Singer/songwriter Paul Cough creates jazzy folk Americana out of a gumbo of surprising melodies, old & new poems, dreams, science fiction, and his own life.  Listeners say his songs remind them of artists like George Ezra, Paul Simon, Mark Knopfler, and Jimmy Buffett.

Paul was born and raised near the Kennebec River in Maine, and Maine shows up in a number of his songs.  His songs also draw on his experiences in California, New York, Sudan, Pakistan, Europe, and Washington DC, as a construction worker, bassist/singer, energy analyst, environmentalist, and family man.

In March 2017, Paul released his first album: Kennebec Gumbo, by Paul Cough & The Go Rhythms.   The recipe for Kennebec Gumbo began to jell in 2014, when Paul Cough and Pat Colwell, an old friend and fellow musician, recorded Sangerville Sweetheart.  Paul made up this song while driving home from his job on a rock crusher in Greenville, Maine, at age 20.  In 2016, Paul and Bob Colwell, Pat’s brother, brought together some great musicians (see band page) and cooked up the rest of Kennebec Gumbo at Bob’s studio in Hallowell, Maine. 

A few samples:  Paul started to write Megabus Islamabad while on a bus trip from Tarbela to Islamabad in Pakistan.  One of Paul’s newest songs, Ersatz Emotion, is about a creature longing to be human, inspired in part by the Wim Wenders' film Wings of Desire.  Drawing on memories of playing in bars in Maine and California, Pat Colwell and Paul co-wrote Je Vous Aime, about a lingering summer romance in a beach town.  Goodnight Irene/مساء الخير ريم began as a sing-along at a party near the Blue Nile in Sudan.  The lyrics for John Evereldown  (about an 1890s back door man) are from a poem written by the Gardiner, Maine poet, Edwin Arlington Robinson. 

Is it starting to taste like gumbo yet? 

Finishing touches were added by musicians and friends in North Carolina.  Hope you enjoy the music!  You too can play these songs: learn the lyrics and chords here.  Sneak preview of songs on Paul’s next album:  911 about the Milky Way, Carbon Song, Soothe that Savage Beast, and I Wish I Was a River.  Stay tuned!