< blog | Kenny Sultan on Stripping Away the Noise and Finding the Note

Kenny Sultan on Stripping Away the Noise and Finding the Note

There’s a moment in every artist’s life when the urge to impress begins to quiet down—when speed gives way to space, and complexity starts to serve something more human. In this conversation with SYV Buzz, Kenny Sultan reflects on that shift with the kind of honesty that only comes from decades of playing, teaching, and simply listening to music evolve around him.

From the discipline of technique to the unpredictability of live performance, from lifelong collaboration to the quiet revelations of teaching and meditation, Sultan’s perspective is rooted in feel over flash, connection over perfection.

SYV Buzz: A lot of artists talk about “finding their voice,” but as a writer, I feel like you’ve managed to make instrumental guitar feel like storytelling—is there something that you’re trying to say now that you couldn’t or wouldn’t say 20 years ago?

Kenny Sultan: About 20 years ago, I was all about flash—faster runs, more tricks, trying to impress. These days, I’ve gone in the opposite direction. I focus on slowing things down, letting the notes breathe, and putting more feeling in. It’s been a journey from an eager, showy kid to someone who values depth, space, and soul in the music.

SYV Buzz: In an era of algorithm-driven listening, how do you protect the intimacy and unpredictability that live acoustic music thrives on?

KS: A lot of modern music drives me a little crazy—it can feel almost too perfect with all the auto-tune, click tracks, and looping. When I’m in the studio, I usually ask them to turn the click off. I just don’t connect with it. My sense of rhythm is more organic—it needs to breathe and move naturally. I’m always in the groove, but I don’t want that rigid, marching-band feel. My style kind of ebbs and flows, finding its own syncopated pulse.

SYV Buzz: You’ve taught countless students over the years—has teaching ever challenged or even dismantled something you believed about your own playing?

KS: I’ve learned a tremendous amount from teaching. Most of the people I work with are already solid players, and it’s fascinating how just a small geometric adjustment—either in the right or left hand—can completely change their sound and efficiency. I’ve developed an eye for spotting those little habits and helping refine them.

You can find just about anything on YouTube these days, but that’s a one-way street. There’s something special about sitting down with another person, making music together, and having that real interaction. That’s what I get to do now. The students grow a lot, and honestly, so do I—and somewhere in there, we end up talking about life just as much as music.

SYV Buzz: I noticed that there’s a physicality to your fingerstyle technique that almost feels percussive to me—out of curiosity, do you think of the guitar more as a melodic instrument or a rhythmic one?

KS: For me, I’m about 90% a rhythm player—I just love rhythm. To me, the bass and drums are the true heart and soul of a band, while the lead singer and lead guitar tend to be more on the entertaining side out front. I’ve always been drawn to that foundation, that groove. That’s why fingerpicking feels so natural to me—it lets me hold down the rhythm while still adding color and movement on top.

SYV Buzz: Your partnership with Tom Ball spans decades—is there something unspoken between you two musically that an audience might never fully notice, but is essential to how you play together?

KS: Tom and I have been playing together for a long time, and there’s a real connection there. We’ve developed this almost instinctive sense of where the other is headed—we can anticipate each other before it even happens. When we lock into a groove, it’s incredibly tight, but it still has that relaxed, open feel. It’s controlled, but never stiff.

SYV Buzz: Longtime collaborations can often fall into comfort or evolve into something deeper—has your dynamic with Tom Ball changed over time?

KS: Yeah, we get along really well—Tom is a great partner. We’ve traveled all over the world together, played in some incredible places, and a few situations that were a little sketchy too. But through it all, Tom is the steady one. He’s consistent every day—like a straight line moving forward.

I tend to be a bit more fluid. I’ll float around that line a little more. Most days I’m upbeat, but I’m a bit less predictable—kind of like a box of chocolates, you never quite know what you’re going to get.

SYV Buzz: Love that answer! So, you’ve had a long-running presence at Cold Spring Tavern—what is it about that space, its history, or its audience that keeps drawing you back Sunday after Sunday?

KS: Cold Spring is about as cool as it gets! We’ve been playing there for roughly 40 years and have done well over a thousand gigs at that old tavern. It’s got this amazing history and character that you can feel the moment you see it—and honestly, it just never loses its thrill. It pulls us back every time.

In fact, it’s really the only bar-type gig we’ve kept going all these years. There’s just something special about it—the vibe, the people, the tradition. It’s one of those rare places that feels like home every time we play it.

SYV Buzz: Places like Cold Spring Tavern have a kind of built-in mythology—do you find that the setting shapes your performances there in ways that wouldn’t happen in a traditional venue?

KS: Yes—it’s all of that. It’s a party, a botanical garden, and a walk in nature all rolled into one incredible experience. People of all ages show up, and everyone’s smiling, moving, and having a blast. It’s one of those rare places where the vibe is just alive.

SYV Buzz: I rarely see you play gigs outside of Cold Spring Tavern, but you recently accepted Chris Pelonis’ invitation to play the Creative Collective Makers Market & Party in Los Olivos this Saturday—what about that event or setting made it feel like something you wanted to be part of?

KS: Tom and I are always happy to support anything local that’s tied to a good cause. When Josh reached out about putting this together, it was an easy yes—he’s a great guy, and the Santa Ynez Valley is such a special community.

There are so many talented artisans there, and it’s really about celebrating all of their work, along with great food, drink, and music. It just feels like one of those perfect, easygoing afternoons where everybody can relax and enjoy themselves.

SYV Buzz: Your music can feel both technically intricate and emotionally immediate—how do you keep one from overshadowing the other?

KS: Good question. I really believe you’ve got to pay your dues on the technical side first. You want to get to a place where, when you’re playing, you’re not thinking about mechanics at all—you’re just expressing pure emotion.

It takes a lot of work to get those tougher songs and grooves to that level, but once you do, the technique disappears and you’re just playing from the heart. That’s also why we can play the same song night after night, and it never feels exactly the same. It changes with the mood, the feel, and the room—it stays alive.

SYV Buzz: When everything is stripped away—no audience, no expectations, no career—what does playing guitar mean to you now?

KS: For me, it’s the best form of meditation I can imagine. I do a lot of yoga, and there’s always that meditative part at the beginning—but when I’m playing music and really in the groove, it goes even deeper than that.

There are moments where I realize I’ve gone completely past the thinking stage. It’s like a blank canvas, or that big white screen at a drive-in theater—just total space. Everything opens up, and there’s nothing in the way. My fingers might be moving a mile a minute, but I’m not even aware of it.

It’s a really beautiful place to be—completely present, completely free.

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In a world that often rewards noise over nuance, Kenny Sultan’s music feels like a quiet act of resistance—an invitation to slow down, listen closer, and remember that the most powerful moments in music don’t always announce themselves. They arrive gently, in the space between notes.

Alongside his longtime musical partner Tom Ball, that philosophy becomes something even more tangible—an unspoken language built on trust, intuition, and shared history.

If you’d like to experience that connection firsthand—where rhythm meets storytelling and every note is played with intention and ease—catch Tom Ball & Kenny Sultan together this Saturday at the Creative Collective Makers Market & Party in Los Olivos this Sunday (April 25) from 2-6pm.

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See our complete list of upcoming music and wine events in the Santa Ynez Valley.