Keith Methven

Many skilled performers spend their entire careers out of the spotlight simply because opportunity never aligns with ability. For years it seemed Minnesota-born guitarist and keyboardist Keith Methven would remain among them. He launched his professional life in a Top 40 rock outfit based in Duluth, Minnesota; their third performance found them supporting Three Dog Night before an audience of five thousand. Within two years the group disbanded, prompting Methven to relocate to Boston and enroll at the Berklee College of Music in 1972. Financial pressures forced his return to Minnesota two years later, where he began giving private lessons and performing jazz around Duluth. Over the following period he shuttled between Minneapolis and Duluth, contributing to a succession of short-lived funk and R&B ensembles while steadily sharpening his command of both guitar and keyboards. In 1981 he moved to Los Angeles and worked with several showcase acts, one of which issued a recording. A decade later he settled in San Diego, where his fortunes finally shifted—this time within country and western circles. In 1993 he joined the Durango Band, the touring unit behind vocalist Char Carroll, serving as guitarist, keyboardist, and arranger. During his eighteen months with the group they performed in Japan under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Defense and opened shows for Merle Haggard. Methven left Durango in 1994 to focus on original material, writing atmospheric cues, themes, and character pieces for assorted productions. The next year he entered the country band Sidewinder, which collected multiple local San Diego awards and earned him the Guitar Player of the Year title from the San Diego County chapter of the California Country Music Association. Having accumulated extensive experience, Methven issued his own atmospheric collection, Check This Out, in 1998—an album that distilled the wide-ranging influences of his earlier work.