with CraveOnline, he said "I would consider myself a part of the growing segment of people who question authority and scrutinize concepts that no longer seem as logical as they once did. [...] I don't find peace in the same concepts that many hold as truth. Believe me, I tried. It's not like I didn't spend most of my life submersed in the bosom of doctrine or dogma." In 2014, he identified himself as an agnostic. Kennedy has been identified as an avid reader and he says that he especially enjoys the work of John Irving, describing Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany as one of his favorite novels. He has also cited Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner as one of his favorites. When asked about his hobbies, he replied: "I guess I have been pretty fortunate since I have turned what was a hobby into a living. Music pretty much consumes me. If I’m not writing, performing or listening I am probably trying to learn more about its history." He has five tattoos: a dragon on his left forearm, a koi fish on his right forearm, an octopus on his right upper arm, and two elephant heads on his chest. He describes the dragon and the fish as symbols of strength, while the octopus was originally supposed to be a small squid but became much larger than he had intended. He got the dragon tattoo first because of a toy he brought back from Japan as a child, and the koi was added a year later after he learned of an ancient Chinese legend of koi swimming up the Yellow River to become dragons. He has said he wants to get more tattoos in the future. Charity work Kennedy has served on the board of directors for the Mead Food Bank since 2003. In addition, he co-founded the Future Song Foundation, a charity organization "that provides funding to ensure that kids have access to musical instruction and instruments which are fundamental parts of a complete education", with his wife in 2015. He serves as a director of the program. A proponent of wildlife conservation efforts, Kennedy is a supporter of the International Fund for Animal Welfare and is outspoken of his criticism of the ivory trade on Twitter. Discography Cosmic Dust Journey (1991) Citizen Swing Cure Me with the Groove (1993) Deep Down (1995) The Mayfield Four Fallout (1998)