Ken Newman

"Californian singer-songwriters are ten a penny. This corner of the world is steeped in musical heritage and that influence is keenly felt in the modern world. This strong musical legacy makes it increasingly hard to stand out from the crowd, but underground creative mind KEN NEWMAN is very much stepping up to the plate. With diverse influences that range from Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, and Stephen Stills to Talking Heads, Cream, and Strawberry Alarm Clock, this American songsmith crafts a fresh and unique take on a classic sound. Bringing in diverse styles and genres such as alternative rock, Americana, and folk, and completely disregarding any pre-established boundaries and borders, Ken brings his soundscapes and lyric-based stories to life. This has best been captured on his 2022 offering, the fantastic What Am I Afraid Of? LP, an eleven-song set that showcases true independent originality and class. More recently, earlier this month, Ken caught up with Aldora Britain Records and we reflected on the making of this brilliant record.
-Thomas Hilton – Aldora Britain Records - Aldora Britain Records - Tom Hilton

San Francisco singer/songwriter Ken Newman has been striving for change through his acts in the entertainment business for decades. With forays into the world of acting, magic and music, Newman is always making an impact in every aspect of his life.

Newman’s debut album WHAT AM I AFRAID OF? features a collection of tracks filled with love, heartbreak, fear and more. Each track has its own independent story and introduces his message to the world.

Kicking off with the title track, it’s an invitation to overcome challenges and soar to new heights with its catchy guitar riffs, motivating lyrics and melodic vocals. The chorus gravitates you into the song even deeper and you find there’s no turning back now. Leading into the next track, “Nothing To See Here” produces a guitar-driven track inspired by an unfortunate situation. Ken explains the inspiration behind this song came from when he was driving down the street in San Francisco where a shooting had just taken place and a police offer said, “Move along… There’s nothing to see here.” Ken states, “His tone, at once tired and impatient, really stuck with me. It spoke of how many times he’d likely seen things like this and had to say those same six words.” With the undertone of the meaning behind the track, it becomes more truthful and leaves you with thoughts of how quickly we move on from such situations.

Traveling further into the album, we’re graced with “Talk To You”, was originally a stab at social media, encouraging listeners to explore life without constantly being fixated on phones and screens. As the song was written before the pandemic, Ken soon found himself relying on social media to stay connected, as did the rest of the world. “I couldn’t possibly have known that about a year after it was written, I’d be relying on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Zoom to connect with the world, in business, in music and personally. Social media became
pretty much all I had ... all ANY of us had.” Creating the perfect visual for the track, the music video for “Talk To You” challenges us to envision life without phones and social media. Some face-to-face conversation is what we all really need. With sounds of blaring horns and jazzy riffs, this song will have you dancing all night.

Previously released single “I Can’t Breathe” expresses demand for change with its powerful lyrics “it stops today.” Inspired by the story of Eric Garner, the song was originally released in 2014 through a YouTube video and Ken ended up getting a call from someone very special. It was Erica Garner, daughter of Eric explaining that she found Ken’s song on YouTube and although he thought she was calling to ask him to take it down, she was absolutely moved by it. The family of Eric Garner were so moved by the track that they asked him to play it at Eric’s memorial.

When asked to front a San Francisco cover band called Last Bastion, Ken was challenged with how to split up $150 between five band members when he was struck with the thought of charity donations. After years of donating any money made from music to local charities, Ken was inspired to start his charity,Blanket The Homeless, an organization that improves the lives of people living on the streets by handing out blankets, socks, first-aid kits and other essential items. “We Should Do This Again” was born out of people reconnecting with each other along with taking action to save lives. With swaying piano sounds and calming melodies that make you swoon, this song is sure to motivate you to take action in your community and make change happen.

“My hope is that ‘We Should Do This Again’ throws a little light on reconnecting with humanity and see the neighbors living in our streets.”

Nearing the end of the album, “Away From You” takes us back in time sounding like an 80s New Wave hit with its acoustics and repetitive drumbeats, setting up for a melody that somewhat sounds like Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start The Fire.” Though in no way is it lyrically the same, the overall vibe of this song is just feel-good and encourages you to move and shake. Lyrically, it’s about trying to move on from a breakup and leave someone behind. But the melody is so contagious that you can’t help feel naturally amazing during it. Closing out WHAT AM I AFRAID OF? Is a less produced acoustic version of “I Can’t Breathe” which was decided when singer/songwriter and friend of Newman (Mya Byrne) heard the original track and thought the production covered up the sadness and truth of the story. Thus, the track was stripped down and ends the album beautifully.

Expressing his love for change through music, a portion of the proceeds of WHAT AM I AFRAID OF? Will go directly to Blanket The Homeless. On April 24, Ken celebrated his album at a sold-out show at Hotel Utah in San Francisco where he was accompanied by musician friends as well as other performers that was a one-of-a-kind night for entertainment. ALL of the proceeds for the show went to benefit Ukraine relief.

"I'm deeply committed to using my musical efforts to effect change."
With an artist so deeply committed to utilizing his musical efforts to change through music and charity, we’re forever thankful we’ve found Ken Newman… And we’ll of course be playing WAIAO? On repeat until he releases his next project! - Song and Fury Blog - Bethany Hildebrandt

Ken Newman boldly tackles society’s deepest and darkest fears on What Am I Afraid Of?

The San Francisco indie-rock singer-songwriter and guitarist deftly uncovers and deciphers a multitude of emotional traumas, violent conflicts, racial injustices and political tensions on his insightful debut album.

“It was gonna be called ‘Dreaming of Guns’ based on that one song. At some point, somebody else recommended another title, and I tried that for a little while, but that didn’t quite resonate,” Newman said.

“And then Scott (Mickelson) and I were talking about it, and I said, ‘What if I just called it What Am I Afraid Of? ’ Then, the two of us went, ‘Oh my God, of course, that’s what everything’s about.’”

For Newman, “everything” serves as an umbrella of personal and societal challenges ranging from everyday anxieties to teen suicide to homelessness to gun violence. The album’s 11 gripping tracks provide a poignant wake-up call for the nation to strongly unite, take action and instill change.

“The thing about this album is essentially the same paradigm that’s kind of dictated my entire life,” he said. “I don’t exactly know what’s happening until I look in the rear-view mirror and go, ‘That happened.’”


What Am I Afraid Of?

Album Cover - Art by NEMO 1
“What Am I Afraid Of?” provides a seamless analysis of individual and societal reactions to a variety of fears. Artwork – NEMO
Newman thoughtfully illustrates those What Am I Afraid Of? happenings through purposeful lyrics, vigorous instrumentation and massive rock soundscapes. The album is a must-listen for fans of Bruce Springsteen and Leonard Cohen.

“It’s this wonderful little accident of ‘Oh, I did that’ and ‘Oh, I did this,’ and I look back at these 10 or 11 tracks and go, ‘They just all have this kind of connection,’” he said. “It’s like doing a concept album without having a concept.”

Whether intentional or not, the album provides a seamless 39-minute analysis of individual and societal reactions to a variety of fears. The forthright title track spotlights the phobias people experience throughout different life stages and the media’s role in perpetuating them.

An indestructible force of electric guitars, bass, keys, drums and cymbals surround Newman as he sings, “Is it the bullets pouring from the sky? Is it hearing her last goodbye? / Is it a crowded street? A bag left on a seat? / Is it the cold dead look in his eye? / Is it the holy book in his hand? Or his words I can’t understand? / Or a face that I just can’t see? Or that he just don’t look like me?”


“Scott (Mickelson) gave me a loop that he’d been using on one of the songs, and I said, ‘Do me a favor? Give me six minutes of that loop because it’s really awesome.’ And I listened to it, and ‘What Am I Afraid Of?’ came out of that,” said Newman, who also released a compelling video co-directed by Calvin Kai Ku.

“It was almost half-spoken and half-sung, and Scott liked the spoken version so much he recorded it and said, ‘Just speak the lyrics,’ and it’s way down in the mix. If you listen to it, you can hear me saying the lyrics not totally in sync with the singing of it, so it creates this extra little weird bed.”

After identifying life’s growing fears on the title track, Newman acknowledges a family’s heart-wrenching grief from teen suicide on “Danny Don’t Go Upstairs.” Sorrowful acoustic guitar, cautious electric guitar, solemn bass, soft drums and tearful cymbals provide a welcome emotional release.

Newman sings, “Kid, it’s time to say good night / Don’t punch the wall, leave on the light / Danny, don’t go upstairs / Didya steal the money in the drawer? / Didya leave the evidence on the floor?”

“When I started to do the album, I didn’t just want to sit down and write a song about something that I didn’t care about,” he said. “The first song that came to me was because of this horrible thing that happened to a young friend of my son who committed suicide.”

Newman also highlights the increasing loss of Black lives on “I Can’t Breathe,” a heartfelt tribute to Eric Garner, who died in a chokehold by New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo on Staten Island in 2014.

Despondent acoustic guitar calls for change as Newman sings, “How many lines have been crossed? / How many lives have been lost? / When a man falls to the ground with no one around / Does he make a sound? / Oh, it stops today / Oh, it stops today / It stops today.”

“I was walking down the street in Houston a year after Eric Garner died in a chokehold on Staten Island, and a kid was holding a sign that had a transcript of Eric’s last words. It was windy, and he was falling down, so I held the sign for him. We walked for a while, and I asked if I could take a picture of the sign, and he said, ‘Sure,’” Newman said.

“I took the picture, and I thought of this little kid and all these people. I went to my hotel room, and I didn’t have a guitar, so I wrote down all those lines. And I started writing other versions, and that provided the departure point for me to script the rest of the story that I wanted to tell.”

“I Can’t Breathe” soon resonated with Garner’s daughter, Erica Garner, who asked Newman to perform the song at her late father’s memorial.

“And several months later, my acoustic guitar in hand, I did just that,” Newman said. “And it was a deeply moving and ultimately uplifting evening.”

Next, Newman reveals another type of emotional and physical loss on the gospel-tinged ballad, “We Should Do This Again.” An outpouring of thoughtful piano, somber bass, calm electric guitar and hypnotic percussion offer hope and support for the homeless.

Newman sings, “He said, ‘Smile, you woke up this morning, how bad can it be?’ / He said, ‘It looks like you’re lookin’ for love, but you ain’t looking at me’ / He said, ‘I once had it all, then it was gone, someone erased it’ / I guess someone erased it.”

“I was on my way to Oakland one day, and I was stuck in traffic on the approach to the Bay Bridge. There was a guy with a sign … so I rolled down the window, and I gave him five or 10 bucks,” said Newman, who’s also worked as a magician, actor, comedian and corporate entertainer.

“He came over to the car, and I must have had a look on my face that showed I was stressed out about something. I gave him the money, and he looked at me and said, ‘Smile, you woke up this morning, how bad can it be?’ That’s the first line of the second verse.”


In fact, it’s also the track’s second appearance on an album. In 2019, Newman collaborated with producer Scott Mickelson on a benefit compilation album called Blanket the Homeless, which is named after Newman’s charity to support Bay area homeless.

“When Scott (Mickelson) came up with the idea to do Blanket the Homeless as a compilation album, I had already written that song,” he said. “I had already been doing the Blanket the Homeless program for a while … handing out items and talking to people on the street and talking to audiences about people living on the streets.”

Newman started the charity seven years ago to help distribute care packages containing emergency blankets, socks, hats, first-aid kits and other essential items to the homeless. To date, more than 9,000 care packages have been distributed to local people in need.

Not Afraid

Photo credit James Courtney 3
Ken Newman seeks inspiration from Jeff Tweedy, Bob Mould and The Black Keys. Photo – James Courtney
Newman’s bold, creative journey for What Am I Afraid Of? started in 2016. At the time, he asked Bay area singer-songwriter Jeff Desira to recommend a producer – Scott Mickelson – for his debut album.

That spring, Newman traveled to Mickelson’s studio in Mill Valley, California to record the 11-track album, which features nine songs written by Newman, one co-written with Mickelson (“What Am I Afraid Of?” and another penned by E.G. Phillips (“The Fish Song”).

“He said, ‘Well, do me a favor. Why don’t you send me a couple of the songs that you’re working on, and I’ll decide if it’s good for us to work together,’” said Newman, who’s inspired by Jeff Tweedy, Bob Mould and The Black Keys.

“I didn’t say anything for a second, and he went, ‘Just so you understand, when I’m working on an album, I’m listening to the same section over and over again. It has to be something that I want to listen to.’ I got a kick out of that … so I sent him a couple of tracks, and he listened to them and went, ‘Yeah, there’s a lot there to work with … come on in.”

With their musical partnership in place, Newman and Mickelson assembled a top-notch team of collaborators to hone the album’s striking sound.

Guest musicians include: Dennis Haneda (guitar), Frank Reina (drums), Kyle Caprista (drums), David Hayes (bass), Kevin White (bass), Brendan Getzell (piano), Adam Rossi (piano), Luke Kirley (trombone), Dave Len Scott (trumpet) and Lilan Kane (vocals).

“This album is in many ways a collaboration with a producer who is also a brilliant songwriter and who has become a dear friend,” Newman said. “Over the years we’ve worked together, he has never heard one of my songs and said, ‘Yup. It’s perfect. Let’s start recording.’”

Newman and Mickelson finished recording What Am I Afraid Of? in 2020, but Newman opted to delay the release until he could have an in-person album release show. His wish was granted in April, when the album officially dropped on streaming platforms and included a vinyl release

Nearly six months later, Newman continues to play additional live shows, including a Sept. 24 “Balanced BreakFEST” show at Amado’s in San Francisco. He’s also performing Oct. 15 at “Echoes in the Valley,” an outdoor house concert in Cole Valley.

In the meantime, there’s a new batch of material brewing to succeed What Am I Afraid Of?

“For this album, I definitely had something to say, but this next one is probably going to be something to say and be a lot louder,” Newman said. “I got nothing else to do. I’m gonna die one day, so I might as well do the thing I want to do now.” - The Stratton Setlist - Lori Stratton

Ken Newman boldly tackles society’s deepest and darkest fears on What Am I Afraid Of?

The San Francisco indie-rock singer-songwriter and guitarist deftly uncovers and deciphers a multitude of emotional traumas, violent conflicts, racial injustices and political tensions on his insightful debut album.

“It was gonna be called ‘Dreaming of Guns’ based on that one song. At some point, somebody else recommended another title, and I tried that for a little while, but that didn’t quite resonate,” Newman said.

“And then Scott (Mickelson) and I were talking about it, and I said, ‘What if I just called it What Am I Afraid Of? ’ Then, the two of us went, ‘Oh my God, of course, that’s what everything’s about.’”

For Newman, “everything” serves as an umbrella of personal and societal challenges ranging from everyday anxieties to teen suicide to homelessness to gun violence. The album’s 11 gripping tracks provide a poignant wake-up call for the nation to strongly unite, take action and instill change.

“The thing about this album is essentially the same paradigm that’s kind of dictated my entire life,” he said. “I don’t exactly know what’s happening until I look in the rear-view mirror and go, ‘That happened.’”


What Am I Afraid Of?

Album Cover - Art by NEMO 1
“What Am I Afraid Of?” provides a seamless analysis of individual and societal reactions to a variety of fears. Artwork – NEMO
Newman thoughtfully illustrates those What Am I Afraid Of? happenings through purposeful lyrics, vigorous instrumentation and massive rock soundscapes. The album is a must-listen for fans of Bruce Springsteen and Leonard Cohen.

“It’s this wonderful little accident of ‘Oh, I did that’ and ‘Oh, I did this,’ and I look back at these 10 or 11 tracks and go, ‘They just all have this kind of connection,’” he said. “It’s like doing a concept album without having a concept.”

Whether intentional or not, the album provides a seamless 39-minute analysis of individual and societal reactions to a variety of fears. The forthright title track spotlights the phobias people experience throughout different life stages and the media’s role in perpetuating them.

An indestructible force of electric guitars, bass, keys, drums and cymbals surround Newman as he sings, “Is it the bullets pouring from the sky? Is it hearing her last goodbye? / Is it a crowded street? A bag left on a seat? / Is it the cold dead look in his eye? / Is it the holy book in his hand? Or his words I can’t understand? / Or a face that I just can’t see? Or that he just don’t look like me?”


“Scott (Mickelson) gave me a loop that he’d been using on one of the songs, and I said, ‘Do me a favor? Give me six minutes of that loop because it’s really awesome.’ And I listened to it, and ‘What Am I Afraid Of?’ came out of that,” said Newman, who also released a compelling video co-directed by Calvin Kai Ku.

“It was almost half-spoken and half-sung, and Scott liked the spoken version so much he recorded it and said, ‘Just speak the lyrics,’ and it’s way down in the mix. If you listen to it, you can hear me saying the lyrics not totally in sync with the singing of it, so it creates this extra little weird bed.”

After identifying life’s growing fears on the title track, Newman acknowledges a family’s heart-wrenching grief from teen suicide on “Danny Don’t Go Upstairs.” Sorrowful acoustic guitar, cautious electric guitar, solemn bass, soft drums and tearful cymbals provide a welcome emotional release.

Newman sings, “Kid, it’s time to say good night / Don’t punch the wall, leave on the light / Danny, don’t go upstairs / Didya steal the money in the drawer? / Didya leave the evidence on the floor?”

“When I started to do the album, I didn’t just want to sit down and write a song about something that I didn’t care about,” he said. “The first song that came to me was because of this horrible thing that happened to a young friend of my son who committed suicide.”

Newman also highlights the increasing loss of Black lives on “I Can’t Breathe,” a heartfelt tribute to Eric Garner, who died in a chokehold by New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo on Staten Island in 2014.

Despondent acoustic guitar calls for change as Newman sings, “How many lines have been crossed? / How many lives have been lost? / When a man falls to the ground with no one around / Does he make a sound? / Oh, it stops today / Oh, it stops today / It stops today.”

“I was walking down the street in Houston a year after Eric Garner died in a chokehold on Staten Island, and a kid was holding a sign that had a transcript of Eric’s last words. It was windy, and he was falling down, so I held the sign for him. We walked for a while, and I asked if I could take a picture of the sign, and he said, ‘Sure,’” Newman said.

“I took the picture, and I thought of this little kid and all these people. I went to my hotel room, and I didn’t have a guitar, so I wrote down all those lines. And I started writing other versions, and that provided the departure point for me to script the rest of the story that I wanted to tell.”

“I Can’t Breathe” soon resonated with Garner’s daughter, Erica Garner, who asked Newman to perform the song at her late father’s memorial.

“And several months later, my acoustic guitar in hand, I did just that,” Newman said. “And it was a deeply moving and ultimately uplifting evening.”

Next, Newman reveals another type of emotional and physical loss on the gospel-tinged ballad, “We Should Do This Again.” An outpouring of thoughtful piano, somber bass, calm electric guitar and hypnotic percussion offer hope and support for the homeless.

Newman sings, “He said, ‘Smile, you woke up this morning, how bad can it be?’ / He said, ‘It looks like you’re lookin’ for love, but you ain’t looking at me’ / He said, ‘I once had it all, then it was gone, someone erased it’ / I guess someone erased it.”

“I was on my way to Oakland one day, and I was stuck in traffic on the approach to the Bay Bridge. There was a guy with a sign … so I rolled down the window, and I gave him five or 10 bucks,” said Newman, who’s also worked as a magician, actor, comedian and corporate entertainer.

“He came over to the car, and I must have had a look on my face that showed I was stressed out about something. I gave him the money, and he looked at me and said, ‘Smile, you woke up this morning, how bad can it be?’ That’s the first line of the second verse.”


In fact, it’s also the track’s second appearance on an album. In 2019, Newman collaborated with producer Scott Mickelson on a benefit compilation album called Blanket the Homeless, which is named after Newman’s charity to support Bay area homeless.

“When Scott (Mickelson) came up with the idea to do Blanket the Homeless as a compilation album, I had already written that song,” he said. “I had already been doing the Blanket the Homeless program for a while … handing out items and talking to people on the street and talking to audiences about people living on the streets.”

Newman started the charity seven years ago to help distribute care packages containing emergency blankets, socks, hats, first-aid kits and other essential items to the homeless. To date, more than 9,000 care packages have been distributed to local people in need.

Not Afraid

Photo credit James Courtney 3
Ken Newman seeks inspiration from Jeff Tweedy, Bob Mould and The Black Keys. Photo – James Courtney
Newman’s bold, creative journey for What Am I Afraid Of? started in 2016. At the time, he asked Bay area singer-songwriter Jeff Desira to recommend a producer – Scott Mickelson – for his debut album.

That spring, Newman traveled to Mickelson’s studio in Mill Valley, California to record the 11-track album, which features nine songs written by Newman, one co-written with Mickelson (“What Am I Afraid Of?” and another penned by E.G. Phillips (“The Fish Song”).

“He said, ‘Well, do me a favor. Why don’t you send me a couple of the songs that you’re working on, and I’ll decide if it’s good for us to work together,’” said Newman, who’s inspired by Jeff Tweedy, Bob Mould and The Black Keys.

“I didn’t say anything for a second, and he went, ‘Just so you understand, when I’m working on an album, I’m listening to the same section over and over again. It has to be something that I want to listen to.’ I got a kick out of that … so I sent him a couple of tracks, and he listened to them and went, ‘Yeah, there’s a lot there to work with … come on in.”

With their musical partnership in place, Newman and Mickelson assembled a top-notch team of collaborators to hone the album’s striking sound.

Guest musicians include: Dennis Haneda (guitar), Frank Reina (drums), Kyle Caprista (drums), David Hayes (bass), Kevin White (bass), Brendan Getzell (piano), Adam Rossi (piano), Luke Kirley (trombone), Dave Len Scott (trumpet) and Lilan Kane (vocals).

“This album is in many ways a collaboration with a producer who is also a brilliant songwriter and who has become a dear friend,” Newman said. “Over the years we’ve worked together, he has never heard one of my songs and said, ‘Yup. It’s perfect. Let’s start recording.’”

Newman and Mickelson finished recording What Am I Afraid Of? in 2020, but Newman opted to delay the release until he could have an in-person album release show. His wish was granted in April, when the album officially dropped on streaming platforms and included a vinyl release

Nearly six months later, Newman continues to play additional live shows, including a Sept. 24 “Balanced BreakFEST” show at Amado’s in San Francisco. He’s also performing Oct. 15 at “Echoes in the Valley,” an outdoor house concert in Cole Valley.

In the meantime, there’s a new batch of material brewing to succeed What Am I Afraid Of?

“For this album, I definitely had something to say, but this next one is probably going to be something to say and be a lot louder,” Newman said. “I got nothing else to do. I’m gonna die one day, so I might as well do the thing I want to do now.” - Lori Stratton - Stratton Setlist

‘'What am I Afraid Of?' is an amazing and impeccably produced album. The lyrics intense, the instrumentation great and heavy.” - Spencer Tweedy (of the band "Tweedy" w/ Jeff Tweedy

Ken Newman boldly tackles society’s deepest and darkest fears on What Am I Afraid Of?

The San Francisco indie-rock singer-songwriter and guitarist deftly uncovers and deciphers a multitude of emotional traumas, violent conflicts, racial injustices and political tensions on his insightful debut album.

“It was gonna be called ‘Dreaming of Guns’ based on that one song. At some point, somebody else recommended another title, and I tried that for a little while, but that didn’t quite resonate,” Newman said.

“And then Scott (Mickelson) and I were talking about it, and I said, ‘What if I just called it What Am I Afraid Of? ’ Then, the two of us went, ‘Oh my God, of course, that’s what everything’s about.’”

For Newman, “everything” serves as an umbrella of personal and societal challenges ranging from everyday anxieties to teen suicide to homelessness to gun violence. The album’s 11 gripping tracks provide a poignant wake-up call for the nation to strongly unite, take action and instill change.

“The thing about this album is essentially the same paradigm that’s kind of dictated my entire life,” he said. “I don’t exactly know what’s happening until I look in the rear-view mirror and go, ‘That happened.’”


What Am I Afraid Of?

Album Cover - Art by NEMO 1
“What Am I Afraid Of?” provides a seamless analysis of individual and societal reactions to a variety of fears. Artwork – NEMO
Newman thoughtfully illustrates those What Am I Afraid Of? happenings through purposeful lyrics, vigorous instrumentation and massive rock soundscapes. The album is a must-listen for fans of Bruce Springsteen and Leonard Cohen.

“It’s this wonderful little accident of ‘Oh, I did that’ and ‘Oh, I did this,’ and I look back at these 10 or 11 tracks and go, ‘They just all have this kind of connection,’” he said. “It’s like doing a concept album without having a concept.”

Whether intentional or not, the album provides a seamless 39-minute analysis of individual and societal reactions to a variety of fears. The forthright title track spotlights the phobias people experience throughout different life stages and the media’s role in perpetuating them.

An indestructible force of electric guitars, bass, keys, drums and cymbals surround Newman as he sings, “Is it the bullets pouring from the sky? Is it hearing her last goodbye? / Is it a crowded street? A bag left on a seat? / Is it the cold dead look in his eye? / Is it the holy book in his hand? Or his words I can’t understand? / Or a face that I just can’t see? Or that he just don’t look like me?”


“Scott (Mickelson) gave me a loop that he’d been using on one of the songs, and I said, ‘Do me a favor? Give me six minutes of that loop because it’s really awesome.’ And I listened to it, and ‘What Am I Afraid Of?’ came out of that,” said Newman, who also released a compelling video co-directed by Calvin Kai Ku.

“It was almost half-spoken and half-sung, and Scott liked the spoken version so much he recorded it and said, ‘Just speak the lyrics,’ and it’s way down in the mix. If you listen to it, you can hear me saying the lyrics not totally in sync with the singing of it, so it creates this extra little weird bed.”

After identifying life’s growing fears on the title track, Newman acknowledges a family’s heart-wrenching grief from teen suicide on “Danny Don’t Go Upstairs.” Sorrowful acoustic guitar, cautious electric guitar, solemn bass, soft drums and tearful cymbals provide a welcome emotional release.

Newman sings, “Kid, it’s time to say good night / Don’t punch the wall, leave on the light / Danny, don’t go upstairs / Didya steal the money in the drawer? / Didya leave the evidence on the floor?”

“When I started to do the album, I didn’t just want to sit down and write a song about something that I didn’t care about,” he said. “The first song that came to me was because of this horrible thing that happened to a young friend of my son who committed suicide.”

Newman also highlights the increasing loss of Black lives on “I Can’t Breathe,” a heartfelt tribute to Eric Garner, who died in a chokehold by New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo on Staten Island in 2014.

Despondent acoustic guitar calls for change as Newman sings, “How many lines have been crossed? / How many lives have been lost? / When a man falls to the ground with no one around / Does he make a sound? / Oh, it stops today / Oh, it stops today / It stops today.”

“I was walking down the street in Houston a year after Eric Garner died in a chokehold on Staten Island, and a kid was holding a sign that had a transcript of Eric’s last words. It was windy, and he was falling down, so I held the sign for him. We walked for a while, and I asked if I could take a picture of the sign, and he said, ‘Sure,’” Newman said.

“I took the picture, and I thought of this little kid and all these people. I went to my hotel room, and I didn’t have a guitar, so I wrote down all those lines. And I started writing other versions, and that provided the departure point for me to script the rest of the story that I wanted to tell.”

“I Can’t Breathe” soon resonated with Garner’s daughter, Erica Garner, who asked Newman to perform the song at her late father’s memorial.

“And several months later, my acoustic guitar in hand, I did just that,” Newman said. “And it was a deeply moving and ultimately uplifting evening.”

Next, Newman reveals another type of emotional and physical loss on the gospel-tinged ballad, “We Should Do This Again.” An outpouring of thoughtful piano, somber bass, calm electric guitar and hypnotic percussion offer hope and support for the homeless.

Newman sings, “He said, ‘Smile, you woke up this morning, how bad can it be?’ / He said, ‘It looks like you’re lookin’ for love, but you ain’t looking at me’ / He said, ‘I once had it all, then it was gone, someone erased it’ / I guess someone erased it.”

“I was on my way to Oakland one day, and I was stuck in traffic on the approach to the Bay Bridge. There was a guy with a sign … so I rolled down the window, and I gave him five or 10 bucks,” said Newman, who’s also worked as a magician, actor, comedian and corporate entertainer.

“He came over to the car, and I must have had a look on my face that showed I was stressed out about something. I gave him the money, and he looked at me and said, ‘Smile, you woke up this morning, how bad can it be?’ That’s the first line of the second verse.”


In fact, it’s also the track’s second appearance on an album. In 2019, Newman collaborated with producer Scott Mickelson on a benefit compilation album called Blanket the Homeless, which is named after Newman’s charity to support Bay area homeless.

“When Scott (Mickelson) came up with the idea to do Blanket the Homeless as a compilation album, I had already written that song,” he said. “I had already been doing the Blanket the Homeless program for a while … handing out items and talking to people on the street and talking to audiences about people living on the streets.”

Newman started the charity seven years ago to help distribute care packages containing emergency blankets, socks, hats, first-aid kits and other essential items to the homeless. To date, more than 9,000 care packages have been distributed to local people in need.

Not Afraid

Photo credit James Courtney 3
Ken Newman seeks inspiration from Jeff Tweedy, Bob Mould and The Black Keys. Photo – James Courtney
Newman’s bold, creative journey for What Am I Afraid Of? started in 2016. At the time, he asked Bay area singer-songwriter Jeff Desira to recommend a producer – Scott Mickelson – for his debut album.

That spring, Newman traveled to Mickelson’s studio in Mill Valley, California to record the 11-track album, which features nine songs written by Newman, one co-written with Mickelson (“What Am I Afraid Of?” and another penned by E.G. Phillips (“The Fish Song”).

“He said, ‘Well, do me a favor. Why don’t you send me a couple of the songs that you’re working on, and I’ll decide if it’s good for us to work together,’” said Newman, who’s inspired by Jeff Tweedy, Bob Mould and The Black Keys.

“I didn’t say anything for a second, and he went, ‘Just so you understand, when I’m working on an album, I’m listening to the same section over and over again. It has to be something that I want to listen to.’ I got a kick out of that … so I sent him a couple of tracks, and he listened to them and went, ‘Yeah, there’s a lot there to work with … come on in.”

With their musical partnership in place, Newman and Mickelson assembled a top-notch team of collaborators to hone the album’s striking sound.

Guest musicians include: Dennis Haneda (guitar), Frank Reina (drums), Kyle Caprista (drums), David Hayes (bass), Kevin White (bass), Brendan Getzell (piano), Adam Rossi (piano), Luke Kirley (trombone), Dave Len Scott (trumpet) and Lilan Kane (vocals).

“This album is in many ways a collaboration with a producer who is also a brilliant songwriter and who has become a dear friend,” Newman said. “Over the years we’ve worked together, he has never heard one of my songs and said, ‘Yup. It’s perfect. Let’s start recording.’”

Newman and Mickelson finished recording What Am I Afraid Of? in 2020, but Newman opted to delay the release until he could have an in-person album release show. His wish was granted in April, when the album officially dropped on streaming platforms and included a vinyl release

Nearly six months later, Newman continues to play additional live shows, including a Sept. 24 “Balanced BreakFEST” show at Amado’s in San Francisco. He’s also performing Oct. 15 at “Echoes in the Valley,” an outdoor house concert in Cole Valley.

In the meantime, there’s a new batch of material brewing to succeed What Am I Afraid Of?

“For this album, I definitely had something to say, but this next one is probably going to be something to say and be a lot louder,” Newman said. “I got nothing else to do. I’m gonna die one day, so I might as well do the thing I want to do now.” - Lori Stratton - Stratton Setlist

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