BIOGRAPHY

Out of the nondescript domiciles of suburban New Jersey comes Keith Charles Dovoric, an intense, probing singer-songwriter with a vast catalogue of original music and years of live performance to his credit. Mr. Dovoric has recorded and regularly performed with such outfits as the SUDs, Two Hour Parking, and, lately, Palomino. Key tracks of his include "Suicide Square Dance", "Comatose Beach", "Take Me with You", "Disabled Love", "Charity Case", and "Sisyphus Reborn," the last a re-telling of the Greek myth atop a blues-rock shuffle. 

Lyrically, a quintessential Dovoric original combines philosophical themes of anxiety, violence, and self-examination with unusual, even obscurantist, narrators. This lyrical derring-do (described by Mr. Dovoric as a hybrid of Graham Greene, Hunter S. Thompson and Neil Young) appeals most to Dovoric. "I'm much more interested in [writing that way]," explains Dovoric, also an English teacher, "than doing the hackneyed old 'I love her, but she hates me, yeah baby' brand of tedious, pop-star claptrap. To a certain extent, I put a value on the lyrics ahead of the music, honestly." Indeed, songs like "Suburban Utility Detonator" and the aforementioned "Suicide Square Dance" evince narrators as far-wrought as a yuppie-gone-berserk and a trailer park denizen, respectively. 

Although essentially a rock musician, Mr. Dovoric has ventured into the terrains of blues, folk, country, and even rockabilly. He is also a published author and poet, penning such titles as Song To Succumb To and Bad Luck Is For Cripples And Dwarves; characteristically, echoes of the themes and predilections found in these pages can be heard in the serious nature of his songwriting. As one longtime confidante and bandmate has noted, "What Keith plays is basically folk-rock, but there is an edge there. Look at the song titles: 'Curse the Sky Above,' 'Prescription for Loneliness,' Comatose Beach,' 'St. Peter's Blues' -- obviously some weighty things going on there." 

In 2010, Dovoric - ever the restless artist - teamed with instrumentalist (and former SUDs co-member) Peter Realmonte to form Palomino, a folk-rock/neo-country-flavored duo. Balancing inspired covers of their favorite artists alongside thought-provoking new originals like "House of Desperation," "The Anxiety Shuffle," and "Looking 4-ward 2 Love" (watch streams now on YouTube), the pair's sound has been likened to those of Neil Young, Flying Burrito Bros., and even Nirvana. With recording plans set for Spring 2011 (see blog for their debut CD's tentative tracklisiting), and bookings at select coffeehouse and wineries in the NJ/NY area slated to begin Fall 2010, the minimalist group -- which also benefits from the unexpected atmospherics of Realmonte's guitar-driven soundscapes -- has been described by him as "a very nice break from all the hard-rock banality. [Palomino gives us] a chance to continually explore outside the box, in a very liberal and refreshing format," says Realmonte.

Amongst a scene ruled by cookie-cutters and trendies, Keith Charles Dovoric very much does what he feels. "My mentors, heroes, whatever you call them," he declares, "have always been those on the margins. David Byrne, Warren Zevon, and of course Dylan and Cohen and Lennon ... to me, they always projected an aura of radicalism and ingenuity, which are two traits markedly unassociated with pop music." Then again, Mr. Dovoric's philosophy is perhaps best summed up in a verse from "Thank You for Purchasing My World": "Slogans all around / No truth can be found / And my back's to the wind."