KEITH KENNY: Bringing The
Blues Into The 21st Century

by Phil Rainone

Keith Kenny has been developing his own special brand of blues/rock/ acoustic singer songwriter tales since he was in his teens. I first saw him play about five years ago at a charity fund raiser at Todd’s Dugout in South Amboy. There, and every time I’ve seen him play since, he can change from whiplash speed-of-light guitar playing to searing, heavy duty chunks of riff rock, and still other times, acoustically delicate as anything Neil Young could conjure up. Blend that all with Keith’s humble, focused, and heartfelt manner, and you have the ingredients for a life-long musician, and someone who deeply cares about his music, family, friends, and a passionate world view. Keith released his new ep "Evil Fuzz Magic" in May, and we caught up with him and his bassist and collaborator Jon Luberecki for this interview.

Q: Where did the title of your new album, “Evil Fuzz Magic” come from? Also, who drew the figures of the monsters on the front and back covers? I thought they were cool.

Jon: I pulled it from “Naked Lunch” by William Burroughs. The words stood out amongst all the lunacy of that book and I felt it carried a strong and ominous connotation. I really liked the sound of it and all the things it could stand for. I brought it to Keith as a possible title over a year ago and it withheld the test of time. I like when people come up with their own interpretations of anything artistic or literary so I can’t really tell you exactly what it means. All I’ll say is that you could take it in a psychadelic direction.

Keith: The monsters for the front & back covers were done by our drummer Ian. He actually saw an advertisement in a magazine and drew the models as skeletons instead. Jon brought over a rough sketch of it and I immediately hung it on the wall in the studio. There was something about the title of the EP and that sketch that seemed to compliment each other. We are really happy with how it came out.

Q: How does this album differ from your past work?

Jon: The line-up has changed for one thing. This EP was recorded with new drummer Ian Luberecki. Ian’s my big brother and I hear all of the music he listens to and visa versa. Playing with him is about as natural as it gets. Still, we all throw new things at each other constantly. It’s simultaneously a competition and a group effort I think. Keith also picked up the electric guitar more as opposed to the acoustic during our sessions. We wanted to rock harder and louder and Keith just got into electric all over again. The biggest difference between “Limit is the Sky” and “Evil Fuzz Magic” is that “Limit” was entirely written by Keith. I just came in and made up bass lines for it mostly all in one day. The “Evil Fuzz Magic” project grew out of the three of us playing together.

Q: What inspires you to create your music?

Keith: It’s hard to pinpoint that really. It seems that creativity comes in waves. Some days you have it other days you don’t. I’ve found that the most important thing is to realize when you’re doing something good and record it…. It may never happen again. When you know that you are forcing it, you might as well just quit for the day and take it easy. Since we’ve built our studio it has been such a luxury to record things as you feel them.

Q: The rhythm and vibe of “All the Right Things,” on the new album, which I think is one of your best songs, sounds like it may have been inspired by Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin.” I remember when we did an interview about a year ago; you had mentioned that you were listening to Dylan’s “Nashville Skyline,” if I’m not mistaken. Has any of Dylan’s music rubbed off on you, and how you approach writing songs?

Keith: You almost nailed it, the song is actually inspired by “A hard rain’s a-gonna fall” by Bob Dylan. Jon & I saw him at the First Energy Park and it definitely had a big influence on the song. I found that when listening to a lot of Bob Dylan I started to get a little more clever when improvising lyrics, finding rhymes a little easier and having a few more words to mess around with. I’ve turned into a huge Dylan fan.

Q: “Evil Fuzz Magic” is a five song EP that I think is one of your best so far. Do you have any plans to put out a full record anytime soon?

Keith: You can never really tell what is going to come next with music, all I know is that we are going to keep playing together and we’ll be recording all of our sessions. Whatever comes out of it will probably end up going into the production of something new.

Q: Who else played on the album, and will any of them be touring with you?

Keith: On the EP is Jonathon Luberecki on Bass and Ian Luberecki on Drums. The EP would have never come out the same without these guys. Jon is always bringing awesome ideas to the music (like the drums and percussion at the end of “All the Right Things” which he played) Ian brought so much to the table with backup vocal ideas and his ear for mixing. Everything about the collaboration on this work was about the three of us sitting in a tiny room. We definitely plan on touring together to promote the release, as much as possible, wherever possible.

Q: A few years ago you had the opening slot for The Asbury Music Awards, and you also won Top Acoustic Act. What was it like opening the awards show, and later on getting the award?

Keith: It’s really nice to be recognized for something that you love to do, and playing the awards show definitely meant a lot to me.

Q: I remember seeing you for the first time at a charity fund raiser at Todd’s Dugout in South Amboy about five years ago. You had played a really intense, jaw dropping set that included originals like “Neck Hurts,” and a nasty, rockin’ cover of AC/DC’s “TNT- Dynamite,” if I remember correctly. How your live has shows evolved since then?

Keith: The show these days is incorporating a lot more of the trio and the jams that happen between us. We like to let some of the older songs breathe a little bit and have some room for exploring. After you play a tune too many times it can start to lose it’s flavor, giving it a little unknown helps keep the music fresh and the crowd interested. When I’m doing solo shows these days I find myself using much less of the Loop Pedal sound and sometimes just making up songs on the spot. The goal is really to just keep getting better as a musician and a performer, hopefully that comes through with time.

Keith: All the places that you take your music to help mold what you do on your instrument. You go new places, see new things, new feelings, all that good stuff. You can’t beat traveling and playing. Philadelphia has a great music scene and so far our music has been well received. We just keep on plugging along.

Q: You’ve performed as a solo artist and with a full band, sometimes both at a show. What advice do you have for anyone who is starting a band, or looking to go solo?

Jon: If you want to be happy playing original music for a living and for fun never forget why you started playing an instrument in the first place. Also, dedicated musicians are as tough as anyone I’ve ever met. You have to be.

Bonus Question: Steven Van Zandt (E-Street Band member), once said that, “Music is a religion- karaoke is a cult.” -Which I totally agree with. But there are a lot of well-known artists like Springsteen, and Dylan that have Karaoke versions of their music out there. So, with that said, do you think someday when we walk into a Karaoke bar we’ll be able so find, along with the afore mentioned musicians, a list for The Songs of Keith Kenny?

Keith: Although I hate karaoke, I think it would be hilarious to hear a few tipsy people belt out a Keith Kenny song. It’s not my number one priority at the moment though.

Keith Kenny will be appearing at Sullivan Hall in NYC on Wednesday, June 30.

For more info, visit www.keithkenny.com