KELLY JOE PHELPS
Biography
"There are few artists who offer the raw
sincerity and accomplished musical acumen
that guitarist, singer and songwriter Kelly Joe
Phelps does... Phelps has done something
remarkable: forged himself a solid identifying
mark as a folk and blues musician of
distinction in fields that owe so much to the
past, latter day performers are usually
crushed under the weight of them... His voice,
smoky and sweetly raspy is never harsh,
though it often sounds like it is inhabited by
ghosts... Dignfied, soulful and spot on
musically, Phelps is a dynamite guitarist... It's
his own songs that offer the true prize." -
Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
"Like the sound of some impossible invention
built from theremin, pedal steel, saw,
omnichord, sitar and the whir of
hummingbirds, the sound of Kelly Joe Phelps' guitar has no derivation and no
blueprint, save his own soul. He sings with an urgent, slurred whisper (like he
hears the law outside the juke-joint door), and he writes songs -- sometimes
visionary, mostly sustained by the holy blues -- with creative gravitas that's
soaked in all the experiences of a life deeply lived. One doesn't expect such
lyrical and vocal talent from virtuoso guitar improvisers. Like Tom Waits and
Townes Van Zandt, Phelps reconfigures the blues with every pluck and
breath. Like no one else filed under "folk," he creates his own tradition." - By
Roy Kasten, Riverfront Times
"More than just an awesomely talented musician, Kelly Joe Phelps speaks to
the soul of each and every listener." - Cameron Crowe
"Phelps' songwriting mirrors the subtlety that distinguishes his guitar work.
His songs are also infused with poignancy, passion and spirtiuality." - The
Washington Post
"His cadence is so hypnotizing, his rough voice so evocative, his guitar work
so deeply entwined with his singing." - Boston Phoenix
"...textured, pure, noble and moving. Call it art." - Pulse!
The fans of singer, songwriter and guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps have been anxious for
him to release a live CD for quite some time now. Tap the Red Cane Whirlwind
represents a long-awaited opportunity to hear Kelly Joe recorded on disc performing
solo in concert. Produced by Lee Townsend, the new CD is pure unadulterated Kelly
Joe Phelps at his finest recorded in the intimate environments of two venues in which
Kelly Joe has been performing for a long time - McCabe's in Santa Monica and The
Freight and Salvage in Berkeley.
The repertoire includes seven favorite Kelly Joe originals, including "Jericho",
"Tommy", "Not So Far to Go", "Fleashine", "Cardboard Box of Batteries", "Gold
Tooth" and "Waiting for Marty" plus astonishing versions of two classic cover songs -
"Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues" by Skip James and "I Am the Light of the World" by
Reverend Gary Davis. Engineered by Shawn Pierce and mastered by Greg Calbi, Tap
the Red Cane Whirlwind will be released on True North Records in Canada and
Rykodisc in the rest of the world.
Poet of the Badlands
"When you listen to 'Tap the Red Cane Whirlwind', the badlands of South
Dakota come to mind: scorched plains, tumble-down barns, and scrawny
dogs lolling aimlessly in the sun. Phelps is an man with lyricism deep within
his bones, a poet to rival Tom Waits and possibly even Cohen and Dylan.
The musicianship can be rated just as highly. Phelps's guitar playing is
exquisite." - Red Popper (UK)
"Simply stated, if there is one recording that captures the sum of the magic,
power, and poetry that is Kelly Joe Phelps, this one's it." - Thom Jurek, All
Music Guide
Kelly Joe raised the musical bar with his compelling
2003 collection of songs on his fourth full-length
Rykodisc release, Slingshot Professionals. Replete
with Kelly Joe's singular guitar sound, soulful vocals
and lyrics won through experience, Slingshot
Professionals delivers music, at once both fresh and
mature, ensuring Phelps a place among our most
accomplished performing songwriters.
Produced by Lee Townsend, Slingshot Professionals
followed 2001's critically acclaimed Sky Like a Broken
Clock and the Beggar's Oil EP, a companion piece
released in 2002. Slingshot Professionals found
Phelps making his way in a new role, that of
bandleader. For most of his career, Phelps has gone it
alone on record and on tour. That changed with the
recording of Sky Like a Broken Clock, when he paired
with bassist Larry Taylor and drummer Billy Conway
(from Morphine).
For Slingshot Professionals, Phelps recorded with two distinct groups of musicians,
one in Seattle and the other in Toronto, creating a sound that is his most fully
orchestrated to date. Celebrated guitarist Bill Frisell and Keith Lowe (bassist with
David Sylvian, Wayne Horvitz and Fiona Apple) joined Phelps to record "Not So Far
To Go" and "Cardboard Box of Batteries", while three members of Zubot and Dawson
- Steve Dawson (slide guitars), Jesse Zubot (fiddle, mandolin), and Andrew Downing
(bass) play on Slingshot's remaining eight songs. Drummer and percussionist Scott
Amendola,(known for his work with Charlie Hunter, among others) joined Phelps on
all songs except one. The contributions of Chris Gestrin (organ, piano and accordion)
and Petra Haden (backing vocals) were subsequently added in Vancouver, B.C. Of his
work with Zubot and Dawson, Phelps laughs as he says, "it sounds like a bluegrass
band that went to the wrong school."
The basic tracks on Slingshot Professionals were recorded live, in Phelps' favorite
manner. "My penchant for live recording has to do with wanting the musicians to
interact with one another, to provide the opportunity of responding in the moment to
a lyric or a phrase someone might play. A 'call and response' situation is created, all
ears are open, and the focus of all individual minds becomes the focus of one mind.
In this way the song starts to breathe and take on a life beyond the players
themselves, each part becoming a critical and important link in one chain. This, to
me, is when music comes alive."
A brilliant improviser, Phelps is known for his ability to put a new spin on a song
every time he plays. "For me, the direction is always forward. I learn, experiment,
experience, apply. Everything I'm doing now is deeply rooted in what I've done
before, coupled with whatever sense of vision I've been fortunate enough to receive.
I no more want to play, sing or write the way I did five years ago than want to live
the life I had then. I change, the music changes, but it's a very straight line. It may
appear to be a circle, but each individual recording exemplifies my current musical
passions and explorations added to past influences and experience.
As life moves constantly forward, so should music, if
it's to contain vitality and genuine emotion respectfully
relayed in an honest fashion. Earlier on, I found myself
absorbed by the sound of the guitar, by it's inherent
possibilities and myriad variations of approach. These
days my curiosity and passion are piqued by words -
the music they themselves make - how best to portray
an image musically, and song construction...how to
build a song like a painters' picture, with all its shadow
and mystery and light. Instruments added to the
guitar become like different colors on the pallet, or
different accents on the words, or foreign languages
that sound so beautiful in and of themselves they
communicate purely through sound. In this way I am
able to find a spot to set the guitar into, a place the
voice can rise into, and the other instruments fill out
the canvas, thereby setting up the foundation for the
story to exist upon. If we all play only what is needed,
and no more than that...there is the ultimate goal and
challenge.
When I'm on the road, I can't write. However, I'm constantly soaking up
experiences, sights, collecting memories that come out when I get back home and
can sit still long enough to bring them forward in a particular shape.
Some of them come out in story form, others in the form of poetry or loose prose.
Then they are filed away; not as songs but as written word only. I enjoy this part of
the writing process so much that I'll typically fill 40 or 50 pages before even one of
them starts to transform into song lyric.
When I catch a glimpse of a character or a story that appears wants to be sung
about I will start editing, start honing in on the most important aspects. I start to
recognize the extraneous parts tapped out during the original sketch, begin to see a
face...and if I'm lucky these characters start to dictate their own motion and turn
themselves from a loosely constructed bit of prose into a nearly carved lyric. An
internal word rhythm or phrase rhythm will usually stand out, leading me further
along the editing path, the re-writing path.
Somewhere along here is where the guitar comes in. I try letting the word rhythm
determine the musical direction, rather than the other way around, so that the story
or the scene remains the point of the pyramid and all else remains in support of that.
The primary point is this: much of the music will always remain improvised - this is
where the outside emotion will be heard. The music can and most likely will change
with every performance - that's the breath and the life and the vitality, the soul. The
lyric will always remain solidly built, this is where the inner emotion will be felt. The
fact that the lyric, once it's finished, is not going to change highlights the importance
of its role."
Other talk about Kelly Joe:
Steve Earle: "Kelly Joe Phelps plays, sings,
and writes the blues. HOLD UP before you
lock that in - forget about songs in a twelve
bar three chord progression with a two line
repeat and answer rhyme structure - though
he can certainly do that when he wants to.
I'm talking about a feeling, a smoky,
lonesome, painful - yet somehow comforting
groove that lets you know that you are not
alone - even when you're blue. Play on
brother."
Bill Frisell: "I first became aware of Kelly
Joe Phelps when my daughter (who was 9 or
10 at the time) brought home a cd ('Lead Me
On') from the Vancouver Folk Festival. "You
might like this, Dad" she said. Boy was she
right. I've heard Kelly Joe mention that he's
been inspired by people like Roscoe
Holcomb, Robert Pete Williams, Dock Boggs, Mississipi Fred McDowell, and
others. He seems to have absorbed all this (and all kinds of other stuff as
well) and come back with something all his own. Sounds like he's coming
from the inside out. The bottom up. He's not just playing 'AT' the music or
trying to recreate or imitate something that's happened in the past. He
seems to have tapped into the artery somehow. There's a lot going on in
between and behind the notes. Mystery. He's been an inspiration to me."
Tim O'Brien: "When I heard Kelly Joe the first time, I was amazed how it
all made so much sense. His music is a wide world with three hundred and
sixty degrees of influence, cleverly disguised as country blues. Kelly Joe is a
musical slight of hand master. He pulls world wide sounds out of his guitar."
CD's by Kelly Joe Phelps:
Tap the Red Cane Whirlwind (Rykodisc/True North, 2004)
Slingshot Professionals (Rykodisc, 2003)
Beggar's Oil EP (Rykodisc, 2002)
Sky Like a Broken Clock (Rykodisc, 2001)
Shine-Eyed Mr. Zen (Rykodisc, 1999)
Roll Away the Stone (Rykodisc, 1997)
Lead Me On (Burnside, 1994)
KELLY JOE PHELPS
Discography
TAP THE RED CANE WHIRLWIND
(January 2005 / Rykodisc/True North Records)
SLINGSHOT PROFESSIONALS
(March 2003 / Rykodisc Records)
BEGGAR’S OIL EP
(January 2002 / Rykodisc Records)
SKY LIKE A BROKEN CLOCK
(July 2001 / Rykodisc Records)
SHINE EYED MISTER ZEN
(July 1999 / Rykodisc Records)
ROLL AWAY THE STONE
(August 1997 / Rykodisc Records)
LEAD ME ON
(May 1994 / Burnside Records)

Album reviews

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