Interesting people are always different from the mainstream. Geren R. Kunkel is a true Idaho eccentric: a brilliant artist who loves to create and play.
He has a degree in engineering, performs on violin, guitar, ukulele and dulcimer, writes and reads music and, for extra money, designs and builds beer fountains. He also grows much of his own food – all organic – in his yard in Meridian near Boise.
When I first met Geren, it was in response to an ad I had placed in Craigslist to meet other musicians to play with. He showed up with two ukuleles, a five-string violin, two guitars and a binder of music. We played for over four hours with Geren switching from ukulele to guitar to violin, depending on the song.
His guitar of choice is a 1960-style acoustic six-string with paintings of cowboys and campfires across the face. He found it hanging on some wall somewhere. The thing was never meant to be played. Geren gave it life. It is his guitar of choice and he can make it sing.
He used to earn a living fixing watches, but the new watches aren’t meant to be fixed. Designing and building fountains have taken the place of fixing watches. He also teaches a dulcimer class and helps those in need that come his way.
Geren R. Kunkel grew up back in the day when we had cowboy heroes like Roy Rogers and all three channels were in black and white. Here is our conversation.
PJ: You were saying that you really liked all the old movies: Roy Rogers ...
G: All the old black and white cowboy movies generally featured singing cowboys – the entertainment value of the singing cowboy was greater than the action cowboy alone.
PJ: Did you have the holster and everything?
G: When I was very young I had the whole get-up. You know: the hat, the holster, even boots. My grandfather (my mother’s father) was a cowboy, rancher – my mom grew up on a ranch. Basically [my grandfather] spent half his life in Wyoming and half his life here in Idaho. He was an actual cowboy.The pictures of him are precious in the old get-up. He was born in 1900 so he would have been in that last bit of the Wild West before it was totally tamed.
PJ: Did you ever go out and see him when he was riding his horse or working with the cows?
G: Oh sure, though by the time I was around he was essentially retired. When I was born, they lived in a log home up by Crouch [Idaho] on the bend in the river.
PJ: Was he a musician?
G: No, he was not. However, his wife, my grandmother – I didn’t learn ’til I was an adult -played a mean harmonica. I had no idea. – Found a harmonica once while visiting her and she picked that up, and that old lady just started stompin’ her feet and just WAILIN’ on a harmonica! I had no idea where that came from! I wish I’d a known that growing up. We coulda jammed together all those years. I had no idea.
PJ: Were you ever a fan of cowboy poetry? Or write cowboy poetry?
G: I have always liked to listen to it. Whenever I come across any recorded or written stuff: you know stories and stuff, I always like to buy them and collect them. An interesting bit of history: the real cowboys and the music that they played quite often was on ukulele, not on guitar, ’cause a guitar, unlike the Hollywood version, was too large to carry on the trail. I have quite a collection of cowboy music in ukulele versions and pictures of cowboy ukulele bands. You might have a few other instruments as well, but essentially, the ukulele was the stringed instrument of choice for the cowboys. You didn’t have an upright bass and a jumbo guitar. It was great on stage, but it wasn’t great on the trail.
The song begins by mentioning Fort Boise. Geren said, “The original Fort Boise is over on the Snake River near Parma. It is now a wild bird reserve area. There is no remnant of the original fort itself.”
Geren continued, “One day, near sundown, I happened to look up at the sky. Little wispy clouds that kinda look like a J-hook were floating, a slightly small little breeze, the sun was going down and the concept of the song came to me, looking off to the west as the sun was setting. The clouds were like little hands waving and the words came to me. ‘ The clouds wave good-bye as the wind breathes out a sigh, and the sun sets slowly in the western sky.’
PJ: Did you have your guitar or ukulele with you at the time?
G: No. At that time I was actually sitting in the hot tub, looking at this sunset. And when you have a drone background it’s easy to form a melody based on that tone. The beat actually comes from the lyrics. You get that rhythm going. [Laughs] Not too much like singing in the shower.
Geren told me in the song, the reference of the cowboy coffee came from years of backpacking where you boil your coffee just as they did out on the trail. It is this personal experience and his love and knowledge of the Cowboy Life that makes this song authentic. It is his great skill and talent with an instrument that gives the listener real heartfelt pleasure.
Here is a link to listen to Geren R. Kunkel’s song: A Cowboy’s Life.
Here are the words:
A Cowboy’s Life
Words and music by Geren R. Kunkel copyright 2018
The sun’s sinkin’ low over ol’ Fort Boise,
Cowboy’s a’rounden up the strays,
The clouds wave good-bye as the wind breathes out a sigh,
And the sun sets slowly in the western sky.
Well, a cowboy’s life is a hard one,
Always on the trail far from home
He falls asleep instead, with the stars up overhead,
Just a saddle for a pillow, and a blanket for a bed.
The sweet smell of sagebrush, greets him in the mornin’
A chilly mist still lingers in the air,
But he’s up before the dawn, ’cause he must be movin’ on,
A boiled cup o’ coffee, and the ol’ cowboy’s gone.
Yeah, a cowboy’s life is a hard one,
Always on the trail far from home
He falls asleep instead, with the stars up overhead,
Just a saddle for a pillow, and a blanket for a bed.
Geren can be contacted through Patti Jo’s email: pjesongs@gmail.com
