(This is the first post in a series on the music and musicians I am connected to firsthand. That is, these are my friends, and this is their story. Each Wednesday I will post a blurb detailing their musical careers, however short or unheard of they may be.)

We all have dreams, but rarely do you meet someone like Kalin Krohe. He is the type of guy that is going to see his dreams through to their ultimate triumph or final end, no matter what.
Kalin hails from my hometown of Alliance in the panhandle of Nebraska, and has been a friend of mine for a few years now. Like most people, I was initially put off by his hard-lined approach to life in general. I thought at the time that my judgements of him were qualified by a realistic outlook. The unstoppable drive he had, and still has today, was annoying to put it bluntly. But since then, I've learned to take his ambition with a grain of salt and a touch of jealousy.

Back in the olden days of my teens, Alliance wasn't exactly the place you'd expect to find a burst of artistic expression. It was like most small towns. We had a movie theater, cruising the Butte, high school sports, and parties. For the most part, that was okay for everyone.
Sure, we had the upstart teen centers, the programs put on by clubs, and other events around town designed as an alternative to the latter choice, but nothing ever came to complete fruition, and we all became used to the dull life. But then three guys formed a band, and in the process helped bring about something new to do. They called themselves Palm Dell and played shows at an elementary school.
No, they didn't go on to get signed and enjoy modest success. But they did what they could and built up arguably the largest following in the area. In the first stages, Collin Lybarger, drummer, and Arlo Brittan, vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter, were the foundation. A couple others had short-lived spots in the band, but it wasn't until the band started auditions for a bassist did Kalin join up.
I don't want to presume to know the intimate inner-workings of the band, but from what I know playing with the band later on, Kalin had to settle with being third in the line of creative command. Bands with egalitarian roles are few and far between so this was almost inevitable and in no way forced upon him. But it only amplified his determination to do something bigger if the opportunity arose.
After about four years of playing together as a band, Palm Dell as I've just described called it quits around May of 2006, I believe.
(I'll be talking more about Palm Dell in later pieces about Collin and Arlo, once I get their consent.)

Now, along with going to school in Mitchell, South Dakota, for satellite communications, Kalin is promoting his new venture, Krohe Records, exhaustively. When he launched his Myspace site in the middle of March, most everyone I talked to about it in my small circle of friends were skeptical. We had our doubts. Is this really a record label? Is it just a Myspace page? No one really knew what to think of it.
Over the course of a few weeks, numerous Facebook wall posts, the recording of a podcast, and a couple long phone calls, I'm beginning to think Kalin is going to go somewhere with this. If not, he's certainly going to try his hardest.

If you haven't already, point your browser to http://www.myspace.com/kroherecords and prepare to be surprised like me.