DAN KAHN: River Mouth

Dan Kahn

River Mouth

© 2003 Daniel Kahn (634479799129)

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"Dan writes like the rainy ghost of Woody Guthrie hitched a ride with Tom Waits to New Orleans, spilling accordions, ukuleles, busted pianos, and broken dreams all over the road from Brooklyn to the bayou."

notes

"Dan Kahn is the hottest damn songwriter you've never heard of. Like Dr. John meets Leon Redbone, with the soul of John Sinclair, Kahn is not only an amazing multi-instrumentalist/playwright/poet, he also typifies the youthful ethos that reminds us that music without heart is just a bunch of noise." --Metro Times

Dan Kahn's "River Mouth" flows from a sweaty New Orleans shotgun studio, out across the country like the muddy and turbulent floodwaters illustrated on its cover. Country accordions meet broken harmonicas on the side of the road while cigar box ukuleles hop boxcars with dented tubas and honky-tonk pianolas. These are ghost songs, full of history, heartache and humor.

A compelling and versatile performer, Dan plays piano, guitar, accordion, harmonica and ukulele, frequently switching among them in live performance, as a vaudeville clown would change his hats. From country to jazz, folk to punk, klezmer to classical, his music transcends genre. Inspired by such a spectrum of artists as Tom Waits, Nina Simone, and Woody Guthrie, Dan's music is rich with irreverence, revelry, romance, revelation, social relevance and romance.

A Detroit area native, Dan grew up in theatre and creative writing. He attended the University of Michigan where he studied acting, directing, playwriting and poetry, winning the University's most prestigious writing award, the Hopwood, three times and publishing "Daylight Savings," a collection of his poems, with Ornithology Press. After graduating and traveling, he settled down in New Orleans to focus on music and theatre. There he has done everything from piano lounge gigs to bluegrass jams, punk circus parades to drag shows, union organizing to bicycle constuction. He was also successful in his production of Bertolt Brecht's Man Is Man at the ARK Theatre (One of "the best productions of the year"-Times-Picayune), for which he was actor, director, producer, composer and conductor.

Since leaving New Orleans he has lived, played music, recorded, acted, directed plays and composed theatre music in New York and Detroit and on a farm in Northern Michigan, where he helps produce a folk fest every fall. The farm is also headquarters for Earthwork Music, a collective label of Michigan indie folk artists. Info can be found at www.earthworkmusic.com

reviews

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  • A beautiful album
    author: Kathleen Barberio

    A beautiful album combining wonderful music with excellent. Atmospheric! A real discovery!

  • Excellent musicianship and imaginative storytelling
    author: Tomas Thunberg ( www.oldlostjohn.com)

    Excellent musicianship and imaginative storytelling, weaving past and present together in a dense atmosphere. It's hard to find any complaints, there are certainly more unique artists, but Dan Kahn does his american song poetry better than most. There are lots of words crammed into his songs, and once or twice you may wish for some breathing space to fill in the pictures yourself. On the other hand, his way with words is so compelling that your attention rarely wavers.

  • Excellent musicianship and imaginative storytelling
    author: Tomas Thunberg ( www.oldlostjohn.com)

    Excellent musicianship and imaginative storytelling, weaving past and present together in a dense atmosphere. It's hard to find any complaints, there are certainly more unique artists, but Dan Kahn does his american song poetry better than most. There are lots of words crammed into his songs, and once or twice you may wish for some breathing space to fill in the pictures yourself. On the other hand, his way with words is so compelling that your attention rarely wavers.

  • Kahn writes with a strong sense of place
    author: Mark Fernandez

    Dan Kahn's second cd, River Mouth, marks the emergence of a truly fine songwriter. The musical directions in this ten-cut gem range from the blues to Klezmer and all points in between. Kahn's writing evokes a strong sense of atmosphere and place. Many of Kahn's songs deal with New Orleans and south Louisiana, yet steer clear of the hackneyed cliches all too often associated the Big Easy and its environs. Elysian Fields, inspired by the street, conjures images of the boulevard and of the mythological paradise that inspired its name. Lincoln Beach poses a soft, bittersweet commentary on the complex history of race relations and segregation in the context of a sublime melody. Annie Ford's violin on those two tracks provides just the sense of airy longing that the places and Kahn's songs require. In Coney Island Kahn implores his hero, Woody Guthrie, to help him complete a song inspired by the folk legend. Kahn's cigar box ukelele and stunning accordian work along with Seth Bernard's background vocals give warmth and texture to this truly remarkable track. Kahn and producer Mike West have created an unique Americana masterpiece in River Mouth.

  • Just another very promising young folk singer songwriter !!
    author: Ray Dj

    His cd shows that this guy has the soul and talents to make from every little story a little rough diamond !!

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