Kevyn Lettau: Enough is just enough

“Yes, I feel like an adopted daughter of the Philippines which has become virtually my second home.”

Kevyn Lettau can’t feel otherwise.

“After all,” she continued, “I’ve been coming and going I guess more than 10 times in the past 18 years.”

She’s back for more concerts and to promote her latest album titled What Is Enough (released by Sony BMG Music) which consists of duets with Peter Sprague.

Funfare sat with Kevyn who very graciously talked about, that’s it, what is enough and what is not.

Excerpts:

During your visits, what do you find most endearing about the Filipinos?

“Their sincerity, naiveté, loyalty and open-heartedness. Just many wonderful qualities that I wish more people had.”

You’re now an adopted Filipino.

“I am, definitely. And yes, maybe I need two passports soon, you know.” (Laughs)

Is the Filipino audience more demonstrative than audiences from other countries?

“They do sing along. You know they show their appreciation. They just jump up and they sing along. I think it’s because you guys tend to be very sentimental and that combines with the fact that you are all very musical. So music really connects to your hearts in such a deep way that when you hear that music and you’ve heard it before or it just touches you, you guys just explode. Great!”

How many Filipino songs have you learned?

“Only one, Sana Maulit Muli.”

Do you know what the song is all about?

“Well, you know, actually I could use a refresher on what it means because I learned it many years ago and I forgot what it means. It’s a love song but there’s something sad about it, right?”

Yes. It’s about a couple trying to get back together again after a fight or a break-up. You did a show in Boracay over the weekend. Was it your first time in Boracay?

“One word that best describes it is paradise. The last time I was there was four years ago. It was much quieter then. There were a lot less people. But of course, this time around it was a holiday weekend. So I’m sure that’s part of it. But the ocean, the colors. I was lying with my sister on the beach. And I said, ‘Look at all those colors, blue. So many different colors of blue...’ The water connecting with the mountain, connecting with the sky and the clouds because it was cloudy and rainy a lot of the time. The way they dance together...those colors...it was just amazing, together with that white sand. Oh!”

Tell us more about your album What Is Enough.

“It’s an album of duets, guitar and voice. On all of my records, almost all of them, I’ve always performed one duet, but never a whole album. So this album makes for a very intimate connection because it’s just the two of us. There’s nothing to hide. So it’s very intimate.”

What is enough and what is not enough?

“Exactly, what is enough and what is not enough? The album is called What Is Enough because I’ve been struggling a lot in my personal life and my career, too. Like, when would I be famous enough? When am I going to get a gift that is enough? When am I gonna have enough time? When am I gonna have a car that is good enough? When am I going to have a house that is good enough? The conclusion of the song is that I already have enough and we are all already enough because God created us as perfect children. We are all already enough. We are more than enough.”

You and Peter Sprague work together well.

“Peter is a guitar player. We have been playing music together for a very, very, very long time. And I’m recently divorced.”

Sorry to hear that. You and your husband divorced after being married for how long?

“Eighteen years. It was a painful experience, the break-up. As most married people are, we were like one person in some ways, you know. It was a little bit like getting my arm ripped away from my body. And so my friend, Peter, said, ‘Let’s play some concerts. Let’s play.’ So we played some concerts. And he said, ‘Kevyn, let’s play a record.’ This is so nice...just a duo. And that’s how it came about. Just the two of us.”

Did you and your ex have had enough with each other?

“You see, this question gets so deep and I love it and I’m so happy to answer it. I’m a complicated person. I am very selfish and tend to be very self-centered and focus on what I need. I think most artists are like that for them to be really, really good. But I think my ex-husband found my being complicated a bit too much. He was the caretaker by nature.”

Was he into music?

“Oh, he’s a musician. He played drums; he was my manager. We were completely married into a career, too. But I think I wasn’t able to give him what he needed.”

Not enough?

(Laughs) “Yes, not enough.”

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