Eric Kinkel Music News & Updates

▲

Eric Kinkel, Musioc News & Updates, Catherine Bachner Lucchesi

Eric Kinkel, Lynn Trautmann LT photo, Sue Gustafson Vernon Hills IL

Eric Kinkel, Catherine Bacchner Lucchesi, Stephanie Jarzembowski Elk Grove IL

Eric Kinkel, Jayme Winkhardt Elk Grove IL, Step0hanie Jarzembowski Elk Grove IL

Eric Kinkel Music News & Updates, Tracey Wierman, Catherine Bachner Lucchesi Glen Ellyn IL, Sue Gustafson Vernon Hills IL

As of this writing February 11th 2021, I am in the midst of a myriad of personal health issues to which I am seeking remedies for. After my PONS Stroke in 2018, things have changed quite dramatically for me. Since then I've managed to record nine songs, six of which are original songs written and recorded by myself with the abundant assistance from Gary Linger and Ken Pfeil, co-producing 5 of 9 songs as follows: 'For My Lady' (Moody Blues cover), 'Watching Clouds' (EK) 'We Are Even' (EK) Goldmoor's View" (EK) 'Tracez' (EK) 'Nothing's Wrong Song' (EK) 'Brought my father with me' ( Michael Peter Smith) 'My Old Man' ( Steve Goodman) and my own arrangement of our National Anthem 'The Star Spangled Banner'. I also recorded my own renditions of the late Michael Peter Smith's 'I Brought My Father With Me' and the late Steve Goodman's 'My Old Man' , both can be previewed on SoundCloud Also, available are all the EK original songs mentioned below that are available for MP3 download purchases for .99 ea ---► Amazon.com

Song Graphic & Credits	Back stories & Song info preview/purchase links
Latest Recording News	Back stories & Song info on the Latest recording project (s)
ι ▼	ι ▼

Next up.... coming this winter 2021 (Contemporary Folk/Rock)	'Paradise On Earth ' is my next recording project. I wrote this song, according to the original lyric sheet dated 5/11/81 Gary and I recorded this song back in the early 80s, yet I was never truly satisfied with the way it came out, plus, my voice was a bit screechy back then. Now, I have the chance to re-birth this gem into full blossom, the way it was intended to be recorded and produced. Thank you digital technology and new instruments I didn't have back then are going allow us to truly put forth a remarkable song about a fictional couple who spends a romantic time in a forest. I plan to play my signature double tracked acoustic guitar sound along with piano, synthesizers, bass, sound effects and a new female vocal accompaniment. Gary and I are also planning to create a choir-like sound during the chorus adding harps and angelic voices to create Paradise like sounds..LOL I look forward to bringing this song to you. In true Kink fashion as always, it will be uniquely me.
'Watching Clouds' By Eric Kinkel © 2019 (Contemporary Folk/Rock - Instrumental) Eric Kinkel: Acoustic Guitars, Bass, Keyboard synthesizers, opening Narration Susan Siciliano - Flute Engineered and recorded by Gary Lingner Eric Kinkel: Acoustic Guitars, Bass, Keyboard synthesizers, opening Narration Susan Siciliano - Flute Engineered and recorded by Gary Lingner	'Watching Clouds' is the primary track on a two song CD I produced in 2019 less the a year after after I suffered a PONS stroke (brain stem vessel blockage) 'Watching Clouds' is a 6:32 Contemporary Folk/Rock - Instrumental, that I had been working on periodically over the period of 3-4 decades. I relished the idea of completing this instrumental that actually began original had lyrics, in the early 80s after a series of writers blocks I submitted to transforming it into a full out instrumental, without lyrics. Over the years this tune morphed into a multiplicity of ideas which I carefully kept in my head and often rehashed it when I would practice, it actually became a part of my practice routines. During those practice routines I would experiment with different chords, rhythms and change ups that eventually took hold. This tune's original title was: 'The wind had swept my eye closed' As the years rolled bye I decided to make it an instrumental leaning heavy on the primary melody and away from trying to finish a lyric....that idea stopped dead in it's tracks. I later decided that primary melody should be carried by flute ( that ideat stuck firmly in my head for years) By the time I got around to recording 'Watching Clouds' in August of 2019 it became apparent this was going to be masterpiece of carefully arranged parts I had cultivated over the years. I struggled with the final l title for a while bouncing ideas off my friend Gary multiple times until I( we ) landed on 'Watching Clouds' as a fine description of the instrumentals 'feel' I began to think the tune and its presentation reminded me of such an observation. Then in a moment of clarity I decided to write a short poem to open up the song, dropping the pitch of my voice digitally because my Dysphasia ( difficult speech ) was so bad at the time it was hard for me to speak or, understand what I was saying. Gary and I carefully planned out the beginning to create an audio imagery of clouds rolling by with deep synthesizer sounds and birds chirping ( for outside effect ) combined with ambient sounds I found on the internet. Together we produced the into that creates a powerful beginning. During the intro poem I spoke the line 'I can feel her breathe upon my brow' eluding to the songs initial lyrics. I finally found a brilliant flautist href="https://www.facebook.com/susan.siciliano2016">Susan Siciliano to play the ever jubilant and sometimes eerie melody. We worked every weekend on 'Watching Clouds' for weeks to come. I proceeded to record my signature double tracked acoustic guitars. I also used a rarely used instrument, a 6 string Fender bass VI pictured in this column I also created a soaring Les Paul guitar lead solo, double tracking solo in the last quarter of the song. That solo was actually a melody in my head from a jam session I had with fellow friend and roommate Mike Kennedy at Gary's house back in the late 70s. As Mike jammed out 3 chords E, B A, I began singing:' I own a blue velvet sea....' a melody which stayed with through the years. So, I applied that melody to the guitar solo and variated it to become the soaring lead solo in 'Watching Clouds'...this is how the winds of creativity follow after science experiments a tin foil hat factory in our heads ( Gary & I )....LOL Later I added some strings and synthesizer sounds to give the tune a kind of majestic feel. The bonus track on the CD is my rendition the Moody Blues Classic 'For My Lady' performed by yours truly, Susan Siciliano on Flute, Dan Fearn on guitar/Mellotron and Dean Milano on Bass Fiddle. The song was actually a rehearsal recording which I felt was properly mixed and presented by Dan Fearn at his house. I added the recording to my 'Watching Clouds' CD to make it a dual song CD instead of a single tune CD. ♫ Click here to preview 'Watching Clouds' on YouTube ♫ Click here to purchase 'Watching Clouds' on Amazon.com for .99 per MP3 download Later on, I will provide a purchase link to buy the 2 song CD which I have available copies of.
We Are Even By Eric Kinkel © 2019 (Contemporary Emotional Blallad) Eric Kinkel: Acoustic guitar, Keyboard cellos, synthesizer Eric Kinkel: Acoustic Guitars, Bass, Keyboard synthesizers, opening Narration Susan Siciliano - Flute Engineered and recorded by Gary Lingner	This song 'We Are Even' was written after a brief affair with a young lady named Toni C. during the early eighties. I was 20 something years old. After our first night together, I thought it was going to be a 'one night stand' I later realized we would spend more time together then I originally thought. Toni was my room mates girlfriend's best friend at the time, so, she was around allot. That night, when she left in her friends car and they drove away, I picked up my guitar and began writing this song. I was filled with a sense of unrequited love and also a feeling of an unusual sense of balance. As, is turned out we saw each other for quite some time afterwards. I never shared the song with her because I didn't want her to hear the lyrics refrains eluding to a melancholy interpretation of our first night together which prevails throughout the song. I don't know what ever happened to her as she moved out of our apartment building, at the time she lived in the apartment above my room mate and I with her mother. I wrote the last verse years later as a retrospect on what might happen if we ever crossed paths again, 'our souls will remember our union that night long ago'...and more. I did perform this song once, live in concert in 1997, at the first of 3 benefit concerts I performed for my late sister Dr. Linda Kinkel with Angela Martin Licari on violin and Al Ehrich on Cello. I wrote a counter melody for the violin and cello. When I recorded it in 2019 I decided to take a crack at recording the cello part myself on my Medeli 88 key digital keyboard which has a very nice sampled cello sound onboard. This song is a very emotionally charged melancholy song in every sense. It's how I roll, I write what I feel, and I feel when I write. ♫ Click here to preview 'We Are Even' on YouTube ♫ Click here to purchase 'We Are Even' on Amazon.com for .99 per MP3 download
'Goldmoor's View' By Eric Kinkel © 2020 (Contemporary Folk/Rock - Instrumental) Eric Kinkel: Acoustic Guitars, Synthesizers, sound effects, vocal enhancements Ken Pfeil: Acoustic Guitar's, Electric guitars co-producer Engineered and recorded by Gary Lingner & Ken Pfeil	'Goldmoor's View' was written in the spring of 2020. A conglomeration of finger picking licks I had amassed over the years. I managed to arrange those licks into a formatted instrumental. My friend and guitar player virtuoso Ken Pfeil assisted me with filling in the cracks where my ideas fell short. I spent quite a bit of time formulating this arrangement utilizing my unique and intricate finger picking style, which ultimately combined with Ken Pfeil's unique guitar leads brings together an instrumental tune unlike any other. We managed to pull off a successful arrangement that satisfies the tunes pseudo-romantic scenic profiles which I intended to portray through this audio recording. Its was fun recording the months long unnamed tune. When it came time to give it a title I came upon with 'Goldmoor's View' as a retrospect from a visit I made years ago to a popular romantic getaway in the Galena Illinois along the Mississippi river. The Goldmoor Inn is a castle-like get away nestled on a hillside overlooking the mighty Mississippi. 'Goldmoor's View' is reminiscent of the many scenic views and nature surrounding the Inn and the territory. We added sound effects such as winds blowing and eagles flapping wings and screeching through the valley, as they represent the scenic nature of the Mississippi Valley area around the Goldmoor Inn's grounds and beyond I long to return to the Inn in the coming years, or sooner if I am able. This song along with many others, will always remain a backdrop for the glorious wonders of this romantically scenic Galena territory Inn. I highly recommend visiting this super romantic get away. Goldmoor Inn ♫ Click here to preview 'Goldmoor's View' on YouTube ♫ Click here to purchase 'Goldmoor's View' on Amazon.com for .99 per MP3 download
Tracez By Eric Kinkel © 2020 (Hard rock - single) Eric Kinkel: Vocals, Piano, synthesizers, Rhythm guitar Ken Pfeil: Electric guitars, lead guitars Background vocals, digitally applied drum tracks Engineered and recorded by Gary Lingner & Ken Pfeil	Her name was Tracy B. we were young, active and moved different in ways. Yet, I still managed to fell head over heels in love with her. I wrote 'Tracez' while I was still living at home and plucking out tunes on my parents piano. I recall pining over Tracey when I began to have reoccurring dreams of her returning into my life. So, I wrote about it, that's what musicians do, we observe, we feel and then sometimes, if the mood strikes us right, or the moon is full, we write about it. This solid rock beat song truly exemplifies the relentless feelings that came over me in the days after our parting. Oddly, at two points after we parted Tracey tried fixing me up with two other friends of hers, Denise P and Jean ?. Nothing ever came of either of those fix ups, even though I gave them my undivided attention while trying to grasp whether there was any true sync ups going on or, whether there were no feelings other than being pushed together by my ex. My lyrics finally captured the very angst I was feeling at the time. I was Twenty something years old, it was easy to write songs back then, the adventure and hormone induced attractions ran rampant and wild. I captured all of my feelings quite perfectly in the lyrics of this song. Thanks to Ken Pfeil for the digital drum track, super hot guitar sounds and dueling lead guitar solo's. Ken also laid down a super all over the neck bass line that aims straight to the heart of the rock rhythm section making 'Tracez' a full out rock beat song. Gary managed to truly capture my piano, orchestral strings and vocals amid my dysphasia ( difficult speech) left over from my PONS stroke 2 years earlier. Altogether, we managed to bring back an old song, that never got recorded, I used to sing 'Tracez' while in our hard rock 80s band called Lost Nation. Its was a favorite of our fans, friends and band mates as well. Since Ken was the lead guitarist for Lost Nation he still recalled the song and I believe that familiarity made it that much easier for him to apply all the new licks and technology we didn't have back then to this old gem of an original EK rock song single written on my parents home piano. ♫ Click here to preview on YouTube 'Tracez' ♫ Click here to purchase 'Tracez' on Amazon.com for .99 per MP3 download
Nothing's Wrong Song By Eric Kinkel © 2020 ( Country) Eric Kinkel, Vocals, Acoustic guitars Bass Donna Adler: Duet Harmony track Ken Pfeil: Co-producer, Digitally applied drum track Engineered and recorded by Gary Lingner & Ken Pfeil	Towards the end of the summer 2020, I dug up another gem from my deeply cherished treasure chest of songs, this time it was an old country song I wrote when I was fawningly in love...again...LOLm Her name was Lynn C. If ever there was a time to use the saying 'opposites attract' this relationship surely was embodiment of the phrase. When opposites attract if not careful to maneuver it is bound to crash. We did manage to get an apartment together, we co-existed for about a year and a half before we mutually agreed upon a split. However, in the early days of the relationship that was set up by a close friend Terri D. we ensued clinging to each others youthful lust, and everything that a dating relationship would go through before arriving at a steady love beat. We felt like we were in love, so, I wrote about it in this song, again I was twenty something years old looking for a relationship I could live with. Previously, I had a roommate named Mike who helped me get out of my parents home, as he needed help paying his rent. he knew I was looking to get out from under my parents thumb. Therefore, I split an apartment with Mike for approximately 4-5 years before I met Lynn, at which time Mike and I came to an impasse when our lease came up. I wanted to get an apartment with Lynn and move on. My room mate Mike wasn't to happy about the split, but knowing that Lynn and I could forge ahead gave me high hopes I could finally co-exist with a woman in a meaningful relationship without the uncomfortable circumstances of a room mate who also had a GF of his own. BTW, Lynn and Mike's GF did not get along. That helped forge the split with my room mate, and Lynn and I could move in together in a place of our own. Oddly, I don't ever remember Lynn ever liking the song after I played it for her in the early days, though most women would probably find it an enchanting and romantically moving song to be the subject of, in my opinion. So, years later I played 'Nothing's Wrong Song' with some bluegrass folks I used to jam with and they absolutely loved the song, in fact Charlie and Carol Lie got married shortly after we rehearsed the song. We performed it several times at some gigs we got. As the years rolled on, I managed to hang onto an old cassette tape that our soundman Billy D. recorded during a rehearsal. It was that old cassette tape which I later digitally transferred to an MP3 and re-listened to in 2020, that got me to thinking I should get moving on properly recording gem of song the way it was meant to sound, as I envisioned it when I wrote it. So, this past late summer, early fall 2020 Gary and I began working on recording the basic tracks. The original bluegrass group had a female singer who sang a duet harmony with me on that early cassette tape. So, I sought out a new female duet singer as I lost touch with the older woman who sang on the original. I found Chicago's very own Dona Adler. Her voicing's matched exactly what I was seeking for this romantic country song refrains. I laid down the acoustic guitar the bass track and finally my vocal, then Ken Pfeil added some electric guitar and a nicely formulated country guitar sound solo. Ken also added a digitally created Nashville drum kit to the recording. Between Gary, Ken, Donna and I we managed a nice over all country touch to this song. Its now a contemporary country song rather than an old cassette tape laying around buried. Again, I successfully resurrected another gem from my cherished treasure chest of songs. I present to you: 'Nothing's Wrong Song' ♫ Click here to preview 'Nothing's Wrong Song' on YouTube ♫ Click here to purchase 'Nothing's Wrong Song' on Amazon.com for .99 per MP3
Copy Songs ▼
Eric Kinkel's rendition of 'I Brought my father With Me' By the late Michael Peter Smith (Ballad) Eric Kinkel: Vocals, Acoustic Guitars, Synthesizer cello, Synthesizer accordion Engineered and recorded by Gary Lingner Recorded in October 2020	In early October 2020 I began thinking of something nice to do for my father's upcoming 94th birthday on October 28th. Father said he didn't want anything for his birthday, and that just didn't set right with me, after all he's done to raise me. So, I came up with the idea to record a couple of 'Father/Dad' songs by I had known for years how play rather proficiently. These are songs I had previously never performed in concert or out in the clubs. Over the year's I always interned on squeezing these 2 song's in my sets somewhere along the, and yet I was remiss in doing so. I went to my friend Gary's home studio and asked if I could lay down these tracks for my father, and take a simple approach...no, real over producing or added instruments other than vocals, acoustic guitars and maybe a synthesizer track or two, here and there. Prepared as I was over the years, I took to the mic's and projected all the feelings and sympathetic emotions I shared with the original writers of these songs. In this case I chose 'I Brought My father With me' by the late Michael Peter Smith. If you're a fan of mine and maybe you attended any of my benefit concert's for my late sister, you probably heard Michael Peter Smith songs that I performed, in addition to that Michael was my special guest performer at my first benefit concert in 1997 at The Schaumburg Prairie Center For The Arts. Also, to note, Michael wrote infamous classic 'The Dutchman' which I recorded on my first album 'A Long Time Away' in 1988. In the years to come I learned allot from him, performance demeanor, finger picking styles, song creating and arranging, story telling lyrics etc... 'The Dutchman' was a fine example. Years later Michael recorded a song about his father, log after his father passed on. The song remains an emotionally charged lyrically poignant story song that reveals the powerful connection that often exists between a father and son throughout the many stages of life. I chose to record a simple acoustic guitar track on my Martin 00X1 concert model guitar. It didn't take long to dig deep into this well rehearsed and certainly well crafted song by on of the most prolific song writers from the Midwest to ever grace the stage. I was deeply honored to have the opportunity to not just perform this song for a crowd at a concert but, this was an opportunity to record it, and feel my way through it in my own unique way. I not only recorded my acoustic guitar and vocal track but I also added some cello and according using my Medeli 88 key digital piano. This recording is far from perfect, but, it is filled with my personal emotions and personal instrumental techniques that vary somewhat from MPS original recordings. Because of Covid, I had to postpone playing the song for my father on a boom box since Dad lives in an assisted living facility. My father is NOT a musical person, he really never was, but, I think at 94 he catches glimpses of my talent in a rather trivial way. Somewhere deep down , I know he understands my sincerity in all I do musically. I have a multiplicity of talent my father has always been ignorant of. Its just the way he is...always has been. I accept it for what it is. Click the link below this line to preview 'I Brought My father With Me' on SoundCloud a free listening platform. ♫ Click here to preview 'I Brought my father With Me' on SoundCloud
Eric Kinkel's rendition of 'My Old Man' By the late Steve Goodman (Ballad) Eric Kinkel: Vocals, Acoustic Guitars, Synthesizer cello Engineered and recorded by Gary Lingner Recorded in October 2020	Harkening back to my father's 94th birthday again, I took the opportunity to record o another 'Dad' song for my fathers pending birthday near the end of October 2020. I carefully chose the late Steve Goodman's 'My Old Man' again, I kept it simple: acoustic guitars, vocals, and some cellos, putting my unique EK touch on this famed Goodman classic tear jerker and poignant lyrics about his 'old man' long after he'd passed away. Like the song above 'I Brought My father With me', I carefully recorded and presented both of these songs to my father. As mentioned in the back-story about 'I Brought My father With Me' I had to postpone my presentation of these recordings to my father, because of Covid, I presented the songs together for my father on a nice Sony boom box. Snce Dad lives in an assisted living facility, there was no other way. My father is NOT a musical person, he really never was, but, I think at 94 he catches glimpses of my talent in a rather trivial way. Somewhere deep down, I know he understands my sincerity in all I do musically. I have a multiplicity of talents my father has always been ignorant of. Its just the way he is...an always has been. I accept it for what it is. To preview my version of Steve Goodman's 'My Old Man' click the link below to hear it on Sound Cloud for free. ♫ Click here to preview 'I Brought my father With Me' on SoundCloud
Eric Kinkel's rendition of Our National Anthem' 'The Star Spangled Banner' (EK Arrangement) Engineered and recorded by Gary Lingner By Francis Scott Key (1814) Recorded by EK in October 2020	Back in 2003, I was messing around with our National Anthem The 'Star Spangled Banner' on my acoustic guitar. I wanted to do something different after hearing Tommy shaw do an acoustic guitar version of it at Wrigley Field. In that same period of time, a local DJ Steve Dahl had been playing Marvin Gaye's soulful version that got recorded off a TV telecast of a basket ball game. I think it was in Chicago...but, I can't be certain. Here is a link to the Marvin Gaye version So, after carefully studying both versions, then I began pulling bits and pieces of both versions together on my acoustic guitar, starting out real slowly like Marvin Gaye, eventually I picked up the speed as Tommy Shaw's version exemplified so acoustically brilliant. I began fooling around with different chord changes that were unlike any other heard in this Nationally treasured song. When I came upon some delightful sounds that were unique to me...it just felt right, and unique. Then I began arranging the guitar and vocals to blend what I thought was more or less an unorthodox representation and emblematic of my individualism as a song writer and arranger. I managed to fulfill my hearts desire to put forth my own rendition of our infamous National Anthem. Then in 2004 I was asked to be a guest on a local Comcast TV show called Community Connections where I got the chance to perform it in their TV studio to be be taped and aired multiple times in the weeks to follow. After the initial taping the entire production staff and hosts in the control room got up and gave me a standing ovation, there was even a guest in the studio at the time Senator Dick Durbin (D) Illinois, he too witnessed the taping, he was in the control room at the same time everyone was standing up and applauding me for the powerful performance. I was shocked and my heart was filled with pride for having out performed myself, since I was in a perfect setting for finally giving the song a well deserved attention. Afterwards, I began singing it at charily events and fundraisers etc... I must confess I really enjoy bellowing out this particular self arranged rendition. It is a source of incomparable pride and joy. As the years rolled by, I eventually forgot about this arrangement and it fell by the ways side. So, in September of 2020 I decided to actually to create a broader and more expansive arrangement in the studio, and this time record my arrangement as I always saw fit. I planned a trip to my friend Gary's home studio where we spent the better part of 3-4 days working on this new brass and strings intro arrangement I put together keeping John Phillips Souza firmly in mind, giving the intro more of a strings and brass combinations marching band style opening using my Medeli 88 key Piano...pictured here. After we mixed the song and finely tuned it to our satisfaction. I decided to do a video of the SSB. So, I called a videographer I knew named Lindsey Holton of Downtown Media works in Arlington Heights. Covid 19 was still a major issue, and, her formal brick and mortar studio had been ravaged by fire, so, we couldn't film indoors at all. Gratefully, she agreed to film it with the exception that we do the video outdoors, since the weather was still clement. I then scouted out a nice open area of a local forest preserve I knew was often vacant or had few, or occasional visitors. The video was a success. ♫ Click here to preview 'Star Spangled Banner' on YouTube ♫ Click here to preview 'Star Spangled Banner' on my website

Wolf

© Copyright 2021 Updated: 03/05/2021 08:30 PM
Click here to view Terms & Conditions
Howling Moon Productions, P.O. Box 95242, Palatine, IL. 60095-0242
For problems viewing this website, troubleshooting, etc. Click here to contact the webmaster general.
Click Here for SiteMap

*Additionally: This web site is a virtual window to the life of Eric Kinkel, it reveals: non threatening, harmless personal content, images and editorial commentary often humorous in nature and never meant to cause harm to any corporation, LLC, group of persons, race, ethnicity or, any one individual. This site is specifically created and designed to continually inform, update and occasionally be entertaining for those who have interest in the many projects initiated. Names of those who have worked with Mr. Kinkel on projects, personal, professional or otherwise, may appear on this website.

This site also contains a variety of information pertaining to an array of enterprising ventures, tributes, concerts, philanthropic endeavors and personal interest's. Since the launching of Eric Kinkel.com in October, 2003 positive results have annually accumulated high volume's of web traffic.

Critical commentary is welcome by e-mail. Click here to send your message.