Ken Bierschbach
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Ken Bierschbach

Kentwood, Michigan, United States | SELF | AFM

Kentwood, Michigan, United States | SELF | AFM
Band Pop Folk

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Discography

CDs - Ken Bierschbach
1998 - The Bold Type
2001 - Somewhere Out There
2001 - Winter in West Michigan compilation
2004 - Voyeur Constant
2006 - Party Of Three - Live At The Annex

Visit KenBierschbach.com for links to streaming audio

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Bio

A performance by The 13th Hour (featuring Ken Bierschbach & Mark Swanson) is much more than a trip down memory lane. Although they play plenty of gems from singer-songwriters of earlier decades, you are just as likely to hear an original tune for the first time or a clever pop song that you thought you forgot years ago.
With more than 55 years of professional experience between them, these veteran West Michigan musicians will delight you with song favorites old and new, strong vocal harmonies, and a tight, energetic performance that reflects their considerable talents as instrumentalists.
Featuring Ken Bierschbach on acoustic guitar and Mark Swanson on guitar, mandolin, and harmonica, they represent the melding of two distinctly different musical backgrounds.
Ken and Mark joined forces in 2001 after several years of solo performing. Ken provides the rhythm guitar, over which Mark weaves his unique lead and rhythm guitar lines. They take turns on lead vocals.
Ken has three solo CDs to his credit, and has been a singer-songwriter on the local scene for more than 20 years. His music can be found at the place where pop, rock, folk, and country meet. Centered in his belief that all of us share a common thread, Ken writes lyrics with wit, insight, and biting honesty. Ken’s CD releases include “The Bold Type” (1998), “Somewhere Out There” (2001) and "Voyeur Constant" (2004). He was also a featured writer and performer on “Winter in West Michigan,” a 2001 Christmas compilation CD featuring nine West Michigan songwriters and musicians.
For Mark, the partnership represents a loop back to where music first became a passion in his life. Although Mark has played electric guitars in much louder bands over the years, he was originally pulled into music by more gentle and contemplative artists such as Simon and Garfunkel. Mark founded the country-rock band “Horsefeather” in the mid-1970s, enjoying a great deal of local and regional success before he changed musical directions and “went solo” in the late 1980s. A nationally known maker of guitars and other stringed instruments, Mark combines an encyclopedic knowledge of songs with an enviable talent for playing them. He also adds harmonica and mandiloin flavors to the band's eclectic stew of a song list.
Although Ken and Mark took quite different paths into the same band, their shared passion for music and their uniquely special chemistry is what continues to drive them. Their shows feature a fresh-sounding mix of Ken’s original compositions and songs from their favorite writers and musicians. Audiences have responded very well to the mix of classic and new material.