Father, Husband and Award Winning Performer
by Lisa Morgan
It’s not too hard to find Michael Keeth on any given evening performing somewhere here in the desert. You can find him at the Miramonte Resort on Wednesdays, LG’s in Palm Springs on Thursday and Saturday, and the Westin Mission Hills on Fridays. Sometimes, you’ll see him perform with other extremely talented friends, like guitarist, Martin Barrera, with whom he has been nominated two years in a row for CV Music Award’s “Best Duo” for their fantastic show at the seasonal Wine Bar in La Quinta. Other times he’ll have Joshua Fimbres along on percussion, yet another award winning musician. As talented as he is, it’s his humility, the look of pure joy when he’s playing for an audience, as well as his graciousness that make him a joy to have around, whether you are a venue owner or employee, or simply a lucky member of the audience.
Keeth’s voice is a force of nature in itself. Full of rich texture, perfect pitch and tone, this voice can go from one to 100 decibels in a single, smooth, dynamic leap. As Keeth weaves in his original songs in between familiar covers to his captivated audience, he is constantly asked, “Is that one of yours?” The crowd responds with absolute delight when the answer is “yes”. Keeth has a loyal local fan base as well as some of whom come from Canada, and make it a point every year to come to his shows. That fan base is what earned him the title of Best Male Vocalist in 2014 at the CV Music Awards.
Michael Keeth began his melodic adventures singing in the car with his mom. “I’ve been singing pretty much since I could talk. My mom was a really good singer and she taught me harmonies. Though Keeth’s vocals and guitar playing both sound professionally trained, he is very much self-taught. “Eagles and U2 were my two favorite bands growing up. I had my mom’s record collection with older Jackson Brown and was exposed to some very good songwriters. Now, I just really like strong songs whether they’re from Zac Brown, Pearl Jam or Tool.” Keeth got his first guitar when he was 14, started songwriting at 16, was in his first band at 17 and started recording original music by the age of 18. “I am a firm believer that the song should get what it needs, even if that means less vocal and more guitar (or visa-versa). It needs to be well rounded with both strong music and strong lyrics.” His first solo record, Shed The Skin was recorded in 2012 and exhibits just that.
Keeth beams when he talks about his wife, Jody, and their stunningly beautiful daughter. “Jody, my wife, is a gigantic inspiration to me. She really helps me stay focused. We’ve been together for 9 years. My daughter is the best thing in the whole world. I am so very thankful every day for my family and to be able to work, doing what I love to do. My daughter, my wife and my music are my world.”
If you spend much time with Keeth, one of the defining words of his character is kindness. He is always gracious and finds a kind word that is thoughtful and genuine. “Expressing kindness is extremely important to me and my family,” Keeth shared. He will also, always make himself available for charity events whenever he can. Case in point, after working a 3 hour gig in Palm Springs, Keeth made haste to Schmidy’s Tavern in Palm Desert to lend his voice to the Street Life Benefit that raised money and awareness for our local homeless community. “I love the Coachella Valley,” he stated. “It’s a beautiful place to live. There is such a supportive community for musicians here, with lots of venues and local music allies like CV Weekly. And I want to give back, whenever I can.”
Keeth is happy and content as a local musician, but that doesn’t keep him from setting goals to stretch himself. There is usually another album in the making and he constantly strives to get better at writing and performing. His ultimate goal? “To enjoy every moment.”
