PureVolume

Members: Glenn Kaiser

Glenn Kaiser has been singing the blues - and sometimes soul, R&B or rock - since he was twelve years old.

Growing up in a poor family living and hand-to-mouth in central Wisconsin, Glenn eventually gravitated to Milwaukee's local music scene where he fronted over a dozen bands, and wrote and performed solo acoustic music - all before turning nineteen years of age.

With his adolescence plagued by drug and alcohol abuse, Glenn got clean through following Jesus after a life-changing spiritual confrontation around his eighteenth birthday. During this time his music got heavier and in many ways, deeper. His former song writing motif celebrating drugs, sex and other vices gave way to lyrics about spiritual struggle, personal temptation, institutional sin, poverty, exploitation, racism, materialism and other issues that few musicians seemed willing to tackle.

Now, after more than three decades of making original music, Kaiser is known for his raw, bluesy vocals, fiery guitar playing, bottleneck slide and harmonica work on thirty recordings and innumerable live shows. Glenn and his family have lived in Chicago's inner city for over thirty years doing mission work with people not unlike he once was. Kaiser has released several acoustic-based CDs between his electric blues and blues/rock albums. His seminal delta blues projects Trimmed and Burnin' and follow-up Slow Burn (both with harp player/singer Darrell Mansfield) established him as a singular and authentic Christian bluesman.

Three contemporary worship albums, along with the folk-pop Time Will Tell, fill out the acoustic discography. Acoustic cuts also comprise half of Kaiser's critically acclaimed Ripley County Blues project which was recorded in a log cabin lodge in rural Missouri.

Glenn's latest release is a project inspired by both his love for cigar-box guitars and his compassion for the homeless in the inner city of Chicago. In Glenn's words, "gritty, simple 20's or 30's street blues... travelers stuff... found-object music, raw and rough". Partial proceeds from the sales of this album, as well as shows booked on this leg of touring, will benefit Cornerstone Community Outreach (CCO), a shelter serving homeless men, women and families. For more information on CCO go to ccolife.org.

Glenn's music can be purchased at The Grrr Store.