as miserably as I could for 2 years”, admits Kenneth. Eventually, he wore his mother down, and football, baseball, and basketball took over young Kenneth’s life once more. Little did Kenneth or his mom realize that a seed had been planted that would take years to germinate, but germinate, it did.

Kenneth was already a successful real estate agent, working for a home builder in San Diego, when his friend, Tony Suraci, approached him about helping promote his music. Tony had seen how Kenneth shared information about real estate opportunities and thought Kenneth could use his excellent communication skills to help him promote his tribute to outlaw country, The Highwayman Show. The pair worked together for about 5 years, with Kenneth simultaneously working in real estate. Kenneth struck out on his own and began branching out and putting on different shows such as Fallbrook Live, First Fridays, and eventually forming Six String Society and ultimately, Rexrode Productions.

Kenneth is involved in a lot of different projects, musical and otherwise. He is the founder of not only Rexrode Productions, but The Piano Project, and Six String Society as well. Something else that Kenneth is passionate about is hiking. A few years ago, he started Six String Society Hiking Club, an offshoot of Six String Society. During the days of Covid, as the County of San Diego was shutting down and musical performances were prohibited, the hiking club became an important way of staying connected to friends and making new ones “Kenneth is so lighthearted and joyful. He’s really passionate about spreading his joy by creating these events that bring people together,” shared B.J. West, a member of the hiking club and long time friend of Kenneth’s.

Kenneth (white ball cap) and Six String Hikers in Sedona, AZ May 2022

The Six String Society is a group of talented performers who put on a hybrid show that includes a little storytelling, a little history lesson, and a whole lot of music. The artists involved and the music that is showcased is ever changing, therefore, no two shows are alike. The Piano Project is more of a passion project for Rexrode. The organization takes donated pianos, refurbishes, and donates them to local schools. Additionally, they place pianos in public spaces and invite anyone to sit and play. Also impacted by Covid, the Piano Project has been on hiatus for a couple of years, but Kenneth hopes to get that going again soon.

Making the switch to full time music promoter was a leap of faith. A lot of what Kenneth has accomplished has been by following his gut and believing in himself. There is great power in feeling believed in and telling others that you believe in them. “I tell people I believe in them all the time,” says Kenneth, “like man I really believe in you, and sometimes I feel like if someone tells you that, it’s even stronger than saying I love you. Nothing can put more wind in someone’s sails than that.”

While producing First Friday’s, in San Diego’s Little Italy, Kenneth was inspired to put together 3 different guitarists into one show and have them incorporate storytelling into their performance. This was the birth of Six String Society, however, that initial show was almost their last. That first production was not a huge success, selling only 28 tickets. In attendance at that show was a friend of Kenneth’s named Steve. Steve acknowledged that Kenneth was obviously bummed about the poor turnout, but he also told him that he thought the show was really special and that, “I believe in you”, gave Kenneth the push he needed to keep going. “Without Steve, there may not have been a second show,” admits Rexrode. That second show sold nearly 200 tickets and, because Kenneth did not give up, Six String Society continues to bring artists and audiences together in groundbreaking ways to this day.

Last week Kenneth Rexrode’s phone lit up with an unknown number. He answered, because you never know who might be calling when you work in the music business. As soon as Kenneth answered, the caller, who identified himself only as Carl, began rattling off questions pertaining to a music venue. “I knew this venue, it’s called Yoshi’s and it’s a really cool spot, so I thought that said something about this guy.” Kenneth stopped him, explaining that he thought he might have called a wrong number. He went on to say that he is, however, a music promoter in San Diego. Carl quickly figured out that he had indeed misdialed, but a friend had given him Kenneth’s number to get in touch if ever he wanted to put together a show in San Diego. Carl it turned out is Carl Verheyen, who is best known for being a guitarist for the band Supertramp, and who is now leading a band of his own. Never one to not take his shot, Kenneth turned that wrong number call into a business opportunity. “After talking with Carl for 5 minutes or so, I asked him if I would know his original band. He said, I don’t know, maybe, are you familiar with the music of Supertramp? And the, of course, because I can be a smart-ass sometimes, I say yeah, weren’t they popular in the 70’s? Then he started laughing, he was a super-nice guy.” Immediately following that phone call, Kenneth thought of a local young musician by the name of Anthony Cullins who was set to be headlining his first show at The Belly Up in August. He asked Carl if he would consider opening for Anthony and Carl agreed. Not only is Kenneth great at connecting people to music, but he is also adept at connecting musicians to one another.

To see Carl in action, click the link below: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=carl+verheyen&docid=608011870190133117&mid=18AEE4BAF04A247A36AB18AEE4BAF04A247A36AB&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

Kenneth dreams of taking Six String Society around the world and continuing to develop it in ways that serve the community beyond music production. One day he hopes to provide scholarships to young underprivileged musicians. He envisions making San Diego a music destination, similar to Nashville, Memphis or Austin. Kenneth laments that San Diego has amazing music but has failed to promote it, which leaves the door open for Kenneth to do just that.

More than a Music Promoter, Kenneth is a father to two teenage children, he is a friend, and he is a visionary. His mom, who passed away 4 years ago, got to see him come back to music and he is grateful for that. When asked why he came back, he said, “Music can change a community, it’s a unifier, we all come together for the music.”

Writer's Workshop Results

One of the best things that ASU offers is tutoring! I feel very supported in my college journey so far, like the school is invested in my success. In ENG 101 we were provided "tutoring" by way of Writer's Workshops. The mentor I worked with in ENG 101 was Randall Funk. He worked with me on revisions of projects 1 and 2. I got to communicate with Randall via Zoom for project 1, but on project 2 we worked together asynchronously via email. Both experiences were excellent. I feel that the input he gave me really helped me create a much improved final draft. Here are some examples of feedback for Project 2, a profile titled, Building Community Through Music. (Note that Randall's name appears as Kris Snow who was the previous owner of his computer.)

In the 2nd example, Randall suggested either moving or deleting a specific paragraph. I tried moving it further down in the body of the essay but, it didn't add much value to the over all story and ultimately I cut it from the profile entirely. Using Randall's input I produced a final draft that was much improved. You can read it above!