 "Kenn Kweder leans into the microphone and lifts his arms in a mock gesture towards the heavens. "Quiet," he warns his chatting audience. "Theres a poet on the stage." Although the line is delivered with wit and dimples, theres truth in jest." Temple University's Magazine, Philadelphia People --Georgia Getz |
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Play Doctor Says Play Sloppy But Clean Play Samples of the entire album Songs on this album are: 1. Suicide 2. Man's Got a Gun 3. Doctor Says 4. Bottle Song 5. Buddy Barnhill 6. Sidewalk Melody 7. My Uncle Made Me Do It 8. Man of Stone 9. Squares 10. Sloppy But Clean Review by Alex Henderson One of the most intriguing story lines on the horror soap opera Dark Shadows was the parallel-time story line, which found the ill-fated vampire Barnabus Collins discovering a band of parallel time in which people he knew in his own time were living totally different lives because they had made different decisions along the way. Well, if parallel time really existed, perhaps Kenn Kweder's counterpart would be as famous as Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, or Billy Joel. There was a time when, in Philadelphia, people just knew that Kweder was going to be the next big male singer/songwriter from the East Coast. But that never happened, and by the time Flesh Blood and Blue came out in 1991, it was a safe assumption that Kweder (who was a year away from 40) would never sign with Sony or headline Madison Square Garden. Regardless, Kweder had a lot to be proud of. He had been building an impressive catalog on his own Pandemonium label and he was something of a working-class hero in Philly because like Frank Sinatra he had the guts to do it his way. Flesh Blood and Blue isn't Kweder's most essential release, but it's a solid, respectable effort that shows listeners just how effective a storyteller he can be. The best East Coast singer/songwriters Bob Dylan, Reed, Springsteen, Billy Joel were compelling storytellers who wrote songs that their fans could relate to. Similarly, that slice-of-life approach works well for Kweder on tunes like "My Uncle Made Me Do It" and "Buddy Barnhill." This CD, for the most part, received very favorable reviews from Philly rock critics, who like Philly sports fans can be a tough, jaded, unforgiving bunch. But Philly's critics knew that they had a local treasure in Kweder, whose Flesh Blood and Blue was a welcome addition to his catalog. For Download Only  | | Play Edie Sedgwick Play I Met a Girl Like You Around Play Samples of the entire album Songs on this album are: 1. How Many Times 2. I Met a Girl Like You Around 3. Candystore 4. Black Sheep Boy 5. Mighty River 6. Imitation of Living 7. The World is Just a B-Movie 8. Laddie Boy Hawkins 9. Edie Sedgwick 10. Freedon from Sense Review by Alex Henderson Back in the early '70s, Philadelphia's folk community had a reputation for being a conservative bunch not conservative politically (many folk artists are known for supporting liberal causes), but conservative in terms of being staid, demure, reserved, and settled. In you dropped by one of Philly's coffee houses in 1971 or 1972, you could still hear some people debating whether or not Bob Dylan should have gone electric that's how conservative Philly's folk community could be in those days. So imagine the reactions that Philly folkys had when, in the early '70s, a young Kenn Kweder brought his wild-man antics to the city's folk and singer/songwriter venues; they didn't exactly approve when he did wacky things like wresting women on-stage. Had Kweder who has calmed down considerably since then stuck to folk-rock and not alienated people in his city's folk community, there is no telling how big he might have become on the folk circuit. But Kweder was too eclectic to play folk-rock exclusively, and it would have been a shame if he had not shown people his diversity. Nonetheless, Kweder can be a superb folk-rocker when he puts his mind to it, which is what he does on this self-titled CD. Recorded in 1994 and 1995, Kenn Kweder finds the singer/songwriter emphasizing folk-rock and savoring his Dylan/Neil Young/Leonard Cohen/Byrds roots. Over the years, Kweder has often excelled as a ballsy, in-your-face rocker, but his more wistful and sensitive side prevails on folk-rock gems like "Mighty River," "Freedom From Sense," and "Laddie Boy Hawkins." Meanwhile, the haunting "Candystore" is more British Invasion than folk-rock more late-period Beatles than Dylan or Cohen. But folk-rock still dominates this album, which Kweder has every reason to be proud of. For Download Only |
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Play Torn Rice Play Broken Hearts Play Samples of the entire album For Download Only Songs on this album are: 1. Torn Rice 2. New Hampshire 3. January February 4. Broken Hearts 5. Words and Dreams 6. Places 7. Pandemonium and the Scare 8. Remember Me 9. Diablo 10. Girl with the Dylan Flowers Review by Alex Henderson People who don't live in or around Philadelphia might wonder why this 1999 release is titled Indre Sessions. Indre is a studio in that East Coast city; it has a fine reputation in Philly and its suburbs, and it has managed to attract major artists like Astrud Gilberto. As this CD's title indicates, Indre Studios has also attracted Kenn Kweder. The singer/songwriter was in his late forties when he recorded this album, and the folks at Indre undoubtedly knew that he was a long-lasting veteran of the Philly rock scene. Like much of Kweder's work, Indre Sessions received much more press in Philly than it did in national publications (although critic David Fricke has given Kweder a lot of favorable coverage in Rolling Stone). Most of the reviews that Indre Sessions received in Philly publications were quite favorable, and it wasn't just a case of being unnecessarily kind to a local musician simply because he was local. In fact, Philly's rock critics can be notoriously cynical and jaded they have a reputation for being a tough bunch, but in most cases they had a high opinion of this CD. And their praise was justified; Indre Sessions really does live up to those glowing reviews. Over the years, the eclectic Kweder has been everything from a brash, ballsy rocker to a sensitive, wistful sort of artist and on Indre Sessions his sensitive side prevails. The singer/songwriter brings a certain thoughtfulness to original gems like "Girl With the Dylan Flowers," "January February," and "Words and Dreams," all of which find Kweder cherishing his Bob Dylan-influenced folk-rock roots. The only song that he didn't write or co-write is "Remember Me," which was written by the late singer/songwriter Billy Schied. Indre Sessions is a strong, highly consistent effort that folk-rock enthusiasts should make a point of hearing. | | Play Do What I Want Play Remember Me Play Samples of the entire album For Download Only Songs on this album are: 1. Marco Polo 2. Do What I Want 3. What Am I Talking About 4. Apology 5. All the Money 6. Remember Me 7. Angel 8. Tom & Jim 9. Nuthouse 10. Jimmy the Beanstalk 11. White Bastards Review by Alex Henderson Produced by Philadelphia singer/songwriter Ben Vaughn, 1989's Man Overboard is one of Kenn Kweder's best, most essential albums. Most of Kweder's releases are excellent he is one of folk-rock and rock & roll's unsung heroes, at least outside of Philly but Man Overboard is an album that his fans hold in especially high regard. And it isn't hard to see why; Man Overboard is as consistent as it is diverse and unpredictable. On this album, Kweder shows listeners different sides of his personality. He is a reflective, Bob Dylan-influenced folk-rocker on "Apology" and "Remember Me," which isn't among the Kweder originals it was written by the late Philly songwriter Billy Schied. Meanwhile, Kweder is a gutsy, punky, new wave-influenced rocker on "Jimmy the Beanstalk," the defiant "Do What I Want," and the infectious "What Am I Talking About." The thing that all of these songs have in common is their tunefulness; whether he is rocking aggressively or getting into pensive folk-rock, Kweder always brings a strong sense of melody to the material. One hears a wide variety of influences on this album everyone from Dylan and Leonard Cohen to Lou Reed, Bruce Springsteen, and Tom Petty (among others). There are even times when Kweder brings to mind Sparks vocalist Russell Mael (minus the eccentricity). But whomever Kweder is being influenced by, he always sounds like his own man. Man Overboard isn't the only Kweder release that is worth owning, but if you're exploring his work for the first time, it would be an excellent starting point. |
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Play Man on the Moon Play Suzy Said So Play Samples of the entire album For Download Only
Songs on this album are: 1. Man on the Moon 2. He's at It Again 3. Bifocals 4. What Am I Talking About 5. January February 6. Patti Smith 7. Torn Rice 8. Apology 9. Suicide 10. Suzy Said So 11. Old Tan Datsun 12. Outrage at Walsh's 13. Places 14. Pandemonium and the Scare 15. Trouble on the Line 16. Freedom From Sense 17. Two Little Bugs 18. Crab Jam 19. Words and Dreams Review by Alex Henderson On January 29, 2002, Kenn Kweder turned 50, and it was around that time that the Philadelphia-based singer/songwriter looked back on his long career with two anthologies: Kwederology, Vol. 1 and Kwederology, Vol. 2. A two-CD set that spans 1975-2002, Kwederology, Vol. 1 isn't really a best-of because it doesn't stick to Kweder's most essential work. Many of the tracks are excellent, but the collection also contains some less-than-essential rarities that are provided for hardcore fans (including previously unreleased live performances and a few excerpts from interviews). So if you're hoping for a collection of "Introductory Kenn Kweder 101," volume one isn't that collection. But those who are interested in hearing most than just the basics will find this double CD to be a highly rewarding and totally unpredictable retrospective. Kweder was never a one-dimensional, formulaic type of artist; over the years, he has been everything from an introspective, wistful folk-rocker to a punky, in-your-face new wave rocker; like David Bowie, Miles Davis, and Prince, Kweder isn't someone who can be pigeonholed. His true fans (most of them in and around Philly) not only accept his diversity they cherish it, and they will appreciate the fact that volume one contains everything from Bob Dylan-influenced folk-rock ("Apology," "Freedom From Sense," "Remember Me") to gutsy-yet-melodic rockers such as "Man on the Moon" and "What Am I Talking About." Kweder gets into country-rock on 1999's "Places," while "Patti Smith" is a goofy live rarity from 1975 that epitomizes the raw aggression of early punk. "Patti Smith" is hardly essential, but it's a fun bit of self-indulgence that collectors should find amusing. Again, Kwederology, Vol. 1 isn't for casual listeners, but it's a double CD that collectors and hardcore fans will love to get their hands on. | | Play Heroin Play Marco Polo Play Samples of the entire album For Download Only Included on Vol 1 download from iTunes Songs on this album are: 1. Heroin 2. Imagination 3. Doctor Says 4. Jack Kerouac 5. Mommy and Daddy 6. Crackhead 7. Diablo 8. Cassady's Bible 9. Man of Stone 10. New Hampshire 11. Marco Polo 12. Jigger of Rye 13. Candystore 14. My Uncle Made Me Do It 15. Turning Myself into Two 16. Ferlinghetti 17. Remember Me 18. Lost Keys Review by Alex Henderson When Kenn Kweder turned 50 on January 29, 2002, one Philadelphia reviewer commented on how the veteran singer/songwriter hadn't lost his youthful appearance. He didn't have the haggard, beat-up, worn-out look that aging rockers can get if they've done too much partying and Kweder certainly did his share of hard living in his younger days. But the Philadelphian had cleaned up his act along the way; perhaps that explains his relatively youthful appearance at 50. Another possible explanation is Kweder's state of mind; perhaps he's genuinely proud of his creative accomplishments (he should be), and perhaps his overall state of mind affected his physical appearance. That's speculation, of course. What we can say for certain is that if Kwederology, Vol. 2 is Kweder's way of patting himself on the back, that pat on the back is well deserved. Like the double-CD Kwederology, Vol. 1, this single-disc retrospective is more appropriate for collectors and hardcore fans than casual listeners. Some of the tracks that Kweder chooses are essential, but some are rarities (including some previously unreleased live tracks) that will interest collectors more than casual listeners. Nonetheless, volume two paints an attractive, if imperfect, picture of Kweder's artistry. Kweder the sensitive folk-rocker is nicely represented by "Mighty River" and "Girl With the Dylan Flowers"; Kweder the brash rocker is nicely represented by the defiant "Do What I Want." The oldest track one of the rarities is a live performance of the rockin' "Man's Got a Gun" at Max's Kansas City in New York in 1977. And there is an early-2002 performance of the humorous "Ballad of Manute Bol." So volume two spans a quarter of a century. Full of surprises, this CD is quite interesting if you have more than just a casual interest in Kweder's history. |
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Play Torn Rice Play Interview with Gene Shay No longer available Songs on this album are: 1. Introduction by Gene Shay 2. Torn Rice 3. Interview with Gene Shay 4. Lucky's Ballroom 5. Closing Comments | ||
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 The World's View of Kenn Kweder: Rolling Stone, April 25, 2002--DAVID FRICKE April 25, 2002 The first time I met singer-songwriter Kenn Kweder, in 1975 backstage at a club in Philadelphia, he pulled a sword on me, a genuine military saber. It was his way of saying hello. But that was nothing compared to the show he played with his then-band, the Secret Kidds: a manic aggregate -- in chords, language and vocal spunk -- of electric Dylan, seaside Springsteen, blues-wolf Beefheart and early solo Lou Reed. In Philly's pre-punk age, Kweder was a loose cannon with a poet's mettle. (He papered the city with posters showing his name, the word folk and a photograph of Jack Ruby killing Lee Harvey Oswald.) He may now be the most audacious man in rock: a guy who's never had an album deal and rarely plays outside the Philly area but has the gumption and tape stash to fill Kwederology Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (Pandemonium, CD), separate two-CD and single-disc anthologies of live tapes, old singles, stage rants and late-Eighties studio work with Ben Vaughn. Maybe I'm biased, but you don't have to grow up on cheese steaks to embrace the wit and bite in Kweder's songs of love, wanderlust and fleeting sanity: "Torn Rice," "Man on the Moon," "Pandemonium and the Scare." And I still think "Suzy Said So" is one of the best '66-Dylan ballads the bard has never written. Rolling Stone, September 7, 1995 On the Edge by David Fricke I've known singer/songwriter Kenn Kweder since the mid-'70s, when I was holding up the bar in the Philly clubs he was torching with his madcap take on mid-'60s Dylan and garage-punk crunch. Kenn Kweder (Pandemonium, CD) is the best record he's ever made, a potent work of quiet electricity that suggests New Morning with a dark jolt of Oh Mercy. Frankly, I'd buy five copies even if he wasn't a friend. Rolling Stone, November 2, 1989 On the Edge ...Man Overboard (Pandemonium, LP and cassette), by Philly rock bard Kenn Kweder (his real name), is the sound of a man possessed by the aggro-folk spirit of mid-Sixties Dylan. "Apology" is great ersatz Zimmie, an acoustic broadside full of righteous vocals and asthmatic harmonica. "Jimmy the Beanstalk" has no lyrics other than the title chorus, but it kicks like a '67 Basement Tapes mule. Producer Ben Vaughn drops hints of here and there, yet the wit in Kweder's writing and the gusto of his delivery prove he's definitely his own maniac. Of course, flirting with madness was once one of Dylan's most endearing qualities. Biography by Alex Henderson Philadelphia singer/songwriter Kenn Kweder has been called "the Mayor of South Street," a reference to the trendy, club-filled Philly thoroughfare that is comparable to New York's Bleeker Street and Chicago's Rush Street. And even though he is not well-known nationally, Kweder has been a folk-rock/rock & roll institution in Philly since the early '70s. Arguably, Kweder is to Philly rock what veteran saxophonists Bootsie Barnes and Larry McKenna are to Philly jazz: Someone who has enjoyed local hero status but has never received the sort of national recognition that he deserves. In fact, non-Philadelphians who have caught Kweder's Philly gigs when they visited the city have often asked the same question that visitors have asked about Barnes and McKenna: Why isn't this guy better known outside of his hometown? And for Kweder, that lack of national attention probably comes down to his refusal to sacrifice creative control. In the past, major labels have expressed interest in signing him; at one point, veteran industry mogul Clive Davis was seriously interested in signing him to Arista. But Kweder wanted more creative control than Davis was willing to offer and that outlook also kept him from signing with other major labels. Refusing to make compromises, Kweder has opted to record independently for the small Pandemonium label and his recordings have ranged from folk-rock and roots rock to new wave. Kweder, like David Bowie and Prince, has had no problem being a chameleon and taking himself in a variety of musical directions; he has refused to adhere to any type of formula and that lack of predictability may be one of the things that has intimidated major labels. Kweder brings a variety of influences to the table and along the way, his influences have ranged from Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, the Byrds, Captain Beefheart, and Bruce Springsteen to Bowie, Lou Reed, and the Velvet Underground. Born in Upper Darby, PA (a Philly suburb), on January 29, 1952, and raised in a working-class neighborhood of southwest Philly, Kweder grew up wanting to be a professional basketball player. But when he decided that he wasn't tall enough for pro-basketball, he concentrated on his other passion: music. Kweder was only in his late teens when he started playing around Philly in the early '70s and one of the people who gave him a lot of encouragement was the late Billy Schied, a local singer/songwriter who had a reputation for being reclusive. At first, Kweder played solo gigs and accompanied himself on acoustic guitar, but after a few years, he put together a band called Kenn Kweder & the Secret Kidds. It didn't take Kweder long to earn a reputation as an irreverent, hell-raising wild man; he used a lot of profanity during his live shows and club owners were shocked when he did wacky things like wrestling with women on-stage and throwing firecrackers into the audience. And Kweder certainly found shocking ways to promote himself: One of the promotional posters that he plastered all over Philly around 1974 contained a photograph of Lee Harvey Oswald (the man who assassinated President John F. Kennedy) being shot by Jack Ruby. Kweder bombarded Philly with at least 2,000 of those posters and while some people found them tasteless, they did get him noticed. In the '70s, Kweder's over-the-top antics got him banned from certain clubs as some club owners considered him a loose cannon. But despite all that, Kweder was, in the '70s, the toast of Philly's rock scene. As the '70s progressed, the local buzz that Kweder and his Secret Kidds created became stronger and stronger and by the latter part of the decade, major labels were aggressively courting the singer/songwriter (who opened for Cheap Trick, the Ramones, Patti Smith, Elvis Costello, and other major acts when they passed through Philly). In the late '70s and early '80s, many Philadelphians insisted that Kweder was destined to be "the next big thing"; his supporters assumed that it was only a matter of time before he would be signed by a major label and become internationally famous. And if Kweder had been willing to let Arista's Clive Davis have his way on creative matters, it is quite possible that he would have become as big as his Philly supporters predicted he would be. But Kweder was not willing to sacrifice commercial success if it meant being able to do things his own way and judging from his statements in various interviews, the Philadelphian doesn't regret sticking to his artistic guns. Along the way, Kweder led many different bands; the bands that came after the Secret Kidds have included the Radio Church of God, the Men From K.W.E.D.E.R., the Men From P.O.V.I.C.H. (whose name was inspired by talk show host Maury Povich), the Employees, the Codependents, and the Enablers. The lack of a record deal has not prevented Kweder from recording and building a catalog. His first release came in 1977 when he put out the 45 rpm single "Man on the Moon"/"Susie Said No." Subsequent singles included "Back on You"/"Mommy and Daddy" in 1980 and "Turning Myself Into Two"/"Amos Maggid" in 1984. Then in 1986, Kweder provided a vinyl EP, titled Kitchen Folk, which was was followed by the double-LP retrospective Pandemonium Years in 1987 and the album Man Overboard (produced by Philly singer/songwriter Ben Vaughn) in 1989. In the '90s, Kweder's albums included 1991's Flesh, Blood and Blue, 1995's self-titled effort, and 1999's Indre Sessions (all on Pandemonium Music). In the early 2000s, Kweder was still a fixture on the Philly rock scene and in 2002, he looked back on his career with Kwederology, Vol. 1 (a two-CD collection of live and studio material spanning from 1977 to 1999) and Kwederology, Vol. 2 (which also contains both live and studio material and spans 1981 to 2002). Kweder celebrated his 50th birthday on January 29, 2002. More Coming Soon. |