The Urban Folk & Jazz of KJ Denhert by Richard CuccaroListening to K.J. Denhert sing for the first time, I thought to myself, "It's like hearing Roberta Flack with an acoustic guitar!" I've never lost that viewpoint. Every time I've seen her, the soft, silky-smooth vocals and the jazz-laced guitar phrasings have always reinforced that first impression. Her fluidity and command of every element in her arsenal has never ceased to amaze me. On Girl Like Me, her latest CD, she receives backup from a host of great players, and the ensemble effect may not always convey the impact of seeing her do her thing live. It sure is a great listen, though. My favorite original composition by K.J., "Violet" is here, as well as some covers that she makes her own. Both "She Loves You," by Lennon/McCartney and "Message in a Bottle" by Sting are given jazzy Latin treatments. The old grade-school chestnut "Oh Susannah" is a ruminative tour de force. She slows it down and, with pensive piano back up and a little poetic license, sorrowfully recounts, "Oh Susannah / Don't you cry for me / cuz I come from New York City / and I brought this old guitar / some good times and some scars / I bought this old guitar with me." Beginnings She may have been thinking of the first guitar she ever used. Her grandmother's entire family of eight brothers and sisters were all musicians and, while still a child, K.J. knew she could make music if she just had an instrument. At 10 years old she picked up a guitar with just four strings and wrote a song for a schoolteacher who had passed away unexpectedly. Her brother added the two other strings and she began teaching herself. She first used James Taylor records and a tablature book and then learned Joni Mitchell's open tunings from another book. After that, she says "all of the rest was my ears." Asked about early recordings listened to, she began with Alvin and the Chipmunks, saying, "there was a B side to the 45 of the Chipmunks' 'Christmas Time,' called 'Almost Good,' an instrumental piano piece that really swung!" From there, she listed a who's who of pop music that included The Beatles, Glen Campbell, John Hartford, Michael Jackson, The Carpenters, The Supremes and Brasil 66 and 67 (even though they were her parents' records). Influencing her direction on guitar were James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and the Allman Brothers. She says that her taste became more sophisticated as she observed when "Joni started playing with the LA express and turned onto to certain players, like Larry Carlton on guitar and John Guerin on drums," and continuing, "In college there was Bruce Cockburn, Laura Nyro, Steely Dan, and Bonnie Raitt." Revelation Asked about when she knew she'd make music for a living, she said, "By age 14, I was pretty good and would play for my family, their friends and mine. I was never without a guitar… I took it on any vacation. My physics teacher had a coffee house in the Bronx that I played at. I don't remember how I put a band together, but I did, in high school. We got a standing ovation at Gurdy's Folk City on my first night out at an actual bar! I was hooked then and had been writing songs for years. There were no significant music teachers in my childhood. In college I met a guitar player who really intrigued me for what was similar about us… Vicki Genfan. The bar was raised and I credit her and her guitar-playing ability for inspiring me to work to be a better player." [Acoustic Guitar magazine wrote of Genfan: "Her dazzling displays of two-handed tapping, bell-like harmonics and funky bass note slapping have guitar aficionados… slack-jawed with awe"] No wonder K.J. was so affected. The influence becomes apparent… K.J.'s guitar work is stellar. The Career The next sequence of events shed some light on how her experience as a musician expanded. She recounts: "I left Cornell in 1978 without finishing my undergraduate degree. I had a band and was receiving airplay on Cornell's station. I had some steady gigs but I decided I wanted to learn more about the band business and the business of music. I made one demo with my band and got one rejection letter from Warner brothers… that didn't feel good. So… I bought a strat and answered an ad in the Village Voice, and found a job as a lead guitarist in a band. As a result, I spent the next seven years on the road. In the first year, I paid off my college loans playing for a show band that toured the US, mostly playing lounges. That band broke up and I called a few other all-girl bands. One of them was looking for me already. That made me feel good… they had a good drummer and bass player so I hooked up with them, rehearsed for about a month and spent the next six years on a wild adventure that took me all over the world, including two USO tours one in Asia and one in Europe. I always joke that I am going to write a book about those years called "Seven Years in Spandex!" In 1986 the band broke up after nearly six solid years on the road at no less than 50 weeks a year." Speed Bump "After three months I went to work for Dannon Yogurt as an entry-level finance administrative temp. Eighteen years later I came out with a hands-on education in Sales Finance and had been exposed to marketing concepts and their analysis, but I never stopped playing music. I worked tirelessly on my guitar playing, writing, singing and performing for all 18 years. It's lucky that I did, because leaving that career behind as I did this October it wasn't like I had to start a career in music… I had one. I have four CDs so far and no remaining debt. I have a working functioning band, enough material for another record and a handful of steady gigs." She attended The Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) conference weekend in November this year for the first time to try to understand what the opportunities are for her as a solo performer, with her duo, and with her quartet. She played numerous showcases including with both Acoustic Live and Tribes Hill. In addition, despite feeling a bit under the weather with a cold, managed to stay up most of Saturday night/Sunday morning jamming in the hallway -- a real trouper. Current Developments KJ states: "I added a marketing team in May, so that when I was ready to return to my true vocation full time - I wouldn't be scratching my head for what to do next. This really got the momentum going. Three days after my official retirement date we started radio promotion on Girl Like Me. I received an indie music award nomination for the song "Violet" and an honorable mention in the Falcon Ridge emerging artist showcase. John Platt has started spinning my cover of "She Loves You" and the first four weeks yielded 29 ads and we've made a few charts. We're only halfway through. There is a publicist set to come on board and I've got two recording projects going on. One has to be finished by January when I'll head to St. Bart's with songwriter and guitarist Adam Falcon. We're going to put out an acoustic record that really focuses on the way we play guitar and sing. Not that we're trying to emulate anyone but I see it as a modern pairing in the fashion that Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway [an apt comparison] made some great contributions. I am also collecting some live tracks that are quite compelling to help with our releases to jazz stations." She says: "I still love acoustic guitar and use it in many ways in my writing and in the band. The wah wah pedal gives me a somewhat unique ability to take edgier solos." Well said. It cannot be stressed too strongly that KJ must be seen live to be fully appreciated. In addition to her musicianship, she exudes personality. As she stated in another interview: "I just get carried away. My drummer Ray did an imitation of some of things I do when I get into it. I was on the floor laughing- no matter what mood I'm in, when the band locks in, I have an arsenal of involuntary gyrations." In response to a query about her current philosophical state, she said: "I was shocked at the outbreak of the recent war and very depressed. I just didn't believe that anyone in an industrialized nation like ours could actually think that a real war would bring about any resolutions. I spent a lifetime finding my own voice, my own values, and my own sound. The world is in a tenuous tight-rope walk, and this country that I love is inextricably involved in a complicated bind that we can't turn and walk away from. When is art ever more important, than when a nation is forced or terrorized into asking the real value questions?" To which we can only add in our best 60-ish rhetoric: "Right on, sister!" Web site: www.kjdenhert.com Upcoming Gigs: • On Thursday, Dec 4th K.J. has an 11:30 set at Downtime as the finale of the "Girls Rock & Girls Rule II" a benefit to support Voices of Women Organizing Project, Battered Women's Resource Center The show starts at 6:30 Address: 251 W. 30th St (for other artists see the listings pages) • A steady gig at The 55 Bar in Greenwich Village, NYC, her next 3 dates are Dec 6th and 20th, and Jan 3rd. She plays 3 sets each night with her band from 10pm to 2am 55 Christopher St, 212 929-9883 • Friday, Dec 26th 6 -10pm Gadaleto's Seafood & Bandstand Cherry Hill Plaza, New Paltz NY 845-255-1717 K.J. is joined by guitarist Adam Falcon • Dec 30th DTUT, 1626 2nd Ave (84th-85th St) NYC (212) 477-1021 Ina May Wool will play an 8:30 set. KJ plays a set as well • New Year's Eve 9pm at "17 Main" 17 Main St., Mt. Kisco NY 914 244-1974 K.J. and Band
Dave McClosky interprets lyrics for acoustic artists that most of our readers are familiar with, using American Sign Language (ASL). He looks exactly like what you think "Jolly Old Saint Nick" should look like. Long white hair and beard, a husky torso (skip the "belly full of jello") and a predilection for wearing wide suspenders. Wearing headphones, he stands to the front right or left of the stage at a variety of concerts, his hands moving swiftly, keeping up with the torrent of words pouring into his ears. Often the performer looks over eagerly to see if he's keeping up or if he's able to interpret something risque or grotesque or just plain zany. His bemused expression supports the impression of unflappability. The unflappability is better understood when we learn about his background. From the first time I saw him interpret at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, I thought, "Well, this guy drives a truck or something, likes music, and does this sign language stuff on the side. Right about the music, wrong about everything else. Dave states: "They tell me that when I was real young I learned to polka before I learned to walk." In the little town of Sharpsville in the Shenango valley in Western Pennsylvania he said, "They always had a dance out at the waterworks park and my folks would take me there. My parents must have exposed me to it early. I can't remember a time that I didn't enjoy music." Dave is a fast, competent learner and extremely bright. As he explains his early forays into music: "When I was a kid I went to Sharpsville, a junior/senior high school. I wanted to play drums. I had to settle for the trombone because my folks couldn't afford drums. An uncle who had passed away had left behind a trombone, so I took trombone lessons when I was about 9 or 10. I ended up playing first trombone in the high school band and orchestra when I was in the 7th grade." "When I got old enough -- 16-17 -- I was out living on my own. I had a job and made enough money and bought a black diamond pearl drum set. I put the drums in a room, took a few lessons and then went around, listened to enough drummers, and learned how to play. I got to be good enough so that my reputation around the Cleveland, Ohio area [The family had made a number of moves and it led there] was good enough to sub for bands where the drummer needed a night off or got sick. I got to play for a whole lot of interesting people." "I was in the cookie business for about 21 years, driving a truck while I was playing in a band. Then, after a while I had to drop the music. I rose to become an executive with The Buckeye Biscuit Company and in 1970 we bought out another small company. Part of the agreement was that we'd hire all of their employees. One of them was deaf and an arrangement was made that he taught me for an hour a day how to communicate with him using sign language." In 1979, Dave went into the cookie business for himself, but didn't like it and eventually left and gradually converted over to signing full-time.
He worked for The Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center for a little while. At one point they held a fund-raiser. Norm Crosby, a comedian who also happens to be deaf, was the headliner for the show. Norm used confusing word play and twisted phrases such as "speaking from his diagram" and "drinking decapitated coffee." Representing this type of speech to the hearing impaired would seem daunting, but Dave liked to take risks and thought, "I'll give this a shot." The opening warm up act was a big band and he interpreted that also. He got a positive response from the deaf who were at the show. An interpretation of love songs for the deaf for a Valentine's Day show was also well received and it led to still more work of that nature. The first big concert he interpreted, still in the Cleveland area, was one at which Peter, Paul and Mary performed. In the late 70's he relocated to the Utica, New York area and put together an interpreting service and acted as its director. In 1985, a domed arena attracted large mainstream acts such as Kenny Rogers, The Monkees and Air Supply. A group of deaf people were interested in seeing these acts and would hire interpreters, including Dave. This then led to his negotiating accessibility for the deaf for musical acts at the New York State Fair. Today he works for the Office of Student Affairs at the Rochester Institute of Technology as a Sign Language Interpreter on assignment. They bring in acts that interest the current college population. Thus, Dave winds up interpreting Hip Hop acts! Talk about speed interpreting! Folk music ain't nothin! Nevertheless, Dave expresses gratitude to Anne Saunders and Howard Randall of Falcon Ridge Folk Festival for hiring him as their ASL coordinator. A couple of years ago at the festival, a performer on the main stage, noting the ASL interpreter, asked cynically, "Are there really deaf people out there?" I discussed this with Dave and learned that a regular number of persons with a wide range of impaired hearing who use ASL are in attendance at the festival, scattered throughout the audience -- not necessarily visible up front in the "disabled area. " He explains that they need to see from a distance where they can view both performer and interpretation without craning back and forth. I also learned how Dave perceives the ASL interpreter's service to them. The interpreter functions as another "loudspeaker" or perhaps like a "monitor" with words running like a TV newscast information ribbon underneath the performers. I've come to greatly appreciate what Dave does over the past decade. Now I appreciate him a lot more!