Ken Koenig is a man on a mission
By Pamela Youngs, Contributing writer for Steel Ties
Email Pamela
Published 07.27.10
Cover photo by Mike Sciancalepore
If you were born in New York, travelled west at the age of five and landed in West Sacramento, California, you’re not alone and it probably isn’t too far out of the ordinary. Ken Koenig did that. Add a 360-degree head-turning existence, and it suits a musical talent so relentless, only an army can stop him.
The story begins, and it’s all about stamina that requires building a solid future, attitude in focus to boot.
A couple of drum sticks, and the beat goes on
In the early 1980s, when he was 12, Koenig found his niche in percussion. Drums were just a tune up – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, harmonica, and ukulele soon followed. Add a few high notes, hit on a chord or two from personal experience, and don’t forget the songwriting. Wrap it up; you’ve got the complete package.
His first live performance on Halloween in 1984 was at a bar called the Maple Room in Sacramento, Calif. Because he was underage, the 15-year-old was never allowed to leave the stage area. “I was so young and had such a baby face, plus I was a beanpole at six feet, two inches tall,” says Koenig. “The guy I was playing with was 24 and from France, with a thick accent. He sang Elvis songs, some in French and a few in English.” Then he adds with a laugh, “Just imagine Elvis singing in French.”
Now 41, and at six feet, seven inches tall, his voice carries a tune of passion over the crowd. “You know, even back when I first started to play, I never considered music a hobby. To me, a hobby is something someone did to pass the time, like making model airplanes or collecting baseball cards. Once I started playing guitar it was more of an addiction for me, a love for it.” Laid off from his day job three years ago, he says “I'll never go back, music has been my full-time job for some time now.”
He talks of having very little family backup, and was told wouldn’t amount to much. “I’m the black sheep in the family. No one else has a strong musical background, though my sister played different musical instruments in high school,” he says.
Older brother Bob knows jazz and blues, taught him his first two chords. “Now my brother tells me ‘And look what you did with them,”’ Koenig recalls.
Ken Koenig and The Band
The band is Jeff Tuttle on drums, Paul Hawley on bass, Jerry Jennings on guitar, Steve Del Rio on percussions, Steve Stizzo on keys and accordion. “Actually I didn't have my band when I started recording Bring It Home. It wasn't until the middle of recording the CD when I put the band together, so the guys are only on three or four tracks, Jennings and Stizzo are on more of them.” You can buy Koenig’s 2008 CD release Bring It Home at CDBaby.com.
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| Ken Koenig and The Band - Paul Hawley, Jeff Tuttle, Tony Pacheco, Steve Del Rio, Ken Koenig Photo by Mike Sciancalepore |
Jerry Jennings has been laying guitar tracks on about half the tunes for Koenig. The two met in 1991, when he signed up for music lessons from Jennings. A year later, after booking studio time, Koenig recorded his first album with his band Daze of Green. Jennings recalls an aspiring and talented musician. “Things have only gotten better from there. Ken has turned out to be a writer I’d put up against any of the Nashville pros,” says Jennings.
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| Guitarist Jerry Jennings performing at one of Koenig's gigs in July 2008 Photo courtesy of Ken Koenig |
Two of those new songs are posted on his website http://www.kenkoenig.com/. Koenig says he went for the smooth jazz sound for the song “Winter of Innocence”. The other is his take on the Bill Withers 1973 hit “Ain't No Sunshine”. “It’s my interpretation of the song. My version is kind of a blues; his is folk, with some rhythm and blues.” The song “Winter of Innocence” is available for download at CDBaby.com.
Songwriting: One road leads to another
Koenig wrote all but two songs on his CD Bring It Home – The 1956 hit “Singing The Blues” (Marty Robbins), and “I’d Love Just Once To See You” (Beach Boys) are also on the CD.
The Hey Holmes record label will be on his new CD The Organic Life, and is Koenig’s invention of a name born from living in the “hood”. He recently started recruiting for a logo design. “I went with the low rider thing because it fits the name. Me being a white boy living in ol’ West Sac, I always thought that look was cool.”
In 1989, according to Koenig, he “was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” After some thought, he quickly adds “Or I should say my cousin Tommy was.” He tells the story of being in the passenger seat of his cousin’s car that day. “After a heated argument, the guy in the back seat shot Tommy in the neck, which paralyzed him from mid-chest down.” Sadly, his cousin died eight years later from health issues due to the shooting. “Tommy loved to hear me play.” Koenig remembers.
“I come from a family of criminals,” he says without elaborating on the subject. “If I just locked myself away with my music, that was my escape, it still is. All I have to do is start writing.”
Inspiration to write hails from a flurry of personal events, yet others evolve from the desire to tell of lifetime experiences shared by others.
“Some songs I write as a story, some with a meaning behind it. I’ll be messing with a melody and then go back to it and write.” The song “Down The Road” from his CD Bring It Home has country flair, even though he doesn’t consider himself a country musician. But there are roads in life that can take us beyond our own self-prescribed limits. He recalls how some memories kept quiet are meant to share, especially if they sync in tune.
It’s a scene right out of the Red Green Show. “My mom’s a redneck,” laughs Koenig. “She would sit around the table at my grandma’s and just drink, the friends and family were there. At the middle of the table was an ice bucket with a block of ice and a pick stuck in it, filled with liquor.” As an 8-year-old, he sat watching tables and chairs get tossed around, and by the end of the day he recalls the whole house being torn up. The song “Down The Road” tells the story. “One day I decided to write a song of sitting in my grandma’s living room, and captured the whole scene. I’ve never told anyone in my family why I wrote it.”
“Lonely Without You” tells of true life lived out by a World War II veteran who was the grandfather of a friend. “I wrote the song after I sat down for awhile and listened to him talk about writing letters to his wife during the war.”
Family ties, up close and personal
Koenig has an entourage of close ties on the home front – five children, ranging in age from 10 to 20. There is Cole and Rachael, both 10, Amanda 14, Ej, 19 and Chris, 20.
Amanda has been playing acoustic since she was 12. She recently made her debut with her dad at the Beach Hut Deli in Lincoln, Calif. They played “Beautiful Boy” (John Lennon) and “Lonely Without You” written by her dad.
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| Performing live with daughter Amanda at Beach Hut Deli Acoustic Open Mic in Lincoln, Calif. Photo courtesy of Ken Koenig |
The song “Golden Girl”, from his Bring It Home CD, holds a special place in his heart. “I wrote it for both of my daughters. Each line has a reference to both of them. The line ‘Golden girl you brought me a rainbow, into the clouds we climb away’ was for my daughter Rachael, who is always drawing pictures for me, and one was with her and I climbing a rainbow.”
To complete the troop is Koenig’s wife Cindy. Schedule, rehearsals, promotional material, gig setup, transportation, website maintenance and design, are all on his wife’s agenda. “My wife is the main reason that I’m not crazy,” he says laughing. “She is the only one who has ever really believed in me.” He met Cindy when he was just 10 years old. They’ve been married 15 years.
“I love Ken. Since he went solo, my support and input has more than doubled. Ken has taught me how to hook up everything. The only thing that stops me from a complete setup is physical limitations, such as putting the speaker on its stand. Those suckers are way too heavy,” says Cindy. They also have an assistant, Jen Wasley, who helps. “She has my back, as well as Ken’s, where the music is involved,” she adds.
Going live for one and all to share
In addition to performing with his band, Koenig is part of a duo called 2 Days Away with Becca Danielsen. They got started in early 2009, after meeting at a mutual friend’s gig. “Becca and I perform ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, totally different from what I do,” Koenig says, referring to his current band’s genre. He is also producing Danielsen’s own personal CD for all her originals due for release early 2011.
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| Ken Koenig with duo partner Becca Danielsen at Old Town Pizza in Lincoln, Calif. Photo by Ann Smith |
The first time she and Koenig hooked up musically, it was a match. “Once we sat down and jammed, we found we liked a lot of the same music, which made it easy to get the duo up and running. I believe Ken is a fantastic musician.” She went on to say, “He’s not just my duo partner, but my friend and teacher as well.”
Koenig considers his full band style to be “middle of the road” – Americana rock, acoustic, blue grass, folk. As a solo artist, he took the job of open mic at the five-star rated Beach Hut Deli in Lincoln, Calif., where he performs every Monday from 6 to 9 p.m. “I prefer to perform live. I do it as the host to give other musicians a chance to get their music out there and to help make them better performers. I usually do a song or two to open the show, but it’s really not about me, it’s more about focusing on the other performers.” In addition, he plays other establishments that put his schedule at four to six times a week on the live music circuit.
In 2005 he appeared with his then band Daze of Green on Sacramento and Company, a local live entertainment program aired during the week from 9 to 10 a.m. on the ABC television network. “Loved doing the TV thing,” he says. “It’s the ultimate audience.”
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| Performing live on Sacramento and Company in 2005 Photo courtesy of Ken Koenig |
Ask who gets his guitar strings moving, Koenig will say “Me." But his love for The Beatles has always been a major influence. Paul McCartney for one, “John Lennon is right there as well,” he says.
“John Lennon was my idol. When he died it affected me so much that I went into the bathroom so my sister wouldn’t see me cry.”
The youngest of five kids, he grew up to the tune of classic rock, and some of the 1950s, 1960s vocals-based rhythm and blues “Doo-wop” as a result of his mom’s taste in music. “My playlist is crazy,” says Koenig. Amy Winehouse is a favorite, John Mellencamp, Seal, and 1980s new wave, pop/rock share that list and then some.
“It's my own personal choice, but I like music that is simple and effective. I'm not saying that everything should be guitar, bass, drums and vocals, because then we wouldn't have masterpieces like “Dark Side of The Moon” or “Sgt Peppers [Lonely Hearts Club Band]” and more,” he says, with reference to Pink Floyd and The Beatles.
The agenda: In his own words
Koenig thinks people are missing out on the whole experience in today’s market. “Radio, the music biz, is not the same as it was 20, 30 years ago. We need to bring it back to the basics, because as history shows, that was when the best music was being produced. I’m going to take myself as far as I can.”
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| Photo of Ken Koenig by Mike Sciancalepore |
Though the competition is tough, getting to the top seems likely. Koenig’s breaking ground at a quick pace. Along with a mindset in overdrive and owning up to all the bells and whistles attached to a wide variety of talent, bigger days are on the horizon.
“I believe in myself as a person and songwriter. I’m on a mission to have a Top 10 hit, it can happen,” he says.Finding Koenig in the right place at the right time is easy; just visit his website http://www.kenkoenig.com/ for a calendar of events he follows willingly and effortlessly. You can also go to Upcoming Events posted on Steel Ties to see a list of shows.
Ron Friel (sings Elvis) and Ken Koenig (on guitar) perform March 5, 1986 at a Bridal shop in Northern California. Koenig was 16, classic act.
Note: This performance was two years after Koenig made his first live debut in Sacramento, Calif. with another Elvis act.
Video courtesy of Ken Koenig
Video courtesy of Ken Koenig
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