Musician Spotlight: J. Kelley

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Butch McCarthy
by Butch McCarthy

The first time I saw J.Kelley perform was at the Pour Farm Tavern.  I was really impressed with his great originals and his interesting takes on cover songs.  I had previously heard some cuts from his first album, and was not disappointed with the live version!

He sings, plays guitar, and writes all the songs for the group that consists of George Piva (lead guitar), Rob Massoud (bass and backup vocals), and Gabe Cabral (drums and backup vocals).  The band is in the process of recording a follow-up to their very popular album “Untied,” which was released a few years ago.

Recently, I had a chance to interview J. Kelley for NBG’s Musician Spotlight.

Butch: I know you write all the songs, but tell me about the process.

J.Kelley: We all have input on our individual parts and the arrangements of songs.  On this new album we were able to have some friends join us as well.  Matt Antunes did some harmony singing, Colin Bradley played organ on a bunch of tunes, Dave Gries played bass on 2 songs…maybe we can even grab you and Dori for a tune someday.  I’m always working on a few songs at a time.

j kelleyUsually, I’ll have some lyrics or a melody or a riff that I’m trying to finish.  Songs form for me in any number of ways.  Some start with lyrics or a title that I have, and then I sit down with my acoustic and work out a melody over a chord progression.  They can also start with a riff that I have on the guitar, or a melody I have on piano.  It’s really any number of ways; there is no set formula, as long as I’m open to it.  I don’t always have a clear idea what I am writing about, but as long as its honest and the feeling and theme are true, then I try not to question it too much.

I try to be very mindful of self editing too much.  I think you can be in danger of sterilizing the song if you start questioning or editing it, wondering if people will understand it or like it.  The meaning of a song tends to change over time anyway.  That’s one of the great things about them. You can write a song and be playing it for years, and one night you realize its about something completely different now than it was then, but still resonates as something honest and worth saying.  I just want the songs to be equally strong lyrically and melodically. I am a sucker for a good hook, and if the lyrics are strong and you can sing along to it and tap your feet, then that’s a pretty good job.

I usually have an idea as far as a general theme for an album, and I want to stay consistent with that.  I have five albums written and sometimes songs find their way in and out depending on new ideas.  I just love it.  I love that moment of finishing a song and knowing that I’ve got something there that is good.  It may only be good to me, but I’m proud of it.  I feel like on this new album “Reservoir,” that I’m closer to where I want to go as a writer.  I am very proud of the songs on this record.

Tell me about your musical background- what got you started?

J.Kelley: I grew up around music. It was always playing in my house.  My mom used to teach dance lessons, and she still plays piano and guitar.  My dad always had music on, and was a DJ before I was born.  He would quiz me on car rides about the songs on the radio, asking me what the name of a song was, who was in the band, what album was it off of…stuff like that.  My mom had an old electric guitar and I took lessons when I was in elementary school, but my hands were really too small to play.

As I got into high school and a bit older I took her old chord charts, learned to play, and then began taking lessons again.  Around that time I also figured out I could sing a bit and began to take vocal lessons.  Writing was the key though.  I always found myself writing, and music became an outlet for that.  I love the process of sitting down and writing a song.

j kelley bandTell me more about your upcoming album, Reservoir.

J.Kelley: The latest project is our new album, and yes, I still use the term, “album.”  It is called Reservoir, and contains 14 new, original songs.  I wrote it, we recorded and engineered it as a band, and it will be mixed by Scott Riebling, mastered by Fred Kevorkian, and released on our own label Rogue Lightning Records sometime in the late spring/early summer.  We are really proud of the material, and feel it’s a mature progression forward from our last release, Untied.  I wanted to make a rock & roll record to capture the essence of the way the band sounds when we really plug in and play.  I think we did that.

Who has influenced you the most musically?

J.Kelley: I have a ton of influences, and they fluctuate all the time depending on my mood or what I’m into at that moment.  I love The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys…they are some of the standards that most songwriters and pop/rock bands start from.  I’m a HUGE Tom Petty guy, and my favorite band is The Hold Steady.  I really dig My Morning Jacket and Wilco.  I love early rock n roll from the ’50s and ’60s, like Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, and anything that came out of Motown or Stax.  I am also a big fan of ’90s bands like Oasis and The Counting Crows. I think most of all though I am a just a fan of good songs. I love all those bands that I mentioned and have all their albums, but as long as its a good song I’m usually on board with it.  I also take a lot of influence from writers like Hemingway, Twain, Emerson…those influences make me want to be a better writer.

What kind of guitars are you using now?

J.Kelley: I have gone through a ton of different guitars, so years ago I finally picked out the right body, neck, and hardware that I wanted and decided to have them custom built.  I have two electric guitars that I had custom built.  My main electric guitar is a Telecaster.  It has a Lollar Charlie Christian neck pickup and a Lollar B.S. bridge pickup.  The other is a Stratocaster with Lollar Special S. Series pickups.  My main acoustic guitar is a Gibson J-45.  For this new album I mainly played through a Matchless Spitfire Amp.  I also have a Gries 35 and a 1966 Ampeg Jet-21 that I use.  I don’t often use pedals.

j kelley concertI never use pedals! I think they can get in the way of creativity. What are your thoughts on the current music scene?

J.Kelley: The current music scene can be glorious or pretty bleak, depending on what you’re looking for.  The internet is great for getting your own music out there, as well as for introducing yourself to music you’d never hear on the radio.  But it also is the cause of an abundance of bad music out there.

It takes a ton of work and you’ve got to put in your dues and cut your teeth, but I believe in work ethic mixed with talent.  If bands work hard people will find them.  That’s basically what its about…the band finding itself, and the audience finding the band.

Trends come and go, and within those trends are good songs and not-so-great songs.  I can find the good in it and not listen to the rest.  I’m not a big fan of the auto-tune movement.  I just don’t like the sound.  I also don’t support the idea that every note is supposed to be perfect. I’d rather hear a band singing their parts tightly together then relying on auto-tune to correct them. Sometimes its that imperfection that makes a song: it could contribute to the hook or mood of the song.  It also pollutes the airwaves with people who really can’t sing or play.  I think everything moves in cycles.  You just have to be true to yourself, the songs, and the performances, and work your a** off.  I think there is a desire to hear some honest material.

Off the subject a bit, but you mentioned that you’re influenced by writers like Hemingway.  What are some of your favorite movies? Sometimes a good movie can get my creative juices flowing.

I love movies so its impossible to pick.  Silver Streak, Ghostbusters, The Hustler, The Godfather, The History of the World: Part 1, High Fidelity, Back to the Future, The Bridge On The River Kwai, Superbad, Garden State, Almost Famous, Kingdom of Heaven…the list goes on and on.

j kelley performingWhere do you perform locally?  Where are some of the places you’ve performed out-of-town?

J.Kelley: Locally, we play in downtown New Bedford at Freestones on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of every month, and on the 2nd Thursday of every month at Candleworks.  We also play on the weekends at great places like Rose Alley Ale House, The Pour Farm Tavern, and Knuckleheads.  We play in Fairhaven at The Ice Chest.  Out of town, we have played in Cambridge at The Lizard Lounge, in New York at Sullivan Hall, and in Philadelphia at the World Cafe and Lickety Splitz.  We’ll be doing more runs out of town when the new album comes out and we can really do some extended touring.  That is what the goal is right now, to hit the road as much as we can.

When you’re out on the town, what local bands/performers do you like to see?

J.Kelley: When I go out locally I try and check out everybody.  We have a great wealth of talent here, and it is varies in all different styles.  I love checking out Neal McCarthy, Marcus Monteiro, James Gagne, Thom Hiller and Jeff Gobush, Craig Demelo, Wood and Wire, Chris Evil, Chris Haskell, of course, Dori, Chris, and yourself.  I hope I didn’t forget anyone, but its funny as you know we all use the same guys.  It’s very incestuous, but in a great way.  It’s such a tight community with a genuine mutual respect.  I try and get out there and support everyone because we’re all different but working hard, hustling and having fun.

I often hear your friends refer to you as Captain America or Superman/Clark Kent.  What’s that all about?

J.Kelley: My friends and I are big comic book fans.  My favorite is Captain America (I have his shield as one of my tattoos).  Also, he is a character originally from the 1940’s and, and I’m known to be a bit old-fashioned sometimes.  I also have a giant regard for that generation, work ethic, patriotism, selflessness, and morals.  They whined a whole lot less…

As for the Clark Kent/Superman references, that was started by my bass player Rob Massoud.  He says that I’m unassuming like Clark Kent off the stage (especially when I’m wearing my glasses), but when its time to play, I run into the phone booth and become Superman.  I think its a riot, but I understand what he means.  I was taught to be humble and thankful and always remember that I have to work hard to get better, but when its actually time to put on a show you have to be bigger than that.

The bigger the stage, the better we tend to play.  You have to pull the audience in, and that’s your time to forget about being modest and unassuming and be as big as you can.  Putting that Tele(castor) on and is like putting on that cape.  There is also a sub-plot there, referring to women.  With the glasses are on I’m quiet and geeky, but when the glasses come off and it’s time to be charming…

You can learn more about J.Kelley at www.jkelleymusic.com

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