Winter-2022

60 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 2 C all me Lucky,” says this Pacific Grove guitarist/singer. To call Kyle Kovalik busy is to seriously understate the case—he’s currently the busiest guitarist in Monterey County. He regularly plays up to 18 gigs a month, with Two Rivers, the duo he created with extraordi- nary singer Richard Bryant; dance band 5 Star, an all-star lineup of Bryant, keyboardist Bill Spencer, drummer Skylar Campbell and bassist Jesse DeCarlo (“I can’t stress enough how much fun that band is.”); Lighthouse, a new trio; and as a solo artist. He also fills in for other local bands when needed.Whew. After graduating from Pacific Grove High School, he was in the third graduating class of Hollywood’s Guitar Institute of Technology (now Musician’s Institute), and he was off to the races.“I’ve never stopped being a live musician since 1979,” Kovalik says.A move to Seattle led to managing American Music, that city’s largest music store. From there he held region- al and national positions with major music equipment manufacturers Peavey and Sennheiser. Kovalik returned to the peninsula at the urging of his longtime friend, Barry Manilow guitarist Mike Lent.“We were planning to create a produc- tion company, but Barry went back on the road, so I concentrated on play- ing,” he says. For more information and for a schedule of shows, visit www.kylekmusic.com . — Michael Chatfield MUS I C I AN PROF I L E Kyle Kovalik Photo: Kelli Uldall “