ZapTown

[Article by Karen Shaver.]

I’ll never forget the first time I saw Night Ranger in concert in 1983 at an auditorium in San Bernardino, California.  It would be my first concert, as well as my 13th birthday. Nobody recognized my uncle as he met us out on the floor in the standing-room-only auditorium before the show.  He walked us among the fans who were staring at the stage set up for opening band Night Ranger. I could hear some of them ask one another, “Why is the drum set on the side of the stage?” He walked us to the spot where we stood underneath that same drum set on the side of the stage. The same drum set where later he would get up from to make sure we were not getting crushed by the crowd who were witnessing for the first time themselves the magic of a live performance by Night Ranger.  I would hear him dedicate his latest ballad, “Sing Me Away “to me for my birthday during the set.  Maybe that’s where my urge for being in the middle of a mosh pit was bred?

That would be one of the last times he would walk unnoticed in a public auditorium.  You see, growing up  it was normal for us to be singing one of Kelly’s songs as he was always sending tapes from his earlier bands,  Rubicon and Stereo, (Night Ranger before they were Night Ranger) to Grandpa and Grandma. As a matter of fact my uncle had written the song “Sister Christian” long before his days with the band and we’d all sing along in unison to the demo tape he sent while we rode down a country road in their orange Travel-All.

It wasn’t until I was a freshman in high school that all of my friends and the rest of the world took notice of my uncle’s talents. In 1985 Night Ranger’s second album Midnight Madness was released and rose quickly up the charts. His double platinum and gold records still hang on Grandma’s living room wall.

It’s now 2009 and during their brief trip to Indianapolis to perform at Rib Fest, I was able to sit down with my uncle Kelly Keagy, renowned drummer and songwriter for Night Ranger.  I asked him a few questions about his memories of climbing up the charts, and I share a few memories of my own during his rise towards selling over 16 million albums and counting.

(endearing smiles and hand squeeze)

What was it like growing up outside of the Sunset Strip in the 60’s?

We were too young, so we would go down to the strip with a grown up of course, sometimes after playing the high school dance.  We’d look at what everyone was wearing and get ideas for our next gig.  We once had a guy come see us from The Whiskey A Go Go. That was supposed to be our big break but it never happened. The first big show I ever saw was Steppenwolf, 3 Dog Night, and an old band I loved called The Grass Roots at the Forum. That’s when I knew I wanted to be in a band and play live. I wasn’t old enough to go into the clubs on the strip back then. It wasn’t until 1984 until I went to the forum for the second time when we opened up for Sammy Hagar.

I was at that show, the first of many future visits to the Forum. What were your first memories of American Bandstand?

My first memories of American Bandstand were watching my big brother, your father, dancing in the crowd. I thought that was the coolest thing. There he was rocking out on TV. When it was black and white TV. I remember sitting there in front of the TV looking for your dad.

[Karen notes: My Dad mentioned he was on the Al Jarvis show at age 13; a show that aired before American Bandstand came to LA from Philly.  The local radio station gave away tickets to appear on the show, and he was the first caller. Kelly is the youngest brother of three boys, my father being the oldest and a beautiful baby sister to come later.]

But what are your memories of being ON American Bandstand for the first time?

It was kind of odd because we had to lip sync. It was what they called a union gig, so you couldn’t grab the microphone and move it by yourself.  We thought it was the weirdest thing, we would adjust the mic to where we needed it and then somebody on stage would say,  “Son, let us know when you want the microphone to be moved.  We’ll do that for you.” We sang, “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me” and “Sing Me Away.” I remember I did a little funny thing as I was singing a song, I moved my mouth away from the microphone just to make fun of the lip syncing rule, and I  put my hands up in the air while I was supposed to be playing the drums. I guess that was my way of being defiant.  (He makes a silly face that reminds me of a silly face my grandpa used to make) What are your memories of being on American Bandstand, Karen?

I was 14 years old. I remember sitting next to Dick Clark while he introduced you guys. My sister and I were waiting backstage in The Bangles’ green room eating candy while Suzanna Hoff raved about my white over-all denim mini dress. Mom was schmoozing with Eddie Grant in the hallway. Oh Yeah! And your mom, she booked my first gig ever as a teen. Back in San Fernando.

I remember that’s what she was schmoozing to Eddie Grant about.

[Karen notes: Mom said the band was called Let Us, and the show was a great success.]

I wonder what happened to that wall, do you remember all the musical guests had to sign the wall? I wonder where that is right now. That is a part of music history.

Hmm. I wonder? When did you first play drums?

After getting turned on by the music that my older brothers liked — The Beatles, Little Richard and Elvis. The first time I heard Ringo play drums and sing , that wasn’t the inspiration  to start playing but, it defiantly made me realize that I could do it, so I just did it. I was in a band when I was 7 and was the only person who knew the lyrics so I just did all the singing and drumming.  The first set I played on was a friend of mine an actor named Tim McIntire, whose father John McIntire and Janet Nolin were actors, they were related to my first friend who lived across the street.  We used to go down to Hollywood and swim in their pool. I played at their house for a few years on his older brother’s set.  It had a little snare, bass drum and a tin can for a cymbal. I had my first drum set by the time I was 9.

Photo by Monique Larroux.

[Karen notes; My Grandmother’s memory of watching Kelly play for the first time was emotional. “I remember going over to his friends house and watching him play like a pro and I started bursting out into tears when he played a song for me, I didn’t know he could play like that.  Your Grandfather worked nights and slept during the days so he would play in Hollywood at the McIntire’s house.  I was so proud. Later on when he was 15, I would turn the air conditioner on in our house and walk three houses down to have coffee with a friend who would say, “What the hell is all of that noise coming from your house?” Proudly she would explain.  Kelly’s success has made Grandma a celebrity in her small town in Oregon. At times when they play "Sister Christian" on the radio, the DJ will include my Grandmother in their introduction of the song. I have heard it with my own ears and burst into tears every time.]

The few raindrops and drizzles didn’t keep the masses away from opening night of Indianapolis’ popular Rib Fest 2009 on Labor Day weekend.  Night Ranger took the stage and opened up with “This Boy Needs To Rock,” which debuted on their third LP Seven Wishes. Their performance was flawless.   They played two new songs off Night Ranger’s latest LP  Hole In The Sun, on VH1 classic records.  “Your Gonna Hear From Me,” which has every bit of the hard rock tune that you’d expect Night Ranger to give.  Allen “Fitz” Fitzgerald, and Jeff Watson were the only two founding members missing, but alas their predecessors’ are no strangers to putting on a finely tuned and timed rock and roll show.  Enter Joel Hoekstra on guitar and Chris Cullen on keyboards, both add a fantastic mixture of influences and dynamics to the bands already lively stage performance. Chris’s charismatic smile and physical energy are contagious.   He has toured and played live with artist such as Alan Parson’s, Kenny Rogers, Jimi Jamison, (Survivor), the list goes on, making him already a powerhouse player at his young age of 35. Chris is no newcomer to pounding his keys harmoniously with musical legends. Joel’s hard-hitting metal, and classical guitar chords are perfectly in sync with Brad Gillis who is still shredding each and every tune dramatically and intuitively.
Chris and Joel seem as if they have been playing with the band for years.  Watching Joel play with Brad reminded me of when Ozzy introduced Zakk Wylde to the world.  Three songs into the set, Brad and Joel played an acoustic instrumental titled “LA No-Name.” A song filled with classical guitar riffs blended with classical metal riffs, played in perfect unison acoustically by both guitarists. This song literally put me in a trance.  Jeff who? Joel and Chris are no replacements; on the contrary, they are progressive additions to the band. Having attended numerous Night Ranger performances in the past, this one was like no other. The energy and strength the original members, Jack Blades, Brad Gillis and Kelly bring forth through their performance is eminent and of the same powerful magnitude as it was back in 1985. Imagine it now 100 times more magnified. The show was electrifying!

How do you decide who sings what? And will you be singing some Damn Yankees songs tonight?

This is a question we get a lot, It just comes out of knowing each other really well, people always think we must be arguing about it, but that never was the case. A lot of the times the producer would decide too. Jack would be so gracious with songs that he has written that he was personally connected to like “Good Bye.” He was really gracious with me and let me sing them. Or a lot of times he would say,” I think it may sound good like this. ”So we would be in the studio and I would put the mic up and try it out. Sometimes it didn’t work out. And we would know right away if it sounded good right away.  We do play damn Yankees songs.
After Kelly belted out my personal favorite, “Sing Me Away,” Damn Yankees song “Coming Of Age” was next to follow. Eddies “Coming Out Tonight,” and “Rumors” are always welcomed, Their set also included hits like “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me,” “Close Your Eyes,” “Rock in America” and of course the encore  presentation of the tune that hits closest to home, “Sister Christian,”  a song I always imagined my uncle singing to his baby sister, my auntie.

Does this reunion feel differently than past tours and if so how?

Actually this feels right because the three of us are together. In the 90’s, Brad and I did a different version of Night Ranger that wasn’t right, you know, it just didn’t quite work. We did an album called Feeding Off The Mojo, which had a bunch of great songs on it, but the three of us have been together since 1978 so when you have that and a piece of the puzzle is missing?   We cut every major track together, it was always the three of us, cutting all the basic tracks. So it just makes sense for us all to be here together.

Where did you find the new guitarists?

A good friend of mine Jim Peterik, and Jimi Jamison who was in the band Survivor, would ask me to do shows with him in Chicago with Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon and members of 38 special.  We would put together this super show and played three hours of hits in Chicago.  Joel Hoasktra, our guitarist now, and Christian Cullen were both in that band. I knew there would be a time when we would need new players.  Joel is an amazing guitar player with a lot of different backgrounds: metal, classical, rock. When it came time for Jeff Watson to leave the band we got Joel, and Christian had been playing with us for about a year before that.

Joel is not only touring with Night Ranger, he also performs 8 shows a week on Broadway in the musical Rock Of Ages. All shows sold out since April. “Sister Christian” is featured in the show that showcases the greatest hits of all time.

After speaking to some of your fans they have shared how your solo projects are more expressive of just you than with NR. You’re described as a prolific drummer, singer and songwriter on Amazon next to your last solo record Time Passes, how does it feel to be a legend?

I don’t feel like a legend, usually legends are much, much older. I’m only plenty nine.  lol(Again with Grand Pa’s silly face)

You know I never got into the music business to become a big rock star or whatever, I just got into to write songs and play music and see if I could make a second record. That’s all we ever really wanted to do was make a second record.

Photo by Monique Larroux.

Twenty five years later, with millions of records sold and counting, Kelly continues to write pop songs in Tennessee where he currently reside with his photographer wife Monique Larroux. When not touring, he is writing songs and meeting with other talented songwriters whom he peers and admires for his creative pop-hit writing abilities.

After the show as we walked back to the shuttle van. I was never more impressed with my uncle than I was when he was bombarded by fans who waited patiently for him at the van to sign their memorabilia. I stood next to his rolling bag guarding it with my life as he continuously signed one autograph after another, and smiled graciously for one picture after the other. My eyes welled up, not only because we would soon have to say goodbye, but mostly because, here is this great man, doing what he loves to do, and at the same time adding pure joy to so many people’s lives.  Rock star or not, he’s my uncle, and I am so proud to be his niece.

Photo by Monique Larroux.

Hole In he Sun and Kelly’s solo record I’m Alive are both available on Itunes.

Links: http://www.nightranger.com