MP3 Jeff Kuykendall - Hodge & Podge and the Polyester Goo
This is home-grown acoustic rock-n-roll with a quasi-jazz edge, featuring smooth vocal harmonies, clever lyrics, and snaking guitar leads - a tasty treat with a gooey polyester filling.
13 MP3 Songs in this album (65:22) !
Related styles: FOLK: Folk-Jazz, ROCK: Acoustic
People who are interested in Neil Young America Al Stewart should consider this download.
Details:
Jeff Kuykendall has been writing songs for almost 20 years. He often says that songs are like snapshots that capture moments of clarity but also capture moments of utter confusion. Most of his live performances have been in Louisville, KY as a solo act and later as a duo act. He currently lives in Nashville, TN and writes and records songs mostly just for the joy of creation. Jeff’s musical style is heavily influenced by the folk rock musicians of the 60’s and 70’s and by the jazz-rock fusion movement of the 70’s.
In the early 1990’s, in Birmingham, AL, Jeff started playing music and emulated artists like Neil Young and James Taylor. It was nothing special – just an underachieving college student with a guitar and a harmonica. He soon moved to Mobile, AL and helped form a band called “Circle the Moon.” The band had a unique, distinctive acoustic sound which was surprisingly powerful. For Jeff, looking back on those Circle the Moon gigs is both embarrassing and extremely gratifying because, at that time, he was just beginning to learn who he was musically. From 1999 to 2003, Jeff enjoyed mild notoriety as a solo act and later as part of the duo Kendall-Duvall (with Jaime Duvall) in Louisville, KY. During this time, Jeff would load in equipment, set up, play 3 one-hour sets of covers and originals, tear down the stage, and load out. His motto was, “I’ll play anywhere, anytime, for anyone.” And he did – three to five nights every week. Some folks came to see Jeff; some just came to drink or just get out of the house for the evening. Jeff often remarks that it was the best job he ever had.
Today, Jeff Kuykendall lives in Nashville, TN. While he respects the tenacity of those striving for writer’s contracts and the bright eyes of all those musical dreamers, Jeff feels like an outsider in the Nashville music scene. Then again, maybe it’s a kind of self-imposed exile. Disappointed in the much-beloved “writers-in-the-round” approach to gigs in Nashville, Jeff turned inward and concentrated on writing music mostly for an audience of one – himself.
Jeff’s debut album, “Hodge & Podge and the Polyester Goo,” is a random collection of songs which are largely commentaries on that awkward transition from young and hip to middle-aged and tired. Pointed, sometimes sarcastic, lyrics lament the loss of youth but somehow comfort the listener with an overall mood of resigned, bittersweet acceptance. The sound of the album could be described as an earthy, jazz-folk, hard-driving, easy-listening delicacy for the ears, heart, and mind. This project was produced by Jeff Kuykendall and Paul Gannon of Big Ears Studio in Nashville, TN. Jeff plays all guitar parts, bass, and harmonica and sings the lead vocals. Jeff is eternally grateful to all the other musicians who helped with this project (see album credits).