Kenneth Pattengale

Kenneth Pattengale works outside-or at least on the fringes-of what the music industry might traditionally call its own. Over the last eight years, Pattengale has taken inspiration from the career paths of artists like Randy Newman, Elvis Costello and personal hero Joe Henry by exploring what it means to wear the differing hats of film composer, record producer and performing songwriter. The music called into question is hard to classify. It runs the gamut from swamp music to rhythm & blues, lullaby to country & western, folk song to piano ballad and beyond. The songs take direction from the stories they tell, not necessarily held together by a clear musical style but by the authenticity with which the stories are told. Along with the artists that Pattengale looks towards for career inspiration, he hopes to follow Tom Waits, Gillian Welch, Chris Smither and Loudon Wainwright in their ability to conjure a unique American voice by transforming emotional experience into narrative.

Beginning with Downtown LA in 2001, Pattengale has independently released five full-length albums of original material. He has just finished recording a new collection of material entitled Storied Places, the first to see a departure from Pattengale's own label Four Six Productions. The record is to be released on January 27, 2009 by Milan Records (Ryko/WEA distributed). Recommended!

Kenneth Pattengale - Memoirs Of An Owned Dog
Kenneth Pattengale @ MySpace

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SONG OF THE DAY:
Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - 1999
(from #4 EP, out on February 4th on Labrador)


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