Paul Tangren
Welcome,
I'm Paul Tangren.
The long and the short of it is this: I sing (usually solo) and accompany myself on guitar(s), for anyone willing to listen. I have been performing since I first taught myself to play guitar during that musically-explosive period of the 1960s. Although I have been performing publically since 1970, it became my primary focus in life since I retired from my day-job and started performing in the D.C. Metro area in 2010.
Playing my own special mix of 1960s-1970s era folk, folk-rock and light rock music and pop (maybe best described as coffeehouse music) for restaurant diners, winery and coffee house patrons, private party guests, and passers-by on busy street corners – is what I do. And I would love to perform for you.
This website can keep you up-to-date on where I am playing. It provides snippets of audio recordings for you to listen to (Coming Soon), as well as links to videos. And information on how you can reach me should you want me to perform for you, your family, your guests or your event.
Let me know. I hope to play for you soon. Also, if there is some song or artist that you particularly love, and I don’t currently play it, let me know about it. I’m always looking for more material.
More Information
Beginnings and Influences
Beginnings and Influences: I grew up in a very, very small town in the coal mining region of western-Pennsylvania during the turbulent 1960s. The relative isolation of that environment created a vacuum which music filled for me. My parents went to a department store and bought me a cheap ($20) plywood guitar, painted black and orange sunburst. Don’t recall how old I was – perhaps 12.
With the encouragement of my older brother Dave (thank you Dave!), I learned to tune it, and strum some basic cords. Dave also had records - vinyl LPs and 45s of the music of the time. With these records as my guide, I learned to play and sing. The records of Peter, Paul and Mary guided me through the basics, and planted in me a love of ballads.
Simon and Garfunkel was also a huge influence - in particular, the art of fingerpicking, and they showed me how to deliver a love song. I also love rock music, in particular British rock – The Beatles, The Hollies, The Who, The Rolling Stones, etc. Those songs that I could master, I played for myself, and for my family. Those that were beyond me at the time, I never forgot. They just waited in the wings for my skills on the guitar to mature. I stumble onto these from time to time while tinkering around on my guitar, and from those seeds the old songs are reborn and join the others in my playlist.
Playlist
Mostly, I sing songs of love – the joy of being in it, the longing for it, the excitement of finding it, the regret in losing it. I like to think of my playlist as a mile wide, and a foot deep. That is, I know and perform a few songs each, from many, many artists. They are often not their top-40s hits, the A-side songs that first spring to mind. But they are very often the songs that moved me most as a young man - the ones I can’t forget. And occasionally, I also hear the music of some more “modern” artist that strikes my fancy, such as Jason Mraz, Five For Fighting, and The Plain White T’s. When that happens, I work up an arrangement and add it to my playlist.
Here is a sample (certainly not a complete list) of the artists whose songs I routinely perform (in no particular order):
Simon & Garfunkel (Paul Simon),
Bob Dylan, Donovan,
Peter, Paul &Mary,
Don McLean,
Gordon Lightfoot,
Tom Paxton,
Joni Mitchell,
Cat Stevens,
Elton John,
James Taylor,
Carole King,
John Denver,
Beatles (and x-Beatles),
Rolling Stones,
The Who,
Led Zepplin,
Jethro Tull (Ian Anderson),
Bread (David Gates),
The Eagles,
Peter Frampton, T
he Carpenters,
Jim Croche,
Jimmy Buffett,
Kenny Loggins,
Dave Loggins,
Gilbert O’Sullivan,
Tom Rush, etc., etc. etc.
In addition, I do a wee bit of Irish song. Not the sort you are likely to hear while getting drunk in some pub, but a genuine ballad, such as Ned of the Hill, or Lord Franklin.
For audiences of the 60’s generation, my music takes them back to their youth. For many of the younger members of my audience, they are hearing these great songs with fresh ears, many for the very first time. That’s how the older members of the audience first heard them. Funny how music can bridge the generations.
Vocal
My voice is somewhere between a tenor and a baritone. I have often been told I have a sound similar to Cat Stevens. But in general, I have a wide vocal range, and a soft touch with lyrics.
Instruments and Equipment
I have owned and played a great many brands of guitars over the years, all acoustic. But currently, I play several Taylors, an Alverez, a Takemine; as well as a late 1980’s vintage Aria Pro.
I use multiple guitar tunings: Standard, Drop-D, Open-G, Open-D, and occasionally Open-E. I also use harmonicas when performing.
I mostly use Lee Oscar diatonic harmonicas, of various keys. For those interested in hiring me, I provide my own sound equipment, if needed, ready to handle everything from a private living room to a medium sized club or concert hall.
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