Kachel's back in action

Woodbury singer/songwriter/acoustic guitarist Joel Kachel is primed to make a splash with his newest release -- his first music video.

After being fairly quiet since his debut release in 2008, the 24-year-old musician with dreams of making it big is grabbing attention with a new award-winning song, a video to go with it, and a new website that is expected to be up and running this week.

"It's the trifecta," said Kachel, who will perform during a video release party Wednesday at the Fine Line Music Cafe in downtown Minneapolis.

Kachel wrote the song "Crow" shortly after he graduated from Woodbury High School in 2005, but it wasn't until this past summer that the song gained traction. He released the single along with two other songs on an extended play recording called "Sounds of Crow," which was produced by acclaimed jazz guitarist David Becker at Waterbury Studios in Minneapolis.

Kachel submitted "Crow" to the 2011 Texas Songwriters Cruise competition and it took first place in the Acoustic/Folk category.

"You can log on and see it right on the front page," he said. "That's a sweet thing. There is a lot of fun stuff going on."

Kachel said "Crow" is a song about a bird with a broken wing. It symbolizes the life of a musician who is on the road without a car and in need of a lift to get home -- a life that he is very familiar with.

"Just after high school I was a playing at a blues jam and some older guys were heckling me that I had lots of songs about love and girls," he said. "So I wrote a song about a crow."

The song sat on the shelf until this year, when he put it on his second release and teamed with former Woodbury High School classmate Joe Carlini to create his first music video to go with it. Kachel said he knew he picked the right guy when Carlini won a Crystal Pillar College Student Television Award for excellence in writing from the regional Emmys.

"Joe was able to capture who I was," said Kachel. The video includes scenes from the Midwest and "reflects me and my music."

The video, which will be posted on Kachel's new website, www.joelkachel.com, has already been shown on TV, even though it's official debut is Wednesday. Kachel spent a few weeks in Alaska earlier this year with the Third Wheel Project, a group that provides guidance for new artists. A TV station there learned of his video and recently aired it.

His most recent endeavor was a tour to Nashville, Indianapolis, Chicago and Louisville, where he performed his repertoire of pop tunes that draw largely from real-life experiences. Next up is another album and a winter trip to Germany, Austria and Amsterdam.

"It's another way to get my music out there," he said.

Tim Harlow • 651-925-5039, Twitter: @timstrib