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Kevin So

Written by Ashley Hanry

Kevin So is a Chinese-American singer/songwriter from outside Boston making it as an independent artist with his own record label, WingBone Records.

His eighth solo double album, Leaving the Lights On, which he describes as “my Asian American Songs in The Key of Rice” is less folk then past CDs but offers a mixture of So’s influences such as Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Tupac Shakur, Michael Jackson and Marvin Gaye “with a little bit of Richard Pryor thrown in.”

So proves to be a versatile performer easily bringing humor into his set with such songs as “Average Asian American,” then gospel in “I Had a Dream,” to great story-telling folk such as “Abacus (You Do the Math).”
Describing himself as a hippy trapped in

an Asian’s body, So’s knack for performing folk music and imitating Bob Dylan is united with his own personal style. He performed at the Kerrville Folk Festival (www.kerrville-music.com) this past June to relax in what he describes a supportive community of musicians. Kerrville’s festival has been held annually since 1972 and is the longest continuously running music festival of its kind in North America. The festival’s focus is to promote emerging artists, and major artists like Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson, and Lucinda Williams played Kerrville early in their careers.

“The atmosphere is so different than Boston because people are so kind down there - especially in Austin,” So says. “There is a less competitive vibe, and the musicians down there seem less concerned about ‘making it’ than people up here. It’s so much about money and fame in the northeast.”

It could just be the grass is greener effect but as So gets older he’s leaning more and more towards moving down to Austin. “I’m still up in the air about it though,” he says. “For now, it’s a great place to perform and chill out for a few days…great food, too.”

His musical style is one without a single defining genre but has been described by So as afroasian. “One night I had a couple of drinks at some bar and came up with the term,” he says. “It’s pronounced ‘afroo-azhen,’ and I like it because it’s smooth and goes down easy.”

It’s a fusion of African American music (jazz, blues, soul, hip-hop) with Asian American subject matter. Topics So tackles in his lyrics are stories about his family, issues regarding racism and social injustice. “I think it’s too narrow to think: ‘Oh, I get it - it’s black and Asian put together,’” So adds. “Cuz if you think about it - really think about it - the term promises to be a beautiful thing. What matters is not what DOES it mean, but what it COULD mean.”

“I still write a lot about my relationships with my family: my mother, my brother, my sister, my cousins,” he says. “But not too long ago, my mother was not very supportive of my musical career. So I’m still trying to convince my family that I actually AM making it.”

But ‘making it’ brings up the issue of success and then raises the question: “But am I really making it?” Business success and artistic success are two very different things and So has struggled with defining what success means to him. “Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about my future and what’s in store,” he says. “Should I move to NYC to ‘make it?’ Should I buy a house? CAN I AFFORD a house? It’s such a grown up thing to do.”

Then he adds it’s as if what he’s doing

now - running a record company and performing are not grown up feats. “That’s the fucked up thing about life,” he says. “I’m being told if I’m not rich or famous, and I’m still playing music, then I’m just another child refusing to grow up. Deep in my heart I know this isn’t true.”

“My advice to emerging artists is to not let the business end of things overwhelm the artistic side of you,” he says. “Do whatever it takes to maintain that purity of being an artist. I recommend checking out The Artist Way by Julia Cameron.”

So predicts his next album will be a fusion of what is currently spinning in his disk changer. “I’m listening to a lot of hip-hop and jazz lately: 2Pac, Biggie, The Roots “organix,” Eminem, the latest Roy Hargrove album, Monk, Mingus, Miles, and Keith Jarrett,” he says. “I’m laying down a lot of grooves in my home studio and gonna do lots of writing this fall.” He is also playing with the band Midnight Snack on Thursday nights at the Middle East Corner in Cambridge, Mass.

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