Born and raised in Lubbock Texas, October 16th, 1963. Early interests were all things related to the Battle of the Alamo, the Texas Revolution and, my earliest hero after The Lone Ranger, David Crockett, both the legendary character and the real man. I took up guitar and got into singing/performing at age 15 (see Blogs), with Buddy Holly becoming my obsession and main interset above everything. That was beginning in 1978. I eventually met and became friends with Holly's family and his former group, The Crickets; the details of those priceless memories are in the blogs I've added recently. In 1982-83, I went totally nuts over The Stray Cats and had the most bad-ass, bitchin rockabilly pompadour in Texas; I mean it was the scandal of Lubbock, Texas, especially my-then employer, Albertson's Food and Drug. Oh yes, them was rotten days, to quote Morrissey and The Smiths, another bigtime obsession of mine, until very recently when Morrissey felt inclined to snub a James Dean fan at a Indiana concert for simply replying into the mic his or her answer to what famous people came from the Hoosier state.When the person yelled "James Dean" in the mic, Morrissey backed away and looked annoyed and irritated, not offering much comment. I'm still having trouble with that since I discovered Morrissey BECAUSE OF my passion for Jimmy, though I've heard it's the other way around for most folks. Dean is my number one interest and passion above all else, save Holly. Anyway, I moved to the Midwest in 'late '83 and have also lived further north in Minneapolis/St.Paul area, all of which I'll eventually get into detail about whilst blogging. I've worked in the printing field since '96, now being with RR Donnelly, formerly Vonn Hoffmann Graphics in Eldridge, IA. Before that it was a local, family operated business...Bawden Printing. Aside from performing as the one-man rockabilly act, I enjoy going to the gym and doing some running. I'm really more of a jogger as I'm not into marathon's, triathalons etc. Favorite rockabilly artist, after Buddy Holly, is, hands down Charlie Feathers, that rough and raw Mississippi hillbilly gone cat, sometimes referred to as "the human equivalent of a hand rolled cigarette". Charlie is as cool as cool gets. I do about a half dozen of his songs in my act, and they are a joy to do,I love most everything he did, God bless him; rest in peace you 'gone cat daddy'. But as I said earlier, my main interest after Buddy Holly is actor, icon, legend and, most important of all: person, James Dean. I saw two of his films in a film class in High School, 1981-82, but I was too wrapped up in all things Holly-related, as well as getting into my own singing ambitions, for Dean to really make an impact on me at that time. It wasn't until I was up north living in Minneapolis/St, Paul that I saw all three of his films on the big screen at a little college campus theater in what was called at the time, "Dinky Town". It was kind of an artsy little bohemian suburb, for lack of better description. But, this time, Jimmy Dean really did a number on me, just burrowed right through to my heart and soul, making me look at myself and the world around me in a whole different light, much of it having to do with my current station in life: the dysfunctional outsider, at odds with my parents and striking out on my own to discover myself. I just remember feeling very self-concious and emotional as I walked out of the Dinky Town theater with my actor friend and roommate, Fred Gartner. It was as if Dean shook me up inside and awakened this sense of being okay with who I am, but at the same time wanting to BE HIM, if that makes sense. It was like he was the idealized celluloid personification of me, and he saw things and spoke and FELT like I had always felt, only it WAS BEING PLAYED OUT RIGHT THERE ON THE BIG SCREEN, NOT ALL SEALED UP IN MY OWN HEAD. I bailed out of my hometown after being invited to join a fifties band in Iowa, and, subsequently, ditched the The Jon Crook Band, because I could NOT fit in there any better than I could in the stifling employment climate, the then-lack of appreciation for rockabilly and Buddy Holly, and familial conflicts of Lubbock, Texas. All these years later, I'm still every bit the outsider, the "solo player who doesn't play in anyone elses symphony", to paraphrase Dean's friend, Eartha Kitt, in John Gilmore's harrowing memoir of Dean, LIVE FAST, DIE YOUNG: REMEMBERING THE SHORT LIFE OF JAMES DEAN. However, for years now I love my family and we get along better than we ever have, thanks in part to me finally getting help and treatment for my oldest adversary: clinical depression and anxiety. My interest in and obsession with all things James Dean would eventually culminate with making contact with perennial Dean biographers Val Holley, Warren Beath and, most importantly, John Gilmore. I was able to do interviews, very long and in-depth pieces about Dean with each of these writers, all of which, in 2006, wound up on Beath's website at the time JamesDeaninDeath.com, now reconstructed as WhoKilledJamesDean? On the personal side, I tend to be out going on a basic, surface level, but on the deeper side reserved and shy about revealing much until I get to know someone. If I make a connection on some common ground subjects and issues I can really open up, although still for a time remaining on the wary, observing side, while allowing much enthusiasm to come out regarding the things in common. I like a good, loud laugh as much as anybody, which has been developed a lot in the workplace, so I have to be careful not to let "coarse factory humour" infiltrate too much on the rest of my social encounters. That type of humour doesn't always sit well with those not part of the same line of work, or work environment.
BIG KILL PRODUCTIONS IS PROUD TO PRESENT MR. PAUL WATERS, "THE ROCKABILLY ROCKET"...COMING TO A VENUE NEAR YOU! FOR BOOKING INFO CONTACT KEVIN @ 309.292.2756 or BY E-MAIL AT [email protected]!
Kevin Lueders
BIG KILL PRODUCTIONS!309.292.2756
e-mail: [email protected]
http://www.myspace.com/bigkillproductions
