Kurt Kirton has been an acquaintance of mine (Timo) for several years. I interviewed him back while I was attending college circa 2011 over the airwaves.
IVM: Good afternoon. This written interview has been a long time coming so thanks for talking to us here at Indie Vision Music. Your music has been in my playlist rotation since circa 2000 when your Eurodance influenced band People in a Box came out with Digital Ignition. “Abandon” is such a great song.
KK: Haha, thanks; I love “Abandon” too. And so happy to hear our music has been in your playlists for so long!
IVM: Can you tell us how you got started in making music and what are your musical influences?
KK: Way back in ’97 I worked with (electronic/pop artist) Greg Strange to cover Farrell & Farrell’s “People in a Box.” I’d been singing in church etc. for about 6 years before that but had never recorded anything. My original intention was to have Greg sing the male part of the duet (with the roommate of a friend singing the female part.) Greg had me sing it to see how I’d do. We thought it was workable so used my voice after all. After that, it was just easier to sing my own male leads, so that’s how I moved forward. I produced that F&F cover, then “Need Your Love” a cover of indie band Riley & Ward’s song. Then formed my first group, People in a Box, started songwriting, and continued to produce (and sing on nearly every song.) But I do love collaborating with other singers and remixers for INEVITABLE and my other band Kurplunk (funny songs). I really kinda caught the bug for being an EDM artist and haven’t stopped yet! Lately some 80s & pop music, Aly & Fila, Bixx, & Da Buzz are influences. But it’s really about what sound/style/song catches my attention as a main ref for any song we record. Then we try to weave in other ideas and end up improving on the ref, I think!
IVM: Your current moniker is INEVITABLE; so where do you see yourself progressing?
KK: Good question. As long as we’re doing mainstream EDM, I think we’ll (“we” being me, bandmade Jason Beetz of Indiana, + various guest singers) continue as INEVITABLE. Kurplunk is my funny music act, also comprised of Jason and various singers. We’re planning to alternate releasing albums between the two bands. Kurplunk spans many genres. It’s fun breaking out of the dance/pop vein and trying other styles for the Kurplunk songs.
IVM: Can you describe your creative process when writing music?
KK: First I get a song title or idea. Then I choose the 10 or so songs that will comprise an album and start songwriting. That involves choosing the style/a ref song for each song, then getting the vocal melody down first so the song can be as catchy as possible. I do that using dummy/placeholder lyrics drawn from the notes I make about the content of the song plus short recordings of catchy vocal hooks I’m always keeping up with. Once I have the vocal melody, I go back though and swap out the dummy lyrics for the finals (not an easy process for the INEVITABLE songs since I aim for more poetic verses and concrete choruses.) Then I hash out the chord progression, make production notes, cut & prep vocals and any instruments–usually guitars–at my home studio, then send it all off to the programming/mix engineers I partner with.
IVM: The single We Are All Stars was added to radio recently. Can you tell us about the meaning of this one?
KK: Coming together to help others is a powerful thing. I know it’s tough to carve out the time, but I think trying to regularly volunteer with an organization is important for all of us…to get outside of ourselves and give of our time. In the middle of the night a couple of years ago, a great melody and lyric hook came to me. In searching for a meaning, I thought back to the experience of volunteering with 8 Days of Hope (eightdaysofhope.com) after the great Nashville flood of 2010. That was my muse as I developed the song, and We Are All Stars was born.
IVM: You have done several outstanding covers. The next one will be Steve Taylor s Am I In Sync? in November. Tell us more about this endeavor.
KK: Thank you. I keep a list of songs I’d love for INEVITABLE to cover and like having a couple of covers on each album. I still listen to mix tapes I made decades ago. “Am I in Sync” was on one of them, and it had been a long time since I’d heard it. I remember it really impressed me…it’s such a quirky compelling song musically and has a great melody. I felt we could bring something new to it in covering it. So it was at the top of my cover songs list. I’m in my mid 50s now, and Jason just turned 50 in January (of 2026), so the message rings more true for us now than ever. Steve’s lyrics are pretty veiled. I never understood them as a teen jammin’ to this song when it released in ’84. But as I prepped for our album release concert, I really took in the meaning: What are we trying to make our legacy? What will people remember about us? What’s the takeaway from our lives?
IVM: I know you are a Christian just like myself. What is your favorite Bible verse and why?
KK: Wow, there are so many great encouraging ones. If I had to pick, right off, I’d say PS 25:4-5, “Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” Also IS 46:4, “I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” Life is hard, but God loves, cares about, and is there for us. We don’t need to worry about problems when they come up, just ask for wisdom from Him about how to handle them, do our best, and trust Him for the outcome. That’s easy to say but tough to live out when these things arise. I keep a list of about 100+ verses on about 7 topics and include reading through one verse per week daily as a part of my daily devotion time. It’s important to do something like this so we can recall those verses when needed for enocouragement and guidance.
IVM: What is your biggest challenge as a musician right now?
KK: I only know a few rough basics theoretically and don’t play an instrument. That’s a handicap I need someone like my friend (and one of our programmer/mix engineers) Samuel Iglesias to help me through. A vocal melody needs a key and chord progressions to become a song. The key I can usually choose with no problem. But I need Samuel or Jason’s help to get a chord progression.
IVM: Do you perform live? And whereabouts is the band located?
KK: We do about one show per album somewhere in the greater Nashville area. They’re stressful and detail oriented to plan. And in Nashville, it’s really tough to get friends out to see your gigs since so many people here are musicians wanting people to come to their shows. But I prefer us to do at least one live performance for each album, just to expo what we’ve worked so hard on for about a year and a half to release. I live in Nashville. Jason used to live here; we met in Nashville. He’s in SE Indiana now, but we still can work together on new music via email, phone, and when he visits. The other singers that appear on some tracks are from the Nashville area. I’ve found it’s best to have the singer recording in my studio vs. having out of state or country singers cut their parts where they are (without my guiding/producing the session) and send the files. I will occasionally do like a 2-song set at things in town. For example at WRFN’s anniversary concert last year and a street festival this month.
IVM: What are your interests outside of music?
KK: Jason is into cryptocurrency, marketing, and is looking into doing a bit of live music with a band in his area. I love to travel and did so internationally for about 23 years…European countries + Canada, Mexico, Brazil, & Colombia. I’m focusing more on US cities now. I also enjoy graphic design (and do much of it for the bands). My volunteer work lately is with AARP and Project Return (a nonprofit that helps people who’ve recently been released from prison re-acclimate into society, get jobs, etc.)
IVM: Anything else you want to let us know?
KK: God has blessed us to be able to still be releasing new music after nearly 30 years. Music is life to us. And it’s cool to be able to encourage and move others through music. I’m thankful for all of that. “We Are All Stars” released to CCM radio 7/10/26 when “4/4” (our mainstream single) released to secular radio. We have 3 more singles from this album, for a total of 5, coming out through July of 2027. “Am I In Sync” and at least 1 remix will release in early November. And “On I Go,” a duet with Renee (Garcia) Bliss (former Reunion Records artist, BlissBliss band member, and former background vocalist for Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith) will be the final single. We’re working on remixes of it now. If you like catchy positive EDM, please check out our music, and follow us on social media for updates and cool news. There are 3 INEVITABLE albums and a lot of remixes. Support independant music!
IVM: How can people get a hold of you, and what is your website?
KK: Contact info, links to our socials, and where our music can be heard and bought are at InevitableMusic.org. Thank you again for the interview and all you do to get great music out to people!
