Instruments:
Guitar (electric/acoustic), piano, bass, drums, mandolin, banjo,
accordion, harmonica, bongos, steel drums, tenor saxophone (I
can make seagull sounds).
Like many others, this music journey
begins on an A flat while Kevin’s piano teacher was striking his finger onto the correct
note (or note she wanted him to play). Born into a family of many
generations of great musicians, Kevin felt no pressure to become
a musical prodigy. After premiering in a few sold out concerts
at the age of 7 [ok, they were piano recitals], Kevin wooed the
virgin ears to “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” and
at a later fully capacity crowd, “William Tell Overture”.
Since he didn’t receive any encores, he decided to hang up
playing the piano for the time being.
When trying to get in on high yielding
stocks in the mid 80’s
failed, Kevin knew he had to find something else to satisfy his
entrepreneurial spirit. Herb Caen, famed writer for the San Francisco
Chronicle, wrote on 2/12/82 that when Kevin grew up he wanted to, “work
for the Disney Corporation… because I own part of it in
stocks.” That didn’t happen. After losing his “shirt
off his back” on foreign oil investments and a poor barley
market, Kevin felt his push back to music. An electric guitar birthday
present near the completion of high school was all that was needed
to produce the “big sound” that was soon to happen.
By no means were the early stages
of playing guitar easy. Kevin lost the love of his friends and
family very quickly, but continued strumming, in spite of being
ostracized by the rest of human civilization. While attending
school at UC Berkeley (FYI - He flunked out of the music department & also had a stint in a Javanese Gamelan),
Kevin met Justin Murata around 1995, a Hawaiian slack key guitarist
who didn’t mind Kevin’s playing. Justin was once quoted
as saying, “I loved playing guitar with Kevin. His playing
was so bad that it kept burglars away from my apartment. Those
were some of the safest days of my life.” Kevin was soon
exposed to many of Hawaii’s great musicians: Gabby Pahinui,
Iz, Leward Ka’apana, etc. Kevin would later get to visit
Justin in Oahu in 1999 to get a greater appreciation for where
this music originated.
“Who is Shack?” you ask.
Well, let me tell you. He’s
not that tall basketball player. Gary
Shackelford is a Travis pickin’ guitar player that will blow
your socks off! Shack used to live across the street from Kevin
and had Tuesday night jams sessions that included fine California
wine, cool homeboys… and music, too. On any given Tuesday,
upon entering his house, you could be mystically transported to
Bourbon Street in New Orleans via “Georgia on my Mind” or “When
the Saints Go Marching In” with banjo, euphonium & all;
or suddenly be riding a train through the Midwest with some hobos
singing some Hank Williams, Johnny Cash or Willie Nelson songs.
Kevin learned a wealth of musical knowledge from Shack and everyone
with whom he was introduced. Shack’s house was where Kevin
learned jazz standards, country classics, how to solo, and most
importantly – how to have fun with music.
Now that Kevin had some musical knowledge,
he was ready to open himself to the public. In the winter of
1999, Kevin made his radio debut on “The Dog House” on KYLD 94.9. “The Dog
House” Bay Area shock jock radio show were now famous for
being the last radio show to interview The Notorious B.I.G. and
1st radio show to interview Kevin Pugh. “The Dog House” had
Kevin play guitar and take requests from listeners who were on
their morning commute.
While taking a swim in the Pacific
Ocean in early 2000, Kevin had an encounter with a humpback whale
that would change his life. The whale told Kevin, “Hey, have you ever thought of moving
to Los Angeles? I hear there lots of smog, silicone and tons of
traffic. I think you’ll love it.” Without hesitation,
Kevin packed his bags and swam to Los Angeles from the Bay Area.
After drying off from the swim, breathing
some smog and sitting in traffic for 1 hour, Kevin realized that
he needed some new guitar strings. After stumbling across Los
Angeles and looking for a place to find guitar strings (Note:
there are very few guitarists living in L.A.), Kevin met Un Yung
Chong, the owner of Happy Music in Korea-town, California. As
they say in those Hollywood movies that they make a few blocks
from Happy Music, “This was the start
to a beautiful friendship.” Kevin and Chong shared the same
musical interests: rock, jazz, soul, funk, experimental, Spanish
guitar, reggae and many other types. On Sundays, Happy Music became
an extension of what was formerly Shack’s house. People would
meet at Happy Music with their instruments and let all cars, buses,
helicopters and other local businesses on 3rd Street know that
we were alive via a term described by Chong as “CREATIVE
SONIC POWER”!!! Since meeting Chong, Kevin has learned to
play the drums, tenor saxophone, double bass (or, as Chong calls
it, the “big fiddle”), mandolin and eats lots of kim
chee, washing it down with some soju. This “Creative Sonic
Power” is still alive.
Kevin is currently performing in Dan Reutter’s comedy/music
extravaganza “3 Chords & a Dirty Mouth”. The
show consists of original Dan Reutter songs and Dan’s stand-up
comedy. The show has been best described as an influence/fusion
of the comedy of George Carlin and songwriting of John Prine.
Kevin has yet to tell a joke and has been told that he will be
immediately fired if there is ever a comic attempt. He is usually
chained to a corner of the stage, primarily playing bass (but
prone to pick up a guitar, accordion or tambourine if the chains
are long enough). “Beat master” Bobby “Digital” Steinmiller
(actor from “The Ref” & “Jack the Bear”)
provides the percussive persuasions, as well as piping in on
vocal accompaniment. The Floss Scandeleez Thymes has raved that
this show is “the best show in Los Angeles. Simply a must
see!!!” Since the 1st show at the Crooked Bar on the Sunset
Strip in 2000, Dan Reutter’s “3 Chords & a Dirty
Mouth” has delighted audiences everywhere from the World
Famous Laugh Factory, IO West, The Knitting Factory, The Cat
Club and private parties.
Kevin recently started his own record
label, K-Town Records, with the help of Ivan Puchalt. Although
Kevin does not plan on compensating Ivan with a dime of any profits
that might arise out of K-Town Records, he still considers Ivan
a good friend. His 1st EP (for promotional use only), “Welcome to My World of Computers”,
has been described as a fusion of hip hop and electronica/club
music, with roots in such genres as surf, blues, reggae, experimental,
country, classical, jazz and rock. He is also currently working
on “The Life in a Daze”, his 2nd EP that will be completed
in the summer of 2005. In addition to recording, Kevin is in the
process of creating an instrumental band “Ktown Music All
Stars”. For more information on Kevin Clyde Pugh, please
re-read this bio.
