Guitarist
Nick Kellie cuts a wide swath of guitar sounds on his 2008
CD, For A Brother. Backed up by a solid rhythm section, Kellie
proves that while he may be young in years, he’s got an enormous
grasp on a range of complex and detailed guitar styles and sounds.
One minute Kellie sounds like smooth jazz kingpin Pat Metheny, the
next he’s channeling rock fusion god Allan Holdsworth. It’s
no wonder that with such a deft touch and a keen attention to melody,
Kellie is also a huge fan of Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch of The Shadows.
With a myriad of crafty fretboard moves up his sleeve, Kellie proves
he’s no guitar clone, instead he chooses to highlight his own
value as a guitar instrumentalist and composer. With a haunting melody
and poignant atmosphere, the title track, “For A Brother”
is a sonic jewel and a true work of guitar art. The rest of the CD
is somewhat more upbeat, filled with excellent interplay between Kellie
and his band. A guitar thriller with no filler, For A Brother is
a solid pick to click for fans of high energy instrumental jazz-rock
fusion.
MUSIC WEB EXPRESS 3000 presents an interview with NICK KELLIE
Guitars Center Stage
Guitarists making waves in the music world, their new recordings and
gear!
Musical Background
I have been playing since around 1995 and have really changed
my tastes over the years. I started by listening to late 50's/early
60's rock and roll, The Shadows and Buddy Holly. I stayed playing
that stuff for years and got a little over obsessed with it to be
honest! It is one of my traits, that kind of all or nothing mentality.
I am one of those guys that has to take everything apart and then
put it back together. Later on I went to London to study and from
there I got into all sorts of music and started playing with guys
from Brazil, Africa and other places. This really opened my ears and
heart up to new music and life experiences.
New CD
The new CD is called For A Brother and was dedicated
to the brother of the drummer in my band who was tragically murdered
in Brazil. All this happened around the time we were recording, so
I thought it would be apt. I think on the whole the CD is a good mix
of influences. You have the Brazilian influence from Marius's drumming,
a really unusual technical approach and north African flavors on the
bass and me... Well I'm not sure!. I will let the listeners be the
judge of that. OK... I give in. I guess I sound very jazz rock and
my compositions could be described as fusion, but I think there are
some tracks that could be described bossa nova and some with a pop
influence. I just love all styles of music you see.
Favorite Guitars
At the time of recording, I wasn't one hundred percent happy
with my amp which was a Tech 21... My ears had gone back to tubes,
so Mesa Boogie kindly loaned me a 2x12 Lone Star combo. It was awesome!
I have since bought one myself I was so blown away. Most of the album
was recorded through that amp with the exception of a couple, one
of which was “Open Fields” I think. Unfortunately, the amp
had to be sent back before the last day of recording, so I had to
go back to using the Tech 21. It still came out pretty good I think.
In terms of guitars, I was using 3 guitars on the recording. A 70's
Strat which was tuned up with Frank Gambale's new tuning which I used
just to fatten out some of the chordal backing. A Yamaha AES-FG model
which is just an awesome guitar! I have had this for a few years now
and just love it. Great sound especially on the neck pickup. The acoustic
guitar was borrowed and to be honest with you, all I know is that
it was Australian made (not a Maton), but the name escapes me, something
beginning with an A. Was a lovely guitar though. The pedals used on
that recording were a Yamaha UD stomp, TC electronic Gmajor and a
SansAmp GT-2. These are always changing though. My setup is now completely
different from this but I think that is part of a guitarists character
- the eternal addiction to gear.
Musical Influences
In recent years my tastes have developed and expanded into
different areas. I don't mean that in a snobby way, not at all! I
can't tolerate musical snobbery. I still love all these players. In
the beginning I was a huge fan of Hank Marvin and The Shadows...and
I still am! What an appealing guitar sound! Such a great touch and
finesse for melodies. Hank is so versatile too. Not a lot of people
realize, but he plays great blues and jazz too...even some rock stuff.
Then there's Frank Gambale. I got into him after I saw him in a clinic
when I was about 18...not a health clinic, a guitar educational seminar.
He was just wild ! but with a great sense of melody and he has that
thing much like Steely Dan where it is accessible enough to listen
to but different enough to make you say, wow, what was that!? I love
to listen to great guitar playing and just love a good guitar tone!
Some favorite albums would be Thinking Out Loud by Frank Gambale,
Into The Light by Hank Marvin. I should mention I am really
into great singers too. Peter Cetera, Jon Anderson, Gino Vannelli,
Michael McDonald, Peabo Bryson and great groups like Earth Wind and
Fire, YES, Chicago... I try to keep an open mind to music and lately
have been delving into some classical music also.
Web Site
My web site is at www.nickkellie.com
and feel free to contact me anytime! I will be happy to hear from
you.
