Q&A: John Kolar on Color Blind, Humor, and Our Mountain Home
John Kolar is an up-and-coming artist from West Virginia, who y'all may recognize from my piece on Appalachian artists. John recently released his debut album Color Blind, in November, a record that blends warmth, humor, and reflection. After sitting down and enjoying this album, I reached out to John to talk more about its influences, my favorite tracks, and details that give this album its soul. The title track has this beautiful intro that feels jazz-influenced before the percussion comes in, and it shifts into the sound that your fans associate with you. Were there any jazz artists or records that shaped this track, or your work in general, either historically or specifically for this album? John Kolar: From 2022-2024, I studied at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh for a master’s in Music & Technology. As a part of this degree, I took jazz piano lessons. I wrote the intro to “Color Blind” when I was doing a jazz piano practice exercise, practicing for a lesson. It ...
