Prior to being signed to
New York's
A&M Octone Records, Hammond came into contact with English music producer
Mikal Blue (best known for his work with
Colbie Caillat,
Jason Mraz, and
OneRepublic) via Myspace social network. Blue flew Hammond out to Los Angeles and recorded several of Hammond's original
acoustic songs at Revolver Recordings in
Thousand Oaks, California, after which he signed with the recording company. During his years at A&M/Octone Records, Hammond toured with many well-known artists including
The Script,
Paper Tongues,
Natasha Bedingfield,
Colbie Caillat,
Gregg Allman,
Andy Grammer, and
Kate Voegele. In 2011, Hammond held a
residency in NYC playing at venues such as
The Bitter End and
Rockwood Music Hall.
2009: 'Kevin Hammond' EP In 2009, Hammond released his first EP. The EP was first released as 5 digital tracks, and later was available on disc. The tracks included 4 of Hammond's original demo songs. The EP also featured a cover of
Gnarls Barkley's
Crazy. In 2010, Hammond's song "Just Believe It", as produced by American bassist and record producer
Randy Jackson, was featured on the soundtrack for the
Walmart made-for-TV film
Secrets of the Mountain.
2011: 'One of a Kind' Album In 2011, Hammond released his first single titled "Broken Down" off of his debut album
One of a Kind. The music video for the single was directed by Tim Nackashi and features
The Vampire Diaries co-star
Kat Graham. To promote the album, Hammond performed an exclusive concert for
Z100 listeners at
Planet Hollywood in
Times Square. == Personal life ==