Press Release: KMB Name Change

For Immediate Release:

Ladies & Gentlemen,

It is with great excitement and anticipation for what the future holds that I announce this big news and new chapter in my musical career.

As most of you know, the name ‘Bau Down’ has been synonymous with me and my musical mission for some 10 plus years now. As you can imagine, over that time the name most definitely branded itself into the very essence of who I was becoming as a musician. It quickly became my identity, my brand.

Over the years, I have put out many special records, rocked some amazing stages, dj’d some mind-blowing events and met countless incredible people all with the name ‘Bau Down’ stamped on my very existence. ‘Bau Down’ represented who I was in every meet and greet introduction, autograph signed, crowd chant and everything in between. Over time, even many of the people closest to me no longer called me Kevan – they called me ‘Bau’, or ‘Bau Deezy’, or ‘Bau Dizzle’, or ‘Bau Dizzy’. Yeah, you get the point right? The bottom line is that the name ‘Bau Down’ was the label that represented everything I was about for a very long time.

Where did ‘Bau Down’ come from? That’s a great question. When I was 15 years old, I saved up enough money from summer work to buy my first car. It was a 1992 Pontiac Firebird Formula. I loved that thing! I was fortunate to be among the select few who bought and owned their own car before they could even get a license. However, that didn’t stop me. I will never forget washing it, working on it, starting it up and driving that car up and down my driveway every chance I got!

Where am I going with this? One day before I went to get my license and register my car, my friend Scott and I were brainstorming on custom license plate tags. I believe it was Scott that actually came up with, ‘BAU DOWN’. I thought that was so awesome! It fit on the plates and had the beginning of my last name.

Okay so what did it mean? Well, to my teenage self back then it was what most people would take it as – ‘Bow Down’ to me in my Firebird!

Now, anyone who knows cars knows what a Firebird is. It’s a sports car and sports cars are meant to look cool and go fast. Chances are I could have beat you in a race and definitely wasn’t shy about proving it. When I did, you would likely fall victim to having great view of my rear license plate.

That was attitude. That was me back then. I was a teenager with an attitude.

Around this same time period, my Junior year of High School I decided to be bold and start writing my own music. Most of you have read my biography and autobiography and everything in between and know the details with all of that, but if not that will be more elaborate with the details.

I was huge into hip-hop like 2Pac, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Ice Cube, Busta Rhymes & Eminem and felt like I needed a cool stage name. I had ‘BAU DOWN’ on my license plate, so I ran with it.

Never once thinking about how serious or far I would get into the whole music thing, I ran with it.

When I got to college and really started writing and producing the name kind of just became a part of me. I never ever thought twice about it. When the MySpace era started blowing up and everybody in the world thought they were rappers, I thought it was super cool that I was the one and only ‘Bau Down’. It was a name not many people would want to duplicate, mainly because of the spelling.

I had always thought it was cool and unique. I never ever wanted to be like anyone else.

Okay, maybe at some point, I wanted to be like Eminem, but didn’t we all! 🙂

All jokes aside, the coolest thing about the name ‘Bau Down’ to me was that nobody ever would want the name because of the spelling. It was mine and I was ‘Bau Down’. That was what I wanted. I wanted to be me.

I have never ever been afraid to be me, ever. However, there have been many times along this musical journey that people and adversity has tested me. As you may or may not know, the music world is not a very friendly place. One of the best things about going by a alias like ‘Bau Down’ is that it gives you a heat shield for saying and doing things without having your real name attached to them.

If you asked anyone that goes by a different name then their own, there is likely a sense of security in having that name. One that protects you from dirt people like to throw on the person behind that name.

I will be the first to tell you that doing anything out of the ordinary in this world is a very tough thing to do. It just isn’t acceptable to be special.

For me, it is a very sad thing to talk about. Many people in this world are unhappy, jealous and envious of people going after their dreams. People are quick to judge. Those who do pursue their extraordinary dreams and walk down the road less traveled are met all to often with an extreme amount of disrespect, discouragement and hate.

In my own journey, I have felt this first hand. Unfortunately, people who barely knew me, friends and even people close to my heart often spoke negatively of me pursing music, especially as a career path.

I couldn’t tell you have many times hateful messages were sent my way from anonymous Twitter, Facebook & email accounts. I never understood why people had nothing better to do than to spend so much time in their day trying to discourage me. It boggled my mind and initially got me very down. For some time, their messages did what they sent them out to do – discourage me.

Then something changed. Ill always remember when I deleted the very first tweet from someone talking smack to me. It was the most satisfying thing ever! I treated the stupid thing like the nonsense it was. ‘Get this ish outta my face!’ I thought as I clicked, ‘block this user’.

I don’t have time to mess around. The reality is, none of us do. Our time on this planet is so limited and special that we need to stay focused and on task.

I realize now that any disrespect or negative talk about my life and the person I am is ill informed. People have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. When anybody speaks ill about someone else in any way shape or form it is evident that they are not happy with themselves. I am so passionate about this. Trust me, it is not a good look.

Anyways, when it comes to me and the whole ‘Bau Down’ thing, I have often been met with laughs or disrespect solely because of the name. I would be lying if I told you that the name ‘Bau Down’ always got a ‘cool name!’ or ‘wow, can’t wait to hear that music!’ out of people. In retrospect, it has most likely rubbed people the wrong way more than I cared to realize.

As I have grown over the years, the name itself took on new meaning to me. I tell people all the time that the name ‘Bau Down’ went from something that was all about me to something that transformed itself into being all about God.

Maybe it’s ironic, but the name just seamlessly transitioned into a name that represented everything I was becoming. When I finally embraced the idea of completely giving my life to Jesus, the name meant something different to me than when I first started. I had grown up in countless ways.

The new mission was to use all the talents bestowed upon me to help others know Jesus, realize their potential and in turn live the lives they were made to live. I never ever saw the name as an issue.

Conversely, perspective is everything. I realize now that many people hear ‘Bau Down’ and don’t automatically think ‘Oh! He must be a Christian!’ like I would love them to. I have seen so many different reactions giving people my card than I have time to write about here.

The reality is first impressions go a very long way in this world. I have learned having a very bold name like ‘Bau Down’ may have been fine for the person I was and the musician I have been for many years, in a very different music world – but today it’s a different story.

Today marks a bright new era in who I am as a musician.

There will be no more ‘Bau Down’. There will be no more stage name. There will be no more armor or heat shield protecting me from all the things this world can throw on my name. There will be no more meeting people or signing autographs and assuming they understand who ‘Bau Down’ really is. There will be no more separating who I am and the things I do as a musician from who I am as a person. The two will go hand in hand.

I am KMB. Kevan Michael Bauman.

Kevan Michael Bauman is the name I was baptized by. It was the winner of all the name combinations written by my mommy on napkins, post-its and church bulletins pregnant with me and my brother Carsten. It is my birth name. A name that is more special to me today than ever before.

Why? Upon losing my mommy, I have longed for any and every connection to her. When I stumbled across her baby name ideas for Carsten & myself this past year, I realized how special it was to have this name. It is a name that she picked for me and has power in my heart. Undeniable power. It also connects me back to my twin brother and our initials tattooed on my arm. I never ever wanna separate myself from either one of them and from this day forth will always be known as the same person with the same name in all the things I do.

In this new chapter of my musical mission, I want my music to completely reflect who I am as a person.

I cannot say that was the case in all my past music. I was growing, very impressionable and at times wrote songs I thought people wanted to hear.

That is not music. Music is expression of self. Who you are as a person should radiate and explode through the music you create. We are all far from perfect and I would jump at the opportunity to admit this.

Nowadays I often meet people or see someone I haven’t seen in awhile and they are quick to tell me that I seem like I have it all figured out. While that’s flattering to hear, I have news for you all – I never have and never will have it all figured out. But I do know this, I am a sinner and I have been saved. That alone gives me all the motivation I need to be the thankful, happy, positive & unique person I need to be today.

Instead of writing the occasional inspirational song, from this day forth the music I make will always be inspirational. I will do my very best to always glorify Jesus and the love he has shown me in my life. I will do my absolute best to be a living, breathing example of how Christ wants us all to live in this world.

Though I will always fall short of this, I will try. Until my last breath I will try. I will give it my all. Everything from writing music, to rocking stages and sharing my life and faith, to smiling at strangers and everything in-between – what you see is always what you will get with me.

I look to make you all proud, in every way.

In conclusion, I never want anything to stand in the way of ‘God’s Plan’ for my life. Every person I meet and everybody that comes across my music, I never want them to be taken back by a name like ‘Bau Down’ and take it the wrong way. I only pray the KMB is a much less intrusive and much more inviting name to place on the music I create.

I have prayed intensely about this and felt God speak to my heart. The verdict has come and this name change feels so right. That is how I know it is the right thing to do at this time. The timing is perfect. This new record is going to change lives. I don’t know how many or where God plans on bringing this music and my overall musical mission, but I trust him with all that I am. Putting my trust in Jesus has given me the most wonderful peace of mind. It’s peace of mind that I’m good enough right where I stand, no matter what the future brings. Whether I’m performing in front of my local church youth group or touring with mega stars, I am right at home just being me.

My new website is www.kevanbauman.com. It is all set up and ready to go! My old website, www.baudown.com will be live for another 2 months during the transition, but will turn into a forwarding URL shortly after. I ask that you bear with me, as it is and will be a ton of work to switch all my social media sites over to KMB. My twitter name will be changing, but the account will remain the same. I have also set up a brand new Facebook page located at www.facebook.com/kevanmichaelbauman. Since I am starting that page from scratch, I would absolutely love it if you could ‘like’ the new page and share it with your friends. Please feel free to share this blog and website as well!

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading. I am looking forward to hearing from you, having your continued support and bringing you along every step of the way on this wonderful journey ahead called ‘God’s Plan’.

Sincerely,
KMB