Music is life

Songwriter overcomes challenges to do what he loves

By Julie Parent

It’s a miracle DavidJo Kuchera is still alive. For decades, the Villard, Minn., resident has suffered from a multitude of health problems including a terminal cancer diagnosis. Relaxing in a recliner in his comfortable home with a dog too big to be considered a lap dog stretched across his lap, the 67-year-old recounted a lifetime of making music.

One of the instruments DavidJo Kuchera plays is the violin. Kuchera has spent a lifetime writing and performing music. Contributed photo

DavidJo started writing songs when he was 15 years old.

“My first recordings were made on two channel master cassette decks that my friend and I would move around the room to get the volume right for the next track,” he said. “This eventually led to putting together an actual recording project studio then doing tracks and studio work” in other parts of the country. An intelligent perfectionist with a photographic memory, DavidJo said the only place he really fits in is with “other songwriters and studio people.” He said to date he has written over 2,500 songs, including “jingles for advertising, backing tracks for movie scores, and music beds for an internet fishing show.”

“Inspiration could hit me anytime” he said. When it hits, “The music plays in my head as a full production.” He doesn’t do anything with the song until he has time to work on it. Otherwise, the music score pours out of his head, and he can’t get it back.

DavidJo has written more than one song in a day. He has written some songs in as short as 20 minutes, and he has written some of his songs on napkins. His preference is to write songs with heartfelt lyrics that tell a story instead of one line that just repeats itself.

DavidJo’s parents were both musicians. His mother would go without necessities to be able to buy used instruments.

“I started learning Lap Steel from my dad at four years old because I wouldn’t leave him alone when he played at home,” DavidJo said.

When he was young, DavidJo liked improvising on the piano. However, his mother insisted he practice his assigned lesson which he did not want to do. His favorite instrument to play is the trumpet. The instrument he uses the most to write songs is the guitar. Whenever he gets a guitar, he usually makes adaptations to it so it will create a certain sound. When DavidJo records songs, he can play the guitar, trumpet, violin, bass guitar, and mandolin parts. If valve trombone, harmonica, dobro, or cornet parts appear in the song in his head, he will play those, too.

“I lay all my tracks down using a computer digital recording workstation that can record and mix up to 200 tracks,” he said. DavidJo has perfect pitch, and he is particular about all his equipment.

 When DavidJo Kuchera plays a song, his beloved dog JayDee howls along. Photo by Julie Parent

When DavidJo was 13 years old, he auditioned for and got a job playing trumpet for the Blue Banners band. Since he was too young to get a driver’s license, DavidJo said others would give him rides.

“My dad drove me to the band leaders place, and I rode with him and sometimes the tuba player and later with the guitar player and his wife,” he said. “The Blue Banners were very good to me, and I learned so much from them. They were like family to me and very good friends.” The Blue Banners were the first of many bands he has been in. Eventually, DavidJo was signed on a major label as an artist. However, he ended up losing his recording deal during a difficult time in his life.

DavidJo met his wife Janell on a popular dating website in 2004. In the beginning of their relationship, he chose not to tell her about his music history.

“I didn’t want a groupie” he said. However, Janell said it quickly became apparent that he was “not an average Minnesota guy.”

“I know how special Janell is. We finish each other’s sentences,” DavidJo said. Although DavidJo has had to fight back from surgeries gone wrong leaving him in excruciating pain, he tries hard not to get grumpy. Instead of letting his medical issues win, he strives to make good memories with his wife.

“Janell is my soulmate” he said.

To pay the bills, DavidJo always looked for jobs that would allow him to make music outside of business hours. He has worked in the printing industry, as a mechanic, for a hog farmer, and at a music store. In addition, he is certified in computer networking. Janell said when they met “the guy never slept. He worked all the time.”

DavidJo has been described as one of the few people in the world who can compose a song, write it down on paper, perform it, produce it, and market it. It is hard for other people to understand the extent of what he can do with his unique abilities. The songs that pop into DavidJo’s head are a gift, but he has had to work extremely hard to learn how to play the instruments for all the parts of each song.

“I can do anything I put my mind to,” he said, but it doesn’t always come easy. “I could go on for hours and hours about everything I’ve done” in the music industry.

DavidJo keeps everything that is still usable. He has an old studio board, microphones, speakers, and stage clothes he’s worn for performances in U.S. cities like Nashville, Las Vegas, and Austin, a.k.a. the “Live Music Capital of the World.”

For the past couple of years, DavidJo and a friend of his who have sung cover songs while playing horn and string instruments for local events.

DavidJo writes songs for weddings, too. To personalize them, he gives the engaged couple a form with thought-provoking questions to fill out. If they don’t answer all the questions, he looks up and writes about the scripture or Bible verses they have chosen for their ceremony.

Raised Methodist, DavidJo gave his life to Christ when he was a teenager. Now, he gives glory to God by writing, singing, and playing songs for the weekly services at Grace Pointe Church in Villard. His hope is that spreading the word of God through song will encourage younger generations to come and worship regularly with the congregation there.