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Cliff CanyonTM is an umbrella trademark covering content creation and production by Ken Westover. His most active excursions have been into publishing, television, radio, and music production.
Formal EducationKen's formal education and career has been as an electrical engineer specializing in microcomputer system design and programming. He has attended a half-dozen colleges/universities (combined under-and post-graduate), and holds degrees in engineering from the University of Michigan and California State University. He learned over a dozen computer languages (he programmed this web site), and has designed and built several small computer systems. His resume ranges from start-ups to a position as Research and Development (R&D) Design Engineer for Hewlett-Packard. |
Musical BackgroundAt home he received basic piano lessons after which he played by ear. He took up percussion in the elementary school band, which led to private lessons and eventually winning awards in regional competitions. Having a drum set led to his being invited to join a rock band in high school, which led to him learning to play lead, rhythm, and bass guitar. He still plays with the occasional garage band. When high-schooler Ken got a tape recorder he started multi-track recording himself playing drums and guitar. This evolved to recording with a synthesizer and a computer, with which he was able to write and perform original compositions. He eventually recorded and released the eight-song basement cassette EP, Mist Romances. This experience formed the basis of his first book about how to use a synthesizer. |
Under the trademark Cliff CanyonTM Publishing, Ken Westover has written and self-published 15 books.
The first of these was the Korg 01/W Percussion Manual, his vehicle to learn about writing and publishing. A songwriter and performer, Ken used the Korg 01/W keyboard synthesizer to compose demo versions of many of his songs. He documented what he learned about this versatile instrument in his Percussion Manual. In addition, he programmed dozens of web pages as an on-line manual for users of the 01/W. Ken has received praise for his style and contribution to the 01/W community.
When the book was completed, Ken founded Cliff CanyonTM Publishing Co., selected a local printer, and oversaw the production of the first printing. Ken wrote and published the Percussion Manual entirely on his own. He was an invited panelist at the Rocky Mountain Book Festival in Denver, Colorado, to answer questions about his experience.
Looking for a broader market for his writing, Ken pulled together a booklet of acronyms and initialisms, Acronyms in Electronics Business & Engineering. This was a compilation of over 800 acronyms, initialisms, and abbreviations commonly used in computers and electronics. A short print run and test sales showed little interest so the idea was dropped.
Lessons from the first two books formed the foundation for a series of books about the Beatles Ken had been thinking about for a very long time. The first of these was The Beatles US LPs: Where They Came From and How They Charted. The book was well received by a niche market (click here to see reviews), but additional printings were postponed when certain copyrights were in question.
With the lessons from the first three books in mind, Ken began writing and publishing the series he'd always wanted: one book about each of the Beatles 12 original LPs. Each book would contain complete information about each song on that LP, and would be published one volume at a time as each was finished.
Volume One was first published in 2006. Volume 12, the last in the collection, was first published in 2008. (New, updated editions are printed as stock is depleted.) The series was entirely produced by Ken. He researched and wrote every word, designed and implemented the internal layout, and designed the book covers.Ken Westover is an award-winning television producer and director. He had a long history with Boulder's public access cable television, Channel 54, where he received two awards: Volunteer Of The Year, and Director Of The Year. (The station was disbanded in 2007.)
From 2002-2005 Ken produced and hosted two weekly television series.
Beatle Lessons was a look into the music and history of the Beatles. Songs were examined chronologically by recording date starting with song #1. Over 30 episodes were produced. This series won the 2004 BCMA Award for "Arts & Entertainment - Profile - Non-Professional".
Cliff Canyon Views was a free-form exploration of content ideas that were fun and/or useful to viewers. Starting points were weekly news and local events, and health topics (including nutrition, vitamins, food safety, and hypertension ). Over 30 episodes were produced. This series was awarded Honorable Mention at the 2004 BCMA Award for "Informational - Magazine Format - Non-Professional".
As a volunteer, Ken directed and/or crewed on a range of televisions shows which included live bands, interviews, and programs for Boulder non-profit organizations.Ken Westover often performs under the stage name of Cliff Canyon.
Ken is a musician/songwriter who plays several instruments, his current favorite being electric guitar (lead/rhythm). He has played bass, drums, and sung back-up vocals. Rock is his preferred style (something with a backbeat). He has written and recorded using a MIDI synthesizer, and has played in local bands.
Demo versions of his songs have been circulating in the Boulder underground. One recipient, Andy Bergey, host of the TV show Rock Enrolled, reviewed Ken's work on his web site. Wrote Andy:
KEN WESTOVER - Boulder, CO. Engineer, Beatles expert and a multi-talented multi-instrumentalist, Ken is the best songwriter of the group. He hasn't released an official CD yet so I snagged 14 of his songs from various cassette releases and mixed them to CD. Ken sounds like Ray Davies (maybe the highest compliment I can give anyone!) and writes a wide variety of songs including my favorites, 'Do Better', 'My Commander' (which satisfies my rare prog urges), and a sure-fire hit 'P.S. To You.'
Ken has also written soundtrack music for producers needing background or theme music for their programs on Boulder's public access TV channel.
Ken has definite ideas about how bands present themselves, as expressed in an article written for the Colorado Music Business Organization (COMBO), archived at http://www.coloradomusic.org/showcases.cfm.
Other instruments Ken has played at one time or another include keyboards (piano, organ, synthesizer), percussion (marimba, vibraphone, glockenspiel, tympani, assorted traps), flute, and trumpet. He played percussion in the school orchestra and marching band. He also played bugle while a Boy Scout but his lip is long gone.Crew credits include cameraman on Grandpa's in the Tuff Shed (Robin Beeck, director), Caller ID, Undying Love, and Bitter Medicine (last three, Andres Llorente, director).
Acting credits include parts in the feature films White Fury and Viva Kinevil.
Ken has also taken production and screenwriting classes at the University of Colorado.Ken's initial career was as an engineer. He first worked as a software engineer writing programs to test computer circuit boards coming off the production line. He has programmed in over a dozen languages and is the sole programmer of this web site.
He then changed companies to be a digital design engineer doing both hardware and software design. During this time he commuted to night school working towards his Masters degree in electrical engineering.
Hewlett-Packard then hired Ken to be a design engineer and relocated him to Colorado. He completed and received his MSEE degree remotely while working full-time. He left HP for entrepreneurial stints at consulting, start-ups, and technical writing, eventually returning to corporate work as an applications engineer.| Go to: | Top of this page. |