Tell us about:

Your latest single you have released:

Michael Robert Kelly: Our latest single just came out. It is called “Time in History” and we are very excited. 

Your favourite lyric in this song:

Kelly: “Fathers and the mothers drinking / Having fun with others / Were supposed to make sense out of life.” This reminds me of my childhood and going to parties, figuring out our own form of fun as kids. We’d end up playing kick the can a lot of the time. Being a kid is so mysterious and everything is new. I was the youngest in the group for sure, so following the big kids around made it feel pretty safe.  

Your favourite song that you have created that is an album track:

Kelly: I love them all but “My Focus,” which will be released most likely by early next year, is a favourite. I had the intro part probably since 2019 or so, but didn’t get any further until sometime during the pandemic when I just had headphones on and had bought a nice new mic and just started singing in a tone that I felt. Even the first line came out right then. I think it was a breakthrough in discovering my voice in a different way and gave the song direction. “My Focus” is also the first song we finished in this group of releases.  

Your favourite song to play live:

Kelly: My favourite song to play live, which is one I have done so many times as a solo acoustic act, is called “Feelin’ Low”. It’s an upbeat, fun song actually, and people have really come to like it and even sing along with me, clap in time, etc. It’s very different from the others while still maintaining the integrity and production of all our other stuff. We had a really good time recording it and I look forward to everyone being able to listen when it comes out. Oh, and the full band version has a lot of fun tricks up its sleeve.  

The song that was the longest to write and why?

Kelly: Our current release “Time in History” took the longest to write. I started writing this in 2018 and all I had were the beginning few lines and the acoustic part, which pretty much wrote themselves. I really dug the feel and emotion of it but I was stuck and couldn’t progress lyrically, and knew it was going to have to be revisited many times.  

In 2020 during lockdown I decided to demo it and I got as far as the first chorus and that really had me hooked on finishing it. Some of the parts you hear are actually from the original demo!  Stuck once again, I put it on the shelf until I started working with our drummer Shawn Pelkey somewhere in (I think) 2022. He loved the song so we removed the drum loop I had used and he captured the song rhythmically and made it really come to life. 

It was always my plan to have all real instruments, of course. Shawn’s interest in my songs really motivated me to work on finishing this so I just put the time in and wrote more. The direction of the song changes drastically at one point and I had to decide that we were not going back to, let’s say, the first movement. It was impossible to make it work but I just accepted that because I loved where it was ending up, and honestly who needs another chorus? When Buddy Sullivan did his guitar parts it all just made sense to me and now anytime I hear his and Shawn’s nastiness at the end of the song, I feel nostalgic. 

Your most emotional track:

Kelly: My most emotional track is definitely “Stay a Little Longer”. This song is written from the perspective of a woman going through a divorce. It came to me while thinking about my parents and their divorce when I was 11 and possibly what my mother was thinking. I love my parents and they loved each other very much but some things aren’t meant to last.  

Dream collaboration:

Kelly: I think working with a producer like Peter Collins would have been amazing. I’m sure there are others but he really sticks out from his work with Rush on “Counterparts”. I’d love to see what he could’ve pulled out of me, Buddy, and Shawn. We are all very receptive to things in the studio and are just producing ourselves at the moment. I think an outside perspective could be awesome sometime, but I’m extremely happy with our results as of now! 

Describe the feeling you get when you walk on stage to do a show:

Kelly: I always like to be prepared and well rehearsed and know when the first hit is. I get excited to play for new people because it is like having to win them over. I don’t get nervous as much as an excitement in me that we are going to rule that stage for as long as we have. It’s OUR time so let’s give it everything.   

The hardest track to play live:

Kelly: I’d say “Stay a Little Longer”. It naturally has a weird lilt to it that can be confusing to play but when you listen it flows very well.  

Essential items you always take on tour with you?

Kelly: Gig clothes. Rain coat. Long pants. Shorts. Sleepwear. Any weather permitting clothing like a good sweatshirt. About 5 to 7 pairs of wool socks. Lots of underwear. Liquid IV. Q-Tips. A pair of sneakers. Sunscreen. Contact lenses. Blundstone boots (best touring shoe). Shampoo. Soap. Backpack. In-ear monitors. Wireless headphones.  

Describe your fans in three words:

Kelly: Young. Middle-Aged. Old. 

A song by another artist or band you wish you had written:

Kelly: “High and Dry” by Radiohead.  

What we can look forward to from your band this year: 

Kelly: You can look forward to more releases and some live shows starting in the fall!