PaulKeim.com

Hey There - Welcome to my site!
On any given day I am a Producer -Engineer -Songwriter and /or Guitarist. Under enough pressure I can be persuaded to sing. Lucky for me - I own and operate Dove Creek Studios in Courtenay, B.C., so I get to practice all these skills in a very pleasant and creative environment. I've had my hand in the "music business" for almost thirty years.

Anything rootsy really attracts me. As for playing - Acoustic Guitar Instrumentals, Traditional Irish, Blues, New Orleans Second Line and Western Swing just so long as there is a nice big groove! My favourite thing is driving the bus, a.k.a rhythmically kicking a band in the bum and bringing everyone together in the aforementioned groove.

Writing music is where it all comes together for me. Writing is a craft. I try to write with some awareness of everything I've heard. My hope is that what my writing and playing will cause listeners to feel, to inspire imagery about a time, a place. As an engineer and as a producer I strive to bring this same awareness to the recording studio. I am always working on the pulse of a tune - be it a guitar motor that sits there chugging along or a simple Weissenborn slide guitar part behind the vocals. Images, whether musical or lyrical are important. Audiences connect to the groove, the vocals, and the passion of the song. It rarely fails, when standing around talking with even the most hardcore musicians, sooner or later the conversation comes back to memorable songs.

Over the years I've had my hand in some fairly diverse recordings - acoustic instrumentals, traditional Irish, electric blues, acoustic blues and, roots, folk rock norte-americana ( I think that means songs with meaningful lyrics AND electric guitars ) and a singer songwriter acoustic set. So that leaves me suspiciously diluted in some folk's eyes. I have this sneaking impression, now that I am past the half century mark, that if I were really famous this would show musical maturity, as opposed to impurity. I've toured backing up blues artist Nappy Brown, played in a variety of western swing bands and jump blues bands. Mostly of late I produce tour, write and record with vivacious Irish singer Mary Murphy, to whom I am happily married.

The bottom line is I love music. I¹ve spent my lifetime playing, writing, recording and thinking about what makes music tick. It's amazing how much the road keeps opening up in front of me ... new stuff to learn, old stuff to revisit and reconnect with. I played the piano from age six until I was twelve. I got a guitar when I was about twelve and I noodled on and off until I was about eighteen. Then the fire was lit. Some of my earliest musical memories are of Howlin Wolf, The Ventures, Booker T and the MG¹s, Bach and the Rolling Stones. I remember the first time I bought music for myself, buying three albums all at once, Joni Mitchell's Blue, BB King¹s Back in the Alley and Hendrix¹s Electric Ladyland. Even when I was a "serious blues guy", I was sneaking off and buying Richard Thompson and Bothy Band records, along with Norman Blake, The Meters, Pachebel, Ry Cooder and Stanley Turrentine. It didn't matter to me as long as it was music that connected somehow.

Along the way I¹ve been lucky enough to hear a lot of those folks live, to open up for others like Albert King, Leo Kottke, Dr John, Jesse Colin Young and to talk with them, to watch and to learn. I always kept mental notes, went home and listened to the albums, noticed the differences between the live and the recorded and realized it was the magic of the songs that kept me coming back. It is that passion that I try to keep alive for myself and for whomever I am supporting, be it with a guitar, the studio, producing or arranging.

I get asked about being a musician pretty frequently, and I would have to say that the state of the "business" these days is not particularly conducive to being creative, to say the least. Still, I feel strongly that that any musician with any sense of self has to create something that is real, something that's a part of themselves. I love to play, I love to write and most importantly I love the charge I get when the power of music over takes me. I hope this comes across in my music.

Browse around the site listen to some music clips or drop me a line!