{"id":28954,"date":"2021-01-21T09:27:59","date_gmt":"2021-01-21T14:27:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=28954"},"modified":"2021-01-21T09:28:06","modified_gmt":"2021-01-21T14:28:06","slug":"on-stage-philly-legend-kweder-finds-way-to-keep-performing-despite-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=28954","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Philly legend Kweder finds way to keep performing, despite pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Kenn Kweder<\/p><\/div>\n

Many entertainers are \u201clegends in their own minds\u201d \u2013 an idiom that means \u201cbelieving that they are of greater importance than is actually the case\u201d or simply put\u2026being delusional about their popularity.<\/p>\n

Kenn Kweder is not a \u201clegend in his own mind\u201d \u2013 but he is a \u201clegend in his own city.\u201d<\/p>\n

The veteran rocker has been a mainstay of the Philadelphia rock and folk scene since the early 1970s and is still going strong \u2013 or at least as strong as you can go during an almost comprehensive shutdown of live music caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to do four or five gigs a week minimum prior to the pandemic,\u201d said Kweder, during a phone interview Wednesday evening from his Philadelphia home.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince the pandemic hit, I\u2019ve lost about 60 per cent of my shows \u2013 from 300 to 125. <\/p>\n

At the beginning it showed but I really have not slowed down a whole lot. I do live shows from my living room on Facebook and I do puppet shows from home. In the warmer weather, I did private shows \u2013 backyard barbecues — and rooftop shows.<\/p>\n

\u201cI played tent shows at venues like 118 North. I just couldn\u2019t stop performing. It is what I do. I play maybe two live gigs a week outside my house now. It\u2019s all a matter of adapting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Fortunately for area music fans, one of Kweder\u2019s shows performed outside his living room is scheduled for this weekend. On January 22, Kweder will rock the house at the Bridgeport Ribhouse (1049 Ford Street, Bridgeport, www.ribhouse.net<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u201cI did a few outdoor gigs at the Bridgeport Ribhouse last year,\u201d said Kweder. \u201cThe show this Friday at the Ribhouse will be indoor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Located in central Montgomery County, the Bridgeport Ribhouse is not only a great music club, but also a top-flight barbecue restaurant and the home of Ribstock, one of the area\u2019s top music-based annual charity events.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bridgeport Ribhouse is an entity unto itself,\u201d said Kweder. \u201cI\u2019m glad to be working for Melissa (Navitsky) who runs it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a nexus for live shows \u2013 one of the few places that has shows six nights a week. It\u2019s like what (Philadelphia\u2019s legendary clubs) J.C. Dobbs and Khyber were in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kweder has played just about every Philly area music club at some point in his five-decade career \u2013 from historic and long-gone venues such the Second Fret, The Hot Club and Ripley\u2019s to current favorites such as the Locks, the Living Room and Ardmore Music Hall.<\/p>\n

The answer to the question why Kweder never became a national act can be found in his need for independence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had conversations with major labels and executives like Clive Davis (president of Columbia Records and the founder of Arista Records) but I didn\u2019t want to go along with the program,\u201d said Kweder.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a government worker early in the \u201970s and quit because I didn\u2019t like taking orders. I had played basketball in high school at West Catholic and wanted to play pro basketball — but I was too small. After I quit the government job, I decided to try music.<\/p>\n

\u201cMajor labels wanted to sign me, but they wanted to tell me what to do \u2013 like get rid of my band. I didn\u2019t want to do that. I wanted to do it my way.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he embarked on his music career, Kweder played solo gigs \u2013 singing and playing acoustic guitar. The next step was putting together a band — Kenn Kweder & the Secret Kidds. Over the years, he formed and fronted a variety of bands including the Radio Church of God, the Men From K.W.E.D.E.R., the Men From P.O.V.I.C.H., the Employees, the Codependents, and the Enablers.<\/p>\n

Kweder built a reputation for putting on wild and unpredictable shows featuring great music and a lot more. His fans learned to expect a good time and to expect the unexpected.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to explain what I do,\u201d said Kweder. \u201cEvery night is different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarah McCann, a friend of Kweder who now lives in West Chester, experienced Kweder\u2019s onstage unpredictability up close and personal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was doing a show at The Tin Angel,\u201d said Kweder. \u201cFor my encore, I played Robert Palmer\u2019s song \u2018Addicted to Love\u2019 and did it like his video. I had Sarah with me along with four fashion models dressed like the sexy models in Palmer\u2019s video. It was a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Early in his career, Kweder was a hit with the Philly college crowd and played more than a few frat gigs and toga parties \u2013 especially at the University of Pennsylvania. His relationship with Penn and its campus continues to this day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been playing on the Penn campus for 30 years,\u201d said Kweder, who was born in Upper Darby (hometown of Todd Rundgren and Tina Fey). \u201cEvery Tuesday for 29 years, I\u2019ve done shows at Smokey Joe\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the pandemic hit, I\u2019ve been broadcasting live from the stage at Smokey Joe\u2019s with no audience \u2013 just me, my guitar player, the owner and the cook. We turned Smokey Joe\u2019s into a small TV studio with a lot of cameras capturing different angles.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Kweder performs in his house and posts online, the setup is much more basic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI use my iPhone a lot,\u201d said Kweder. \u201cIt\u2019s all about adapting. I use it to teach guitar. I use it for my puppet shows. And I do one concert a week. To me, it\u2019s all about performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kweder is a performer \u2013 not a recording artist.<\/p>\n

\u201cI put out a lot of records on my own over the years,\u201d said Kweder. \u201cNow, it\u2019s not worth it. The younger audience doesn\u2019t even have a way to play CDs. Kenn Kweder is all about performing live. At this point, I just keep gigging.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Kenn Kweder — https:\/\/youtu.be\/k0mw9jJCHFA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bridgeport Ribhouse maintains a loaded schedule including performances by\u00a0Brian Quinn & Danny Beissel on January 27, February 3, 10, 17 and 24 and March 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31.<\/p>\n

Beissel has spent the past decade performing with such musical stalwarts as Jeffrey \u201cSkunk\u201d Baxter (Steely Dan, Doobie Brothers), Barry Goudreau (Formerly of Boston), James Burton (Elvis, Ricky Nelson) and Fosterchild (with Quinn).<\/p>\n

Quinn co-founded the Philadelphia-based rock band\u00a0Octane\u00a0and was named \u201cBest Guitarist\u201d in the Philadelphia region by the Philadelphia Music Awards in 2001 and 2004. A decade later, Quinn joined Candlebox when the band needed to replace its guitarist.<\/p>\n

Other announced upcoming shows at the Ribhouse are Rhodes Less Traveled on January 23, River Dawgs on January 29, Montoj on January 30 and February 27, Whiskey Logic on February 6, Vik Raolji on February 6, Eddie Kurek on February 12, Old School on February 13, and Catullus on February 20.<\/p>\n

Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808,\u00a0www.st94.com<\/a>) will close out the month with five shows by three artists — \u201cHigh Noon – A Tribute To Lynyrd Skynyrd And Southern Rock\u201d on January 23 at 3 and 8 p.m., The Tribe on January 26 at 8 p.m. and Kasim Sulton on January 30 at 3 and 8 p.m.<\/p>\n

Live music will be presented this month at several local venues.<\/p>\n

Tuned Up Brewing Co. (135 North Main Street, Spring City, www.tunedupbrew.com<\/a>) will host Mr. Mody on January 22, and Rick Lawrence on January 23.<\/p>\n

Creekside Sports Bar & Grille (765 N Lewis Road, Royersford, http:\/\/www.creeksidesportsbar.com\/<\/a>) will present IV Stone Band on January 22, Buzzer Band on January 23, Shot of Southern on January 29 and Triple Rail Turn on January 30.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times\u00a0 Many entertainers are \u201clegends in their own minds\u201d \u2013 an idiom that means \u201cbelieving that they are of greater importance than is actually the case\u201d or simply put\u2026being delusional about their popularity. Kenn Kweder is not a \u201clegend in his own mind\u201d \u2013 but he is a \u201clegend […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28952,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5166],"tags":[10372,3912,10371,320],"class_list":["post-28954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-bridgeport-ribhouse","tag-featured","tag-kenn-kweder","tag-live-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28954"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28955,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28954\/revisions\/28955"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}