Kevin Ludlow is a 44-year-old accomplished software developer, business manager, writer, musician, photographer, world traveler, and serial entrepreneur from Austin, Texas. He is also a former candidate for the Texas House of Representatives.
Please take a moment to view his complete resume for more information.
Note: the entirety of this website was architected and developed from the ground up exclusively by Kevin Ludlow.
As part of my 2015 music project I've been working on about 8 new songs (writing all of the music pieces and the lyrics). While I am collaborating with a dear friend of mine, I'm also trying to workshop the various songs with other people to get ideas on where to go with them.
With the Ghost of Paul Revere staying at my house for SX, we gave this affectionately titled song called "Tired of Trying" a little acoustic spin. Maybe the studio recording of it will have a banjo in the background?
We didn't rehearse any of it, but quickly went over the changes and improvised most of the pieces to it. This was also after a long day of substance abuse and was performed for two Portland girls I met along the way.
I've recently been doing some experimenting with a violin bow after a friend of mine started teaching me some basics. Granted she is playing on an actual violin, but it translates to guitar fairly well.
The result was a harder sounding back beat with a nice wah-wah tick and a deep swell from the violin bow. I was basically just forming an E-chord and running the bow over the strings with heavy distortion to get the effect.
Having only had my Telecaster for about a month now, I wanted to try recording something that had an acoustic-sounding background loop and then layer the Tele over it. I had the volume a little low and lost the timing a few times, but this was the result.
On Wednesday afternoon I received a call that my cleaning lady had APD called on her for being a "suspicious person" in my house. When the police showed up, they claimed they smelled marijuana on her. I was called to deal with the situation and was promptly detained by officers who had already decided to enter my home, search it with guns drawn, and hold me there while their supervisor "made a decision". Of course there was nothing in my home and yet, our laws somehow justify this madness.
The War on Drugs is a dangerous, abject failure. While I ultimately didn't have to deal with any real consequences in this situation, it is an absolute travesty that time and money is spent on this. The fact that armed people went through my home is a disgusting and disturbing thought. And if I were a minority, it's almost certain that I would have been booked in jail.
My opponent, Texas State Representative Dawnna Dukes, will of course not discuss this reality despite the fact that for such a minority-rich area, this poses a substantial problem to residents of House District 46.
Please feel free to share this video if you're so inclined (apologies for the length).
For three weeks in a row now I have been creating videos challenging Ms. Dawnna Dukes to a debate. I've even offered to pay all expenses related to it. Not only has she ignored my requests, but she has even gone so far as to block me from her Facebook page; I can't even view my State Representative's social media posts. It seems that she has risen high enough in the political ranks whereby civil discourse is no longer a necessity for her version of democracy.
In this third video I focus on Ms. Dukes' desire to see Texas adopt a state income tax. I'm genuinely curious to hear her defend this position, but make the assumption that she is trying to protect people from being displaced with rising costs. I state three different counter arguments to this assumption and briefly contrast income tax and property taxes.
I truly believe that many of our greatest problems could be solved if only we would hold politicians accountable to their words and actions. So long as I am competing for a seat in the legislature I will certainly do just that. I would strongly encourage you to contact Ms. Dukes' office and request that she comment on these positions.
Last week I created a video challenging my opponent, 19-year incumbent Dawnna Dukes, to a debate. I posted the video to her Facebook and Twitter accounts and also sent her campaign a personal email with the request. One week later and I still have yet to receive a response. I did discover that I've been blocked from her Facebook wall. This seems a little unfair given that she is my current State Representative and I've only contacted her three times throughout the entire campaigning process. But then again, it seems she is intent to ignore any competition.
In this second video I focus on HB359, a bill which ultimately authorizes school districts to use corporal punishment on students unless a parent or legal guardian opts the child out in writing. Much to my surprise, Ms. Dukes voted in favor of the bill, a position I most certainly do not agree with.
I also illustrate once again how the the Democrats have been attacking Attorney General Greg Abbott for turning down a debate with Wendy Davis. Will Hailer, executive director for the Democratic Party of Texas, went so far as to say, "Attorney General Greg Abbott is a coward. ...he and his team have a fundamental disrespect for Texans and he is unwilling to have his ideas questioned by the press and everyday voters." I hope he feels the same way about members of his own party being unwilling to debate their opponents.
If you can spare five minutes of your day, please encourage Ms. Dukes and her campaign team to take me up on my offer. I believe the citizens of Texas House District 46 deserve to hear new political ideas.