Kenn Kweder

Philadelphia singer/songwriter Kenn Kweder earned the nickname "the Bard of South Street," which alludes to the fashionable, club-lined thoroughfare in Philly often equated with New York's Bleeker Street and Chicago's Rush Street. Although national fame has eluded him, Kweder has functioned as a folk-rock and rock & roll mainstay in Philadelphia since the early '70s. In local rock circles he holds a position comparable to that of longtime saxophonists Bootsie Barnes and Larry McKenna within Philly jazz: a figure celebrated as a hometown hero yet denied wider acclaim. Non-residents who encountered his performances during visits frequently posed the identical query raised about Barnes and McKenna: Why isn't this guy better known outside of his hometown? Kweder's limited national profile stems largely from his insistence on retaining creative autonomy. Major labels periodically showed interest, and at one stage industry veteran Clive Davis pursued signing him to Arista, yet Kweder demanded greater artistic latitude than Davis would grant, a stance that also blocked deals with other large imprints. Committed to avoiding concessions, he has released material independently through the modest Pandemonium imprint, exploring terrain that spans folk-rock and roots rock to new wave. Like David Bowie and Prince, Kweder has readily reinvented himself across multiple stylistic avenues without adhering to any fixed formula, an unpredictability that may have discouraged major-label interest. His work incorporates an array of touchstones that have included Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, the Byrds, Captain Beefheart, and Bruce Springsteen alongside Bowie, Lou Reed, and the Velvet Underground. Born January 29, 1952, in Upper Darby, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia, and raised in a working-class section of southwest Philly, Kweder initially aspired to a career as a professional basketball player; once he concluded his height would preclude that path, he turned fully to music. Still in his late teens, he began performing around Philadelphia in the early '70s, receiving substantial encouragement from the late local singer/songwriter Billy Schied, known for his reclusive nature. Early appearances found Kweder working alone with acoustic guitar, though within a few years he assembled the band Kenn Kweder & the Secret Kidds. He quickly gained a reputation as an irreverent, hell-raising wild man, employing abundant profanity onstage and startling club owners with antics such as wrestling women during shows and hurling firecrackers into crowds. His promotional efforts were equally provocative: around 1974 one widely distributed poster featured a photograph of Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of President John F. Kennedy, being shot by Jack Ruby. Kweder blanketed the city with at least 2,000 copies; though some viewed the imagery as tasteless, it secured attention. Throughout the '70s his extravagant behavior led to bans from select venues, with certain proprietors regarding him as a loose cannon, yet he remained a central figure on Philly's rock circuit. As the decade advanced, the local excitement surrounding Kweder and the Secret Kidds intensified, prompting major labels to court him aggressively; he opened for Cheap Trick, the Ramones, Patti Smith, Elvis Costello, and other prominent acts appearing in Philadelphia. In the late '70s and early '80s many Philadelphians regarded him as destined to become "the next big thing," assuming a major-label contract and international success were inevitable. Had Kweder allowed Arista's Clive Davis to dictate creative decisions, he might well have attained the stature his local supporters foresaw. Instead he declined to trade artistic independence for commercial gain, and interviews indicate the Philadelphian harbors no regrets about that choice. Over time he fronted numerous ensembles succeeding the Secret Kidds, among them the Radio Church of God, the Men From K.W.E.D.E.R., the Men From P.O.V.I.C.H. (a name drawn from talk-show host Maury Povich), the Employees, the Codependents, and the Enablers. Absence of a major deal has not halted recording activity. His debut came in 1977 with the 45 rpm single "Man on the Moon"/"Susie Said No," followed by additional singles "Back on You"/"Mommy and Daddy" in 1980 and "Turning Myself Into Two"/"Amos Maggid" in 1984. A vinyl EP titled Kitchen Folk appeared in 1986, succeeded by the double-LP retrospective Pandemonium Years in 1987 and the 1989 album Man Overboard, produced by Philly singer/songwriter Ben Vaughn. Releases from the '90s encompassed 1991's Flesh, Blood and Blue, the self-titled 1995 set, and 1999's Indre Sessions, all issued on Pandemonium Music. Into the early 2000s Kweder remained active on the Philadelphia scene; 2002 brought the career-spanning collections Kwederology, Vol. 1, a two-CD set of live and studio tracks covering 1977 to 1999, and Kwederology, Vol. 2, which likewise mixes live and studio material from 1981 to 2002. He marked his 50th birthday on January 29, 2002.