I am fortunate enough to meet the most interesting people! At a friends house in New Canaan last week, I got talking with musician Ken Stringfellow. My husband and I love to go to concerts, we even have a rock 'n roll room back at our house in the UK - displaying our beloved gig tickets, backstage passes, battered drum sticks and guitar plectrums. Ken has gravitas. He looked effortlessly cool without trying, but was really easy to chat with and disarmingly honest. I knew he had worked with the mighty REM, but it wasn't until we talked more about his early days, that I discovered he was part of rock legends Big Star and not forgetting his own band - The Posies! He has also recorded four solo albums, and is releasing another two next month. Ken, who grew up in New Canaan but now lives in Paris, France tells me more about his incredible musical journey:
Kens says: "I started playing in bands as a teenager and formed The Posies, with my friend Jon Auer. We released a home-made, home-recorded cassette called 'Failure' in 1988, which became a regional phenomenon in Seattle. We released three albums, had a blast touring the world and sold a few hundreds of thousands of records along the way. When the Posies went on hiatus in 1998, I fell into - somewhere by virtue of my love for the band - REM and toured the world with them for ten years, participating on two of their studio albums. We headlined the world-famous Glastonbury Festival in the UK, played at Live 8, headlined Rock in Rio and enjoyed collaborations with Neil Young and Thom Yorke (lead singer of Radiohead). I also played bass, sang and helped create Big Star's 2005 album 'In Space' and played with them many times until the untimely death of lead singer Alex Chilton in 2010. I've been fortunate enough to play live or collaborate on records with diverse artists such as: Ringo Starr, Burt Bacharach, the Afghan Whigs, Brendan Benson and Snow Patrol. I have produced music for artists including; Damien Jurado, The Long Winters, China's Hanggai, Dutch actress Carice van Houten and more. Music is very much in my blood, and for now I'm concentrating on my own albums and looking forward to playing a few US dates."
- This Sounds Like Goodbye - 1997
- Touched - 2001
- Soft Commands - 2004
- Danzig in the Moonlight - 2012
His two new albums due for release are; 'I Never Said I'd Make it Easy' - a best of album featuring tracks from Ken's first three albums, with various b sides and rarities. The other is 'Paradiso in the Moonlight' - a limited edition, double LP live album. Recorded with musicians from 'Danzig in the Moonlight' and a 12 piece band. Ken's daughter, Aden is also featured. Only 300 copies will be released.
So the future looks bright for Ken Stringfellow. If you want to see Ken perform live, he has a few US Tour dates listed. The Bumbershoot Gig on August, 31st is an all-star cast who are gathering to perform Big Star's iconic third album, Sister Lovers. Ken will be joined by Jody Stephens (Big Star), Mike Mills (R.E.M.) Jon Auer (The Posies), Mitch Easter (Let's Active), and Chris Stamey (the dB's). For this orchestrated live performance, the core band is joined by guest vocalists Skylar Gudasz and Brett Harris and a host of VIP special guests to be announced - all backed by a 12-piece local ensemble of strings and brass.
- August, 23rd The Triple Door, SEATTLE, WA
- August, 29th Unknown Venue, BELLINGHAM, WA
- August, 31st Bumbershoot, SEATTLE, US
- September, 27th Wilshire Ebell Theatre, LOS ANGELES, US
To listen and purchase Danzig in the Moonlight please click HERE
Image Credit: Photography by Claudia Rorarius