Celebrating 160 years of service in our community - St. Aemilian ...

Paul
Musician Paul Kuhn has an impressive resume.
This accomplished guitarist and violinist has
played a sold-out folk-rock gig at
Carnegie Hall and opened for the
likes of Sheryl Crow, Barenaked
Ladies, War, and Warren Zevon,
among others. He did a master
class with Daryl Stuermer, guitarist
with Genesis and Phil Collins,
and he played an instrument he
created and patented called a
cellocaster on the title track to the
Jonathan Demme documentary
"Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains."
8 | 2010 ST. AEMILIAN-LAKESIDE ANNUAL REPORT
Talented musician draws strength
at Spring City Corner Clubhouse
These are the high points. But
Paul, who is 43 years old, was diagnosed with
bipolar disorder in 2000, and life got a lot more
complicated. While continuing to land sometimes
stupendous gigs from time to time, including
Carnegie’s Zankel Hall in 2006 with his friend and
colleague Dan Bern, “There was a lot of dead air
in there,” Paul said with a chuckle.
After college at Georgetown University, Paul
moved to Aspen, Colo., where he studied audio
engineering at the Aspen Music Festival. He
and a friend started a band that grew to be the
town’s favorite, and they played Sunday nights for
two years in a small club. While in Colorado, he
opened for several major acts, and during the day
he operated a Fed Ex delivery business.
But then, he said, “things came to a screeching
halt.” His mental illness got the best of him and
the business fell apart, the band broke up, and
Paul moved back to Milwaukee to be near his
parents. He has been hospitalized several
times and has felt at times that life is just not
worth living.
Then he learned about Spring City Corner
Clubhouse in Waukesha. The concept of a social/
vocational rehabilitation program for adults living
with mental illness interested him. He started
attending, liked the feeling of camaraderie and
made some friends.
“It gave me a place to go,” said Paul. “For eight
years I would hide between gigs. And this place
has been a great support for me.”
Linda Cole, who runs the Clubhouse, said
completing structured tasks, focusing on moving
forward, and seeing other clients succeed really
helped Paul. He has played for Thanksgiving and
summer Clubhouse parties and even has spoken
publicly at a local Rotary meeting about the
Clubhouse and what it has to offer.
“I tell people they shouldn’t be afraid to ask for
help. It’s OK to talk about it (mental illness), to
reach out and get help, because you’re not alone.”
For Paul, the Clubhouse was a great addition to
therapy, and he likes that it gave him, “face time
with people, in addition to the time on the Internet
or the phone.”
He has an agent, is working on a new album, and
is now landing more gigs. He recently learned that
he will be the fiddle player in the Hank Williams
musical "Lost Highway" in Gettysburg, Pa.
But the cellocaster, a cross between a guitar and
a violin that can be played at the chin with a bow
or strummed at the waist, is his baby. Although he
smilingly calls it “my pie in the sky,” he has some
pretty good connections in the music publishing
industry and to a major guitar manufacturer,
and he hopes to be able to get the instrument
produced in quantity.
But Paul understands that staying grounded is
important, and the Clubhouse helped him do so.
“This is a great program run by wonderful people
for people in need.” Then he smiles and adds,
“And it’s helped me to come out of my shell.”