Kenball profile picture

Kenball

I am here for Friends and Networking

About Me

I am a bass player (string bass and bass guitar), and played Jazz (as well as some Rock and Funk) on the West Coast for a decade before taking a four-year hiatus due to injury. I am back in the saddle however, and have started gigging. The Acid Cabaret introduced me to Burlesque and vaudevillian variety performance in the year 2000, by an incredible twist of fate. In other words, it was meant to be.............I am also an actor of the stage and screen, mostly appearing in Downtown- and Brooklyn-based productions. Watch me combine my music and cinematic worlds, in the legendary Bride of Ozzy video:

My Interests

Oh, I dunno...playing and listening to music, freestyle walking, teaching/laughing with children, reading, watching movies, sports, acting like people who are not me before quickly coming back to realize that, yup: it's still me. Stuff like that.

I'd like to meet:

You, most likely. I like to work hard, play even harder, and listen to people's stories. Because they're all crazy; it's just fun to see those who have to work harder to cover their insanity.

Music:

The two best: Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington. In either order. I also dig Bach, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Rossini, Parliafunkadelicment thangs, Henry Mancini, Patsy Cline, Beach Boys, Billie Holiday, Black Sabbath, Toots and the Maytals, Don Byas, Slim and Slam, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, and my first non-Classical influences, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley. And CHECK THIS SHIT OUT!!!

Movies:

The Usual Suspects, The Big Lebowski, Meet the Feebles, The Forbidden Zone, The Princess Bride, On the Waterfront, The Hudsucker Proxy...any movie with "the" in the title, really. Oh, and Jubal, my favorite Western.

Television:

Sports, Columbo, government meetings, scramble porn.

Books:

I'm currently on a biography tear. Under my belt thus far: two on Teddy Roosevelt, Mark Twain, Harry S. Truman, John Adams, Doris Day, Luc Sante's Low Life, Peter the Great, Alexander II, Tesla, Charles Mingus, Malcolm X...now onto Mao. What a bad, AWFUL man.My literary Hall of Fame: Miller - Sexus/Plexus/Nexus; Bukowski - Ham on Rye/Post Office/Women; Celine - Journey into the End of the Night; Castaneda - Journey to Ixtlan; Random House Unabridged English Dictionary, 1963.

Heroes:

Henry Miller, Samuel Clemens, Andres Galarraga, John Facenda, the judge who pounds the gavel at the end of Dick Cheney's murder/corruption/fraud trial. Oh, and Craig Sager's wardrobe.
You Are Fozzie Bear
"Wocka! Wocka!"
You're the life of the party, and you love making people crack up.
If only your routine didn't always bomb!
You may find more groans than laughs, but always keep the jokes coming. The Muppet Personality Test
Your Birthdate: November 27
You are a spiritual soul - a person who tries to find meaning in everything.
You spend a good amount of time meditating, trying to figure out life.
Helping others is also important to you. You enjoy social activities with that goal.
You are very generous and giving. Yet you expect very little in return.
Your strength: Getting along with anyone and everyone
Your weakness: Needing a good amount of downtime to recharge
Your power color: Cobalt blue
Your power symbol: Dove
Your power month: September What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

My Blog

GIRLS - Toilet seat up, or down?

The cliché goes, girls tell the boys always to LEAVE THE SEAT DOWN!!   I’m callin’ bullshit. And that is SO not cliché.   [Yes it is, but here’s the rub&]   I work i...
Posted by Kenball on Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:11:00 PST

Mad Max and the Easter Bunny

Here’s an offensive question:   Is Easter weekend the most difficult time of year to be a Roman Catholic?   See, I’m a Jew and (to paraphrase a certain Bluish friend) I don&rsqu...
Posted by Kenball on Tue, 01 Apr 2008 10:57:00 PST

Doctor Donut is Your Hero (or Villain)

Friends and foes... You've seen the flyer as my default photo...now come and SEE THE SHOW! I will be narrating and playing the upright bass this Saturday night at the beautiful Joe's Pub. I'd love to ...
Posted by Kenball on Tue, 12 Feb 2008 09:45:00 PST

I Miss Old New Amsterdam...WAAAHH!!!

In a quaint, swampy village, four hundred short years ago, lived a people whose tastes and needs were simple; survival was the only goal. Anything short of survival meant death, and with death came th...
Posted by Kenball on Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:49:00 PST

I will never wear my new suit

So I bought a new suit in early August at my new favorite shopping place, Century 21, on Trinity Place across from the WTC site. Shopping for me is generally like trying to empty a full grain silo usi...
Posted by Kenball on Thu, 04 Oct 2007 10:03:00 PST

Bride of Ozzy are BACK

Who likes Sabbath? I do! I do! Who the fuck doesn't? I first (knowingly) heard Black Sabbath at my friend Chad Taylor's house in Felton, CA, circa 1996. I was instantly struck with profound emotions a...
Posted by Kenball on Fri, 17 Aug 2007 01:27:00 PST

MY NEW BASS!!!

I just bought this bass today:YESSS!!!For all you bass nuts, it's a five year old Engelhardt Swingmaster, with an Underwood pickup. It plays beautifully and of course was relatively affordable as a ne...
Posted by Kenball on Fri, 01 Jun 2007 09:14:00 PST

Exploding Pants

EXPLODING PANTS  So I'm relaxing in my living room right now in my brand new Carhartt blue jeans. They're nice and comfy, and BOY did I earn them.   We did a cooking project today at the a...
Posted by Kenball on Tue, 01 May 2007 10:38:00 PST

Patriot

My fellow Americans (and other World Citizens), I am a patriot. I passionately love the U.S. of A., I love my home city of San Francisco, I love NYC, my home for 2.5 years, and I love the history of a...
Posted by Kenball on Thu, 26 Apr 2007 06:45:00 PST

Month-old musings

Soccer balls fall off the screen and so do my eyes. The glare of the sun makes it no fun to focus on this television, but an alternate source of light offsets the emotional attack of the information f...
Posted by Kenball on Thu, 29 Mar 2007 03:28:00 PST