Mike Keneally

Mike Keneally obviously doesn’t prefer to be labeled — he’s a bandleader and bandmember, a rock and roll and jazz fusion participant, and also a superb guitarist, vocalist, keyboardist, and percussionist. Taking on keyboards at age group five, Keneally’s existence transformed when he relocated from NY to California in 1970 and noticed Frank Zappa for the very first time at age group ten. Woodshedding for another 15 years like a self-taught guitarist, Keneally created a music group known as Drop Control in his hometown of NORTH PARK in 1985 and became among the city’s musical heroes. Keneally auditioned for Zappa’s music group in 1987 like a “stunt acoustic guitar” alternative to Steve Vai, and was employed like a guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist. The multi-instrumentalist seems on some traditional Zappa albums like Broadway the Hard Method and THE VERY BEST Band You By no means Heard in YOUR DAILY LIFE, but little do he understand that his lineup will be Zappa’s last touring music group. Between 1988 and 1991, Keneally performed with Drop Control and Zappa’s child Dweezil’s music group Z, toyed with studio-musician position, and relocated to LA. After focusing on the Grammy-winning tribute recording Zappa’s World, Keneally began a solo profession along with his 1992 debut recording, Hat. Quirky and hard to categorize (with Zappa trademarks like traditional undertones, stuttering, jazz-like rhythms, and funny lyrics), the debut was a big strike with critics. However the following yr would state both Keneally’s dad and Zappa, resulting in the moody however brilliant 1994 Compact disc Boil That Dirt Speck. Which range from extreme rock and roll (“Skunk”) to ballads (“Blameless [The Floating Encounter]”) to Keneally’s shutting percussion tribute saga to Zappa, “The Aged Boat Man,” the disk showcased every element of his selection of skills. Departing Z in 1996 and naming his single touring music group Ale for Dolphins, Keneally released the riotous two times Compact disc Fifty percent Alive in Hollywood, offering one disk of live-in-a-studio originals and something of live stage shows (including addresses of Jimi Hendrix’s “Capacity to Like” and Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Melody”). He also produced a music group called the Errors, with Henry Kaiser, Andy Western world (Dixie Dregs), and Prairie Prince (the Pipes), who released a self-titled recording. Exactly the same yr, Keneally became a member of fellow Zappa alumnus Steve Vai’s music group, playing within the G3 Tour on the following yr with Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, Robert Fripp, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Playing traditional piano-like key pad lines, percussion, and complex harmonized acoustic guitar lines with rock and roll virtuoso Vai, Keneally helped the music group take the G3 display often (mainly because evidenced from the G3: Reside in Concert Compact disc). Between produces by Ale for Dolphins (1997’s Sluggo!; 2000’s Dance) and single albums (1999’s Nonkertompf, which he performed all the tools), Keneally also discovered time and energy to record two CDs with Vai, 1999’s The Ultra Area and 2001’s Alive within an Ultra Globe. In 2001, Keneally got a fresh classical guitar, which resulted in the release from the generally acoustic-based and mellow Wooden Smoke cigarettes, which showed just one more aspect of Keneally’s musical character. For another interesting detour, in 2002, Keneally was contacted by Co de Kloet, commissioning movie director for Holland’s NPS Radio, and was commissioned to create music for guitar and orchestra. The causing music and live shows using the renowned Metropole Orchestra had been such successful that de Kloet began the NPS Result label release a The Universe PROVIDES in 2004, only a month after Keneally transformed around and shipped his hardest-rocking record to date, Pup, using the recently christened Mike Keneally Music group. Just a couple months from then on emerged Piano Reductions, Vol. 1, an record of Vai music performed single on piano which was in fact documented in 1999 at Steve’s demand. As though he weren’t active enough, around once he got associated with Henry Kaiser and Wadada Leo Smith’s Yo Mls! project, showing up on both Sky Backyard and Upriver. The Mike Keneally Music group hit the street in 2005, playing over the U.S., with Electric guitar Therapy Live showing up because the tour record in 2006. That same yr, Keneally obtained the privileges to his early catalog on Defense with programs to re-release it in deluxe editions in 2007 on Exowax (each of Keneally’s Exowax recordings continues to be available like a limited-edition bundle with plenty of reward material). Along with his wide-ranging skills and capability to become creative in nearly every musical scenario, Keneally may be the leading progressive rock and roll genius from the post-Zappa era.