We’ve heard the story before: local indie artist looking for his chance in the music industry’s big show. We’ve heard the success stories, the failures and are probably ignorant to the countless other stories that have never been told. That being said, it is rare indeed to see an artist who plays and records music, just for the sake of playing and enjoying every moment of it all the while. Local artist Kevin Morrison is of that rare breed.

Playing since childhood

Hailing from nearby Cypress, Calif., Morrison grew up playing guitar at an early age, though it was not without some bumps along the way.

“I started about third grade playing guitar, stuff like that,” recalls the now-20-year-old Morrison. “But I kind of gave up on it pretty quick there. And then I picked it back up around seventh grade… just playing tunes, trying to learn songs.”

Working with family

Aided by his uncle and professional music teacher Andrew Morrison, Kevin honed his craft and developed his skills at the guitar through high school. To this day, their relationship has remained intact, with Uncle Andrew producing Kevin’s debut album, “Of Whom I Am,” and playing alongside him during shows and performances.

“It’s a pretty rad experience,” said Morrison of the time working with his uncle. “Our minds are almost one in terms of what we do… our styles are really similar.”

Recording and releasing an album

This similarity in musical intellect lent itself well to the recording process, which began when Morrison started writing songs at the tender age of 18. Major milestones in the record-making process happened in yearly intervals, with actual tracking of the songs happening during Morrison’s nineteenth year. The record was finally released a month ago, on Aug. 17, to be exact.

It is a collection of acoustic folk tunes, honed nicely and infused with some eclecticism here and there.

Influenced by blues and acoustic

“I love everything about the blues,” said Morrison, a blues aficionado at heart. He cites a wide variety of influences including The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Black Crows and Wilco. Stripped down acoustic music remains his forte, however.

“It was a little bit easier for me to understand the craft of a song by hearing someone that was a little more broken down,” he said, naming Ray LaMontagne and Joe Purdy as further artists from whom he draws influence. Armed with this wide array of musical knowledge, Morrison released “Of Whom I Am,” a mature-beyond-his-years collection of tunes that is nothing short of solid.

Pursuing an education alongside his music career

But don’t expect Morrison to be dominating the music world, just yet – he’s living the typical college life up at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. But that hasn’t deterred him from continuing to steadily build his musical career, both in Seattle and back home in Southern California.

“I’m still scoping out the scene,” said Morrison. “I have a couple of things I’m trying to line up here [in Washington] with different coffee houses and different stuff like that.”

He also plans to return home often to play shows in California as well, and from there, hopes to have a mini tour set up along the West Coast so he can bring his new music to new ears. Right now, he’s proud of having the tangible results of his music in his hands, a culmination of two years of preparation — and he’s enjoying the ride.

“It’s what I’ve always done, it’s what I really enjoy doing,” he said. “The ability to just plug in for 15 minutes a day and just do something you have total control of… where it’s all up to the decision of how you want to craft it — it’s good.”