Hey, friends! It has been some time since I have contributed to this wonderful resource on Pagan music. I am so glad to be back and share with you! As a non-musician on this platform, I tend to go in different directions with my contributions. This article might make you angry. That’s kind of the point. I’d like for you to read this critically and think about what I’m saying.
I’ve been pondering this particular topic for a long time. I have been struggling with how to address some of it. It is such a hot-button issue in the artistic community – not just the Pagan and music communities.
⚠️ Trigger Warning This article includes discussion of sexual abuse, predatory behavior, and difficult topics that may be inappropriate for people under 18 or triggering to survivors of such harm.
When Elders Fall: The Kenny Klein Story
Within the greater Pagan community, we have seen many rise to lofty heights only to plummet to a dark abyss of their own creation. Musicians, authors, teachers, and mentors. They are all human; they have human failings. Some of those failings are downright despicable.
A bit of history might be needed to clarify where I want to start.
Way back in the 1980s, a man known as Kenny Klein started cropping up at Pagan festivals across the United States. He traveled with his then-wife Tzipora Katz. (After marrying Tzipora, Kenny became the high priest of the Blue Star coven and tradition.) The two of them wrote and played music together, entertaining thousands of Pagans during their time together. They split, for reasons that may become obvious as you read. Kenny continued to write and record music. He even wrote a few books, including The Flowering Rod: Men, Sex and Spirituality (March 1993), Delphi Press. Many sung his praises, as a musician and author, as well as an elder in the community.
Then there was a very sour and discordant note.
Someone accused him of sexual assault. There had been rumors and complaints before about how he was inappropriate with young women and girls. But those were written off as “that’s just how he is.” The same has been said about other elders in the Pagan world. The reasons for Tzipora leaving their marriage and taking her two children (a daughter from a previous relationship and a son with Kenny) with her became more apparent to those who didn’t already know. But that didn’t mean Kenny was shunned and removed from the community. He remained a popular figure at many festivals, sought after for his years of contributions to both music and Pagandom.
He’s not the only one. But he is the one most talked about. Why? It got worse.
Years later, after relocating to New Orleans and working with several musicians, young and old, he got some national recognition. Not in a way anyone would want. He was arrested and charged with multiple counts of possession of indecent media of minors with the intent to distribute in 2014. He was convicted in 2017 of one count of possession of explicit materials portraying a minor under 13 and 19 counts of materials involving minors under 17. He later died in prison in 2020 after losing his appeal in 2018. (Daley, Ken (2017-05-12). “New Orleans Wiccan priest sentenced to 20 years in child porn case”. New Orleans Times-Picayune.)
I’m not going to go into all the details. That’s not the purpose of this article. I am writing this because we need to learn how to separate the art from the artist. It is not my place to air the dirty laundry of others who wish to remain private. Yes, we need to recognize the problem, work towards eliminating it from happening again. But we shouldn’t just cast their art into the depths of hades.
What has been the result of Klein and others in the Pagan community being identified as predators? Well, in the case of Klein, his music has been all but erased from the internet. You used to be able to find it on YouTube and other music sites. Now you have to scrub the net to find even a sampling of his music.
Other Pagan predators have not been met with such a reaction. Gavin and Yvonne Frost, for example. Their books are still readily available in bookstores and online. This despite their seeming advocacy for underage children being sexually initiated into the craft.
In the days of the #MeToo movement, Pagans and witches called out the predators in our midst. The author and blogger Shauna Aura Knight was instrumental in such things. She continues to do so and continues to get backlash for advocating for the victims.
When the brown stuff hit the fan for Klein, I was a podcaster. We hosted a discussion with Tzipora and her son. They spoke openly about what had transpired in the 80s and 90s. (Unfortunately, I have not been able to retrieve that episode.) Even after the arrest, after the conviction, and after his death, people still wanted to deny that Kenny Klein was a predator.
However, today it is almost impossible to find his music online. And when you do, seldom is it accompanied by any background information on him. Should we just toss his music aside? Forget that it exists and that Kenny Klein had any influence on the Pagan world?
No. We cannot forget the past. When we do, we are doomed to repeat it. It is our duty as Pagans and music lovers to retain the knowledge of his music and to curate it with the disclaimer that this man was a predator.
Looking at the Mainstream
In the mainstream, we have seen similar disgusting things happen with celebrated artists of all kinds. Kanye, JK Rowling, and even Neil Gaiman have been revealed to be creeps and dangerous persons. Downright predatory behavior is not a foreign concept to the arts. Sadly, it won’t be going away any time soon.
We know many of the facts behind Kanye and Rowling. Accusations against Gaiman are still coming out. But even the rumor of abuse can smear an artist’s name and make it less desirable to enjoy the works of these of these artists. (Neil Gaiman: accuser files civil lawsuit alleging rape, sexual assault and human trafficking)
How I Navigate This as a Curator
I have no problem with any music collector who has parted ways with Kenny Klein’s music, just as I support the actors who have distanced themselves from Harry Potter creator JK Rowling (Almost every actor involved in the Harry Potter movies has spoken out against Rowling’s TERFy statements). I do not want to see the music (or the books) disappear. I was introduced to Pagan music with Klein’s Muses album (among others). We’ve grown and moved on from that caliber of recording, but leaving the past in the past is not going to do any of us any good.
Leaving the music in the past only serves to erase the harm that has been done, along with the legacy of the music that was made. Instead, we should preserve the art and pair it with the stories/histories of these artists. What they did in their lives, both the good and the bad. We can continue to appreciate the music and how it has had an impact on the Pagan world, but we also need to remember the harm that these artists have done to the very same fans who made their careers.
That’s how we move forward—with honesty, compassion, and accountability.
What does it mean to separate the art from the artist?
In a perfect world, artists would be these wonderful human beings who create what they see to be the beauty in their worlds and lives. They would share these creations with the rest of us, and we would either enjoy them or not. These artists wouldn’t be subject to the foibles of humanity. But let’s face it, we’re all human and we all have failings.
In reality, we have to take the artist with all of their faults. We can either acknowledge those faults and still enjoy their creations or we can reject both the artist and their art. When the artist turns out to be a creep, a predator, or otherwise someone we wouldn’t want to have in our lives as a friend, we have to decide if their art is worth keeping in our lives.
If Klein had been revealed to me as a predator before I learned of his music, I doubt I would have had any appreciation for his art. I encountered the art first. I never met the man, but his music has had an influence on me, for good or ill. I read Rowling’s Potter books before her TERF attitudes were publicized. I still appreciate those books, but I will not give any of my time or money to reading anything she’s written since, or watching any TV/movies that she directly profits from.
Despite all of the awful things the human did, his music still speaks of love and devotion to the God & Goddess. His path was filled with pain and shadows, but his words can still bring hope to others who seek relief from their own struggles.
Ozzy Osbourne is a good example of separating the art from the artist. The man had a long history of bad life choices, drug and alcohol addiction, womanizing, and even violence. He made many mistakes in his life, but he did show that he was learning from them and growing from them. He worked with PETA and other animal rights groups – even after the media uproar over him biting the head off a bat. He thought it was a fake bat. He had a 55-year career. Obviously, he was going to make some terrible choices during that time. But like Klein and Rowling, his legacy will leave a lasting impression on all of us.
On a side note:
When putting together ritual soundtracks and playlists for The Magic Mess, I often want to make YouTube playlists for the show. If I include a piece by Kenny Klein, I have to make my own video. When I do this, I will put a brief history of Klein’s despicable actions in the video description. I am not going to link any of those videos here for you. You can find me on YouTube as RevKess and explore from there.
The Magic Mess airs every Sunday morning at 9am US Central Time on KZUM-Lincoln 89.3FM, streaming online at www.kzum.org, and on your favorite mobile listening apps. I stream the show through my TikTok and Discord server.
Until next time, blessings upon you and yours! Happy listening!
For more information about Phil, including his collected articles here on Pagan Song, his bio, and links to Phil’s sites on the web, check out Phil’s page here on Pagan Song.
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