Greg Kihn: Rocker, Radio Personality, Novelist and an Industry Unto Himself
SAN JOSE, CA--(MARKET WIRE)--2007 -- Greg Kihn, the inimitable Beserkley Records recording artist of the 1980s, is known for his chart-topping songs and MTV videos "Jeopardy" and "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em Like That)," from his records featuring titles based on inane puns of his name, such as "Next of Kihn," "Kihnspiracy," "Citizen Kihn," "Kihntinued," and "Unkihntrollable." In the years since his last hit record, Greg has reigned supreme as San Jose's leading morning man on Clear Channel's KFOX 98.5 FM Classic Rock radio, with a daily listening audience that includes greater San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley.
Greg Kihn has turned out to be much more than just the hit-making songster he started out to be. In fact, Greg can easily be called the hardest working man in Northern California Show Business.
While Greg feeds his creative passions as a radio personality, a prolific award-nominated author of six novels, spoken-word artist, screenwriter, fundraiser, investor and most of all, husband and father, he's soon to launch a new nationally syndicated radio program at the end of 2006. His new program, "Greg Kihn's Big Rock Beat," is best described as the riveting Rock history of VH1's "Behind the Music" meets Spinal Tap's comical take on the music industry's real-world absurdities. Greg states, "It's an amalgamation of rollicking interviews, never-heard stories, and jam sessions with iconic Rock and Roll personalities. The listener not only gets to be a fly-on-the-wall, but also a participant in conversations with legendary rockers in a loose, non-scripted setting, as if we were all at the bar reminiscing."
Greg also recently released a new live musical performance CD, titled "Greg Kihn Featuring Ry Kihn," part of the Sony/BMG Extended Versions series (Sony/BMG, A688915), which is now available at Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart, Best Buy, and other big-box stores around the country. Greg's son, Ry, following in the family tradition with a music career of his own, handles all of the lead guitar parts on the ten blistering tracks.
Greg also performs in a Rock and Roll all-star band with friends Eddie Money and John Waite, also featuring Ry on lead guitar. Aptly named Money Kihn Waite and Friends, the band performs select upscale engagements with other leading rockers joining Greg and company on-stage, such as lead vocalist Mike Reno of Loverboy and Chuck Negron from Three Dog Night, to name only a few.
The Greg Kihn Band, again with Ry on lead guitar, performs for special private events and functions for national, as well as Bay Area-based corporations. In addition, Greg is an in-demand motivational and keynote speaker, and emcee for the same national and regional corporate clients, as well as industry trade associations. Greg and Ry recently co-hosted Guitar Player Magazine's 2006 Guitar Hero's Competition, which featured performances by some of the best undiscovered guitarists from all over the world, all of who converged on San Francisco's Great American Music Hall to compete.
Greg, with an impressive list of recording artists, also recently performed at TroopFest 2006, in Alameda, California, on the aircraft carrier museum hangar deck for 3,000 servicemen and their families during an eight-hour benefit festival and concert. The event, sponsored by the American Red Cross' Operation: Care and Comfort, a charity near-and-dear to Greg's heart, raises funds to send care packages to US Troops abroad.
In October, Greg was a special presenter at the Technical Excellence and Creativity (TEC) Awards, also taking place in San Francisco. Considered the Academy Awards of the professional recording industry, the TEC Awards honors the best record producers and engineers in the world.
Greg frequently appears on network TV, most recently on "Hit Me Baby One More Time" on NBC TV, and as a spokesman for numerous products. The TV and movie industry also frequently makes use of Greg's music and one such high-profile television appearance was on the soundtrack of "The Sopranos." Greg's 1983 hit, "The Breakup Song," will be featured as a centerpiece number in the new Ed Burns feature film release this fall, "The Groomsman." Hollywood has taken a liking to Greg not just for his music, but for his writing skills, as well. In 2007, Greg's novel "Horror Show" (Tor Books, ISBN: 0312860455), which was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award, is in the process of being optioned to a Hollywood production company. Additionally, his short story "Olivia in the Graveyard with Pablo," published in "Hot Blood X," which is part of the Hot Blood Series of short erotic horror stories, (Kensington Publishing Corporation, ISBN: 0786016515), soon goes into pre-production in Hollywood.
What else is on the horizon for Greg Kihn? "I think I have my work cut out for me... at least for the time being," he quips. "But should another interesting idea materialize with the potential of it developing into a project, I have a feeling I'll find the time to make it happen."
For more info, to request a review CD, or to arrange an interview, contact:
Joel Turtle @ 510-763-7600 or email
[email protected]
