Roger Kuhn
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Roger Kuhn

Band Rock Singer/Songwriter

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Music

The best kept secret in music

Press


"All Eyes on Him"

To say that Roger Kuhn is talented as a singer/songwriter is an understatement. To say that Kuhn knows his way around a stage while delivering a smooth performance would be as well. To say that you missed a night of a great music performed by one of NYC’s most promising OUT singer/songwriter's is in fact true but every bit a treat for those present.

Roger was celebrating his new labor of love, the release of his new CD, Proof. Last night, 4/22/06, Roger took the intimate stage at Rockwood Music Hall which was choked with friends and supporters and owned the room from his very first note to his last. It’s always amazing to this entertainment industry triple threat of many years, when I see a fellow performer who is so comfortable in his own skin on stage while bearing his heart and soul. Kuhn’s presentation was seamless, smooth likened to a silk road meeting a velvet street.

Kuhn’s playlist was filled with really solid material not only well written structure wise, but also in his storytelling lyrics. His first song What’s Your Name which was expertly played on acoustic guitar in tandem with the very talented Robert Urban, is a great opener with its lyrical musing of someone he/Roger would like to meet and perhaps get to know better, by asking What’s Your Name. Aptly so, this is a perfect leadoff song especially when potentially playing to new fans which Kuhn should not have a problem making on his musical journey of growth and self exploration. Kuhn’s 2nd song, No Place Like Home, which was probably my most favorite, as it brought back to me wonderful memories of touring internationally with The Wizard of OZ, was a sign of a successful song in that as a songwriter, Roger touched a nerve in this listener and took me to a moment of personal reflection. Lyrically, it nailed down every aspect of the
OZ vocabulary we all shamelessly know and love and utilized it in ingeniously telling the story of wanting to simply go home. And haven’t we all been down that yellow brick road ourselves a time or two? The song Lust From 17 spoke to the room about the young burning of youth driven love, lust and passion and how that walked hand in hand with Roger over the years.

Another song which was steeped in personal passion and delivered with killer emotional connectivity was Roger’s song Two Nations. Two Nations draws on Roger’s pride of being American Indian and Caucasian. It draws the listener in to such a degree, that you can feel in his vocal delivery the conflict of which side he should choose to align himself with being that we unfortunately live in a society that makes one make such a choice. It brings to mind the somewhat campy Cher song, Half Breed but Kuhn’s song sung live has a purer ethnic anchor that Cher’s song lacks. One of the nights other highlights was when longtime friend, James Erickson, joined Roger on stage to back him vocally on the combined songs of the beautiful and tender Proof/Cradle Me and You Can Sleep While I Drive. The vocal blend of the two singers was rich in perfectly matched tone color, textured but not jagged and sounding as if they were vocal extensions of each other.

The last 3 songs Beautiful You, again with Urban this time on piano, My Reality and the deliciously rocked out Black Leather, were all nailed with emotional precision and vocal power that each song demanded. Roger Kuhn said at one point during his show that he hadn’t been this nervous since he was 14, but on stage he was master and commander of his vocal ability in all of its’ many colors and hues, his guitar playing, which alone is a show unto itself, and his stage presence that oozes sexuality with those seductive Bambi brown bedroom eyes.

At a couple of points throughout his hour long set, I looked around the room to confirm that all eyes were on Kuhn and of course they were. Roger Kuhn jokes that he is the love child of Elvis and Cher. If that were actually true, his parents would be very proud that Roger got his Daddy’s good looks and talents and his Mother’s command of presence, showmanship and the innate ability to work a room while keeping all eyes on him.
- Review Center


Discography

Proof
Roger Kuhn Live at Rockwood Music Hall DVD

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

Roger Kuhn is a Native American singer/songwriter from North Dakota. His vocal stylings have been compared to Elivs, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison.