Cynthia Kinkel

Like all incurable romantics, I tend to look for a perverbial thread of hope to unravel a dilemma. I'm more of a writer than a singer. However, I'm told that the message in these pieces comes across, regardless,... if that's the case, there's my thread...
I grew up forty miles from Savannah, Georgia - an oddball kid with pigtails, glasses and a big imagination who loved horses and long walks in the woods. I learned to play piano by ear, and wrote songs and short stories, and drew illustrations for all. I also loved to sing, especially with local piano legend, Emma Kelly, but couldn't wait to get out of that small southern town where I spent my youth and college days - in those days as far as I was concerned, Blind Willie McTell sure got it right when he wrote "Statesoro Blues" - it was just that kind of place.
A month after graduating from college, I left with a group of musicians from Underground Atlanta, looking for anything that wasn't "ordinary". During the year that followed, I found out about band politics, road trips, all-night diners, wooden nickles, flat tires, broken strings, busted water pumps, stolen wallets, lying managers and cynical performers, not to mention other perils that made me thankful there were things like guardian angels, and my father's borrowed credit card...
While visiting a friend in Western New York, I met my husband, an artist and a "harmonicat" from Buffalo. He was playing at a tavern just outside of Corfu called the Falcon Crest with a band who had a following there. At the time, all of us were fighting illusions, and looking for something real. That close-knit group of friends and their acoustic music will always remain a part of me, but after spending a very cold, gray winter in that region of the country, I found myself actually "homesick" and thinking south Georgia wasn't such a bad place after all. When I left for home, the harmonica playing artist followed me. It turned out to be a good thing for both of us.
We've been married thirty-one years, and have raised four children. Throughout the '90's, we lived in Ohio, played in a band called Work in Progress, and were fortunate enough to find a large, supportive community of musicians. Since moving South again with our family, he and I have managed to garner enough positive threads to weave a colorful new tapestry, while exploring other interests. He paints, I write, however, we both still miss the band, and lately, I've started playing solo gigs - just me and the keyboard. Published, produced and performed under the name, MEET THE MUSE - Another Kind Of Soul, the music is laced with moods and emotions that envolk images and conjure visions.
Along those lines, Oceans Away, "A Pyrate Story" is a writing project I've undertaken. In my opinion, the music's as much a part of any tale as the prose. I had several pieces rolling around in my head once I started writing about pirates, so I thought I might as well record them. "To the Waves and the Wind" was the first. It's a piano track with a rough vocal (mine), but it sets the defiant, boisterous mood for the story, while the whimsical instrumental, "Theme from Oceans Away" captures the bigger picture, mirroring a timeless, universal love for the sea and seafaring shared by all mariners. I actually recorded this rough piano track at the same time as "The Silver Sea," set it aside to work on it, but never did. I decided to go ahead and post it, although the volume is a bit low. An orchestrated version is in the works.
"The Silver Sea," the dreamy instrumental written about the moonlit beauty of the ocean at night has been well liked so I've left it on the player. Ten tracks make up the Oceans Away original score. The project is unique for me. Needless to say, along with most of the other "Muse" stuff it ain't 'folk and roll', but I like it.
Regarding the other two tracks, "Empty Pillow" is one of my Lovers and Losers Collection. Again the vocal is rough, and as the name implies, it's a tear jerker. But as they say, "into each life a little rain must fall"... "Wild Horses" is a 'newgrass' version of the Rolling Stones tune from the CD release, "Many Hands Make Light", recorded by Work in Progress in 1999.
Your comments are most welcome! Thanks for listening.

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