Kelly's Musical History (In his own words):
I first got inspired to play guitar when I was sitting on a bus on a band trip somewhere, probably in 10th or 11th grade. I had a friend’s jam box sitting on my lap, and Sammy Hagar’s “Three Lock Box” tape was playing. I’d never heard it before, and it blew me away! After that, I acquired a crappy, cheap Fender Strat knock-off, and attempted to learn how to play the thing. The strings were so high off the neck, you almost needed vice-grips to hold the strings down. And if you looked down the guitar from the top, you could see the layers of plywood that the body was made out of. But you have to start somewhere, right?
I wasn’t a very disciplined learner. I’m still not. But it was a little difficult. At the time, my Dad had forbidden me to have a guitar even in the house. So I used to hide it under my bed. Which meant that I never got to play it all that much, until my Dad found it one day, probably searching my room for booze or Playboy magazines! (My Dad has now become much more supportive of my musical habits, I’m happy to say. Whether out of resignation that it was a lost cause, or maybe the realization that there were worse habits I could have had, (ala booze or Playboy magazines,) he has become much more supportive.) He even loaned us the money to buy a PA system when DNS got together, that I’m sad to say I still owe him money for, I think. I still have that PA today, and use it all the time! Hopefully someday if I become rich and famous, I can finally pay him back!
So anyhow, Sammy Hagar was why I started playing guitar, so blame him. Then I got turned onto Triumph, and Rick Emmett, their guitar player. He is still one of my main guitar idols to this day. An incredibly well-rounded guitarist and musician, he was and is a source of inspiration to me. Not necessarily to actually sit down and practice, but an inspiration nonetheless.
My first live playing band was the comedy band, Dr. Love and the Erogenous Zones, with my brother Kerry, our friend from high school Jason, and my friend Hans on bass. We played around Texas A&M starting around 1988. We played original funny songs, and parody and cover songs. It was fun! I wore a Twisted Sister costume, and purple zebra striped spandex, with obnoxious jam Hawaiian shorts over them. We played for about three years, until certain members of the band (other than me) decided to actually get on with their education and graduate. We had one of our original songs, “Stamp Collecting,” played twice on the nationally syndicated radio show, Dr. Demento. We had an incredibly loyal fan club that called themselves The Genetalia. Our shows were almost like a live band Rocky Horrow Picture Show meets Spinal Tap, and were great fun.
After the demise of Dr. Love, I was asked to join a local rock band called Bayou at the time. They were playing at the same show that Dr. Love had our last performance, a dorm’s all-day jam with about six bands on the bill. They heard it was our last show, and even after seeing me play, they came up to me after the show and asked if I’d be interested in joining! The band at the time consisted of Steven on vocals, and James on bass, and Chris on guitar. I think we put up some flyers around that we were looking for a drummer, and Ken came in to audition not long after. Once the rest of us managed to pick our chins up off the floor after witnessing Ken’s awesome drumming, we asked him to join!
We changed the band name to Covenant, and began playing all over College Station and Bryan, eventually playing some gigs in Houston and South Padre Island for Spring Break. We later lost James to marriage and graduation, and Chad joined the fold. We played about half cover songs and half originals. We played the two Aggiepaloozas, and were a regular staple of the local music scene for awhile. My highlight in that band was Rush’s 9 ½ minute instrumental, “La Villa Strangiato.” Ken and Chad played it perfectly, and I butchered my way through it. It was a lot of fun to play, though! (Ken is now playing in the awesome Queensryche tribute band called Mindcrime in Houston. Go see them if you get a chance!!!!) But all good things must come to an end. Some of us were considering quitting school and trying to actually tour and “make it,’ while others weren’t so ambitious. It happens. So we parted ways.
(More to come, please check back)
Last updated: 07/02/2010