"Terry Kitchen's songs are portraits of ordinary people and emotions, captured with extraordinary compassion, honesty and humor. A talented writer." -Richard Middleton, Victory Review "Terry tackles tough personal subjects with generosity of vision." -Scott Alarik, Boston Globe "One of New England's finest songwriters" -Stephen Ide, Dirty Linen "Terry Kitchen picks up where Elvis Costello and Tom Waits merge and leave off." -Vance Gilbert Award-winning contemporary folk singer/songwriter Terry Kitchen is a performing artist who's as much a storyteller as a musician. Right Now, his sixth solo CD, showcases the full range of Kitchen's songwriting skills, from exquisite imagery ("Rain on the Roof") to topical ("Billy") to black humor ("Go to Dreamland Little Dreamer"). Right Now follows 1999's Blues for Cain & Abel (a deeply personal collection of songs of doubt and faith, which includes plus his bluesy rendition of the Beatles' "Let It Be"), 1997's Blanket (which was heard on over 100 folk radio programs worldwide and voted #21 best CD of that year by Folk Digest's annual poll) and 1995's I Own This Town. Born in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, Kitchen grew up first in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then on Easton, PA's College Hill (home of Lafayette College), where he was surrounded by the music and spirit of the 1960s. As a bored teenager in the '70s, Terry roamed the small town streets of Findlay, Ohio (the setting for "I Own This Town") before escaping to Los Angeles for college (Occidental) and music school (The Guitar Institute of Technology - walk down Hollywood Boulevard til you get to Elvis Presley's star, and it's the first door on the right...). He moved to Boston and fronted the '80s original pop/rock band LOOSE TIES (whose video was played on MTV exactly once) before settling on the intimacy of acoustic music as the most natural setting for his songs. For the past twelve years Terry has performed on the New England and national coffeehouse and folk festival circuits (including Club Passim in Cambridge, Cafe Lena and Fast Folk in New York, Godfrey Daniels in Pennsylvania, and the Bluebird in Nashville, and the Falcon Ridge, Telluride and Napa folk festivals) and shared the stage with such artists as John Gorka, Cheryl Wheeler, Dan Bern, Vance Gilbert, the Nields, and Susan Werner. He was a finalist in the 1992 Falcon Ridge songwriter showcase (and a featured performer ever since) and a 1994 Telluride Troubadour. He is the Grand Prize Winner of the 2000 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest, First Prize Winner of the 2000 USA Songwriting Competition, and a Runner Up in the 2001 John Lennon Songwriting Contest. In addition to his songwriting Kitchen has written 2 plays, a children's novel, and collection of autobiographical stories. He's worked as a summer camp counselor, union steward, ice cream scooper and bicycle messenger, has a brief but distinguished FBI record for anti-nuclear protests, has finished last in a Boston Marathon, and was once mentioned in a Harlequin romance novel. While acoustic based, Right Now incorporates sounds and song forms from country, bluegrass, rock, Brazilian music, traditional folk, and street corner doo-wop, reflecting both Terry's growth as a songwriter and his willingness to take risks as an artist. While his three previous albums were thematic (1999's Blues for Cain & Abel, spirituality; 1997's Blanket, family; 1995's I Own This Town, teenage independence), Right Now is an unbound collection of songs, and Kitchen uses the freedom to explore character and mood in new ways, from the tornado survivor of "Today I'm Gonna Laugh" to the sullen teen of "Tomorrowland," from the lush harmonics of "Rain on the Roof" to the unadorned melody of "Bonny Lights of Cavendish." Right Now also includes songs written for specific causes - "Garden in the City" (community gardening), "Peter Pan" (drunk driving), "Billy" (gay rights). The title song "Right Now" won the Grand Prize of the 2000 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest, First Prize in the 2000 USA Songwriting Competition, and was Runner Up in the 2000 John Lennon Songwriting Contest. "Inside" has also been covered by country singer Dale Allaire. On Right Now Kitchen's distinctive, gentle baritone and supple guitar playing are backed by some of New England's finest musicians, including John McGann (mandolin, Wayfaring Strangers), Seth Connelly (bass, Dobro), Alizon Lissance (keyboards, Lovedogs), Larry Finn (drums), Tim Obetz (pedal steel), and Brice Buchanan (lead guitar, from Terry's '80s rock band Loose Ties). At over 60 minutes of playing time, Right Now is an expansive, multi-faceted album that may take a few listens to digest. But all those facets reflect Terry Kitchen - Right Now.