Kelley Deal

Last updated

Kelley Deal
Kelley Deal 2018.jpg
Deal in 2018
Born (1961-06-10) June 10, 1961 (age 62)
Dayton, Ohio, US
Occupations
  • Musician
  • singer
  • songwriter
Years active1992–present
Relatives Kim Deal (twin sister)
Musical career
Genres Alternative rock
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • bass
  • violin
  • drums
Labels

Kelley Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American musician and singer. She has been the lead guitarist and co-vocalist of the alternative rock band the Breeders since 1992, and has formed her own side-projects with bands such as R. Ring and the Kelley Deal 6000. She is the identical twin sister of the musician Kim Deal.

Contents

In 2020, Deal joined the post-punk band Protomartyr in a touring capacity, after collaborating with the band on their 2018 EP, Consolation .

Early life

Kelley Deal was born in Dayton, Ohio, United States, 11 minutes before her twin sister, Kim Deal. The sisters grew up in Huber Heights, a suburb of Dayton and graduated from Wayne High School. They first played together in their late teens, with Kim playing guitar and both singing Hank Williams songs in biker bars. [1]

In 1986, Kim joined the Pixies in Boston. She paid for Kelley to fly to Boston and audition as drummer. Though the Pixies songwriter, Black Francis, approved, Kelley was not confident in her drumming and was more interested in playing songs written by Kim. [2] Kelley worked as a defence contractor at an Air Force base. [3]

Career

In 1989, Kim Deal and Tanya Donelly (the lead guitarist of Throwing Muses) formed the Breeders. Kim invited Kelley to join the band for their debut album, Pod , but Kelley could not get time off from work.[ citation needed ]

In 1992, Kelley joined the Breeders as third guitarist, even though she did not really know how to play. The Safari EP was the first recording on which she appeared. [4] Guitarist Tanya Donelly left to form Belly a little after the release of Safari. Kim suggested Kelley should be the band's new drummer. After Kelley insisted on lead guitar, Kim gave her a crash course on all the songs in the band's set. Kelley picked up quickly and learned all the lead parts on Pod and the new parts on the album they were about to record, Last Splash . A new drummer from Dayton, Jim MacPherson, joined them. After Last Splash was released in 1993, the band toured, opening for Nirvana, and also got a slot on the Lollapalooza tour in 1994.

Other projects

Deal performing with the Kelley Deal 6000 Kelly Deal 6000 Oklahoma City.jpg
Deal performing with the Kelley Deal 6000

After Last Splash, Kelley started the Kelley Deal 6000. [5] [6] The band released two albums on Eel's Nice Records label, Go To The Sugar Altar in 1996 and Boom! Boom! Boom! in 1997, and went on hiatus when The Breeders were reunited.

Kelley also joined The Last Hard Men with Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach, Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, and Jimmy Flemion of The Frogs. [7] [8] She played bass for them and they recorded an eponymous album in 1997, which was released in a limited edition on Eel's own label, Nice Records, and in 2001 on Spitfire Records.

She teamed back up with her sister in the late 1990s and began recording new demos for the Breeders. With a new line up, they released Title TK in 2002. Title TK features three songs recorded in 1999, where the Deal sisters played all the instruments. In April 2008, The Breeders released Mountain Battles . All Nerve followed in 2018.

She has been knitting in recent years. [9] She specializes in knitted handbags, which she sells on her website, and appeared on the DIY Network knitting show Knitty Gritty, and in 2008 released a book of her knitting handbag patterns, [10] Bags That Rock: Knitting on the Road with Kelley Deal. One of her patterns is included in the DIY Network's book Knitty Gritty Knits: 25 Fun & Fabulous Projects'. [11]

She co-wrote and played guitar on Magnetophone's "Kel's Vintage Thought". She has also performed duets with Kris Kristofferson and Supersuckers (notably, Hungover Together on Must've Been High), and has also played in the band R. Ring. [12] In January 2020, Deal joined the band Protomartyr as a touring member for their 2020 midwest tour. Deal had previously provided vocals on Protomartyr records. [13]

Drug problems

In 1994, Kelley was arrested for heroin possession. She had been using heroin since she was a teenager. [14] She went through drug rehabilitation throughout the following year. [14] In a February 2018 feature article, The New York Times reported that Kelley was in her eighth year of sobriety. [15]

Discography

The Breeders

The Kelley Deal 6000

The Last Hard Men

R. Ring

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pixies (band)</span> American alternative rock band

The Pixies are an American alternative rock band formed in 1986, in Boston, Massachusetts. Until 2013, the band consisted of Black Francis, Joey Santiago, Kim Deal and David Lovering (drums). They disbanded acrimoniously in 1993 but reunited in 2004. After Deal left in 2013, the Pixies hired Kim Shattuck as a touring bassist; she was replaced later that year by Paz Lenchantin, who became a permanent member in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Breeders</span> American alternative rock band

The Breeders are an American alternative rock band based in Dayton, Ohio, consisting of members Kim Deal, her twin sister Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs and Jim Macpherson (drums).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Deal</span> American musician and singer-songwriter (born 1961)

Kimberley Ann Deal is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist rock musician. She was the original bassist and co-vocalist in the alternative rock band Pixies from 1986 to 1993 and 2004 to 2013, and is the frontwoman of the Breeders, which she formed in 1989.

<i>Last Splash</i> 1993 studio album by the Breeders

Last Splash is the second album by American indie rock band the Breeders, released on August 30, 1993. Originally formed as a side project for Pixies bassist Kim Deal, the Breeders quickly became her primary recording outlet. Last Splash peaked at number 33 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and by June 1994, the album had been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments in excess of one million units.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Amps</span> American alternative rock band

The Amps were an American alternative rock band formed by Kim Deal in 1995, while her band the Breeders went on hiatus. The group consisted of Deal, on lead vocals and rhythm guitar; Luis Lerma on bass; Nate Farley on lead guitar; and Jim Macpherson of the Breeders on drums. Kelley Deal, Kim's sister, was also briefly involved, but had to leave the band due to drug problems. The group was named when Kim Deal started calling herself Tammy Ampersand for fun, and the band Tammy and the Amps. They recorded the album Pacer in the United States and Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanya Donelly</span> American musician

Tanya Donelly is an American Grammy Award-nominated singer-songwriter and guitarist based in New England who co-founded Throwing Muses with her step-sister Kristin Hersh. Donelly went on to co-form the alternative rock band The Breeders in 1989, before leaving to front her own band Belly in 1991. By the late 1990s, she settled into a solo recording career, working largely with musicians connected to the Boston music scene.

<i>Pod</i> (The Breeders album) 1990 studio album by the Breeders

Pod is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band the Breeders, released by 4AD records on May 29, 1990. Engineered by Steve Albini, the album features band leader Kim Deal on vocals and guitar, Josephine Wiggs on bass, Britt Walford on drums, and Tanya Donelly on guitar. Albini's production prioritized sound over technical accomplishment; the final takes favor the band's spontaneous live "in studio" performances.

<i>Pacer</i> (album) 1995 studio album by The Amps

Pacer is the only album by the Amps, led by Kim Deal. It was released in October 1995. The album was recorded as a side project to Kim Deal's group the Breeders. She recruited new musicians and naming the group the Amps, recorded Pacer at several studios in the US and Ireland, with different engineers, including Steve Albini, Bryce Goggin, and John Agnello.

<i>Title TK</i> 2002 alternative rock album by The Breeders

Title TK is the third studio album by American alternative rock band the Breeders, released on May 20 and 21, 2002 by 4AD in the United Kingdom and Elektra Records in the United States, and on May 10 by P-Vine Records in Japan. The album—whose name means "title to come" in journalistic shorthand—generated three singles: "Off You", "Huffer", and "Son of Three". Title TK reached the top 100 in France, Germany, the UK, and Australia, and number 130 in the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josephine Wiggs</span> British musician

Miranda Cordelia Susan Josephine Wiggs is an English multi-instrumentalist rock musician, best known for her work as bassist in the alternative rock bands The Breeders and The Perfect Disaster. She has also formed multiple side-projects, including her own bands Honey Tongue, The Josephine Wiggs Experience, and Dusty Trails.

<i>Fool the World</i> 2005 book about American rock band Pixies

Fool the World: The Oral History of a Band Called Pixies is a 2005 book by Josh Frank and Caryn Ganz about the American alternative rock band Pixies. The book, written as an oral history, covers the career of the band from their inception in 1985, to their breakup in 1993 and eventual reunion in 2004. Fool the World features interviews and recollections from a range of characters involved with the band, including Surfer Rosa producer Steve Albini, Kim Deal's twin sister Kelley Deal and 4AD co-founder Ivo Watts-Russell, as well as each member of the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Son of Three</span> 2002 single by the Breeders

"Son of Three" is a song by the American group the Breeders. Composed and sung by Kim Deal, its original version was recorded at Grandmaster Recording Ltd. in Hollywood, and was released in May 2002 on the album Title TK. The Breeders—then consisting of Deal, Kelley Deal, Jose Medeles, Richard Presley, and Mando Lopez—later re-recorded "Son of Three" at a different Hollywood studio as Title TK's third European single. This subsequent recording is shorter and faster than the album track, and matches how they were playing the song in concert in 2002.

<i>Safari</i> (EP) 1992 EP by the Breeders

Safari is an EP by the Breeders, released in 1992 on 4AD/Elektra Records. By the time of its release, Kim Deal had enlisted her twin sister Kelley to play guitar for the band. It is the only Breeders recording that features both Kelley Deal and Tanya Donelly.

Britt Walford is an American musician best known for being the drummer, co-founder, and occasional guitarist for the post-rock band Slint.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Breeders discography</span>

The discography of American alternative rock band The Breeders consists of five studio albums, one live album, three extended plays, ten singles and twelve music videos. Kim Deal, then-bassist of American alternative rock band the Pixies, formed The Breeders as a side-project with Tanya Donelly, guitarist of American alternative rock band Throwing Muses. After recording a demo tape, The Breeders signed to the English independent record label 4AD in 1989. Their debut studio album Pod was released in May 1990, but was not commercially successful. After the revival of the Pixies and Throwing Muses in 1990, The Breeders became mostly inactive until the Pixies' breakup in 1993. With a new lineup, The Breeders released their Safari EP in 1992, followed by their second studio album Last Splash in 1993. Last Splash was The Breeders' most successful album; it peaked at number 33 on the United States Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1994. The album spawned the band's most successful single, "Cannonball". The single peaked at number 44 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and at number two on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Kelley Deal 6000</span> American alternative rock band

The Kelley Deal 6000 was an alternative rock band formed in St. Paul, Minnesota and was active between 1995 and 1997. They were formed by Kelley Deal in 1995, while her main band The Breeders was on hiatus and after she had just completed a stint in rehab. The band released two albums in 1995 and 1997, before Kelley went back to rejoin The Breeders the following year.

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Mountain Battles is the fourth studio album by American band The Breeders. It was released in the United Kingdom on April 7, 2008, and in the United States on April 8, 2008. The album was gradually recorded in a number of different locales including Refraze Recording Studios in Dayton, Ohio, by engineers including Steve Albini, Erika Larson, Manny Nieto and Ben Mumphrey.

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Fate to Fatal is an EP by the American alternative rock band the Breeders, released on Period Music, on April 21, 2009. It was recorded in three different locations by multiple engineers: the title track was recorded at the Fortress Studios, London with producer Gareth Parton; "The Last Time", which features lead vocals by Mark Lanegan, and "Pinnacle Hollow" were recorded by Ben Mumphrey in Dayton, OH; "Chances Are", a cover of a Bob Marley song, was recorded by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in Chicago.

The American alternative rock band the Breeders played a tour of thirteen concerts in the central and western United States in September 2014. After the group's "classic" lineup reunited in 2013 for a tour commemorating the 20th anniversary of Last Splash, they began working on new material. Ahead of opening for Neutral Milk Hotel at the Hollywood Bowl, they planned a tour leading up to this show, using the opportunity to practice recent compositions that would appear on their 2018 album All Nerve.

The LSXX Tour was a series of sixty concerts by the Breeders in 2013 to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the release of their 1993 album Last Splash.

References

  1. ↑ Frank, Josh; Ganz, Caryn (2006). Fool the world: the oral history of a band called Pixies. Macmillan. pp. 7–8. ISBN   978-0-312-34007-0.
  2. ↑ Chick, Stevie (March 14, 2008). "Sister Bliss". The Guardian . Archived from the original on December 24, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  3. ↑ Simpson, Dave (January 26, 2023). "Kelley Deal: 'I threw a TV out of a hotel window with Nirvana'". The Guardian .
  4. ↑ Wice, Nathaniel (April 1992). "The Breeders: A Band of One's Own for Kim Deal". SPIN . Retrieved April 14, 2011.
  5. ↑ Raha, Maria (2005). Cinderella's big score: women of the punk and indie underground. Seal. p. 146. ISBN   978-1-58005-116-3.
  6. ↑ Carew, Anthony (April 18, 2008). "The deal makers". The Age . Retrieved April 13, 2011.
  7. ↑ Flick, Larry (November 13, 1999). "Bach's Ready to 'Bring 'em Back Alive' on Spitfire Set". Billboard . Retrieved April 14, 2011.
  8. ↑ Hanson, Amy (2004). Smashing Pumpkins: Tales of a Scorched Earth. Helter Skelter. p. 123. ISBN   978-1-900924-68-9.
  9. ↑ Saidman, Sorelle (January 30, 2001). "Breeders Booked For Los Angeles Charity Show". MTV . Retrieved April 13, 2011.
  10. ↑ Harper, Kate (March 13, 2008). "The Breeders' Kelley Deal To Put Out Knitting Book". Chart Attack . Archived from the original on December 18, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
  11. ↑ Howell, Vickie (2007). Knitty Gritty Knits: 25 Fun & Fabulous Projects. Sterling. pp. 30–33. ISBN   978-1-57990-916-1.
  12. ↑ "R.Ring". Rringband. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Kelley Deal joining Protomartyr as part of the band for Midwest shows". Brooklynvegan.com. January 29, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  14. 1 2 Costa, Maddy (May 9, 2002). "The Addict Family". The Guardian .
  15. ↑ Ryzik, Melena (February 22, 2018). "How the Breeders Finally Learned to Get Along". New York Times . Retrieved May 9, 2018.
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