Sunday, September 12, 2021

2021 so far...

"Most melancholy of all the hours of earth, is that one long, gray hour, which to the watcher by the lamp intervenes between the night and day; when both lamp and watcher, over-tasked, grow sickly in the pallid light; and the watcher, seeking for no gladness in the dawn, sees naught but garish vapors there; and almost invokes a curse upon the public day, that shall invade his lonely night of sufferance."
-Herman Melville, Pierre: Or, the Ambiguities 

9/19/21 @ 10 Forward, Greenfield MA

9/14/21 @ The Lilypad, Cambridge MA 
Quintet with Eric Rosenthal, Jorrit Dyjkstra, Eric Hoffbauer, Nate McBride
Also Cutout (Pandelis Karayorgis, Jorrit Dijkstra, Jeb Bishop, Nathan McBride, Luther Gray)
*Event*

8/28/21 @ Boston Jazz Fest, Maritime Park, Boston MA 
Trio with Brittany Karlson, Eric Rosenthal 1:30-2:30pm
Karlson/Kelley/Rosenthal 8/28/21 by Chris Brokaw




















8/21/21 @ Fisher Hill Reservoir Park, Brookline MA 
Solo
GK 8/21/21 by Danny Gromfin



















Duo with Henry Fraser at the Waterworks Museum
Premiered on 5/28/21 @ Non-Event At Home Series and is now viewable HERE

Garrett Moore Quartet: Untitled Free Improvisations – Live Recordings 2017 – 2019 (Wayward in Limbo #114) ~download only~ released 5/14/21.
Garrett Moore (drums) / Greg Kelley (trumpet) / John Seman (contrabass) / Jeffery Taylor (electric guitar)

5/1/21 @ Southwest Corridor Park, Jamaica Plain MA ~4pm outdoor event~
*Event page*

Tom Varner's Sounds Vespers Ensemble (Wayward in Limbo #99) ~download only~ released 3/26/21.
Samantha Boshnack & Greg Kelley, trumpet; Ray Larsen, cornet; Jim Knodle, flugelhorn; Haley Freedlund, trombone; Tom Varner, French horn; Greg Campbell, percussion and tuba; Steve Barsotti & Steve Peters, field recordings/electronics.

Dennis Rea: Giant Steppes CD (Moonjune Records) released 1/21/21.
GK on 1 track, Live at Goachang, (alongside the great Stuart Dempster)

















Hound Dog Taylor's Hand: HDTH AND, part 2 ~download only~ released 1/5/21. The "And..." series continues with collaborations with Amy Denio, AF Jones, Wally Shoup and Dave Knott and all proceeds again going to Food Lifeline.


Wednesday, December 9, 2020

After April...

Lots has happened since I last posted on April 8th (2020) about cancelled gigs and download-only releases; much of it not good, at least from a global perspective. 45's reign will end but the legacy will fester. Creative concerns have been back-burnered, but percolate in fits and starts. Here are some things that have happened or manifested over the past 8 months. Stay safe & sane.

Given the strife, sparked awareness and desire for connection & community, here are some links/organizations that are worth your consideration. 

The Marsha P. Johnson Institute "As transness is now more accessible to the world, introducing the Institute to BLACK trans people who are resisting, grappling with survival, and looking for community has become a clear need."
Violence in Boston "Creating safer, healthier, and empowered black and brown communities."
BEAM: Black Emotional And Mental Health collective "We are a collective of advocates, yoga teachers, artists, therapists, lawyers, religious leaders, teachers, psychologists and activists committed to the emotional/mental health and healing of Black communities."
Potlach Fund "Native Americans receive less than one half of one percent of philanthropic dollars in the US. Yet these communities experience disproportionately high rates of * poverty * unemployment * disease" "Potlatch Fund formed in 2002 by Tribal organizations and funders to address this disparity, developing and empowering Native leadership and making the best use of tribal resources."
MHz Foundation "The mission of the MHz Foundation is to connect people with global cultural resources and perspectives through open knowledge." (To give you a window into their operations, the great Ben Hall is on the board here.)
The I-Collective "Our vision is to increase visibility; own our foods and culture; promote Indigenous ingredients and histories in our modern world."


Greg Kelley/Vic Rawlings: February 9, 2000 ~download only~ released 12/9/20. Noel Kennon discovered evidence of this demo CDr on a blog with an expired link. These were recordings made on the titular date in Vic's living room for demo purposes to help us get some gigs for a forthcoming tour. Proceeds from this release are all going to The I-Collective.















Hound Dog Taylor's Hand: HDTH AND, part 1 ~download only~ released 12/4/2020. HDTH collaborations with Stephen Parris, Sandy Ewen, Paul r. Harding/Ben Hunter and Rob Millis/Christopher Burns with all proceeds going to Food Lifeline.















11/21/20 @ Sonorium, Salem Access TV, Salem MA ~7pm live streaming event~
Solo
Also Jen Gelineau
This was my first appearance on Andrea Pensado's Sonorium series in Salem, MA. We performed live for cameras with no audience. (My first COVID-era live streaming show with video.) The unedited "live" video is currently still HERE (my set is from 15:33-33:45), but will be edited and re-uploaded.















10/18/20 @ Southwest Corridor Park, Jamaica Plain MA ~3pm outdoor event~
Duo with Henry Fraser
Also, Andrea Pensado/Brittany Karlson, Matt Delligatti
My first show for live humans since 2/16/20 and my first appearance back in Boston as a resident. Outdoors, masked (except for me when playing) and distanced. 















Fordell Reserch Unit: Dirts Flock Hereof ~download only~ released 9/11/2020. Compilation of tracks manipulating other artists' sound sources. The track Chapel, Seattle uses a solo set of mine from 2015 as the sole sound source. 















Greg Kelley: Not eating crow ~download only~ released 9/7/20. A 7 minute track recorded May 30, 2020 for the AMPLIFY2020: quarantine project. 















The Eagles of Hair Metal: Live at Tonic 2007 ~download only~ released 7/3/2020. A live set featuring Alan Licht, Tamio Shiraishi, Michael Bernstein, Keith Fullerton Whitman and me. (It also lists Carlos Giffoni, but I don't think Carlos actually participated.)















Greg Kelley/Vic Rawlings: untitled ~download only~ released 5/29/2020. A 5 minute track recorded separately without hearing the other person's track - for the Distant Duos series. 















Hound Dog Taylor's Hand: Disquiet EP ~download only~ released 5/1/2020. 2 tracks totaling 12 minutes from sessions in April & September 2019. 















Jandek Boston Friday 2CD released 4/28/20. Live set recorded June 8, 2007 at The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. The Representative with Jorrit Dijskstra, Eli Keszler & me. 















4/26/20 @ Principles In Non-Isolation Audio ~5pm PST live streaming audio-only event~
Duo with Danishta Rivero, Quartet with Danishta Rivero, Chris Cooper & Jacob Felix Heule
Also Chris Cooper/Jacob Felix Heule, DJ Lucy
My first streaming, COVID-era event. Audio-only. 



Wednesday, April 8, 2020

April update

No gigs for the foreseeable future, of course, but some recordings made prior to and during the period of social distancing have made their way onto Bandcamp over the past couple of weeks....

5/1/20 @ Lucky Liquor, Seattle WA w/ HDTH, also Value Apes, Tom Price Desert Classic
4/15/20 @ Vermillion, Seattle WA Solo & w/ Wally/Greg C?
4/6/20 @ Roulette, NYC NY Solo, Duo w/ Brandon Lopez
4/5/20 @ Mirror in the Woods, NYC NY, Trio w/ Bhob Rainey, Sean Meehan, also Sandy Ewen/Michael Vatcher
4/3/20 @ Blue Moon, Seattle WA w/ HDTH, also KO Solo, Pimp
3/28/20 @ Gallery 1412, Seattle WA w/ Dave Abramson/Lori Goldston, also Liila, Coyote Teeth

Chris Brokaw + End of the Night Band: Live at the Lost Church. A 56 minute set from our tour recorded on October 14, 2019 in San Francisco with Chris, me, Lori Goldston, Dave Abramson & Luther Gray. Released March 20, 2020.

Hound Dog Taylor's Hand: Unease EP - 13+ minutes of music from our last rehearsal on March 2, 2020, just prior to social distancing. Released March 28, 2020.

Greg Kelley: Splinters, rattle - an 18+ minute track recorded on March 28-29, 2020 for the AMPLIFY 2020: quarantine project. Released April 3, 2020.


Telescoping: s/t - a 4 track, ~44 minute, quartet album recorded in Tracyton, Lower Beacon Hill, Greenwood & Ballard in March 2020 by me, AF Jones, Rob Millis & Dave Abramson. Released April 7, 2020.



Friday, February 21, 2020

February

"February, month of despair,
with a skewered heart in the centre."
Margaret Atwood, February

2/16/20 @ Gallery 1412, Seattle WA 
Duo w/ AF Jones
*Event page*

2/8/20 @ Henry Art Gallery, Seattle WA 

Monday, December 30, 2019

Year end, year beginning...

Neither my least nor my most prolific year, I did manage to put all my solo music and all of Heathen Shame's music up on Bandcamp. (Nmperign's music has been there for a bit.) In addition to all of that, I'm on all of the following 2019 releases in some capacity or another...

Hound Dog Taylor's Hand LP [Planned Obsolescence Recording & Novelty, Inc.]












V/A: Option 1 2CD [Corbett Vs. Dempsey] includes a GK solo track












Greg Kelley: An Eerie Wave of Sentiment: Compilation Tracks 2002-2014 ~download only~ A compilation of compilation tracks I put up on Bandcamp.












Chris Brokaw: End of the Night LP [Vin Du Selecte Qualitate] GK on 2 tracks












Hound Dog Taylor's Hand Live at the Clock-Out ~download only~












Untitled (Kevin Drumm) LP [Sähkö Recordings] GK "outro" on 1 track












Greg Kelley/Rob Noyes split cassette [not on label]












7 minutes of Heathen Shame's recent 20 anniversary performance at the Washington Street Arts Center is also included in Non-Event's Year-in-Review: Podcast 4.

I finished up the year playing a solstice set at Jack Straw's Winter Showcase as part of Tom Varner's Vespers project of improvised brass and field recordings...
12/21/19 @ Jack Straw Cultural Center, Seattle WA 
w/ Vespers (with Tom Varner, Steve Peters, Greg Campbell, Steve Barsotti, Samantha Boshnack, Jim Knodle) 4:20-4:50


















And I'm kicking off 2020 with a Hound Dog Taylor's Hand gig in Shoreline WA and a solo set at Dunkelkammer V.3, an evening of music which will take place in total darkness... literally, but I'm sure it can be used as a metaphor for those so inclined.

1/4/20 @ Darrell's Tavern, Shoreline WA 
also UbuludU, Psnake











1/9/20 @ Dunkelkammer V.3, Reaktor Space, Seattle WA Solo, also Pearl Grays, Undesirable Body

Monday, November 25, 2019

November, December & heathenshame.bandcamp.com

Some forthcoming shows (and one that has passed):

First and foremost, Heathen Shame is celebrating it's 20th year as a band and playing a show on our much tread upon grounds of Somerville, Massachusetts. As part of the celebration, we've put up a bandcamp page with all of our officially released albums including 2002's self-title LP, 2005's Live in Chicago 2002 CDr, 2005's Anal Dropout  CDr (the latter two being released in small editions of ~25 to coincide with our appearance at NYC's No Fun Fest) and 2005's Speed the Parting Guest CD. It's all up as "name your price" so please take a listen.

https://heathenshame.bandcamp.com/














12/14/19 @ Washington Street Arts Center, Somerville MA
w/ Heathen Shame (20th anniversary show!)

12/4/19 @ Teatro de la Psychomachia, Seattle WA 
*Event page*













11/30/19 @ Blue Moon, Seattle WA
*Event page*











I may have convinced John & Mark to let me do a rendition of "Send in the Clowns" at this show, so it's fitting that the flyer has Sinatra on it (Casey, who made the flyer, has no knowledge of this plan.) It's something I've been considering for a while. As a child, I had a music box that played this song and I would drift off to sleep as it plucked away, getting slower and slower as it went. I will not be attempting to mimic this effect at the Blue Moon, but I'll be playing a straightforward rendition while John and Mark play other things. "Don't you love farce? My fault, I fear..."

11/18/19 @ Sunset Tavern, Seattle WA

Sunday, September 29, 2019

October onslaught

Lots going on in October including a West Coast tour with Chris Brokaw's End of the Night Band and the release of Hound Dog Taylor's Hand's new self-titled LP (their second LP, their first with me) and some related shows.

First off, to celebrate the May release of Chris Brokaw's album End of the Night, he's assembled a crackerjack band featuring me (they can't all be winners), cellist Lori Goldston, drummer Luther Gray (all of whom are featured on the album) and drummer Dave Abramson. We'll be heading down the West Coast with some excellent acts like Kinski, Ilyas Ahmed/Jonathan Sielaff, Bill Orcutt, Jeff Parker and more.


10/10/19 Seattle WA @ Clock-Out Lounge w/ Kinski, SkullKat *Event page*
10/12/19 Chico CA @ Naked Lounge w/ Donald Beaman *Event page*
10/13/19 San Francisco CA @ The Lost Church w/ Chuck Johnson *Event page*
10/14/19 San Francisco CA @ The Lost Church w/ Bill Orcutt *Event page*
10/15/19 Los Angeles CA @ Zebulon w/ Jeff Parker *Event page*

As all that is happening, Hound Dog Taylor's Hand's new s/t LP is coming out on Canada's Planned Obsolescence Recording & Novelty Inc. on October 11th. Hound Dog Taylor's hand is the Pacific Northwest's premier purveyor of avant-primitive jazz rock featuring Jeffery Taylor on electric guitar, John Seman on contrabass, Mark Ostrowski on drums and as of late 2017, me on electrified trumpet. Pre-orders are available now and we've got T-shirts (a first for me)! There's even a Wire cover on the LP, but the post-punk cognoscenti deemed the trumpet to be not post-punk enough, so I'm not on that track. And as if that's not enough, there's also a VIDEO for the opening track "Look Up and Let Go."

























To celebrate all of that, we'll be playing a couple shows in October and a record release show on November 1st.

10/19/19 @ Midden Festival, The Edison Granary, Bow WA 
also Lori Goldston, V. Vecker, Tarsier Eyes, and many others.... from noon to 11pm.


10/29/19 @ Royal Room, Seattle WA 
also Metal Men (Eric Muhs, John Hawkley), Dangerknife (Nico Sophiea, Brad Rouda) with the Japanese silent film "A Page of Madness". 

11/1 /19 @ Blue Moon, Seattle WA