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Peter Kaukonen

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About Me

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Peter Kaukonen was born in 1945. His father was a diplomat, and Peter grew up in Pakistan and the Philippine Islands. His family was musical, their tastes eclectic, but listening to their records was nothing like listening to the sounds that came off the streets of Karachi.Until, of course, he heard "Rock Around The Clock."He finished high school in Connecticut, where he started playing guitar, teaching himself to fingerpick and flatpick folk music and blues. In 1963 he moved to California to attend Stanford University. He majored in biochemistry, human sexual behavior, and musicology, none of which appeared on the curriculum. He played the folk circuit with folks who went on to become Janis Joplin, the Quicksilver Messenger Service, the Grateful Dead, and Jefferson Airplane.As a San Francisco Bay Area guitarist, he has played, toured, and recorded with Black Kangaroo, Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, and Johnny Winter. He continues to compose and record the kinds of eclectic and personal music that has attracted and sustained legion of stalwart fans through the years. Now he is pleased to showcase projects spanning the decades, from Black Kangaroo in the 70s to his most recent releases "Going Home" and "Beyond Help!" & "The Archives." These projects feature his acoustic and electric guitar virtuousity while showcasing his skills as a composer and producer. Highlighted by emotion, driven by passion, and frosted with whimsy, this is music that's guaranteed to take you on a trip.He currently lives with his wife and twin sons in Mill Valley, California, where he bicycles preposterous distances on and off the road and takes great pleasure in growing roses.Peter plays Charvel-Jackson electric guitars, Santa Cruz, Washburn, and Kauffman acoustic guitars, and Washburn and Music Man electric basses. Peter uses ADK microphones.
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My Interests

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Live at the Lark Theater, The Peter Kaukonen Trio playing "Bare Oaks" (from the Traveller CD) live 9/29/07:

did you know that kaukonen means "traveller" in finnish? well, it does, although i didn't have that so much in mind as much as i wanted to musically depict some of the places i'd been to in a lifetime of travelling ....

yes, "traveller" pays tribute to the two years i lived and worked in italy through "paqui," named for a friend, and "amalfi," named for a place (amalfi is still spectacular; i went there again last year, and it still sang to me), but "traveller" also visits the breakup of relationships in "separation suite" and "p.c. tristesse;" there's a song about the flooding of mill valley "lyon in the rain" in 1982; a song about mill valley itself "(milltown rag;") a song about messin' ‘round downtown, and "stale roles," a song about dysfunctional behaviors ....

all of this, done without words .... yes, "traveller" is a bold journey through vast emotional landscapes, and it features norton buffalo, darrol anger, and a host of other spectacular bay area musicians on instruments ranging from soprano sax to violin to piano to percussion .....

this is sparkling, glittering, delightful music, guaranteed to put a spring in your step and a smile in your heart; it goes well with a good red wine, a nice fire, and someone who's very special to you .....

Music:


Live at the Lark Theater, The Peter Kaukonen Trio playing "Billy's Tune" (from the Black Kangaroo CD) live 9/29/07:

BLACK KANGAROO ..... 1972s underground classic, first issued on jefferson airplane's "grunt" label, is now lovingly remastered by peter, with special added bonus tracks featuring a 1976 inkarnation of kangaroo .... from the confrontational wall of sound of "up or down" to the prescient apocalyptic visions of "billy's tune" to the neo-new age "that's a good question," it's all here in its chiarascuroed sonic glory ..... there's also delta blues, heavy metal, and good old rock ‘n' roll; this stunning album foretold the shapes of music to come, although nothing and no one could predict the horrors of disco or rap; listen to this album and you'll take a trip through time, but you never know whether it'll be through the past or to the future; this one's timeless .....

Movies:



Television:


**BRAND NEW** June 20th, 2008 Mill Valley

Books:


Peter playing with Hot Tuna in 1990. Yes, Jorma is Peter's brother....

Heroes:


My Blog

Summer Daze

the heat wave broke a week ago, but it still smells like the foyer to the inferno, thanks to the more than eight hundred fires that started in a lightning storm .... a lightning storm? in california? ...
Posted by Peter Kaukonen on Thu, 26 Jun 2008 09:04:00 PST

Pardon Me, Part Two

dear diary:how could i have forgotten how george bush "we'll pursue and prosecute anyone who might have violated a law [in the outing of valerie plame]" commuted scooter the pooter libby's sentence .....
Posted by Peter Kaukonen on Wed, 18 Jun 2008 04:17:00 PST

Pardon Me

it was really hot last week, with the temperature hitting and holding in the high 90s .... i'm not a happy hot weather person; maybe i got it out of my system, growing up in pakistan, where it rained ...
Posted by Peter Kaukonen on Mon, 16 Jun 2008 03:20:00 PST

"Say, Man ......"

barack obama is now the demoratic nominee .... yawn .... and bo diddley has died .....i'm more affected by bo diddley's death than this denouement of the democratic diddle and piddle that's had the "m...
Posted by Peter Kaukonen on Wed, 04 Jun 2008 08:14:00 PST

Woo Hoo, Indeed

our sense of humor, of what's funny, has changed drastically in a few short decades; if you're familiar with richard pryor, you'll know what i'm talking about--you'll know that there was more to the m...
Posted by Peter Kaukonen on Sat, 31 May 2008 07:37:00 PST

Keeping Abreast of Things

it was really hot last week, the kind of heat you'd expect to find on the lowest level of the inferno, the level that's below child molesters, advertising executives, and oil company ceo's; the level ...
Posted by Peter Kaukonen on Thu, 22 May 2008 09:54:00 PST

Oh! Mama!

i took the boys to school this mother's day week .... their mother had commitments on the day the preschool observed mother's day, so i filled in .... not that there's anything unusual about my taking...
Posted by Peter Kaukonen on Sun, 11 May 2008 06:03:00 PST

Toxic Shock

good morning .....how's things in your neighborhood?it's an overcast day here, one that would be perfect for long medicational--i mean "meditational"--bike rides up and over mountains, bagging views o...
Posted by Peter Kaukonen on Sun, 04 May 2008 09:05:00 PST

Slaving Away

i went to a seder last weekend; it's been too long since i've participated, and many thoughts and feelings arose which i will mercifully spare you ..... but it reminded me of any number of things, not...
Posted by Peter Kaukonen on Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:48:00 PST

Sleeping Through Life

i'll apologize in advance for a disjointed scattered dispirited chickenfeed commentary; i just got overwhelmed--not by the demands of young children or recording or bicycling long distances; i got ove...
Posted by Peter Kaukonen on Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:52:00 PST