Getting Here
KejaR means “chase” in Indonesian. I’m not Indonesian but I like that meaning anyway. I live in the northeast USA and have for some time now. I like it.
I am a songwriter (and storyteller). I like to write many different styles of music – pop, rock, country, blues, lounge jazz, and children’s sing-along songs – with lyrics about things that are important to me, my family and friends.
I have been lucky enough to have multiple songs recorded by artists – most recently That’s What I Love About Us by Laurie LeBlanc on his When It’s Right It’s Right album; had my music used for podcasts theme songs – most recently Pet Reads, a Beachboys podcast; have had several songs on YouTube shows like Mister K’s Clubhouse, an educational children’s show; and have many TV/Film release placements.
My newest album is coming out in early 2024 titled Winter Rose. It’s a collection of pop / soul / blues songs performed by my friends and collaborators around the world.
In 2023, I released an album of "sing along" songs for children titled Kid Songs. My friend, NT Martin, produced and sang on all but one of them and did amazing work. Tim Koerber co-wrote the lyrics on Bones. Some of these songs have been used by my friend Kerron Stark for his video show Mister K's Clubhouse.
In 2022, I decided to return to my progressive rock roots, so my record titled And If I Could is a collection of songs that are stylistically “kind of” progressive (at least for me) and lyrically focused on "people supporting people" through challenging times. I tried to cover some difficult topics but always with the optimism that together we can find new ways to push through adversity while supporting each other's dreams and aspirations.
I also wrote a series of songs that appear on the album that I call Awakenings, released in 2022. These songs are a little more in the folk and pop-rock style, but the themes and messages are the same - hope and perseverance.
This century I've created several albums as I've experimented with multiple styles of music. Heartsongs is a double album with the 1st record as a set of blues-rock songs that I envisioned being played in a roadhouse bar, and the 2nd record as a set of jazz-lounge songs being played in a smokey piano bar. David Morgan and Ratso produced the record.
Speaking of pianos, Drifting is a collection of solo piano pieces that I wrote with a southern jazz foundation and were performed by the incomparable David Morgan.
I've always been a great fan of country music so Rack 'Em Up is a sample group of country songs that were primarily produced by Stacy Hogan at A Writer's Paradise.
I went back to the lounge-jazz genre with No Better Time and back to the Blues with Love, What Have You Done?
Goes The Weasel is a set of quirky pop songs inspired by The Beatles and similar bands. I started my musical journey as a result of hearing The Beatles and have always had a soft spot for pop melodies about unique individuals.
I personally am a non-performing songwriter, so I need lots of help to take what I write and turn it into something you might like to listen to. On these records, David, Wilson, NT, Marcello, Mike, Stacy, Ernie, Fonda, Ratso, Sabrina, Roland and so many others did amazing work either creating the music or doing the vocals (or both). I seriously could not have made any of these records without them.
I also sincerely appreciate and thank my co-writers on the songs on Awakenings. Fonda Feingold, Tim Koerber and Bj Peace were incredible to work with and filled the songs with their own unique perspective and love. I've written many other songs with each of them and with George Smith and Andrea Standley. Each and every one of them has been an inspiration and great partner, and each has taught me so much about building and bringing a song to life.