CRASH KELLY - Reflections On 2006 
CRASH KELLY vocalist/guitarist Sean Kelly has issued the following look back at the year that was:
"Dear Friends,
As I'm staring down the end of 2006, I feel truly blessed for the wonderful opportunities that have been presented to CK this year.
We kicked off 2006 with a gig with Carl Dixon of Coney Hatch fame at Healey's in Toronto, and Carl gave me some great advice on singing, performing, etc. This advice would prove very helpful for the opportunity that presented itself shortly thereafter.
We also celebrated the Canadian release of Electric Satisfaction with an acoustic set and listening party at the Old Nick pub, our post-rehearsal watering hole (owned by my dear friends Kristine Sullivan and Pamela Gilmartin). The room was packed with friends and well-wishers, and a great time was had by all!
I can remember very clearly the moment when my manager Chris Case phoned to tell me we had been offered three slots on the Canadian leg of the Alice Cooper tour...I don't know if anything prepares you for the feeling of having a dream come true, but I will always cherish that flush of excitement.
The Canadian dates with Alice were spread far apart (St. John's NFLD on May 1st, Brandon Manitoba on May 16th, and Winnipeg on May 17th), but CK's intredpid management team of Chris and his wife Rebecca put together a string of 11 dates in between that ultimately became the Jagermeister/BC Rich sponsored "Alice Cooper After Party Tour"...I must admit, it was pretty cool to be able to offer a guitar as a giveaway prize! The tour was a great success, and I still get a chill when I think of stepping out onto the stage at Mile ONe Stadium in St. John's for the first time...it's odd the things you remember, like staring up at the big clock at the back of the arena, or at the security guards at the exits at the back. I grew up with Arena rock shows, and it felt so rewarding and satisfying to be able to be a part of that. It was also pretty wild to be sharing the stage with one of your biggest influences, but more of that later.
When we got home from our last gig in Winnipeg (which was a big homecoming show for Jordan, celebrated by his donning of a classic Winnipeg Jets jersey on stage), there was a bit of a lull...we kept busy with a few gigs locally, but it seemed that things had slowed a bit. Sometimes these thngs just happen, despite your best efforts. However, we had a US release date of July 25th coming up, and we knew we had to get something happening. Fortunately, we have one of the last great music men in our corner, our US A&R rep Clay Marshall. Together with the managment team at RCD music, Clay began stringing together a series a of dates in Hollywood, including a coveted slot at Metal Skool at the Key Club. He also is the type of guy who will tirelessly seek out opportunities, and he kept working the Alice Cooper camp for more support slots. We are lucky to have a champion like Clay!
They say that success is where luck meets preparedness, so I guess all the hard work and grinding paid off, as Clay received an offer from Alice Cooper's management to support him in Billings, MT. Where other bands might have balked at the offer becuase of the costs of travelling for a single gig so far away, we jumped at it. We figured we could make it a part of our LA tour, and hopefully pick up some more dates. Well, another date was offered, this time to support Alice at the Sturgis Bike Rally, North America's largest biker festival! The date was scheduled the day before Billings, and was close enough to make it feasible. The best part of this gig was that it would put us in front of a crowd of 20,000 people, our biggest yet.
Unfortunately, Al could not make this tour, but my bro Ky Anto came in and effortlessly slipped into the role of guitarist. The gigs in Sturgis and Billngs were really magical. The stage at Sturgis was like something out of a Rolling Stones video, with the huge jumbotron screens and massive catwalks....and there is nothing like the sound of thousands of Harley's revving their approval for your band! We kicked ass that night, and the pattern continued the next night in Billings, were the Shrine Auditorium was turned into something out of my 70's rock fantasies...the crowd was frothing from the beginning, and we came out and gave them the full-tilt boogie...I have great memories of standing beside Ky before we went on and exchanging a glance that said more than a thousand words ever could...Crash Kelly had moved from a project that he and I had worked on in my apartment in Toronto, to rocking the big stages with Alice Cooper. A big thanks goes out to the people of Billings, who showed us an incredible time.
The Hollywood portion of our trip was fantastic, as our dates now included slots with LA Guns, The Starfuckers (Gilby Clarke, John Corabi, Stefan Adika, Eric Dover and others), an appearance at the International Pop Overthrow festival in Stanton Park, and a gig in Lake Forest at the Gypsy Lounge. Our last date was the aforementioned slot at Metal Skool at the Key Club (where we actually ended up opening for Kelly Clarkson, who got up and jammed with Metal Skool druing their set).
Hollywood is always a trip for me...the Sunset Strip was this fabled land that I walwasy longed to visist, and now I get to perform there, sometimes with some of those early heroes of mine. It's also a liitle weird to see the casualties of the rock n roll lifestyle that haunt many of these places...still, it's good to know what can lurk beneath the glitter.
Of course, all of these dates really helped our promo push for Electric Satisfaction (which was produced by Gilby Clarke, whos new found fame with Rockstar Supernova also helped!), and we received some great press, including full page features in Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles and Classic Rock, and great reviews in magazines like Spin and Harp.
Upon returning from the US, we received news that we had been invited to join the mighty Alice for a third string of dates, this time for his Halloween tour. We headed out (this time with drummer Eric Herrmann) for dates in Poughkeepsie, Pittsburgh, Nashville (where we played the legendary Ryman Auditorium, and later took over the stage at Tootsies Orchid Lounge as the un-official house band!), St. Louis, Joliet, Springfield, Evansville, Pikeville KY, Cleveland (Eric's hometown, rocking for 6000 people!), and Kalamazoo.
It would end up being a novel if I were to describe all of the things that blew our minds on this tour, but I do want to acknowledge the excellent Alice Cooper band and crew for the kindess and friendship...these guys went out of their way to make us feel welcome, and they gave us an experience we'll never forget. Thank you Toby Mamis and Alive! Enterprises, CJ Strock at Podell Talent, and of course Alice Cooper, who even played our version of Cold Ethyl on his radio show!
Another huge highlight of 2006 was seeing Electric Satisfaction and Penny Pills recieve official Japanese releases through our friends at Spirtual Beast in Tokyo...thanks for all of your hard work Mats!
Alright, I'm getting tired of writing this now...shouldn't I be practicing our something??? I'm likely forgetting a bunch of stuff, but no one probably read this far anyway, lol!
I would like to thank Al, Kevin, Jordan, Ky, and Eric for helping me take my vision to the arenas, amphitheatres, theatres, and clubs of North America. I would also like to thank Chris, Rebecca, and the staff at RCD for their blood, sweat, and sometimes tears! Finally, a huge thanks to Liquor and Poker Music/Century Media for continued support and friendship.
God Bless you all, and Happy New Year!
Sean"
As previously reported, Crash Kelly has announced their first string of live shows for 2007. Confirmed dates are as follows:
January 17 - Hollywood, CA - Viper Room (with PAUL GILBERT)
18 - Hollywood, CA - The Cat Club (with THE STARFUCKERS)
21 - Hollywood, CA - Knitting Factory (with BROKEN TEETH)
22 - Hollywood, CA - The Key Club (with METAL SKOOL)
Accueil 
