Catl European Tour Invasion Continues In Part 4

Catl European Tour Invasion Continues In Part 4

We had 9 minutes to transfer to our connecting train to make the show on time and we made it! With all of our shit that we're carrying it was no small feat. We then proceeded to get drunk on the train once the hard work was over. Sarah ate a curry that wasn't bad. We arrived in Vienna and met up with our host Stefan. Super nice guy, who just happened to be the manager of the club we're playing at. We walked to the club in the rain and I ate a falafel from a Turkish food stand that was pretty tasty.

Is Rock Music Dead? Slash Thinks Rock N' Roll Has Become A Bastard Stepchild, What Do You Think?

Slash thinks rock n' roll has become a bastard stepchild, what do you think?

It is becoming harder and harder to ignore the facts, but as fan interest seems to dwindle, rock n' roll seems to be a thing of the past. Even though there are bands far and wide waving the banner of rock n' roll, are things becoming too safe and diluted? 

In a recent interview with the Manchester Evening News, Slash of Guns N' Roses fame stated "Rock and roll definitely needs a movement. It's become kind of the music industry's bothersome step child and what it needs is someone really committed to come and shake things up who doesn't give a shit if they make it." Is this a war cry for up and coming bands to realize their potential and to make rock n' roll dangerous again? We sure as hell hope so.

Rock Hall Nominations: Who, Why And How Likely Are They To Be Inducted? Repost From NPR.org

"I need my TPS reports ASAP. You are my rock star, make it happen"

Categories are forever binding an idea or item into segmentation, thus putting said item under controlled observation. What we are speaking of specifically, is the boondoggle of a place known as the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame.

Defining what or who can exactly be labeled as rock n' roll, is about as simple as saying that everyone who cooks, with any sort of panache, is a chef. Every year the debate begins again about who are the on short list for induction and then there are those who think, that someone such as Donna Summer, should be in the rock n' roll hall of fame.

We can only scratch our head in amusement, as the categorizations about "Rock N' Roll" even include corporate offices telling employees they are rock stars, for a job well done. Corporate schmucks, we ask kindly, find another term and quit ruining something as sacred as America's greatest invention. Maybe your corporate board even voted for Donna Summer. 

Someone, anyone, please save this sinking ship.

Below is a post from NPR about the Rock N' Roll hall of fame. It is quite insightful about the selection process and the huge back log of bands that have been snubbed such as Deep Purple, Dick Dale, Jethro Tull, MC5, Motorhead, T. Rex, Thin Lizzy and the list goes on and on.

Link to original post on NPR.org

Donna Summer performs in October 2011. Summer, who died in May, is nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year for the fifth time. Ethan Miller - Getty Images

"Let's be fair: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is never going to satisfy everybody.
When it comes to the annual griping over the list of acts it enshrines — actually, two rounds of griping, the short list of nominees in the fall and the final list of inductees in the winter — some grievances are fairer than others.

Complaining about the Hall's overemphasis on a certain strain of blues-based, Boomer-friendly guitar act? Legit. Bitching that Madonna or Grandmaster Flash don't belong, because hey, it's not called the Dance Hall of Fame or the Rap Hall of Fame? That attitude is even lamer than the Rock Hall at its lamest. (And those who claim rock 'n' roll shouldn't be in a hall of any kind? You have my sympathies, but come on — that ship's sailed. Let's at least make them get it right.)

Still, most of the Rock Hall's perception problems are of its own making. Acts become eligible 25 years after their first record release — a reasonable cutoff, but then certain acts coast in during their first year of eligibility while other, greater acts are left cooling their heels. Die-hard fans of a band keep close tabs on when they become Hall-eligible (heads up, fellow Pixies lovers: Come On Pilgrim just turned 25 last month), and every year past that date adds to the mounting fan resentment.

Moreover, by creating a voting system whereby only six to eight acts get in annually, the Hall has generated a huge backlog of snubbed artists they'll never catch up with. You can understand why they don't want to start inducting 15 to 20 acts a year; it would make the award less special, and the televised induction ceremony would be eight hours long. But it also means KISS fans are going to be waiting a long time before the Rock Hall has worked its way through enough overlooked acts to let Gene Simmons strut across the ceremony stage.

All this leaps to mind when perusing this week's announcement of the 2013 nominees, 15 acts in total. It's one of the better lists of recent years, with no outright howlers like the Red Hot Chili Peppers last year. (Inducted on their first ballot — and The Replacements remain un-nominated? Insanity.)

But that doesn't mean the list isn't littered with grievances. In fact, the tally of 2013 nominees mostly reads as an effort to right past Hall wrongs. Fewer than half of the nominees are first-timers; there's a lot of long-overdues here. And even some of the first-timers are long, long overdue — including one Canadian trio that has arguably been the biggest subject of fan derision against the Hall in its history. More on them in a minute.

Let's break these artists down into categories, themed around Hall predilections and biases. In most of these categories, only one or two acts will make the final list of inductees next January; I'll offer my modest predictions.
 
Leftover '60s Acts, or We're Running Out of Past: Albert King, the Marvelettes, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Procol Harum
Number likely to be inducted: Two

 

Every major rock or pop act that peaked in the 1960s is already in the Hall — even low-selling legends like The Velvet Underground — so the nominating committee is casting an ever-wider net for nominees that will appeal to the electorate's Boomer skew. Given that well-known bias, figure on at least two, perhaps even three of these acts getting in. All are certainly worthy, but the Marvelettes (of "Please Mr. Postman" fame) aren't exactly The Supremes or The Ronettes. Only the late Butterfield has been nominated before, and his band suffers from a bit of also-ran status: no radio hits or top-selling albums, living in the shadow of better-known electric-blues acts like The Yardbirds — but they're good and they're due, and they backed Dylan at Newport. The late King is one of the last of the stately blues guitarists (he peaked in the '60s but predates rock) not to get inducted, and again, he lives in the shadow of his inducted peers, B.B. King and Buddy Guy. The best bet? Oddly, it's probably Procol Harum, a near-one-hit-wonder — but Holy Church Organ, what a hit: "A Whiter Shade of Pale" is already enshrined in the Hall's greatest-songs list. Figure on them, Butterfield and possibly King getting the nod.

Wait, They're Not in Yet?: Deep Purple, Heart, the Meters, Randy NewmanNumber likely to be inducted: One

 

Three of these four '70s-vintage acts are on their second nomination (Deep Purple is the debutante). While it's not entirely shocking that none has been inducted, compared with their already-inducted peers it's a little insulting — Heart are at least as skilled as Aerosmith, The Meters are every bit as influential on the New Orleans scene as Dr. John and Randy Newman in his Sail Away period was twice the songwriter Jackson Browne was. Deep Purple, Heart and Newman are likely suffering from perceived latter-day sins: the two bands' reinventions in the '80s as leather-studded MTV acts; and Newman's '90s–'00s success as Pixar's hacky soundtracker. The Meters are more like the Paul Butterfield Blues Band: undeniably amazing, too far under the radar. Of the four, I see Newman as likeliest to get the nod, assuming enough left-leaning Hall voters recall what a sardonic firebrand he used to be. But Heart is the dark horse thanks to Ann and Nancy Wilson's just-released and well-timed memoir, which chronicles how they survived the horribly sexist rock world.

Okay, Okay, We Accept That This Dance Stuff Isn't Going Away: Chic, Kraftwerk, Donna Summer
Number likely to be inducted: One shoo-in

The Hall has fundamental problems with certain subgenres, including metal and progressive rock — but one receiving particularly shoddy treatment is dance and electronic music, especially disco. Sure, Madonna got in on her first ballot, because she postdates disco, and because she's Madonna; and the Bee Gees made it in after several years of eligibility. You start to wonder whether some of these Hall voters are hiding secret pasts among the rioters at Comiskey Park in the summer of '79, when you consider that Chic, the single greatest band in dance music history, has been nominated seven times without induction. (Props to the nominating committee: they keep putting Chic forward, and the voters keep blowing them off.) I wouldn't bet the farm on Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers getting their due this year, either. Teutonic electro-rock godfathers Kraftwerk stand a somewhat better chance in 2013, thanks to last April's rabidly praised series of comeback shows at the Museum of Modern Art. But the absolute shoo-in this year also ranks as one of the Hall's all-time embarrassments: Donna Summer, who shuffled off this mortal coil last spring after four unfulfilled Hall nominations (this year's is her fifth). In the wake of Summer's death, inductee Elton John called the ongoing snub "a disgrace" and Rock Hall nominating committee chairman Jon Landau told Billboard magazine, "Our voting group has failed," and all but guaranteed a correction this year. It will be belated justice — but giving the symbolic Queen of Disco her due will, in the end, be less about her and more about the Hall. Having finally exorcised their disco demon, hopefully they'll see their way to inducting Chic's Rodgers before he follows Summer and his late partner Edwards to that velvet rope in the sky.

Entering Rap's Golden Age: N.W.A, Public Enemy
Number likely to be inducted: One

 

The Hall's history with rap is a somewhat more respectable, if mixed, record. Inductees Grandmaster Flash and Run-D.M.C. were no-brainers; the Beastie Boys, inducted earlier this year, likely got in as much for their rock versatility as their skills on the mic. Other than Eric B. and Rakim (nominated once before) and LL Cool J (twice), the Hall hasn't overlooked anybody undeniable yet — then again, old-school rappers just started crossing the Hall's 25-year recording eligibility line. With that line now at 1987, the Hall enters the widely agreed-upon Golden Age of Rap (roughly 1987–93), with two titanic crews leading the way. Given that only one rap act a year has ever been inducted, you can expect either Public Enemy or N.W.A to get in this year, but not both. N.W.A boasts two living hip-hop legends in Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, but their recorded legacy is a mixed bag. PE is the more obvious first-round pick: several great albums in their catalog, one legendary single ("Fight the Power") and two irrepressible frontmen that voters will want to hear from at the induction ceremony — Chuck D will give a stately speech, and Flavor Flav will drop lines that make the next day's press.

The Elephant in the Room: Rush
Number likely to be inducted: One, if the voters know what's good for them

Rush Fans, It's Time To Rock: Band's Been Nominated To The Hall Of Fame

The difference between fans of other Hall-snubbed bands and Rush fans is that in the former category most think the Hall is basically a joke. Rush fans, by contrast, are seriously insulted that rock's ultimate power trio of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart remain excluded, a decade and a half after they became eligible. (Check out this Rush fan site's long Rock Hall page on the history of slights.) Rush's brand of muscular, expansive progressive rock has long been unfashionable with rock critics and insiders, which explains why, until this year, they weren't even nominated. But you don't have to be a fan of the band (I'm not) to see it's high time they were inducted, already. However lugubrious Rush's music often is, it's more economical than that of the Grateful Dead and less self-pitying than that of Pink Floyd — longtime inductees, both. Still, Rush die-hards are likely steeling themselves to see their heroes snubbed again. In a way, Rush have the opposite problem as a disco act: they had to get past the prejudices of the nominating committee, not the voters. Having made it out of committee, I suspect the more populist voting body will wave Rush into the Hall, the "Spirit of the Radio" spurring them on.

Addendum: That covers 14 of the nominations. Give Joan Jett credit — she doesn't fit into any of the above categories: a straight-up '80s rocker with little Rock Hall baggage. That might mean Jett and the Blackhearts get lucky on this, their second nomination, and score the Hall's last open inductee slot. I'll be rooting for Jett, but something tells me she might be waiting another year."

Rory Kelly Tears Into Some Palmetto Moonshine

If you want to know about hard work and dedication, take some cues from Rory Kelly. Not only is he on the road constantly, but he, Pops and Billy are dialed in lock step, just like a an old rotary phone. Their sound is being heard world wide now due to an immense response in Europe in preparation for a tour in October through Teenage Head Music.



Here is press clipping from Germany's Rockblog.Bluespot

"Saloons, bikers, horses, Black Mountains, barbecue, cows, Stampede and stuff of that nature who is thus an impression on the Americans and their tumultuous personal rock 'n' roll circus between alternative Swamp rock, make Southern and heavy rock want is this from "Rusty Knuckles" operated perfectly edited music."

Yep, you can get the jist of what they are saying. Even though some might be lost in translation the music is what matters. Rory Kelly, Pops Kelly and Billy Miller are cutting a deep gouge into the map and carving out their territory. Do yourself a favor and get out to their shows pronto and say you were there from the start. Even better, get yer asses out to the Rock N' Rassle Apocalypse on July 28th at the Tremont Music Hall in Charlotte, NC and witness Rock N' Roll fury being dished out the way it should be.



Here are some photos from a recent Rory Kelly gig down at the Palmetto Moonshine headquarters take by Chris Newman

Cool bikes were on hand - Chris Newman Photography © 2012

Gorgeous Ladies and Moonshine, what's not to like - Jake Simp Photography © 2012

Pops Kelly holdin' down the beat - Chris Newman Photography © 2012

When did moonshine get all fancy? - Chris Newman Photography © 2012

Billy Miller and Rory Kelly - Chris Newman Photography © 2012

Rory Kelly's moment of zen - Chris Newman Photography © 2012

Why yes, I 'll have another - Chris Newman Photography © 2012

Billy Miller knows his way around a stage  - Chris Newman Photography © 2012

Billy Miller and Rory Kelly - Chris Newman Photography © 2012

The Green Lady Killers Invade the York Bar June 14

The Green lady Killers will be invading The York in Los Angeles on June 14th. Becherovka will be hosting the show so I believe that its free, but might want to double check for sure. Just go to the club website for more details.


Link to The York


Check out Becherovka Liquer, a drink from the Czech Republic

The Green Lady Killers at the York in Los Angeles

Becherovka Liquer, original drink from Czech Republic

Rory Kelly Featured In McDowell News

This past Saturday night, Rory Kelly had one hell of a cd release party for his debut album. We are going to let him recover for a few days after a string of shows around the big show on Saturday to get the full scope of the action that was had. 

Needless to say, big things are coming up this year for Rory Kelly and make sure you check out him out on Rock N' Rassle Apocalypse show happening on July 28th at Tremont Music Hall in Charlotte, NC where they will be taking the stage with Antiseen and Flat Tires along with four wrestling matches. Oh yeah, that is going to be one rowdy event to be remembered for a long time to come. 

Rory Kelly will be one of the featured acts on the Rock N' Rassle Apocalypse

Get the latest updates with Rory Kelly on Facebook

Link to original article and write up

Get your copy of Rory Kelly's new album (Don't Shake My) Family Tree now

"Downtown Marion will be rocking Saturday night as local musician Rory Kelly and his band celebrate the release of their new compact disc.

In the past few years, Kelly has played guitar with Intethod and later with the Crank County Daredevils, an Asheville-based metal band. After that, he formed Rory Kelly’s Triple Threat. This band is comprised of the 29-year-old Kelly on lead guitar, his father Mike Kelly on drums and Billy Miller on bass guitar. Kelly also plays at Main Street Pub & Deli in downtown Marion, where he hosts acoustic guitar jams.

Last year, Kelly and his band were picked up by Rusty Knuckles, an independent music and merchandise label. The label works with such groups as the Crank County Daredevils, Flat Tires, Hellbound Glory, Antiseen and The Green Lady Killers.

“The summer of 2011 brought more recognition to Rory Kelly as they were thrust into and embraced by the Southern biker circuit and a permanent bass player joined their ranks,” reads the website for Rusty Knuckles. “Billy Miller, also a seasoned musician from touring gigs with Voodou and Super Sport, brought the final element needed to round out this dirty rock 'n' roll trio, forming a mercurial rhythm section with the elder Kelly to compliment the smoldering swagger of Rory Kelly's rock riffs.

“The addition of Miller has brought a new dynamic into the band and, with that, an ever evolving definition of what Southern Rock means to Rory Kelly and how they intend to translate that to their followers.”

After months of work, Kelly and his band are celebrating the release of their new CD, “(Don’t Shake My) Family Tree,” to worldwide distribution on the Rusty Knuckles label. The 12-song album came out on Tuesday and the official release party will be held Saturday night at Main Street Pub & Deli. 

The show starts at 9 p.m. and there will be no cover charge. The group 21^st Century Goliath will be the special guest along with Kelly, his dad and Miller.

“I am really fired up about it,” said Kelly to The McDowell News.

(Click here to watch the music video of ("Don't Shake) My Family Tree")

The new CD will be sold for only $10 at the party. Free gifts will be given to anyone who buys a CD or T-shirt. After 100 copies of the new album are sold, a raffle will be held with a neon beer sign as the prize. If 200 copies are sold, a raffle will be held for a $50 tab at the pub, according to Kelly’s Facebook page.

“We’ll make sure they get taken care of that night,” said Kelly of his fans.

“(Don’t Shake My) Family Tree” was a collective effort by Kelly, his dad and Miller. The band wrote all of the songs, which contain elements of Southern rock and heavy metal.

“As a band, everybody’s role is vital,” said Kelly.

Kelly did the mixing and the engineering for the recording of the album. Musician and radio host Steve Blanton oversaw the mastering. Rusty Knuckles did the design and photography for the cover. In addition to being released on compact disc, the new album will be released on vinyl as well, he said.

Kelly and his band will do a show in Asheville tonight and another show on Sunday in Anderson, S.C.But they made sure to do their official CD release party for Saturday night in Marion.

“I am excited about getting this thing ready to roll,” said Kelly to The McDowell News. “A lot of people expected us to do the CD release party in Asheville but Asheville is not my hometown.”

To support this new release, Kelly and his band will do a tour of the East Coast this summer with a European tour to follow. They are scheduled to play Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium from September through the first of December. This will mark Kelly’s first tour of Europe as the leader.

“They already have a tour bus set up for us,” he said. “We are hoping this album takes off.”

For more information, visit www.rustyknucklesmusic.com. You can also check out Rory Kelly on Facebook."

Brent Loveday of Reno Divorce: "Originality Is The Evolution Of Influence"

The fellas in Reno Divorce returned to their home turf of Denver after a kick ass tour in Europe and immediately hopped right back on stage for their first hometown show this past Saturday night. Below is a great interview with Brent Loveday that touches on much of what Reno Divorce is all about and some of their history. 

We can tell you with absolute certainty that the new album is going to be a game changer. Reno Divorce has pulled out all the stops and has fine tuned their sound in something well beyond what anyone might expect. Once this album comes out, forget about seeing them at your local dive of a venue, they will be on a lot bigger tours and hitting large capacity venues. More details soon on the full release date and all aspects of the new album "Lovers Leap" due out this fall.

Brent Loveday of Reno Divorce feature interview in Denver Westword

Get in touch with Reno Divorce on Facebook

Keep up to date with them on their main site

Reno Divorce at Rock N Ink, Chemnitz, Germany - photo by Karsten R. Schäfer

Link to original interview post on Denver Westword

"Reno Divorce (due tomorrow night at the Marquis Theater) began in the middle '90s when frontman and guitarist Brent Loveday founded the outfit while still living in Orlando, Florida. Some early, glowing press came the way of the band's 7-inch. But it wasn't until Loveday relocated to Denver and discovered a place he felt like he could live that things began rolling. Since then, the guys have been on a handful of tours and shared the stage with many of their heroes. The band's surprisingly earnest, but never pretentious, combination of melodic punk and roots rock, peppered with something a little more aggressive, has resonated with fans across a relatively broad spectrum of musical taste.






This fall, Reno Divorce will release Lover's Leap. If you've caught any of the outfit's recent performances, you already know that the songs going on that album have a rare emotional poignancy that is more than just honest -- it's poetic. We recently spoke with Loveday about the band's history, his run-ins with his heroes and the way Reno Divorce seems to transcend its obvious influences, not just in the music but in lyrics that go deeper than rock often does these days.


Westword: When did you start Reno Divorce?


Brent Loveday: I started Reno Divorce in Orlando, Florida in 1996. It went for a couple of years, and we had a seven inch on Skank & Skull Records. It just kind of fizzled out. Of course the band fizzled out right at the time this stellar review in Flipside came out. I couldn't believe it. I moved to California, and I'm sitting in this shitty apartment in Tustin, you know, and Maximum gave it a pretty good one. Compared it to Jason and the Scorchers, which is great. Tex and the Horseheads. So I was stoked about that, and thought, "Man, I can't believe the band is broken up." Then I opened up Flipside and...it's probably still on our website. It was the greatest review I've ever gotten.


When did you decide to come to Colorado?


In California, I couldn't get nothing going. My in-laws moved to Las Vegas, and my son moved with his mom to Colorado. So basically when we were in California, we were just going back and forth to Colorado. Vegas was closer. We tried that for a year, and finally, I went, "You know what? It's the same thing; we just keep going for birthdays, Halloween, every holiday. Let's move to Denver." It turned out to be the best decision of my entire life.


Our first apartment was Capitol Hill. Then we lived in Congress Park, then Mayfair and now Park Hill. We moved here in 2001. Two months into it, the original guitarist from Reno lived here, and then we found a drummer and a bass player, and it started rolling pretty quick. Maybe within six months our debut album, which was supposed to be a demo, Naysayers and Yesmen, ended up getting four "Ks" in Kerrang! It was a pretty wild ride in the beginning.


Speaking of that, you opened for Wire on September 6, 2002. How did that happen?


You remember the Wire show?! Yeah, I put in for that show, man. I love Wire. They came to the Bluebird. This was when we were starting to get a little momentum. Not much. We were still playing a lot of East Colfax bullshit. We got that gig, and we thought it would be huge. Sold out. We got there, and those guys were totally cool. But maybe a hundred people showed up. Go figure. You never what's going to be hot and what's not.


You had a different bass player at that time, right?


We had Seth Evans. He was this mastermind, phenomenal bass player. He was one of these dudes where you play with them and think, "Why is this dude playing in my band?" He's really good. We did a European tour with him and two U.S. tours, and finally, it was too much for him. He and his girlfriend had a kid and it was too exhausting.


How did you get hooked up with a European tour at that time as a relatively new band around here?


We were relatively new. You know All? I'm a huge All dork, right. And Scott Reynolds was in my favorite era of All. He had a new band called the Pavers. When I heard them, it was like Scott's All writing, but his band was AC/DC. It blew my mind, and I totally obsessed over that band. It was one of the few records I ordered from the record shop. A buddy of mine lived in Chicago, and he was a stock broker, but he still dabbled in music, and he said, "I'm going to get you on a tour. This record's too hot; you've got to get out there." Naysayers hadn't been properly released, and we were just burning CDs. So I said, "This is the band, the Pavers. If you can get me on a tour with Scott and those cats? It's all over."


Two months later, the guitar player from the Pavers' wife called -- my friend had emailed them or whatever -- and she said, "We need a support band. How about a U.S. tour?" We did the Midwest from Buffalo all the way through. The tour went well and both bands were great. So Scott had a record deal thing going on with Boss Tuneage Records in London, and he passed it on. The guy said, "Hey, Scott recommended you. I'll put this out."


He had so many releases, even big independent bands and obscure indie rock stuff, and Kerrang! gave us that review, and he said, "You guys have got to come out and support the record." The guy from Boss Tuneage, he kind of got out of the record businesses. He had too many releases and he only focused on a few bands and we weren't one of them. So we got the rights back to it, and Street Anthem wanted to put it out with bonus tracks.


Where did you go on that tour?


It was a lot of Germany, a lot of Belgium, some Holland. Our band was cut short a few dates because my dad had a stroke, and I had to cruise back to the States. But it was a good tour, and to this day, people who saw us on that rough tour still come and see us.


When you came to Denver, what were your impressions?


I tell you what, my geography, in general, is awful. I don't know what I thought of Denver. I thought it was fucking Cincinnati or something. Just a run down, steel mill town. Which is the opposite of what it was. The first impression my wife and I had was based on our staying with our guitar player in Aurora out in the sticks. So we thought it sucked. My son was staying in Arvada, so we would go there. It was like one end of the spectrum to the other.


Then I went down to get my haircut on 13th Street, and I thought it was a cool town then. It was a cool barbershop. Aces or something. Next to Cricket on the Hill. The chick had a cool spot with cool posters up, and she was spouting off about all these cool bands, and I thought, "It has potential. It wouldn't be the end of the world if we had to live here."


The first band I saw was The Volts. They blew my mind. I also saw Fast Action Revolver; they were great. Brian Hagman was in that band. I saw them at a warehouse punk show -- the kind that's always teetering on whether the cops would come or if a fight would break out. That nervous energy was in the air, which made it even cooler. I guess it was a legitimate venue, but it was kind of a dive, maybe the Raven or the Roxy. A lot of bands were playing but those were the ones that stuck out.


The first venue that Reno Divorce played was something like Herman's Hideaway on a Wednesday. Our drummer knew someone, but he didn't know about punkers, and we got there and we were playing to our wives and girlfriends. But the last time we played Herman's, we had an almost sold out gig, so that kind of felt validating. If you get the punkers to come and see you at Herman's, it means a lot.


Our CD release show for Naysayers was at the 15th St. Tavern. People trip on, "We'll never play the Gothic or the Bluebird." And you get in there and go, "Oh, it's cool; we're playing here." The Tavern, for me, was that caliber a stage. Even though it was a shitty place off 15th and it smells awful, it was so legit and so authentic. It was what I was aiming for, and to have our CD release show was incredible.


Did you ever play shows with King Rat?


Do you remember the Undead in Denver compilations? Our first gig with them was the CD release for that at the Bluebird. When that came out, punk was the hottest thing in Denver. It did a lot for Denver. Even when Undead II came out, it was still great. What was really cool, we would tour and we would take these compilations with us to sell as merch. People in Hanover, Germany, would hear these Denver bands and get turned on to them. On a national and even the international level, it was good for everybody.


Obviously you've had out releases since Naysayers.


Well, we had Naysayers and Yesmen, You're Only Making It Worse, we did an EP called Laugh Now, Cry Later -- those two ultimately got combined. Then we did our biggest release, Tears Before Breakfast, on Ice Cream Records, and now we have one in the can called Lover's Leap. It's just a matter of waiting on the business end of things. I can honestly say it's our best release to date. It was mixed and mastered at the Blasting Room, all done by Jason Livermore. It will probably be out in September. I think People Like You Records will put it out in Europe and maybe Rusty Knuckles in the States.


You just got back from Europe two days ago?


We were gone I think 31 days, and we played twenty-nine shows.


That's like Black Flag scheduling!


It was, dude. If you look at the routing on the map, it's like a pentagram, right?


Dukowski, did you book this tour?


For real. It was harrowing; there were a lot of long drives, a lot of Friday nights with forty people and Wednesday nights with four thousand. It was just weird. Extreme highs and extreme lows. That's the way it should be. We did a lot of Germany, which is, of course, where our market is. We did the Czech Republic, we did Budapest, then we went over to France, Belgium, Holland and Italy. We got as far as Rome to about ten people. Not a big punk scene in Rome. We also did Milan. We did Poland, Warsaw.


And Zlotow, which was probably one of the craziest gigs we've ever played. Just people crammed into a small, underground space. The guitar player was picked up second song and crowd surfed through an entire song, right? The ceilings weren't much taller than here in the basement. My best guitar solo, I was picked up, unplugged. But it was great, totally cool people. We stayed in a four-star hotel. Then you go to Berlin and play for four thousand people on a Tuesday and you stay in a hostel. It's rock and roll, man. You get what you get.


We supported 7 Seconds on a few shows and Lars Fredericksen's new band, the Old Firm Casuals. But most of the dates we headlined. The Berlin date was a festival that was the first of May festival. We headlined our stage in Kreuzberg. We're the last band to play and it's starting to get dark. We look at the street and we start playing and all these people come out.


Berlin seems good for lots of different kinds of music. Cindy Wonderful lives there now, and she's a hip-hop artist. And Alexander Hacke of Einsturzende Neubauten and his wife Danielle de Picciotto lived there for years.


What kind of music is that? Industrial? Our guitarist is a big fan of industrial music and all of that, and we always bust his balls. We played a gig in Budapest, and in the dressing room is a poster for Xymox, and they're looking so industrial, but Xymox had played the venue, you know? Did you ever get into Christian Death?


Oh yeah.


Before we left on this tour, we played a gig with Rikk Agnew in Sioux City, Iowa.


Was it with The Adolescents? Just kidding.


It's crazy, he got a band from Omaha, and they played mostly Adolescents tunes, and he played guitar and sang a little bit. But he was selling Christian Death shirts at the venue.





When you played with Stiff Little Fingers last August, you introduced at least one song by telling a story or something about being close to your friends and family. And it was honestly moving. Why do you feel compelled to open up like that to a general audience?


I think it's best, if you're going to hear a song for the first time, maybe you're gonna hear my lyrics, maybe not, but to kind of set it up for you. We kind of joke with, "Oh, here he goes with the VH1 Storytellers." But you preface the stories and maybe people will pick something up through the hooks and whatever.


We have this new song about the way Americans raise their kids. Like if they bring home a bad grade, the first thing they do is take them to the doctor and say, "My kid doesn't pay attention. Put him on something." That's so contrasted with even Europe or the rest of the world where you sit with your kid and do their homework with them. But we live at such a fast pace that we want that quick fix and we become highly medicated. So the song is called "You Created a Monster." It's about doing the opposite of Americans' first knee-jerk reaction.


Not to pry, but what inspired that song?


I had a friend who has ADD, and it's legitimate. He's really torn up about having to put his kid on the medication. But as an adult, I see friends asking doctors to put them on various drugs and just kind of work the system. It's kind of a commentary on the healthcare system, doctors, pharmaceutical companies giving samples and lazy parents that would rather fix things with a pill.


Seeing you talk about that at a rock show was refreshing.


I'm bad about that, man. It chews up a lot of set time. That's why I do it. To put you in the moment and let you know where I'm coming from.


It was a poignant moment. Everyone who has seen you for years and think they have you figured out should see that.


We've been hearing that a lot lately, man. Our new record is definitely not a crazy departure, but it is more aggressive, and it's one end of the spectrum to the other. There are no ballads, but our hearts are on our sleeves with this next one. I've always thought of us as storytellers. We're not like a KISS or Motley Crue. We're telling people in our walks of life that we come from, these are the situations that we deal with. It's not boasting or posturing; it's our day-to-day.


Why did you want to call the band Reno Divorce, and have you ever entertaining the idea of changing it to something else?


Never. I hate to name drop, but it's kind of cool. We went to see the Ataris the other night, and Kris Roe, the singer -- I introduced myself because we're kind of working with the same booking agent -- he said, "I just wanted to tell you that's the coolest band name I've ever heard." Most people want to know what it means, and it came from when I was watching an A&E documentary on jetsetters in the 30s and 40s and how they would marry each other and then two months later, they want to get a divorce.


The fastest place to get a divorce is Reno. Back then, you go to ranch, stay there four weeks to get residency and bam! -- the judge signs it, no qualms. So the adage came, "Vegas wedding, Reno divorce." I thought, "Man, that's it. That's the end of the rope. When the honeymoon's over, it's a Reno divorce." I thought it sounded cool as shit, to be honest. I didn't think I'd build a band around it. Rat Pack, hotrods...it worked for me.


How did you get into playing music?


I heard Black Flag, and that was it. I was like, "Man, someone made music just for me." Then I got a guitar and realized, "I can probably do this." I'd listened to Metallica too, and I can't do that, but stuff I like, I can do it. I can't play Black Flag note for note. Greg Ginn's stuff is still over my head. But more like The Ramones and Social Distortion.


I saw Social D at a very impressionable age, obviously. I saw them on the tour right before "Ball and Chain" came out. They were playing all this new stuff. They were doing "Ring of Fire" and "Sick Boys." We saw them at a sold out gig in Orlando, Florida. It was me and a couple of buddies. My mom dropped us off and pulled us out during "Lude Boy." It blew my mind. I'd never seen anything like it.


Social Distortion was always just my favorite band. The melodies, the songs and the way the records were made. That show was sold out to begin with. I don't think they'd come to Florida in years. His presence and his command of the audience -- here's this young guy who couldn't have been more than 26 or 27 at the time -- they were powerful.


Obviously many people have compared your band to Social Distortion.


Oh yeah. It's our biggest comparison. And what I tell people is that originality is the evolution of influence. You've got to start somewhere. To me there are a lot more influences than Social Distortion, but sure, you don't [expect] John Lee Hooker not to play the blues. Of course he plays the blues, but he plays it like John Lee Hooker, which sounds a little different from the rest of the blues players. I think I'm always just trying to make that record that Social D never made.


Naysayers is pretty much that record.


Ice Cream Records, their A&R dude, was interested at that time. Someone called him up and said, "I've got the new Social D record." This was before Sex, Love and Rock and Roll came out. He plays it for him and the guy says, "How the fuck did you get that?" And the other guy says, "It ain't Social D, it's this band Reno Divorce."


On this last tour we would have those off nights and people would say, "You played like there were three hundred people in here but there were just thirty of us." And I'd say, "I'm here. This is what I do. I'm expressing myself. If you're here to witness it, cool. But if there were five people in here, it would have been the same show." Don't leave it on the table, man.


Let's talk about how and when you met Bobby Adams.


I'm star struck. I played with Kevin Seconds with my solo stuff, and I met Kevin and Troy, the drummer, when I was fifteen and got my picture with them. But it's all out the window because I'm star struck talking to this dude. Don't even want to look him in the eye. I go, "Man, for real, you're one of my favorite bands of all time. I'm here playing with you in Europe, I gotta ask for a guitar lesson because there's a riff I've been struggling with for twenty fucking years and I've got you here and you could just show me. I could watch you and learn it. He goes, "That's cool. Go get the guitar."
So I grab my custom, white Les Paul and set the guitar in his hands. Soon as he gets it, he goes, "Whoa, set up perfect." He shows me the riff, and I take a picture of him playing. Then he hands me the guitar, and I go, "What about this other song?" I play it this way and he says, "Damn, I've never seen anyone play it like that." It was cool, man. It was cool as ice.


You met TV Smith from the Adverts in Europe, right?


We played the Rock n Ink festival in Chemnitz, Germany. We were rushed in there, and I don't even know who was playing. A cool friend of ours told us that he needed to see TV Smith play, because it was an acoustic set that was super political and badass. TV actually came up and met us before that, and he said he had heard about us through a mutual friend.


His set? This dude was as cold as ice; he had the crowd captivated. He breaks a string on stage and tells a punk rock poem as he's changing it. He's the real deal. Ain't no bullshit. When we played later, I look out in the audience and see him. Our bass player is a huge English punk fan and after the gig, dude comes up to our dressing room and says, "That was brilliant, mates."


At that first 7 Seconds tour, we played this huge venue in Fulda, Germany. We knew it was going to be packed. We went to catering and some guys are sitting there and I go, "I'm Brent with Reno Divorce. Who are you guys with?" And they went, "We're with DYS." I saw that on a sign going in, and I thought it was a joke. And I knew Dave Smalley is the singer for DYS, Dag Nasty, All, Down By Law. And I'm like, "Did you say DYS? Where are you from?" Because I'm thinking maybe it's a European DYS. They say, "Boston." I'm like, "Dave Smalley's your singer? Where is he?" They say, "Oh he just got in a fight with the bass player. He's walking around here somewhere."


Fucking Dave Smalley comes in and it's the first time I met him. He was a super badass dude, and he wore a Reno Divorce shirt during the set. Stuff like that makes it worth it. When you play to fifteen people and drive eight hours for it? That kind of drags you down, but then you have all this other stuff that kind of keeps you in the game.


You have a Black Flag tattoo. When did you become aware of them?


I think they were broken up by the time I got into them. I got into them in '88. I heard The First Four Years, so I'm always partial to that. Especially Chavo and Keith Morris, though Dez is cool. "Wasted" is the first song I heard. That was probably a turning point in my life, hearing that. For better or worse, OFF! is like the Black Flag basement tapes.


The closest I came to seeing them was the Warped Tour in '96. After The Descendents' set, Bill played guitar, Stephen went to bass, Karl went to drums and the singer for the Pink Lincolns came out to sing, and they did four Black Flag tunes. They did "Jealous Again" and all that stuff. I've never heard anyone play those Ginn riffs like Bill Stevenson would.


Let's talk about TSOL.


You know TSOL had that schism. They made Change Today, and they made Revenge. Change Today is a really weird record. The production isn't the greatest and the songs are kind of like the Doors, which is cool. I first heard it on a skate record. Joe Wood's voice is really like Morrison but in a punk band.


Then Revenge came out. That's a deserted island record for me. It's just so produced, strange and polished. I spent years trying to figure out riffs from that record. Then they made Hit and Run and they started doing the glam thing. They had a couple more after that that sucked. I saw them on the second kind of glammy record. It was just Joe, the drummer and the bass player. Jack Grisham and Ron Emory had left the band so it was really weird. They played some of the stuff from Revenge but also a lot of the garbage glam stuff.


The band broke up, and Jack and everyone else got back together and they made a couple of records. We played with them six or seven years ago at the Climax Lounge. We have a song called "World War Three." I met Ron before the gig, and I was star struck. On stage I said, "We're big fans of TSOL and we wrote a song called 'World War Three,' this is for them." They killed it. It was one of those things like the Wire show. It was a Friday night, TSOL; it was all-ages, and a lackluster turnout."


Reno Divorce, with King Rat, Warner Drive and The Skeleton Show, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 26, Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer Street, $8-$10, 1-866-468-7621, all-ages.

Fuel Magazine Issue 10 - Launch Party

A lot of ideas have been in the works for an Australian tour and we are looking to invade at some point in the near future with several bands in tow. The only way we can think to do it right would be at least a two week run and to hit up many parts of the country and to do it on two wheels, from show to show. Once we get down under, we would also definitely dig getting to one of the launch parties held by Fuel Magazine, which is quite the quality read.

Fuel Magazine has Issue 10 coming out and will also pair it up with a DVD to further infuse a great product with even more badassery.

Dig into Fuel Magazine

Fuel Magazine - Issue 10 Launch Party, South Australia

"It's that time of year again, the files are off to the printer, and we finally have the winter issue on the way. We thought we'd do something a bit different for a launch this time, particularly as we have the Fuel Tank DVD on sale at the same time, so we're off over to Adelaide. 

As usual, it's all very informal with no great planning involved. The guys n gals at Auto Transformers in Parafield Gardens have kindly let us have the event at their place. There is plenty of space to bring a car, bike, or other cool machine that you'd like to bring along. Even if the weather's not looking to flash, there's lots of indoor space so don't be put off.

  There may be a food van there, but that is yet to be confirmed. We can confirm that there will be cool cars, good music, and awesome people, so please come along and say hi. 

As a total coincidence, it's also editor Luke's birthday that day so there will most likely be a few quiet (ahem) drinks in the evening in Adelaide somewhere. 

See you there folks!"

Fuel Magazine DVD

Rory Kelly Interview - The Making of (Don't Shake My) Family Tree

The month of May is going to be a busy month for us over here at Rusty Knuckles, with the amazing release of the debut album from Rory Kelly. The album will officially be available on May 22nd worldwide and tomorrow we will post the pre-sales through our webstore. All orders will ship on May 22nd and damn if this is not one amazing album of dirty southern rock n' roll.

Link up with Rory Kelly on Facebook

"Blame it on the heady highs in the air that permeate the Black Mountains of North Carolina, but the state has produced an artist in Rory Kelly that will surely bring new dimension to the tour de force that is America’s beloved Southern Rock. Possessing a playing ability in league with prodigies, Kelly is a self-taught musician that picked up the guitar as a boy and cut his chops in the rural town of Marion. While his mother slung drinks behind the bar, Rory strummed alongside his father, drummer Mike Kelly, in a family dominated house band in a local music dive. Mike Kelly has quite the backstory in thrash metal as well, being part of the infamous Old Bridge Militia of thrash metal fame.


Tapped a few years later, first by heavy metal outfit Intethod and later by Asheville based sleaze masters, the Crank County Daredevils, who found success both in the US and abroad; Kelly developed a keen ear, and playing ability to match, for what would develop into an ever widening spectrum of rock n roll sensibilities. After the unforeseen dissolution of Crank County, in 2010 Rory Kelly began to hone his own dirty rock n' roll based signature sound and recruited his former musical partner and father Mike to form two-thirds of what would ultimately become their current band. Together they recorded, and Rory Kelly produced, what critics deemed a “swamp rock” sound in their first release, Better Than The Blues.


When demand for that record began to outweigh supply, Rory Kelly began to branch out regionally, playing live with a hired gun on bass and gaining footholds with venues and audiences throughout both the Carolinas. In March of 2011 they scored a coveted series of showcases with Texas Rockfest, which takes place in the heart of downtown Austin, Texas each year during the world famous South By Southwest music conference. Those showcases brought Kelly interest from endorsement companies and rekindled a connection between him and Rusty Knuckles, his former label from the Crank County days, that was in the midst of successfully developing its’ own niche signing renegade artists from within the ranks of southern sleaze. Summer ’11 brought more recognition to Rory Kelly as they were thrust into and embraced by the Southern biker circuit and a permanent bass player joined their ranks. Billy Miller, also a seasoned musician from touring gigs with Voodou and Super Sport, brought the final element needed to round out this dirty rock n' roll trio, forming a mercurial rhythm section with the elder Kelly to compliment the smoldering swagger of Kelly’s rock riffs.


The addition of Miller has brought a new dynamic into the band and, with that, an ever evolving definition of what Southern Rock means to Rory Kelly and how they intend to translate that to their followers. The new album is done and scheduled for release in late Spring of 2012, and has captured the interest of well-known NC radio personality Steve Blanton who will assist Kelly in the production of their second effort. Revealing a band edging toward a harder sound, (Don't Shake My) Family Tree, will be released to world-wide distribution through Rusty Knuckles with both US and European tours planned for early 2012 in support of the record." 

- Tammy Moore

Rory Kelly © 2012, photo by Rusty Knuckles Music

Rory Kelly © 2012, photo by Rusty Knuckles Music

Rory Kelly's new album (Don't Shake My) Family Tree