Paul Klein, 60, is a musician who would be hard to miss on the Bellingham music scene. He's in his 17th year of teaching (currently at Fairhaven and Kulshan middle schools) and has fronted numerous rock 'n' roll/ rhythm and blues bands over the years. The Atlantics, now in its 30th year, performs on New Year's Eve at Semiahmoo Resort.
Question: What's your backstory?
Answer: I was born in Faribault, Minnesota. I grew up in Lake Oswego, Oregon, and went to St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, 15 miles from where I was born. After graduating with a liberal arts degree with a major in psychology, I moved to Portland (Oregon) and began a second degree in music education. I was two years into that program, when friends from Minnesota called from Bellingham and invited me up to play a Valentine's Day dance in a newly formed band called Wet Paint at Fairhaven College. I had a great time and thought about moving to Bellingham. I discovered Western Washington University had an excellent music program, and I could easily transfer. I moved to Bellingham in the summer of 1976. My friends at the time were all working at a new restaurant in Fairhaven called Dos Padres. They hired me to work there and suddenly I was living in a big old house with many new friends from the band and Dos Padres in a beautiful town that reminded me of Oregon in the '50s. Yahoo!
Q: When did your love of music begin?
A: I took piano lessons when I was young. In fifth grade, I discovered rock 'n' roll and started a band. The Northwest was a very happening area for great rock 'n' roll. I had many opportunities to hear the top bands in the area as they would play at the local armory. I saw the Wailers, the Kingsmen, the Sonics and Paul Revere & the Raiders. Paul Revere was one of my favorites, as he played a great honky-tonk upright piano and they were a great, gritty show band, playing covers of the rhythm and blues and boogie woogie from New Orleans founders of early rock 'n' roll, such as Fats Domino, Huey "Piano" Smith and Little Richard. I sneaked into many such dances for high school kids as a sixth-grader and I wore the grooves off "Louie Louie." The B side was "Night Train," which became the first tune we played in The Atlantics and our opening song for over many years.
I was very lucky to be alive for the next big events in my music history: the British Invasion, my discovery of Chicago blues and the San Francisco music scene. I saw and met the great Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells in small clubs and Muddy really blew our minds. At that point we began studying the blues and started our first blues band. Portland was close to San Francisco and that new music also had a huge influence on me. I was lucky to hear all those bands in small ballrooms and festivals on their first trips out of San Francisco. Seeing The Grateful Dead early on made me realize I wanted to center my life around music.
I also play piano at the Boundary Bay Brewery on most Monday evenings. Playing every week for nearly 10 years at that incredible cultural center of town keeps me waking up at 5 a.m. to practice.
Q: What are some special stories about the gigs with the Atlantics?
A: Every year we have new gigs that are memorable. We have been lucky to play summer shows at Boulevard Park and Ski to Sea and these dates are always so fun we have to pinch ourselves. We have opened for John Lee Hooker, Chubby Checker and The Fabulous Thunderbirds. At the T-birds' show in Bellingham, the crowd wouldn't let us leave the stage. That was memorable! We have played many times with the Kulshan Chorus and a favorite show of mine was our tribute to longtime Bellingham musician Tom Hunter in 2008. My heart was in my throat for that entire show. To me that is one of the great things about music. It is one of the most complete ways humans can communicate where words fall short.
Q: Why do you enjoy teaching?
A: I really enjoy the energy and fun of my students. On good days, it feels like "School of Rock." Those kids learn so fast and so many of them continue with music we started at middle school.
Q: The Atlantics have played at a lot of fundraisers and benefits, right?
A: That is one of the great parts of playing; to be able to contribute something and give back to our community. We started years ago with the Magic Skagit, an organization that helped block the building of a nuclear power plant on the Skagit River in the late '70s. We have been honored to have played for the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association.
And we have played at the Bivalve Bash for many years. We also can help friends with catastrophic illnesses, where we can really feel empowered to help.
