Kenn Kweder: An Unknown Incredible Songwriter
By Brant Buckley

Kenn Kweder is one of the greatest unknown singer-songwriters. Kweder hails from Philadelphia, and has been writing songs since the early seventies. Also known as the Mayor of South Street, he plays folk/rock music. His voice is edgier, and has more energy and power than your average folk singer. He had offers from major labels, but declined. He has had a career of complete freedom and has no regrets. At Kennkewder.com, “Heroin” and “Remember Me” are two songs that are definitely worth taking a peek at. Also, you can listen to his tunes at http://profile.myspace.com/kennkweder.

Do the lyrics come first or does the melody come first when you write a song?
“In most cases usually the music comes first. I always look at the music as the skeleton of a person and when I have the melody or the co-writer has the melody a weird thing happens. I try to clothe it with the right words and tailor so it fits well. Sometimes I listen to the melody so much, it almost releases the words. It is almost speaking to me. With some melodies, different words can fit over it. Onetime, I paid a bum a dollar and he said I'm not a bum on the bay. That’s a pretty interesting phrase man! I put bum on the bay on top of this melody. Bum on the bay sounds like a melodic thing anyway. Generally the music comes first. It’s the skeleton and then I clothe it. It's old fashion but that’s how I do it”.

Do you always strive for rhyme when writing lyrics?
“I always aim for the rhyme. I try to manipulate the end sentences so they have rhyme. When they can’t be manipulated, I have to come up with new sentences, which can be a bitch. Sometimes, I believe there is this sacred thing going on where the lyrics are coming from somewhere else. They’re coming in and landing on the skeleton. Sometimes they don’t land right and I have to get conscious about it and write another sentence. But generally I try to rhyme as much as I can”.
How Many times do you rewrite a song before you know it’s complete?
“When it causes the least amount of pain to sing it. You keep working with it and you bandage it up. I know its right when I’m not going to be embarrassed by it”.

What is the best song you’ve written and why?
“It’s not my most popular but “The Pandemonium and The Scare” is my best song. I talk about that sacred landing; well this thing came from some other part of the universe; not the physical universe but the subconscious universe. When I wrote that song, I felt like I was growing an antenna and it kept getting longer. It was communicating with something else”.

Do you write songs that you think will be popular?
“I never think about that. I think about good and bad. If it’s good, then there’s a good chance it will get popular. That’s the problem with the music business. The people entering my life years ago, said you have to write this you have to change that etc.. It’s like fixing a jaguar; you fix it real quick or you fix it so it works. I just want to make songs that work. If they get popular that’s great. It’s like a con job. I’m not going to swindle anybody”.

You had chances to sign with a big label. Why didn’t you sign and in hindsight do you have any regrets?
“They wanted me to simplify my songs and fire my band. They were going to put me in with these hot shot New York guys. I wouldn’t have been able to articulate with them. When I was younger I just wrote these songs like a cave man. It wasn’t going to work. They were giving to many orders. I don’t know if I have any regrets. If I had surrendered all of what I wanted and it didn’t work out, I’d be dead”.
What advice would you give to someone trying to get into the music business?
“Be honest with yourself. Are you really going to stick it out for as long as you can and if you do, you need to have and keep a razor beam claw and try not to get lazy no matter what the distractions are. Try to stay married to what you really want to do. Your going to have arguments with what you do along the way, but try and do your best. If you keep putting effort in what you do, than generally good things will come out. Don’t surrender at twenty-seven years old and start drinking in the afternoon. That’s wrong, unless there’s a girl involved”.