Me and Bobby McGee

Last Friday saw Kelli and the band back in rehearsal working up Me and Bobby McGee. Written by Kris Kristofferson, it was first a hit for Country singer Roger Miller in 1969, of course, more people are familiar with the Janis Joplin version that came out in 1971 on her album Pearl. If you have not heard it for a while there are several versions up on YouTube, you can check them out here.

Kelli had started working on an acoustic version of the track back in 2003 as part of the Songs Ill Always Sing project, but she was looking for a different take on it this time round. Having spent the last 18 months developing her sound with the ShadowMen, the track morphed from being an upbeat ballad into a minor key, guitar driven rocker. If this has got you scratching your head, then check out the opening guitar riff by clicking on the arrow below, the shot is Kelli and the band taking a break from rehearsal and heading out for some much needed food.



Can you imagine Kelli coming in with, Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waiting for a train...? It sounds amazing! We are back in the studio this Friday to tighten it up and start work on Crazy.

Who's Your Daddy

Kelli is of course!

Yep, we are hunting down a number of classic tracks that would be a good addition to the set list over the coming months. It makes a lot of sense to give the initial audiences something that they can immediately recognize and then of course blow them away with a unique Kelli interpretation. We already have great versions of Your Cheating Heart and Why Cant He Be You by Hank Williams and Patsy Cline respectively but we are looking to add a few more.

Last week we worked up an incredible version of the Bill Wither track:Aint No Sunshine When Shes Gone, of course Kelli sings He rather than She, and this is no ballad any more, it is a full on grooving rocker. Two others that we will be working up very soon are Crazy, the Patsy Cline signature track and Bobby McGee, the Janis Joplin classic. Both are tracks that are dear to Kelli and she has been singing them for years, here is a clip of Kelli singing Crazy back in 2001:














Of course the new version is going to be a little different as the ShadowMen will bring their own inimitable style to it. With Thom out of town for another week we might have to put Mr. Lesniak behind the kit to get the ball rolling, should be a lot of fun, we might even post some audio clips to whet your appetite!

We spent yesterday looking in the modern Country catalog for a suitable track and it was surprising to find so few stand out songs. One of the ones that Kelli is considering is the Toby Keith track Whos Your Daddy? There are very few men out there who could take this track and make it their own, but anyone that knows Kelli, knows that she could knock this one out of the park; can't wait to see the look on the guy's faces!

Why Do People Pay To Go See Live Music?

We have no idea what the answer to that question is - we're grappling with it along with everyone else. In the meantime, we're focused on creating the best possible set list in order to make damn sure people have a good time when they come to see Kelli and the ShadowMen.



















For now we're working with the following - although of course it is likely to change tomorrow:

Rock & Roll in the Valley...

Kelli and the ShadowMen
Reseda, California
November, 2007

Click on the image to see a larger version

Music Made Here - a photo blog

Readers of the bigblackbusblog (and try saying that after a few beers!) will be familiar with the expression "Music's Easy!"













Let's take a closer look...













...going from the expression on Kelli's face and on Jeff's...

















...maybe "Easy" isn't exactly the right word.



















Listening to it sure as hell is fun though!

Matt

You might be aware that we have been looking for a new ShadowMan.

















They're a rare breed - you don't really know one until you get to play with them...

















...but if you look closely...
















...and listen...














...you can tell...















...and it's a great feeling!















We would like to express our thanks to the musicians who came and auditioned. We were fortunate enough to meet some wonderful players and some great characters; we all enjoyed listening to and playing with you, thank you.

Kelli & The Shadowmen....

With the interminable months of development and rehearsal at Nightingale behind us, it's all about working the live show. The early feedback on the music has been extremely encouraging; one of the common threads is the huge amount of energy that comes through in the tracks. When you look at how the live show is developing - this doesn't exactly come as a surprise.

With a room like this to work in, Kelli and the band can really stretch their wings and work on delivering a show that captures the energy of the whole project.



More often than not the focus is going to be on Kelli, as the singer and "frontwoman," there is no doubt she carries the show and all eyes are going to be on her. Whether she's front or back of stage she controls and directs the focus of the band:


Having played with a number of different formats, there is a great feel and balance to having Thom and Andrew anchoring the back of the stage with Jeff and Mario flanking Kelli at the front of the stage.

Once we're out on the road we will have both Drum and Keyboard risers which should give the look of the show even more balance. But even now, there is a great symmetry to the show and plenty of room for Kelli to command the stage.

Whenever Kelli isn't singing, the Shadowmen come into their own and the chemistry between the players is starting to really pay off:

Jeff and Mario have been playing together for a while now and it shows.








Kelli of course adds her own energy and enthusiasm to the individual players: Encouraging Mario.....

















...applauding Thom...









Jeff gets the clap too!
Of course - when it's on - this is what it feels like:




Over the next few days we'll be focusing on the individual players: - first up Andrew - check back in the next few days to see how Kelli's keyboard player and chief idiot loves his job!