NORMAN — While surrounded by acquaintances at a restaurant in Japan, University of Oklahoma student Russell Kabir had an epiphany that ultimately brought him back to playing live music.
As he looked at the faces around him, he realized that the only reason he was with these people at that moment was because a musician in Japan heard him cover one of her songs on YouTube. At that point, he pondered just how powerful an impact music has on people.
“It was an overwhelming feeling that music brings people together,” he said.
Upon his return to the United States, Kabir began contacting venues where he could play.
He began seeing regular shows at Michelangelo’s Coffee and Wine Bar, Othello’s, Borders and Café Plaid. He also became an active member of the SongWriters Association of Norman, or SWAN.
His latest quest for performances led him to an opportunity to share the stage with one of his childhood idols. Kabir will open for Ben Kweller and Early Beat during the free show 8 p.m. today on the east lawn of the OU campus.
“One of his songs is one of the first I learned to play on guitar,” Kabir said about Kweller, noting that he didn’t learn guitar until he was a junior in high school.
His love for music, though, came at an earlier age, starting while singing in the choir at his Catholic school in Oklahoma City, an odd place for him to learn, he commented, since his father was Muslim and his mother was Methodist.
As an eighth grader, Kabir formed a band with a few friends called World Without End.
“We were all right,” Kabir said before listing the many accomplishments of the band, including being winners several times at battle of the bands and playing numerous gigs.
By 11th grade, Kabir focused more on being a solo musician.
He learned guitar and began soaking up knowledge from those well-versed in music and the music industry.
He took guitar classes at his high school, worked with a friend’s dad who was involved in a Celtic band and began listening to talented guitarists such as Tommy Emmanuel.
As a freshman in college, Kabir kept his dormmates entertained with his music. He also started focusing on what his music was saying.
“I did a lot of writing back then,” said Kabir, who was published for the first time in college.
But school soon caught up with him. Pursuing a zoology and Asian studies double major with a medical humanities minor, music went on the backburner to studies. That was the case until his trip to Japan.
These days, Kabir serves as president of the Japanese Student Association, where he hosts regular Japan nights. Kabir, who speaks fluent Japanese, is a regular performer at these occasions. He even has a favorite Japanese band — Spitz.
Kabir was a featured artist on SWAN’s first compilation album released in June 2010. He also finished recording his EP titled “In Fieri,” Latin for a thing commenced, but not completed. The album, featuring four of Kabir’s songs, will be on sale tonight for $5.
Kabir said when it comes to his music, he is “hell-bent” on throwing in the virtuoso side of guitar playing.
“I’m striving for this balance between it being mentally stimulating for me to play and for me to sing and for people to hear,” he said.
His songwriting process is ever-changing and is a mystery even to him. Sometimes the melodies and music come first, sometimes lyrics come first. He can work with either.
As for the future for this aspiring artist, Kabir said he is at a crossroads.
Entering the fall semester of his last year in college, Kabir will apply to medical school this year. He also is applying for a program that will allow him to teach English in Japan or work at the American Embassy, and he is applying to be a Fulbright Scholar.
“I’m applying to all these things and seeing what sticks,” Kabir said.
Music, however, will continue to be a constant in his life.
