By Uncle Ben
Unless I’m your dad, then they are definitely your dad’s rock band. Because I think they’re awesome. And if I am your dad, I’d like to say I’m sorry and nice to meet you! We should talk…
But enough about my current litigation situation (great band name, by the way), I’m here to talk about a little band from Riverside, CA. I was going to talk about why it’s called Riverside when there is no river near there but then I looked on a map and realized I should have paid more attention in geography class, but I save that for another day. Where was I? Oh yeah, The BellRays; a band soon to be melting faces and breaking hearts at the annual Rhythm, Wine & Brews Festival in Indio March 5, 2016 along with Insecure Alex, Dream Club, Matisyahu and 311. Not a bad lineup. I listened to this band for a week straight. I fell in love with the lead singer, Lisa Kekaula, and then realized it would never work and broke up with her in my mind. From the thick, punkie, bluesy licks hammered out by Bob Vennum, to Lisa’s bone-chilling voice that makes hairs you haven’t grown yet stand at full attention, this band has been a constant, professional, kick-ass testament to hard work and a willingness to stick to what makes you happy, a philosophy that has gotten them world tours, multiple record releases and at least one new fan (this guy). Through the marvels of modern technology and what I can only assume is ignorance or ambivalence to my podcast; I was able to get both Lisa and Bob on the phone at the same time to talk rock music, cassette tapes and other nonsense. So sit back, relax and strap on your seatbelt: It’s The BellRays, Live From Uncle Ben’s:
UNCLE BEN: You guys are from Riverside, been around for a while, how did you get your start?
Bob Vennum: We’ve been doing this for a long time. We just wanted a band where we could do whatever it is that we wanted to do musically. I have a very short attention span when it comes to music. I like my music to change. It’s nice to have a band that can do that.
Lisa Kekaula: “The whole idea of Rock And Roll was for people to express themselves as they saw fit. Then it becomes what genre are you and that was never something that we wanted to participate in.”
UB: It’s hard to explain your music, you kind of hit different levels of music. There’s old school rock, punk and then a lot of soul. I dig it.
LK: “Thank you.”
UB: Starting way back in the ‘90s in Riverside, how has your band changed over the years or do you try and keep a certain sound?
BV: “In terms of growth on our records we have always been interested in doing different stuff. The changes come in the format of getting it heard. To be able to look outside of things and to listen to the song and see what it could use.”
UB: How has the digital age and technology changed the way you write, record and distribute music?
BV: “I don’t know if it has changed the way we go about making music.”
LK: “For instance, for us we had been trying to scrape money together to make records for the first 2 or 3 records and then we couldn’t do what we wanted to do. Then we got a 6-track cassette recorder and we were able to make a record the way we wanted and that’s the sound that everybody wanted. So we are kind of caught in between the tech world.”
BV: “We didn’t have the money to go into studios and we are such a live band we would record our practices and use those to weed through and cherry pick for our records.”
UB: Tell us about your approach to writing and recording music.
LK: “That is an ever-changing situation. We go back and forth, you have to be flexible in the way today’s music industry is. Not that we ever were, we are still underground and DIY.”
BV: “For myself as a songwriter, I don’t have a way things shake out. A lot of times I’ll find some kind of rhythm thing where I’m either walking around or driving around and I’ll get to a guitar and try to remember it and if a top line shakes out then we can chase it or Lisa can chase it. A lot of time you’re spending a lot of time to shake things out.”
LK: “Bob wants to be organic. There seems to be a big push nowadays not just in music but in all industry where people just think they can put that in there, we can just throw everything and the kitchen sink and it doesn’t really move you.”
You can catch Bob, Lisa and the current incarnation of The BellRays on March 5, 2016 at the Rhythm, Wine & Brews Festival at the Indio Polo Grounds. For more information on the band and to hear and get their music, go to TheBellRays.com. They are a true hard-working rock band that seems to do everything right when it comes to songwriting, recording and playing live. Rock isn’t dead citizens; you just need to know where to look.
For the full interview, please head to LiveFromUncleBen.com or subscribe on iTunes.
