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Kenn Kweder (@kennkweder) is a musical legend in Philadelphia and the subject of the documentary Adventures of a Secret Kidd: The Mass Hallucination of Kenn Kweder. He has been playing since the late sixties and has some amazing stories to tell. In this episode he talks about his roots as a folk singer and how he was ex-communicated from that community. And after a brief stint as a civil servant, he changed over to a rocker and hasn’t looked back since.

I used to go see Kweder play every Tuesday in Smokey Joe’s bar in West Philly. He is a true performer and puts on a wild show and brings his wild energy. Kweder has both the charisma and the chaotic zeal of a true rockstar.

In this episode he talks about a postering campaign in the 70’s based around Jack Ruby, Lee Harvey Oswald, and Carnation instant milk. You just gotta hear about that one to understand it.

Kweder talks about wanting to play in the NBA as a teenager and then abandoning that dream and picking up a guitar in order to impress the girls. He discusses the inspiration he received from Beats like Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady. And an unfortunate run in he had with Patti Smith that will have you cracking up. Kweder tells us his theories about writing new songs and where the inspiration comes from.

Visit his website to learn more.