History teacher pursues musical passion

Nikki Soto, Staff reporter|May 21, 2017

Teachers strive to motivate students to follow their passions, no matter how abstract they may seem. U.S. and World History teacher Paul Kreutz does this by embodying what it means to make a dream reality.

A dedicated teacher and devoted musician, Kreutz is able to start the day sharing his love of history to a classroom, and end it by sharing original melodies to a crowd.

Kreutz’s band, Voodoo Swing, plays rockabilly and jump blues music. Rockabilly is an early style of rock music that melds Western influences with rhythmic blues, while jump blues has the attributes of stylistic jazz. The lively sound of Voodoo Swing contains a nostalgic, infectious vibe designed to get people up and dancing.

“We do exclusively original music,” explained Kreutz. “We create the songs to incorporate a beat you can swing dance to.” Appropriately named, Voodoo Swing embodies true vintage rock, and sets the scene for listeners to engage in a classic swing dance, a dance as novelty and upbeat as the music itself.

Kreutz both sings and plays guitar in the band, which he found his love for very early on. “I picked up a guitar when I was thirteen and the minute I started playing I knew that’s what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.” From that moment on, Kreutz has continued to discover and create music.

Since then, Kreutz has gained a fanbase in the classroom and on stage. Principal Dan Serrano explained, “I’ve been in his classroom; he has his own style and brings a lot of life to it. He’s a cool musician and a good guy.”

But it is certainly not just Perry faculty that enjoys the rock notes of Voodoo Swing. The original trio formed in 1993, and the band has since released seven albums and two singles. According to their website, their first record gained the group fans from around the world, and earned a title as “one of the standout rockabilly acts to come out of the rockabilly revival of the early 1990’s.”

Voodoo Swing’s outreach is wide, and spends a great deal of time performing outside the country. “We tour quite a bit in Europe. It’s such a great experience to go from place to place and share our passion with people,” Kreutz said.

This summer they will be touring in Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands to share their classic songs, along with new music from their upcoming release “Nervous Wreck.”

An inspiring teacher and musician, Kreutz has found a way to follow two dreams: travelling around the world to play his songs, and returning home to share impactful lessons of historical relevance.