Kenneth Marcus Educated people generally have a penchant for the fine arts. Their personas crave culture: music, art, theater. Kenneth Marcus, associate professor of history, is no exception. At age 7, Marcus’ parents, one of whom, his father, is a renowned and respected physicist, started him on the violin. Shortly after, he dropped the violin and forged a love affair with the piano. “A teacher showed me three simple notes,” he said. “I just fell in love with the instrument.” He soon started lessons on the piano and he’s been tickling the ivories for two decades now. But that’s not all. As it usually does, learning the piano led Marcus to another tool of music. During high school, Marcus simply picked up the guitar and started playing. “I basically taught myself,” he said. “Someone showed me a few chords and I bought a book. I just took it from there.” Indeed, taking it from there, Marcus began writing and performing, eventually leading him to a three-man blues band called the Crown City Trio, which started playing in 2000. Recently losing their bass player, after the band had cut one studio album called “Colorado Boulevard” and one live album. “I think they sold pretty well,” he said, “but I’m sure they weren’t a high number.” But progress has hit a stalemate, as the loss of the bass player, who also copied all the CDs, took off to Florida. “That was a loss, good singer,” said Marcus, who plays guitar in the group, in addition to singing. In addition, Marcus’ time at school and vigorous research and projects have also contributed to the band’s lack of headway. “Right now, it’s very frustrating,” he said, “with my various writing projects and school.” However, despite the loss and Marcus’ busy school schedule, he hopes to get back into the public eye, even if it is the cult eye of the Glendora and Pasadena clubs and streets they frequently adorn. “We’re hoping to get it together by this summer,” he said. A new interest in jazz has also yanked Marcus back into the music scene and at the helm of his first love. “That’s sort of forcing me to get back,” Marcus said. “One of my big goals is to play more piano.” When Marcus isn’t entertaining the streets of Pasadena and Glendora, he’s retreating to a slightly less mature audience, hitting the beaches and museums of southern California with his 3-year-old son. “He loves the beach, almost more than anything else,” he said. “He gets his bucket and his pails, the whole ritual, runs and touches the water.” At a recent day trip to the shore, Marcus said he and his son got to see dolphins swim by. “He had never seen that before.” Big Marcus and little Marcus also go for walks, bike rides, anything active that they can do together and achieve an experience. “We really love doing these sort of things,” Big Marcus said. Marcus and his wife also enjoy reveling in watching their son discover and communicate new things. They frequently watch Disney movies, discussing with him while watching to make the experience interactive. “Watching him discover things is so exciting,” Marcus said. “He’s like a sponge. It’s an exciting time.” In addition to keeping his son active through visits to the beach, bike rides and walking through Pasadena, Marcus also keeps himself active, playing tennis since he was 10 and skiing since he was 15. Although tennis couples with skiing as Marcus’ favorite sport, he admitted, it’s hard to believe, considering the light ignited in his eyes when he raves about the alpine sport. “When you get up there in the mountains, and the air is so fresh and everybody’s smiling, the environment, you can’t replace it,” said Marcus, who attempts to fuel his passion at least once a year. “The challenge with skiing is to go down more and more difficult slopes, and you’re always trying to push yourself. That’s part of the excitement.” Although physically, it holds no water when compared to skiing, Marcus also thirsts for the excitement brought on by books and traveling. As a history professor, Marcus generally reads history and mysteries, currently reading books on the Depression and the development of the atomic bomb. Recently, he devoured “The Kite Runner,” by Khaled Hosseini. “That really moved me,” he said. “It’s a really emotional, personal story that really rings true.” Marcus said this was the first novel to hit him like that since “Angela’s Ashes.” THE PROFESSOR As a professor, Marcus enjoys having students “who are vocal, who speak up in class. “If you’re really curious about a topic, you’re going to learn. All it takes is an opening up of the mind and a delving into it. It’s that curiosity factor. What happens next? Why? I think those students do well.” “Students tend to see me as friendly and approachable,” he said of the way his students generally view him. “Someone who’s open to questions.” He said he always attempts to incorporate different media, like showing videos or playing music, “trying to find ways to make it come alive,” he said. RETURN TO FACULTY LISTmailto:marcusk@ulv.edu?subject=HELLOHome.htmlshapeimage_1_link_1
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