A Dirty Dozen with KURT DEIMER – May 2026

Photo credit: Todd Jolicoeur – ToddstarPhoto

According to a recent press release: “Today, rising rock musician, actor, songwriter, and film producer Kurt Deimer has released his sophomore full-length album, A Grog Is Born, via his own Bald Man Records. The 12-track collection includes the Top 40 Active Rock radio hit “In Deep” featuring Buckcherry frontman Josh Todd, a reinvention of “Silent Lucidity” featuring Queensrÿche legend Geoff Tate, and the singles “Always There” and “Scared To Death” as well as new focus track “True.” In a few short years, Kurt Deimer has been making a name for himself in both the hard rock scene and horror film world. The Cincinnati native with a distinguishing deep voice started his first rock band at age 20 but then pivoted to a more conventional business path. Deimer officially introduced himself in 2021 as a musician and songwriter with the release of his original, vibrant rock music. He has spent the last few years relentlessly touring with his impressive band, sharing the stage with major acts. The multi-talent, who also spearheads his own horror movie franchise “Hellbilly Hollow” as both star and producer, continues to up his game to the next level with every project he does. All in all, Kurt Deimer’s mission is to connect with people – connect with their lives, get to know who they are, and bring them hope – no matter what he’s doing.” We get Kurt to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through? Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

A Grog Is Born is our sophomore album. It’s full of songs I wrote with Ben Trexel, Phil X, and Chris Lord-Alge. Songs we sat back on as I continue to train and work on my vocals to be able to sing, so I think one thing you’re going to notice as a fan is the evolution of my presentation and my songs. You’re still going to find the nuggets that teach you how to deal with the strife of life and all the crap we have to go through every day just to survive, let alone be able to have a peaceful life. I think what you’re going to find, for instance, the cover we did of “Silent Lucidity” is me and Geoff Tate presenting a different interpretation. Geoff let me freely interpret that Chris DeGarmo wrote a beautiful song, and I know it’s about dreams. But just the way we can interpret it and help bring awareness to suicide prevention, that means so much to me. The single “In Deep,” my collab with Josh Todd, just spent five months and 11 days on the Top 50 Mediabase rock chart. That was a song I had written with Ben Trexel and then Josh redid the lyrics and collaborated with me from like six years ago, so that’s a diamond in the rough. But then you’re going to hear other songs that I wrote years ago and some that I did recently. Some of my favorites would be “No Tomorrow,” “Pringles,” “Bombs,” and “Take It In.” They all jam, they’re just jammers, and we’re going to start playing them live. And then “True,” which will be a radio single here soon, and “Always There,” which kind of is a swampy southern-sounding song about the people in our lives that are always there for us, so those are the gems. There are no hidden words or hidden meanings. I’m a very transparent artist, and I’m here for all my followers and all my fans.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

I got into music young because I like to just experiment and play music and try to be like the bands that I went to go see all the time. I started going to concerts around age 13, and that’s pretty much all I did all of my high school years. Anybody coming to the arenas in Houston or Chicago, I was going to see the shows, whether it was metal or alternative to reggae to jam bands. I love all that. So, I always would watch in awe at everybody on these stages, especially when it was big arena rock back then. I thought, “If I could ever do that someday and I wasn’t so panicked and had anxiety, or I had the wherewithal to do it, how cool would it be to be on stage?” And you know that never happened and I tucked it away in my memory. All those nights of shows that I went to, to now be on the stage in front of others, and really make yourself vulnerable that people are either going to like you or hate you (and believe me, there’s a lot of hate in the world), I’m proud to be able to do that. I’m not naive, you know, I’m in front of people, so even if I touch five lives at a show, that’s amazing. I love being vulnerable and just exposing my art for anybody to say what they want about it.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

I would say AC/DC. I saw the For Those About to Rock Tour and just seeing their band the way they were, and how they did it their way, and had their own sound, and a lead singer who sounded different. And then Van Halen, seeing the Mean Street Tour, and just how crazy they were, and they had their own sound, and they weren’t like all the other bands. Those really told me, hey, if you ever do it, you just got to do it your way, do it like these bands did. And I love those bands that take that chance. You know, they’re not afraid to get told they stink or anything, but they build a following based on their talent, and until it catches on and everybody just has a great time together. So those two bands really had an impact on me from a young age and why I’m doing what I’m doing now. They stand most in my forefront.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

I’m going to give you three people I would want to do a song with together and one additional person. The three people would be Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin. They were amazing and they did it their way as well. And just to be in a room with the three of them would be crazy, and it would be cool, and we’d make a cool song. If there was one individual, it would be Johnny Cash, because I got some Johnny Cash vibes going on inside me. Stay tuned.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour?  What do you like to do to unwind?

Oh, to unwind, I like to have a cold glass of my Kurt Deimer Dimes Ultra Premium vodka on a little ice with some water, have a few smokes, and write songs. Think about how we could be better for our fans, what we could do better. Pretty much when I relax, it’s work, and it’s been that way pre and now during my career in music and movies.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

I would say to the person, this music is Kurt Deimer, Kurt Deimer style. The band has been specifically put together because they believe in our style and bring their style into ours. It’s unique. It’s not going to be categorically correct, really, in any category, because we go all over the place, as you’ll see on A Grog Is Born. And it’s just Kurt Deimer, the way I do it. I appreciate if you like it, great, spread the word, you’re a fan. I can’t wait to meet you, and if you don’t, that’s cool too. It’s all good. So that’s how I would describe our vibe. It’s just rock and roll, it’s a good time, it’s peace, love, and kindness, and it’s a great night out. There are a lot of mean people in the world (and you know who you are, and it’s all cool, I don’t care. I wish all of you nothing but the best), but probably the comparison, the comment that irked me the most (but I don’t care because hell, he’s out there trying to do it too) is it seems to be the guy they use when they want to hate on any band, let alone my band. I thought it couldn’t get any worse than Corey Feldman, but he takes a lot of crap, you know. Corey just does what he does, either like Corey or don’t. I mean, you either like Taylor Swift or you don’t. Why does everybody got to hate on each other? But you know, whatever, I got a good chuckle out of that, and whatever makes you feel good. But Corey Feldman just out doing his thing and can’t even imagine the crap he has to look at all the time, but that would probably be the one that I remember the most.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Marco would break out the guitar, Larry would join. They’re amazing together on acoustic. Cook, I mean, really on the road we eat out, so I guess I would be providing the cook because we go to steak dinners and other things. In the days I don’t take the guys out, they seem to find a filet o fish, or whatever chicken sandwich, or Marco gets his keto stuff, so we don’t really have a cook. We have a microwave, but that’s it, and everybody kind of does their own. We all get along so good on the road, we’re like a family. It’s taken years to build this and not just have people in your band that just want to use the band as a source of income and don’t believe in the end game. And we all just kind of take our turn, take our share, respect each other’s space, and we have the bus set up now to where we can go on the road, and we’re all very calm and happy, and can’t wait to play a show for our fans.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

The last time I was really starstruck… I stay at the Sunset Marquee when I’m in LA, and I’m in LA a lot. It’s like my apartment complex there and I’ve met a lot of really cool people. Just met Lzzy Hale and now we’re doing a show with Halestorm in July. Met Chad Kroeger from Nickelback. One night I was sitting in my same spot, having a smoke, well, now I can’t smoke there anymore (thank you, Sunset Marquee Management), but just sitting there, and Kevin Costner sitting over to my left. I’ve gotten pictures with many people, but there wasn’t any way in hell I was going to get a picture or ask Kevin for a picture. But he sat down, asked me what I do, was interested in why I was there, what my art forms were, told me some stuff about himself. I gave him my card and thanked him, and just said, ‘I’d love to give you this if you’d like to check out any of my work. And he took his wallet out and put it in his wallet. We shook each other’s hands, gave each other a hug. Kevin Costner, that was kind of nuts.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

The best part about being a musician is sharing my art, my movies and my music with kind people in the world that like it, appreciate it, want to see it, want to build this community together of peace, love, and kindness, and that’s what I love the most about it. I love meeting all of you. I love meeting the fans. I love the camaraderie of the people that dig our vibe and our music and appreciate all the kind words and all the things that our fans are doing to be cool and kind to each other. So, that’s what I love the most about it. If I wasn’t doing this anymore, I would really just go out and do anything I could to help communities. I don’t need to work anymore, per se, other than helping others, spreading peace and kindness in an evil world, and helping vets and our armed forces, first responders and frontline workers, and anybody who makes a sacrifice of selflessness every day. I want to be an advocate for them, and I would go around the world speaking and doing anything I can to continue to spread the word of peace, love, and kindness to the humanity that wants peace, love, and kindness.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

Well, the question I’m tired of answering is probably how people are baffled that I had started my own oil companies, and then I went down to do a cameo in the movie Trading Paint, and how all this even started. But I’m not really tired of it. It’s a question that needs to be asked and needs to be shared with others, but it’s probably the one I’ve answered more than any other, and I always do it off the cuff. It’s so unbelievable that there’s not an easy way to answer that question, but I get it all the time, rightfully so. And I appreciate everybody asking that. So, don’t take this as I don’t want to be asked that anymore, because it’s important for new fans or people that don’t know about Kurt Deimer or The Grog, or any of that, that they know who I am as a human and how I’m even here today in their radar or in their space. The question I’d like for somebody to ask is why do you do what you do. I get told it’s like you’ve had three lives. How’d you make it this far? Why do you do what you do? Well, I do what I do because my dad and my mom taught me to always take the high road, kill people with kindness, be a good person, and take care of others. The more you give, the more you get. Give to others. Nobody’s really asked me, why do you do what you do directly, and that would be my answer to that. Be kind, give to others, spread love. That’s why I do what I do, because my mom and dad taught me to be that way, along with my grandparents and anybody who had an influence on my life growing up.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

I would probably redo the ages of 15 to mid-20s, maybe later 20s, because I was full of panic and anxiety. I couldn’t even function. I couldn’t drive a car. I couldn’t go into a meeting without freaking out. I did all kinds of drugs to self-medicate from 15 to 20. Luckily, I was smart enough deep down inside to figure out to quit at 20, but then I continued to have the panic and anxiety, drink more beer, off and on cigarettes, all that kind of stuff, just off and on. Just stressed all the time, always panicking. I wish I didn’t put myself through all that by making things worse with all the drugs and self-medication, but I figured it out, I’m still here, and I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do. I love doing it. I never gave up and that’s my message to all of you: never give up. There is help, there are people who care, and I’m happy to help you if I can with my story, as well as we all should be.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Yeah, that’s a good question. I would probably say if I could go back in time, there’d be many sessions. I mean, Pearl Jam 10, when that album was made, or Guns N Roses Appetite for Destruction. What an incredible album. But I’d go back in time to when AC/DC decided to put out Highway to Hell. I would have loved to have been there in that room. The impression it made on my life early on, you know, seeing them on the For Those About to Rock Tour, but that AC/DC Highway to Hell album. I could buy it right up at the front of my neighborhood convenience store in the record bin. There it was. There they are. They did it their way. They continue to do it their way. You know, Bon Scott, Angus Young dressed as a schoolboy, which I don’t think you can even do now. Well, I guess you can. He still does, but you know, think of all the people he pisses off. And then you got their rhythm guitarist or bass player going back and forth, methodical, right around the drum kit. They’re just doing it their way. AC/DC, Highway to Hell. I would have loved to have been in that studio and learn from a band that’s still touring today.

KURT DEIMER LINKS:

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Category: Interviews