Stephen Kellogg tackles ‘The Bear’

Don’t look for Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers — known to fans as “SK6ERS” — to stand still for very long. Always changing, quickly shifting is just how Kellogg and many of his fans like it. Consider the band’s latest album “The Bear,” which is full of catchy, foot tappin’ melodies floating over fetching, though sometimes soulful, lyrics.

“This record is definitely is a little more naked than anything we had done previously,” Kellogg said. “It is really the least sort of doctored affair; the response has been excellent.”

After building a fan base on the college circuit, it’s clear that the SK6ERS have taken its sound to the next level. That’s not an easy task; the roots rock, indie rock, and even Americana genres are jam-packed with major league stars such as Ryan Adams.

Yet Kellogg and his band mates manage to keep the band’s signature sound while spicing it up just enough to move the music away from the pack and into its only, very compelling, league.

“The Bear” proves that point. Whether the song you hear is the up-tempo “Shady Esperanto & The Young Hearts,” or the more reflective “My Old Man,” it seems the band has turned a corner. The result is a savory mix of songs that are reflective without being sappy, energetic without being bubblegum and intimate without being exhaustive.

Although comparisons with the work of Tom Petty, Adams and even Joe Purdy are natural, it’s important to note Kellogg and his band mates are nobody’s followers. The sound is truly their own, born from personal experiences such as life on the road.

“Anybody who came with us on the road for a week would see that,” Kellogg said, talking about the band’s grass-roots approach to everything from music to building its fan base. “It’s emotional, but we try to keep that positive.”

Of course, that isn’t always easy. Kellogg agrees with many other songwriters that note a certain unearthing of personal emotions has to occur to write songs that strike listeners’ hearts.

To achieve that goal, Kellogg strives to be as self-conscious as possible when writing, stripping emotions, attitudes and reflections to the core and leaving any bravado at the door.

“Albums aren’t just vehicles for sounding like a cool guy,” he said. “They really are a legacy.”