Loading details…
Artist
Paul Kotheimer
12+ albums
about
Paul Kotheimer (born October 25, 1968, Evergreen Park, Illinois) is a U. S. songwriter, activist, recording artist, and performer of DiY/acoustic, indie rock, and political folk music, performing since the late 1980’s, based in Urbana, Illinois. He is also the founder of DiY/folk & acoustic recording company, the hand-made record label (www.handmaderecords.com). Kotheimer’s DiY/acoustic and indie rock songs are characterized by intricate, poetically expressive lyrics. Many of his political folk songs adapt melodies traditional to American folk and protest music, adding new lyrics. Kotheimer’s political subject matter includes commonly addressed 21st Centrury left-activist themes: Songs against war (specifically, the U. S. wars on Afghanistan and Iraq), U. S. empire, biotechnology, consumerism (particulary Wal-Mart), gentrification; along with songs in favor of direct action, ecodefense, organized labor, and feminism. CAREER In the Spring of 1988, Kotheimer recorded solo acoustic demos at Burton-Judson Courts at the University of Chicago. In 1990-1992, he performed bi-weekly sets at the Green Street Café in Chicago’s Halsted/UIC neighborhood, where he was frequently joined onstage by multi-instrumentalist Oliver Steck. Later the duo performed at the Torchlight Café in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. From 1993 to 1996, Kotheimer was active in the Red Herring Performers’ Coffee House on the campus of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. In 1994, Kotheimer released E
