Oklahoma singer-songwriter Ken Pomeroy made her first record when she was 14 years old. She made a second one when she was 16 and a third at 19. The 21-year-old just recorded her fourth, this time for the legendary Rounder Records label. She also has a cut on the soundtrack for the current box-office hit Twisters, a version of the Richard and Linda Thompson song “Wall of Death.” Her recent single, “Cicadas,” was featured in episode 9 of the third season of Reservation Dogs.
“I’m not embarrassed by my early work, but they are youthful and a bit raw,” the musician said over the telephone from her Tulsa home. “I’d rather people listen to what I am doing now.” Pomeroy explained that she comes from a musical family and has always been interested in music. Her father has consistently been in a band and her stepmother is supportive as well. They would tell her stories about how their own parents discouraged their creative efforts in favor of living more conventional lives, and they took the opposite approach with Ken’s artistic aspirations—which manifested themselves early.
When Pomeroy was 6 years old, she heard John Denver on the radio perform his original composition “Leaving On a Jet Plane” for the first time. “For some reason, the song had a strong emotional impact on me, so much so that I had my mom burn a compact disc with the song recorded 18 times in a row. I would listen to it every single night for years to fall asleep.” Pomeroy was too young to know that the song was a big hit for Peter, Paul and Mary decades before. She has since heard many different versions but still prefers Denver’s and cites him and that tune as her primary inspiration for choosing a musical career. “I wanted to make people feel the way that song made me feel,” she said.
Some may find that the song’s sentiments haven’t aged well. It’s about a musician going on the road and missing his love. He promises to come back and marry her, but there’s no clue to how she feels. Pomeroy does not believe this is sexist. “The song is about heartache and sadness,” she said, “and offers a beautiful farewell. There is something genuine about it.” She’s not sure why that resonated with her so much when she was a child.
Because she goes by the moniker Ken, some people hearing her sing think Pomeroy is a man with a high-pitched voice. Actually, her real first name is McKennan, but she’s been called Ken as a nickname ever since she was a child.
Pomeroy began writing poetry when she was 10 and soon began putting her words into a musical context. She grew up around Oklahoma City and found that in addition to her parents, her friends and community were supportive of her creative endeavors. She recently moved to Tulsa, home of the Woody Guthrie Center and the Bob Dylan Center. Pomeroy considers her music to belong to the folk tradition and finds inspiration in her new digs. She will perform at the Raccoon Motel in Davenport on November 20.
While Pomeroy enjoys writing songs, she finds performing for a live audience the most satisfying aspect of her work. “It’s the connection to others,” she said, but admitted that she doesn’t really look at people when she is on stage. “I mostly close my eyes when I sing. I rarely look directly at people. I glance across the room.” She understands the contradiction but defends her actions. “The music creates the link. If it doesn’t work its magic, it doesn’t matter who or what I am doing on stage.” She doesn’t necessarily think this is because she is shy, but rather part of her Southwestern politeness.
“I write personal songs, but I am uncomfortable sharing my feelings,” Pomeroy said. “I often write in metaphors so I can say things without being explicit.” For example, the song “Cicadas” is a first-person narrative about the anxiety that comes from sensing a relationship is doomed. She uses the insects’ chirping at summer’s end as a symbol for her anguish.
That said, the Oklahoman doesn’t begin the songwriting process with a particular prompt or idea. Pomeroy leaves herself open and just lets her unconscious lead the way. When she was back in high school, her ambition was to get a Ph.D. in psychology with an emphasis on psychoanalytics. She has since dropped out of college, although she says that she hopes to go back someday. Psychoanalytic theory attempts to explain how unconscious processes and childhood experiences influence behavior and mental functioning. Studying how a patient uses objects and similes in dreams to represent one’s id, ego, and psyche is central to its tenets.
One can examine the rich imagery of Pomeroy’s lyrics in analogous ways. When she sings lines such as “I found the needle through my heart in a haystack” and “I put salt in my wounds just to prove I can do it” (from “Cicadas”), it is clear she is not talking about insects. The poetry of her language reveals the extent of her artistry. Her music is not the sound of insects buzzing so much as it is the expression of feelings in her heart.