Kenny Gross

singer/songwriter

I first met Kenny hanging out in a park, sometime in the early 70's. He was sitting on a rail fence in front of the amphitheater there, playing his guitar, with a circle of people around him. As I got closer, I realised that he was making up a song about the hat I was wearing- it was pretty funny. I hung out for a while and everyone who came by had some lyrics sung about them. Now I hear that Kenny has died- died while playing music in a park. He wrote a lot of songs, but I suppose most of them are lost now. That's OK- I'm sure they served their purpose. Making music was how Kenny made his way through the world. Still, Kenny dreamed about making records like every singer/songwriter does, and once we got him into my studio in Paradise to record him. I'm not sure what year this was- sometime in the early-80's. Steve Patton played the drums on all of these tracks. As well as I can remember, I played bass, keyboards and some lead guitar. The songs we recorded at that time are uneven and raw and I think that's about perfect. Even on the sloppiest ones, Kenny's talent comes through, even if it's just one line or an off-hand remark. Thanks to Dave Crossley for the picture below, from around 1989. Dave has a great tribute site to Kenny here with many photos, stories and song files from Kenny, and Kenny's friend Anya has a site with photos and songs from Key West and NYC. Stop by and sign her guestbook. (Here's a place for short comments and stories. Please e-mail me anything longer that you'd like to see added to this page)

For Kenny

Here's a song by Kenny's brother Dave. This Might Take a Little Gettin' Used To.mp3	Here's a Kenny song that Dave Crossley sang when he visited the studio. There was a certain Kenny spirit in the air, and we talked brother Dave into playing lead guitar on it. Halloween.mp3
This is a song that came to Paul, from the other side? Dear Anya, I took a Dark Hike in a Sacred Place (a hospital chapel). In my darkness called "Kenny Gross". I heard some music and these words... Anya is beautiful everybody knows that... Our bodies were one Totally entwined Our bodies and Mind This was more than fun She moved me away She moved me away She moved me away She moved me away Away from my Reality Of hunger and morality Into a great Totality And this is where I stay. End of my Dark Hike. Anya, this fellow spoke to me in rhyme. I am pretty certain that the poetry on those web pages is not about him - it is him.	This is a song Dave Crossley wrote about hearing the news... Kenny's Dead.mp3
Here's a link to Anya Deva's Kenny site. Psycho Kenny Gross

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