With his little ear glued to a transistor radio
in the back of dad’s Volkswagen beetle he was exposed to Elvis, Little
Richard and the Everly Brothers. Listening to, and reading about,
his heroes, the Rolling Stones, brought Ken into contact with the
blues. During visits to Chicago, his grandfather took Ken
to the famous Maxwell Street Market where he was exposed to authentic
blues and gospel. He carried the passion of this music home with
him and became a devout student of the blues. Hearing Paul Butterfield,
James Cotton, Muddy Waters and the great Chicago bluesmen led the
way to Ken becoming the harmonica player and singer in his first
band, the Basement Blues Band, in the late 60s. Ken started scratching
out a living on the Ontario bar circuit playing rock standards, blues
and occasionally original tunes. The Toronto scene at that time was
hopping with the likes of Ronnie Hawkins, Steppenwolf, the Band,
Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot – all providing a
rich and varied musical education for the young minstrel.
Noticing that many musicians paid
homage to their roots influences, and also hearing country flavorings
in rock in the late 70s (Eagles, Poco, Nitty Gritty, Stones, etc.)
Ken explored his own roots by playing mandolin in several bluegrass
bands. This influence is still prevalent in Ken’s music today when
mandolin flavors are called for in tunes such as ‘Maggie Mae’, Stevie
Winwood’s ‘Back in the Highlife’ and ‘Rag Mama Rag’ by the Band – Ken’s ‘homies’ from
southern Ontario.
Ken became well know for his raw John Fogerty-style
vocals with the CCR tribute band Green River. This band toured extensively
throughout North America and the Caribbean for five years. They opened
for the Marshall Tucker Band in Norfolk, Virginia where they received
a standing ovation and played three encores as the opening act.
Apart
from music adventures, Ken’s passion for travel has taken him to
48 countries where he has, of course, absorbed musical influences.
He went back to university at the age of 37, gained both bachelor’s
and master’s degrees and a teaching
certificate and taught English in Japan for 7 years. While in Japan, Ken built
a respectable digital studio and became a mentor for local Japanese rock musicians
hungry for the ‘real thing’. Ken rekindled his interest in piano –taking lessons
from a very cool Japanese honky tonk piano player –and leans toward the Dr. John,
Jon Cleary New Orleans style of piano playing.
Somewhere along the line, Ken decided
to become a songwriter and has continued to write in many genres and styles.
Today Ken resides in Cocoa, Florida where he continues to record in his home
studio. He is putting the finishing touches on his soon-to-be-published musical
biography called ‘The Devil’s Music”. All
his musical influences have coalesced into a multi-faceted and original blend. |