Review from AMERICAN SONGWRITER
Galvezton, aka Robert Kuhn, is a poet and musician who has lived through challenging times beginning with a difficult birth. He’s known trauma and turmoil, as exemplified by a near-fatal car wreck that left him heavily in debt and spending months in rehabilitation as result. However, with three albums under his belt, he’s still managed to sustain himself even under the most trying circumstances. An All-American linebacker in college who speaks several languages, he continues his quest through conviction and creativity, and with his latest effort, aptly named Persevere, he proves that his desire to make meaningful music need never subsides.
Named for the place he calls home and the southern Texas island where he records, Galvezton’s music isn’t the easiest outfit to classify or categorize. Yet that’s also what makes it so fascinating. The tone and temp vary, from the straight-ahead pace of “Ll,” which brings to mind early Dire Straits, and the pulsating rhythms that drive “Dragon,” to the slow, throaty vocals of “Screen Savior” and the atmospheric environs shimmering through“Looking Glass,” Kuhn makes the most of sound and suggestion. As a result, there are times, particularly on tracks like “Shake Attack” and “Persevere” in particular, where the conflict between darkness and desire reaps some decidedly disquieting results.
Then again, Kuhn is clearly out to alter perception and leave his listeners grasping for the same sort of meaning that he’s hoping to discover despite uncertainty and intrigue. The varied changes in tone and texture don’t make that quest any easier, and in fact, there are times when Kuhn seems caught up in a malaise of his own making. The only thing that’s clear is the cacophony that often ensues, an indecipherable racket that appears indicative of Kuhn’s pent-up emotions. Nevertheless, Persevere is a fascinating progression and an impressive example of the way invention and intrigue can be all wrapped up as one.
Andy Warhol’s drug-soaked Factory parties of mid-1960s Manhattan are so far removed from the (mostly) sunny beaches and overall family friendly vibe of modern Galveston that the two things might as well be on different planets. Robert Kuhn didn’t let that stop him.
Kuhn, the island musician and festival promoter who fronts the band Galvezton, did something of a 180 with his latest project, “Some Kinda Love.” It’s an album-length tribute to the Velvet Underground, the fractious and profoundly influential rock and rollers who served as Warhol’s Factory house band of sorts.
Pivoting on the argumentative axis of Welsh violist John Cale and doo-wop-loving Long Island native Lou Reed, the Velvets were leagues out of step with the prevailing trends of ‘60s rock. Avant-garde and almost anti-psychedelic, their songs concealed what was actually a pretty pure pop heart beneath layers of gnarly distortion and lyrical decay. Commercially, their records went nowhere, but their vast reach became more readily apparent with the rise of so-called “alternative” rock in the ‘80s and ‘90s. One of the Velvets’ leading acolytes, producer Brian Eno, reportedly said “the first Velvet Underground album only sold 10,000 copies, but everyone who bought it formed a band.”
“They’ve had such a deep influence on so much of modern culture and so much modern [music], we don't even really think about it,” said Kuhn. “A lot of people are heavily influenced by them and don't even know.”
For years, fans told Kuhn how much his music reminded them of the Velvets, but he didn’t quite see it himself. But a friend handed him a CD about five years ago and it began to click. Eventually he began tossing a song or two by the band into his sets. His manager suggested doing an entire album after hearing Galvezton do “Sweet Jane,” arguably the Velvets’ closest thing to a pop hit—particularly after the 1988 cover by Canada’s Cowboy Junkies—at one of their shows.
For “Some Kinda Love,” Kuhn deliberately cast aside the Velvets’ artier moments in favor of the “straight-up rock ‘n’and roll” of songs like “Run Run Run,” “White Light White Heat” and the title track. Other tunes, like an eight-minute workout on Reed’s debauchery ode “Sister Ray,” leave ample room for the locked-in band to kick up billowing clouds of organ and guitar. Singing-wise, meanwhile, Kuhn admits he does feel a certain kinship with Reed.
“He's very relaxed, and he doesn't really try to go too far out there,” Kuhn said. “I mean, it's melodic, but a lot of it is kind of settled down into his deeper [range] and just kind of speaking the songs. That's kind of how I feel when I'm singing at my best.”
Galvezton’s previous album, 2022’s “Persevere,” sprang from years of studio alchemy. “Some Kinda Love,” though, took shape in one night last year after a Mardi Gras parade. Several band members had been jamming on the Krewe de Isle of Misfits’ float, and decided to meet up afterward at Kuhn’s studio near Market Street. As he remembers, all they had to do was basically hit ‘record.’
“Everybody's up on top of the float just jamming all over town,” he said. “The whole night was pretty energizing, and then after that we all came back here … it captured [that] everybody was in it to win it. Everybody was all about having a good time, and there's a lot of energy and a lot of power in it.”
The cameras were rolling, too, so the new album comes complete with a suite of accompanying videos. The band will launch “Some Kinda Love” with release shows tonight at Houston’s Continental Club and Friday at Hotel Lucine on the island. (Dave Jacoby, one of Lucine’s owners, plays bass on the new album.) On the actual street date, they’ll return to Cactus Music Feb. 23. Kuhn hopes people will listen whether they’ve ever heard of the Velvet Underground or not.
“Maybe they've heard a few of the songs, but for the vast majority they [probably] haven’t,” he said. “I like that side of things, but really, I just thought they were fun songs. They felt good.”
ROBERT KUHN - AKA GALVEZTON & LA IZQUIERDA MUSIC & SURF FESTIVAL
May 2, 2023|Texas Music Profile, Waves Band Of The Month
Story And Photos By Zach Tate - For singer-songwriter and recording artist, Robert Kuhn aka “Galvezton”, the idiom “it takes a village” would firmly apply to his vision of a more visible and sustainable music culture in Galveston. A Galveston resident since 2010, Kuhn is an active area performer and arts event organizer, creating the Save The Locals concert series at Menard Park in 2022 and more recently, the La Izquierda Music and Surf Festival to be held May 5-7 at Beach Central Park (21st and Seawall).
With the help of organizations like Vision Galveston, Philanthropitch, Galveston Island Brewing, Surfrider Foundation, and a strong core of local friends and relatives, Kuhn has gathered a solid lineup of musical artists for the three-day La Izquierda festival. Surfing contests will be happening simultaneously with all-day concerts from bands and musicians both local and regional like Galveston’s India Tigers in Texas, Marc Borde, and Kevin Anderson with headliners Bun B, CJ Chenier, Los Skarnales, and more.
Jeb Adame, the owner of Galveston’s U.S. Backline (USBackline.com), a live concert sound stage provider and promotions company, is supportive of the event. “I think it promotes community among locals. Everyone is always saying ‘we should get together sometime’ and this is a chance to do that – for artists, musicians, surfers - and drink some locally brewed beer. The Galveston scene is about celebrating each other’s art. Live music is one of the last ways large groups of people actually come together. In the age of online social media, we’ve got to remember how important it is to meet with our friends face to face,” Adame said.
Beach Central Park sits in front of a section of the beach near Murdoch’s gift shop where the surf contests will be held. Despite a large painted graphic on the Seawall that boldly declares “No Surfing”, Kuhn said the event has all the necessary permits and city permissions required to hold the festival and all its activities. Food vendors, locally brewed beer, and other activities will all be part of the 3-day “island lifestyle” celebration.
Born and raised in Houston, Kuhn ventured away from Texas in his early 20s and spent many years living in different places around the world, residing everywhere from New York and Pennsylvania to Central and South America, including 7 years in Nicaragua. In Galveston, Kuhn seems to have found a permanent home – going so far as to recently change his music business recognizable name, “Robert Kuhn”, to “Galvezton.”
“Galveston is a cool community. I have roots here now. I have a child and a family - my brother and parents are here. I’ve made up my mind to stay in Galveston.”
On the name change, Kuhn admits it was his management company’s idea, but he is in full support. “More people don’t know the name Robert Kuhn than do. There are a lot of songwriters named Robert, and because of all my association with the work I’m doing here, my manager thought “Galvezton” might be more easily remembered. But we had to change a letter in it, otherwise, it would be a Google nightmare,” Kuhn said.
As a music performer, Kuhn is committed to the “Galvezton” moniker but is not giving up his birth name for his work as a writer. In 2022, he published his first book, “Leaving Is Returning” based largely on his time spent in South America between 2001 and 2009.
“It’s an autobiographical novel. It’s about my adventures in many places throughout South and Central America but largely the indigenous villages I lived in. I always keep journals, and this was a particularly exciting period in my life. I finally found a place in my life where I stopped for a while and put all my journals onto a computer and edited them into some kind of chronological story. It was edited down from thousands of pages and then a publisher helped me put it all together and publish the book.”
Locally, the book is available at Hendley Market on The Strand, at Cactus Music in Houston, and online at Amazon.com.
“Leaving is Returning” begins with Kuhn’s purchase of a one-way ticket from Houston to Buenos Aires just before September 11th, 2001. Kuhn said he was “looking for life”, to find his way. He said he discovered the path of life of the people in the small villages he spent time in to be helpful in his own quest for direction.
“Part of the story is me being awakened to the fact that people can live in all kinds of ways. I felt it might help people with their own perspective.” As for the title “Leaving Is Returning,” Kuhn simply said, “It’s about getting back to who you really are.”
Kuhn’s latest album, “Persevere”, was released in October of 2022 and represents a difficult period in his life, he said. Beginning with a serious car wreck in 2019 while on tour with his band in Colorado and struggling through serious physical and mental rehabilitation until its release 3 years later.
“Persevere has really been my mantra for the last few years. I already had some of the songs written when I was in the wreck, but I was in the hospital for weeks, didn’t know if I was going to live, and I was a hundred thousand dollars in debt. This was a hard period in my life. The music for me was the light in the darkness.”
Recording “Persevere” in his Galveston studio with collaborator and friend Rob Bastien, Kuhn said his third album to date is much different from his first two.
“This album is definitely a progression into the psychedelic realm. We used electronic and acoustic instruments – it’s more sonically diverse. Not just a recording with a band. We had a lot of time to get it exactly how we wanted it.”
“Persevere” is available at Kuhn’s shows and on all digital platforms.
The moody album is reminiscent of Pink Floyd and Lou Reed with hints of the ’80s and 90’s electronic music while still maintaining Kuhn’s strong lyrical sensibility. Released on both vinyl and CD, “Persevere” is available at Kuhn’s shows and on all digital platforms.
For Galvestonians interested in their artistic community, Robert Kuhn is an asset. His dedication to promoting local music and arts culture is proven, if not by his new stage name, “Galvezton”, then by his commitment to promoting Galveston’s unique island culture through events like the La Izquierda festival.
For more information about the La Izquierda Surf and Music Festival at Beach Central Park in Galveston May 5-7 visit: www.laizquierdafest.org
For more about Robert Kuhn / Galvezton visit: galvezton.com
Zach Tate
VENT MAGAZINE
Robert Kuhn drops new single “Persevere”
Houston, TX-based folk artist Robert Kuhn recently dropped his latest single Persevere, which was originally written following a tragic accident during a tour that put a hold on life for a while, but now it can’t be any less relatable. “Persevere” is a gentle reminder to stick through troubled times with the mindset that all hardships will eventually pass, it just may take some time and you just have to persevere through. Listen here
Kuhn’s approach to this track fits very well with the slow-paced, ambient sounds that will blanket your potential anxiety. Throughout the track are inspiring lyrics and smoothly picked guitar solos that hold an immense amount of emotion and meaning. While Persevere was inspired by depression, it contrasts with the uplifting and subtle vibe to a happy medium. Everyone needs a supportive song, especially through the present global pandemic that’s truly testing emotions and reactions, and Persevere is the track that holds the place.
The quiet time at home post-accident allowed for the completion of this release. It was created over many late nights before the day with the help of a friend and producer, Rob Bastien. With two great minds coming together it’s no wonder how this song was produced.
In the meantime, check out Robert Kuhn on social media for news about upcoming music and updates.
THE HOUSTON PRESS
EMBRACING THE CHANGE: ROBERT KUHN CELEBRATES RELEASE OF THIRD ALBUM, "PERSEVERE"
GLADYS FUENTES | APRIL 15, 2020
The last time Galveston native Robert Kuhn released an album, Houston was under water during Tropical Storm Harvey. Now Houston, along with the rest of the world, is facing another major challenge and Kuhn is at it again.On April 20 he will be releasing his new album, Persevere. “Writing feels so good these days,” says Kuhn from his home in Galveston. “It always feels good, but I feel like especially now there's so much heaviness that you really can tell the relief you get from both music and writing.”“We don't want to just keep sitting on it and the whole persevere vibe really seems fitting to share with people, give them something to listen to and something to chew on for a little bit,” he says.Kuhn chipped away on this album during many late nights last year with his friend and producer Rob Bastien. The artist suffered a serious car accident last September which saw Houstonians and Galvestonians rally for Kuhn and help him by fundraising to cover his medical bills.“It was really painful at the time but I just sort of accepted it for what it was and it brought on so many changes in my life that I really appreciate and that have been good for me. It really instilled a love for life and what's really important in this world to me.” Adding somberly, “I really thought I was a goner for a while.”After a particularly difficult time, Bastien sent Kuhn the finished album. “It was just really touching and it really gave me a lot of feelings,” says Kuhn. He had a plan to release Persevere this year but with the Covid-19 pandemic, Kuhn reflected on his own feelings and with a little help from the ancient I Ching, decided to release it now.He explains how he, like so many others, was finding himself feeling angry when the pandemic hit. “Anger is a valid emotion, but it's not a really good emotion. It's not a positive emotion, even though a lot of things can happen through anger.”He rolled his sticks and his I Ching reading led him right to where he is now. It told him that anger causes a blockage like ice on a river and it suggested he focus on art and music to “persevere”, proving to be a very accurate insight.“It totally changed my perspective on things and gave me something to focus on when I would get that negative anger. Just keep on going, that's all you can do is just know it's going to change, it's always going to change.”Kuhn definitely embraced change with Persevere and though his sound is still recognizable in his whispery voice and general laid back vibration, he and Bastien took his sound to another level adding heavy electronic influences, synthesizers and more experimental sounds than in his previous albums.Kuhn has never been one to shy away from a new sound as his previous albums Everybody Knows and Maria The Gun were also notable departures from one another.Kuhn admits that Bastien often pushes him out of his comfort zone but he quickly warms up to the new sounds they create. “It's still me, it’s still our songs and our music, but it's just taking a little turn, and it's a fun turn I think.”He and Bastien re-imagined the acoustic feel good track “Low Way” from his previous album making the song almost unrecognizable and giving it a fresh and faster groove. “Now I listen to the old one and I'm like, oh man that's kind of boring,” laughs Kuhn.Kuhn released the video for the title track “Persevere” this month as well, and though it was filmed pre-Corona virus, the message and video ring very true today encouraging everyone to avoid the temptation to get sucked into fear and well, persevere.A chilling detail in hindsight was the director’s, Samantha Wiley, choice to focus on Kuhn’s typewriter showing the name, Corona. Kuhn has long been a fan of typewriters and uses them frequently when writing creatively.The album also features a song which was sent into outer space to his friend and fellow surfer, Christina Koch stationed at the International Space Station. Kuhn decided to send her “Looking Glazz,” the trippy, surf rock track, after realizing that she missed surfing while in outer space. Koch and her coworkers danced to it while floating above the earth and sent Kuhn some footage of their fun that he hopes to use in a future video. “We’re calling it a launch,” says Kuhn fittingly. “Like we're trying to get this thing up and into orbit, give it a push out there to go farther than just the places we play at and with this internet world and live streaming, the whole world and space is connected.”"To go farther than just the places we play at and with this internet world and live streaming, the whole world and space is connected.”Kuhn is hosting a live show on April 20 where he will perform his entire new album live from a safe and socially distant location. There will also be an opening set by the Galveston based, roots reggae band Dem. Through his website fans can sign up for the mailing list receiving special content and insight ahead of their invitation to the live stream.He will have some physical albums available for purchase online and in a wonderfully optimistic gesture, they can later be used as a ticket into one of his shows. Fans can also purchase and stream digital copies on April 20.Though Kuhn is excited to share a physical release sometime in the future once we’ve all entered the new post-coronavirus normal, he sees the benefits of setting this album free now. “Something cool about the internet is, it doesn't cost any money to publish music and people can listen.”
GALVESTON DAILY NEWS
AND THE BAND PLAYS ON: GALVESTON MUSICIAN HOSTS ONLINE CONCERTS FOR HOMEBOUND FANS
Mar 26, 2020
Island musician Robert Kuhn plays guitar on his front porch in Galveston on Tuesday, March, 24, 2020. Kuhn, like many musicians around the world, has taken to performing live online through social media and youtube during the coronavirus pandemic.
GALVESTON
The island’s normally vibrant downtown has gone silent due to local and state mandates ordering people to stay home and avoid gatherings of more than 10 people. But many local musicians are taking to the internet to keep the music scene alive.
For some local musicians, livestream concerts and an increased online presence are essential to supporting their musical careers and connecting with fans and other artists during a time when concert venues and bars are shut down.
Now more than ever is a time when people need music in their lives, local musician Robert Kuhn said.
Kuhn performed a live concert Saturday as part of a concert series hosted by the Galveston Historical Foundation.
The foundation streamed the concert from the The 1860 Hendley Building. The foundation plans to continue streamed concerts, a spokesman said.
“In these times, music is a really helpful thing for people,” Kuhn said. “It can heal people from all the trauma that’s going on.”
It was strange not to have an audience to feed off because Kuhn normally alters his sets based on audience feedback, he said.
‘MUSIC REALLY HELPS’
HOUSTON PRESS
COME TOGETHER: FRIENDS RAISE FUNDS FOR LOCAL MUSICIAN ROBERT KUHN
GLADYS FUENTES | SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 | 7:43AM
Last week, while on tour, Galveston musician Robert Kuhn was struck in a collision in Colorado, which left the singer hospitalized and his van totaled. Kuhn suffered five broken ribs, a broken clavicle and a punctured lung, requiring multiple surgeries.
Fortunately, Kuhn was able to walk away from the wreckage but like so many musicians, and Americans, he does not have health insurance. He has acquired a hefty hospital bill and friends have set up a gofundme account to help him with hospital expenses.
Kuhn is known and loved around town for his good energy and musical songwriting talents. He traveled the world and then settled back in Texas, releasing two albums full of his melting pot sound. He is constantly touring the United States to support his art and currently calls Galveston home.
He founded La Izquierda Festival in Galveston, a weekend long music and surf festival that has taken place for the past two years. The festival brings together diverse Houston and Galveston artists to celebrate life, surfing, Mother Nature and of course, music.
After ten days in a Colorado hospital, Kuhn was released and is currently on the mend, accompanied by his girlfriend Samantha Wiley.
The couple is looking to pick up the pieces and get back to their lives, but Kuhn will need more time to recover. “He is strong and determined. Determined to get back to his music,” says Wiley. Kuhn is scheduled to perform at folk mecca, The Bitter End in New York’s Greenwich Village at the end of the month and in true troubadour fashion, is using this gig to muster the strength he needs to heal.
Houston Chronicle
LA IZQUIERDA, GENERAL MAGIC
By Andrew Dansby, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, May 10, 2019
The Must List:
1. La IzquierdaLa Izquierda seems like such a natural idea, it’s puzzling it happened for the first time last year: A daylong music and surf festival with some local beers, all taking place on the sands in Galveston. Included among the festivities will be a surf contest at the 91st Street Pier and live music by Los Skarnales, Free Rads, Robert Kuhn and about a dozen other acts. Singer-songwriter Kuhn brought his idea to life this time last year and found an enthusiastic crowd hungry for just such a Saturday.When: 8 a.m. SaturdayWhere: Jimmy’s on the Pier, 9001 Seawall
Houston Press
La Izquierda Festival: Celebrating Surf, Music, and Community on the Pier
GLADYS FUENTES | APRIL 29, 2019
This is the second year for Galveston’s La Izquierda Festival and last year definitely got them off on the right footing. “It was beyond anyone’s imagination how well it went, it went so good. Lots of people came out, it was a beautiful day and it had a little magic in the air. Everyone just really had the best time from morning all the way until night.” says founder and local musician Robert Kuhn.The festival features all things groovy: surf competition, live music, local brewery beer tasting, yoga and coffee. It embodies a feel good vibe of a bygone surf era while celebrating all things local.Kuhn is a musician based out of Galveston whose music often blends sounds and themes from all over the world. La Izquierda is the product of local businesses, friendships and organizations supporting one another for the greater good of Galveston and beaches everywhere, Kuhn says, describing it as, “community enrichment.” He got the idea for the name of this festival while driving in from Surfside to Galveston on the Seawall. "I saw a really pretty wave breaking on one of the side of the pier. It was a really pretty left hand wave and it was a break where nobody surfs really but it’s a nice spot.”The spot Kuhn is referring to is a recently developed beach off the Seawall created after a replenishment program added sand to the area, “With the currents all the sand drifted down there and there never used to a beach down there. It was just rocks so it was kind of dangerous to get down there, nobody really surfed down there or hung out down there at all.”Izquierda meaning left in Spanish, refers to a left hand wave. “Izquierda is a surfing term but it’s just an everything term. You can either go one of two directions; you can go right or left. You can’t really go straight and really, the wave is what picks the direction you need to go.” explains Kuhn.Kuhn began reaching out to friends in Galveston and quickly had the support of many local businesses, artists and the Surfrider Foundation, which works to protect the world’s coastlines. The festival is in large part a fundraiser for the organization and serves to bring awareness to the issues facing the coastlines.Organizers are implementing ways to reduce waste during the festival such as teaming up with Jimmy’s on the Pier, an ocean friendly restaurant by Surfriders standards. They also have created a commemorative reusable cup for beer tasting, printed their T-shirts on shirts found at thrift stores and will have a station to turn old shirts into reusable bags to discourage the use of plastic bags."It can grow into something that is bigger than a little music/surfing festival in Galveston. It’s something that can translate really anywhere.” This year will feature two stages for live music, closing off the fishing pier to fishermen and more options for parking. Long term, Kuhn says, “We all need music festivals and more music, but what would make this different is that it can grow into something that is bigger than a little music/surfing festival in Galveston. It’s something that can translate really anywhere. The festival will take place Saturday May 11 starting at 8 a.m. with free yoga and coffee from local coffee houses. There will also be time for open surf before the competitions begin. Throughout the day there will be a craft beer tasting contest, surf contest with prizes and live music covering many genres.Kuhn has hand picked the line-up for the festival and plans to have music on both stages all day with each stage alternating a set. High energy local band, Los Skarnales will take visitors into the evening after the surf winners are announced at sunset and psych rockers, India Tigers in Texas, will take an illuminated stage at the end of the pier. Kuhn will even squeeze himself into the festivities and perform a set.The only planned quiet moment will be when surfers take part in a paddle out to commemorate their friend Christopher “Kit” Hill who passed away this year.La Izquierda is scheduled for May 11 at Jimmy's on the Pier, 9001 Seawall, 8 a.m.-10 p.m. For more information visit laizquierdafest.com. $10-25,
Houston Press
Robert Kuhn Changes Course on Watery Maria the Gun
Gladys Fuentes September 1, 2017
Kuhn decided to begin his decade-long travels, like so many young, hopeful Americans before him, after reading Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. “It was the first book that opened my mind that you can just go to Mexico and Central America like that," he says. "You can just get on the road. I wanted to do that.”
And “do that” he did. Throughout his travels, Kuhn had his guitar in tow and was aware that music is a unifying force. “It’s an instant connection when you play music. No matter where you are,” he says.
Kuhn did plenty of writing while traveling, even writing a yet-unpublished novel based on his journals. When he returned to Texas after so many years away, he made his home between Houston and Galveston and found musical support from two local legends, bluesman Little Joe Washington and former Old Quarter owner Rex “Wrecks” Bell.
“Rex has been my biggest supporter since the beginning," says Kuhn. "He put me up at the Old Quarter and helped me. Whatever I got going on really started at the Old Quarter.” Little Joe Washington made his final studio recording on Kuhn’s previous album, and their friendship resonates on the record.
“Little Joe was my buddy," he says. "We were good together. It was so cool to have him be a part of that. It was special. He could have one string on the guitar and make it work.”
With Everybody Knows, Kuhn and his band went into SugarHill Studios and cut 12 songs in one day. Maria the Gun took him and his band to Wolf Island Recording Studios in Dayton, Texas, with fewer time constraints and new leadership under producer and fellow local musician Kevin Skrla. “With this album, everybody had the time and energy to make it," says Kuhn. "The other one was like, 'Okay, we got a day and we are going into SugarHill with a band, 1-2-3 go!”
Though Kuhn's distinct voice and world-beat sound are constant throughout both albums, Maria the Gun brings an edginess not felt in his previous album. “Those songs were written at a different time of life. Those songs were written when I had just come back from living in Central America, so I was more with that kind of 'pura vida,' and now I’ve been here for a little while and I’ve had some experiences in these past couple of years," he says.
"There’s a lot of stuff going on in the world too, a lot of turmoil; things are getting hotter. Music is an expression of what’s going on in the world.”
Tracks such as "Bonfire" and "Viva la Revolucion" especially highlight this turmoil in the current political climate all over the world, while tracks such as "Low Way" bring us back to the singer's unifying message. "It’s not just a revolution of one political power, one place; it’s a world revolution of consciousness that is spreading and has to spread, I feel like, for everybody to get together,” Kuhn states.
He describes the difference in his new album as “Darker but still light. A different shade of it. How can you think it’s all just fun when it’s all really real? I think everybody is scared. And you think, “What can I do?' At least being a musician I can put something out there."
Influences from all over the globe converge in his music, and Kuhn can be hard to pigeonhole for those who wish to do so. “People still put me in the folk genre and I really appreciate folk music," he says. "Now I really have an understanding that everything is folk music.” With his new album in particular, though, Kuhn says, “Most people are putting this in Americana and I think it’s cool because it’s a Spanish-Mexican blend of blues and rock and roll and Latin folk. It’s fluid.”
Fluidity and water are reoccurring themes for Kuhn, and on Maria the Gun in particular. "Most of these songs were written in Galveston when I’m living close to the water," he says. "Why did I pick these songs? Even though they are all different, what do they have that makes them the same? It’s a watery vibe, fluid thing to it. Water can be a powerful force, it can get violent. Especially here or anywhere that has ocean."
Any Houstonian knows this well, especially after the recent devastation caused by Tropical Storm Harvey. Kuhn rode out the storm in Galveston, lending a hand, as so many wonderful Houstonians did, to a pregnant friend and neighbor helping her prepare her home for incoming water. Now, he says, he's looking forward to getting back to work and playing Saturday afternoon's Post-Harvey "Houston Hang In There" show at Cactus Music along with Gio Chamba and Say Girl Say, as well as a full record-release show later that night at the Big Top.
"I’m ready to put this album out there," Kuhn says, "because I think there are a lot of people out there that are thinking the same thing, [that] there has to be some kind of change for our life to continue the way we want it to continue and so it can continue."
Robert Kuhn performs 1 p.m. Saturday, September 2 at Cactus Music (2110 Portsmouth), and 8 p.m. Saturday at Shoeshine Charley's Big Top Lounge (3714 Main).
Houston Chronicle
Worldly Journeys Reflected in Song
By Andrew Dansby, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, February 10, 2014
Folk-blues musician Robert Kuhn's adventure began when he bought a one-way ticket to Argentina. He had graduated from Pennsylvania's Bucknell University, where a football scholarship had gotten him into school but injuries frequently kept him off the field. After graduating, the English literature major had an itch to travel - and like many before him, that
itch came from reading Jack Kerouac's "On the Road." "I grew up in Houston, but I'd never been to Mexico," he says. "It didn't even occur to me that you could just drive there. Or that you could continue on into Guatemala. So me and a buddy decided that's what we were going to do." Then the buddy bailed. So Kuhn purchased airfare to Buenos Aires with little more than a few changes of clothes, a couple of books and a guitar. He moved about Central and South America for more than a decade, working odd jobs and odder jobs, watching the drug trade pass from South America on its way to the United States. He got married. And he also wrote songs. Some of those appear on "Everybody Knows," a fascinating debut album with worldly colors that reflect his travels, as well as some bluesy shadings that represent his Houston roots.
Home again
As often happens to someone on a border-crossing journey, Kuhn returned to Texas in 2010 with more stories and life experiences than money. While teaching in Chile for a year, he also played music and worked as a puppeteer. He spent a year in Costa Rica. During a stay in Colombia, he remembers feeling his room shake when a bomb went off in Cartegena prior to an election. He was in Venezuela in 2002 when Hugo Chavez was ousted from office for two days during a coup d'état. His longest spell in one place was six years on Little Corn Island off the coast of Nicaragua, where he worked as a fisherman and farmer. "There weren't really any venues to play music exactly," he says, though he found plenty of opportunities to play anyway. "You'd still get paid in other ways. Sometimes you'd get cooked a big pot of food." Being out on the water as a fisherman, he got to see the drug trade up close. "You'd have pirates, police, all sorts of chases and see drugs get thrown overboard and then pulled back in. A lot of these places were recently war-torn regions, so everybody there had seen plenty of violence." Kuhn wrote the entire time he was in the south. Much of what he wrote was for a book he's now editing. But he also came out of it with songs. Upon his return to the United States, he settled briefly in Houston, where he worked at a shirt factory, which he describes as "awful, just awful." But it allowed him to take care of things he didn't need in Central America - like a car - while also trying to find open stages at night.
On the island
Kuhn moved to Galveston and started playing nights at places like the Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe and Rip Tide. From those sets a band started to form. He was participating in an open mic in the Heights one night when local blues great Little Joe Washington happened in selling some of his albums. "I remember reading about him," Kuhn says. "So I asked if he'd like to do a song. I gave him my guitar, and I played harmonica." Washington liked what he heard that night, and since then Kuhn has been playing harmonica in his band. Washington also played guitar on three songs on "Everybody Knows." Kuhn recorded the album nearly a year ago at SugarHill Recording Studios. The album is difficult to pin down. His travels have lent some of the songs an international flavor. "Tear Your Love" has a reggae lilt, and the Spanish-language "Mujer Chinandegana" is - at least judged by my sketchy Spanish comprehension - an invitation to dance, as is the title track. But elsewhere, the record takes folk and blues constructs and places them in intriguing, sometimes dark arrangements that suggest alternative pop and rock. The bluesy "How Long?," with Jahrel Pickens' pulsing keyboards, suggests "Time Out of Mind"-era Bob Dylan. Claire Silverman's cello adds a somber but beautiful tone to songs like "Aurita." Kuhn's voice - cracked, raspy and expressive - ties the recording together. His vocals sound as well-traveled as Kuhn himself. Kuhn is 35, an atypical age to put out a debut album. But he has a large stash of songs from which to draw for his next recording and no regrets about spending his 20s the way he did. "In a lot of cultures getting away like that is almost mandatory," he says. "I met some Germans when I was down there. Their families were shoemakers. But when you grow up and first get out of the house, you're supposed to get away from it for a while. You're supposed to shed who you used to be."
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