Keith Varon

MySpace (listen to "Intoxicated," "Can't Breathe")
Official site

Hometown: Danville
Next local show: 8/30, Union Square
Recent release: Love is a Hero, 2006

[This post originally published 8/29/06.]

Keith Varon doesn't live in Danville anymore, but NASCENT went to high school with him there, so as far as we're concerned, he's from Danville. We're mighty tripped out by the fact that two of the local singer/songwriters we knew "before they were famous" -- Keith Varon and Ryan Auffenberg -- are now embarking on a national tour together. Music works in mysterious ways, don't it? (more >>)

It wasn't long ago that old high school friends were passing around links to Keith's website -- oh man, can you believe this? Keith's got a website. And spiky blue hair! Little did we know less than a year later he'd be one of KFOG's favorite new local discoveries, with his polished pop-rock single "Addicted" selected for their Local Scene 3 compilation and in frequent rotation during the month of August. Polished pop-rock is not usually NASCENT's cup of tea, but let us be entirely frank: we really like this song! It's good! Keith's guitar work -- palm-muted, distorted power chords, plus a kickin' solo -- does a lot to draw listeners into the song and establish his identity within the introspective singer-songwriter crowd.

All this from a normal dude from Danville who played baseball, followed the A's, drove a brown Ford Tempo, and -- of course -- played guitar. Not much different from the rest of us. And tonight, in Salt Lake City, UT, he plays one of the first in a series of 30 shows across the country. The Keith Varon and Ryan Auffenberg "Acoustic Tour" is in fact Keith's second national tour.

So if you talk to Keith, tell him I say hi, congratulations, and keep on rockin' in the free world (while it still is).

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE:
-Keith has performed live and been interviewed on the local morning news (either Fox or KRON 4; we don't recall).
-Keith is recognized for, among other things, having great stage presence. As a performer at Danville's hugely popular Hot August Nights classic car show, he managed to draw enraptured crowds away from all that pristine paint and glistening chrome.
-Tomorrow, August 30, he will play a free, KFOG-sponsored gig at Union Square in SF.