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I'm Nick Kelly, one of many Nick Kellys out there in the world wild web, but I'm the only ME that you'll ever know, and most folx are thankful for that. I'm a musician, a writer, an artist, a motorcycle rider, a hockey fanatic, a horror movie lover, a father, a husband, a son, and an overall lunatic. I've got some good stories so far on this wild ride I've called life and more comin' seemingly everyday, so hang out, pour yourself one up to the brim, and buckle up for safety.
It's going to be a fun ride.
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There was a five-week stretch last year that included a very odd sequence of shows for me. Apparently, that full moon is back again, because April is proving to be a very strange month for this performing artist.Tonight, Just Wanna Play scrapped rehearsal for recording, and it was a productive (if way late) kind of night. We got the music recorded for six songs, with a few more and vocals planned for the next session. This means the long-awaited new demo will be available soon, so keep your ears tuned to the JWP MySpace page.Now, the weird stuff. I'm supposed to be doing a guest spot on someone else's show this week. I don't want to ruin the surprise, but I'll mention that it's a band that hangs out with Division A LOT...and it's a very appropriate tune for us and them. So that's Friday night (at Jaxx). Then, here comes the big news...I'm playin' VEGAS!Yep. I'll be singing and playing guitar (guitar, not bass..eek!) at a sales conference in Vegas that includes roughly 4500 people. It's with a made-up band, and we get one rehearsal before the gig. Expect horrible things, but I'm excited. I've never played Vegas before. Maybe I can channel some Dean Martin and get all boozed up and be the next big star. Or, I could suck. Whatever works.I fly back from Vegas on the 26th...with four hours to spare before I'm supposed to be on stage with Division. That show is going to be fun. It's a CD Release Party for Black Widow USA, and we're doing a new cover, and a song we haven't done in a few years. I expect a fun, and tiring time.I'm not sure yet if it tops last year's stretch, which included a bar gig, a car show, a gig at an elementary school, and an open house for a custom home builder, but it's going to be a fun month. Be safe and be well.One Love,nKLabels: Catwalk Black Widow, Division, Jax, Just Wanna Play, JWP, nK
I couldn't resist citing the brilliant Warren Zevon as I tried to describe the disparate chaos of my week. I'm working with Litigation Support Teams regarding e-mail archiving and discovery for my day job, studying terrorists and identity thieves for my school, and trying to handle re-distributing equipment for the bands. So there you go...lawyers, guns and money.On the band front, both JWP and Division are busy. Check out the schedules for March, April and May often. We're about to get really busy!On the Catwalk front, I tracked down the artist from the 2001 Comic, and I'm working with artists from Texas to Slovakia to find the best cover for the novels. Stay tuned for more on that front.This is a brief checking in sort of post as the rain pummels the house and ruins my hot tub plans. Too bad, otherwise I'd be more introspective later I guess. Ah well.Hey, it's Bob Marley's birthday. Celebrate accordingly.One Love!nKLabels: Bob Marley, Catwalk, Die to be in a Division Song, Just Wanna Play, JWP, Messiah, nK
Ok, the edits continue, including what I think is the most powerful scene in the first book, Catwalk:Messiah. I had to make a few passes at it. I hope it translates well. Poor Cat, I've made him suffer quite a bit. I'm 25 pages away from the first round of edits being finished, but it will take a few more nights. I've hit the end of my editing ways tonight, and tomorrow night...Cloverfield! Sybir has been awesome throughout, completing her massive daily regime and helpin' me with Pupzilla, who has been fun and tiring over the last few weeks. We had a chance to check out Eddie from Ohio on Saturday night which was fun. It was good to hang with bandmates from JWP.
Speaking of JWP, we'll be back at Bogey's on Feb 2nd. Bring yer dancin shoes! Division continues to record, as we go through more revisions of artwork and photography. Standby for updates on that! Ok, time to go shut down the brain for a bit. Best to everyone and Happy MLK Day!
One Love!
nKLabels: Catwalk, Division, Eddie From Ohio, JWP, nK, Sybir
Joe Konrath was right. Editing is like being a serial killer. I'm on page 33 of Catwalk:Messiah at the moment, and I've sliced away so many words, it's silly. I apparently had a love affair with the word, "instantly" for no good reason. Anyway, things are flowing much better. I'm in need of a cover artist for the Chapbook, then I'm lookin' for an agent.As for life, I got back from the P.R.O. convention in Camden, New Jersey today. It was three days of being on the Motorcycle Club set and learning sooooo much. Special thanks to C. Money and Teddy B from 502, and to T.C., who has been on iron longer than I've been alive. It was a humbling experience to meet several individuals this weekend.I finished my next class in Criminal Justice, got to catch up with some cousins, aunts and uncles, and I was home to get some things done, hit the hot tub and re-acclimate with the real world. Now that I have all that done, it's back to edits.Oh yeah...Just Wanna Play @ Bogey's, Feb 2nd...spread the word!One love!nKLabels: Bogeys, Catwalk, J.A. Konrath, JWP, Lou-Evil Psycles
"Don't waste your breath. Don't waste my time. If I hear one more excuse, I'll lose my mind."- Lowen & NavarroThat's good stuff, isn't it? I love powerful lyrics. Friday night was a marathon night with JWP. Sunday night was an impromptu gig with Division. In all, not bad, and I'm glad work was slow enough Monday that I could recover.I love music that holds a message and just sweeps over you like a wave burying a sandcastle. I got hit with one of those from an unlikely source. I was watching Scrubs, Season Two. There's an amazing episode ending including a musical number and a character named Elaine. Those who are familiar will already know where I'm coming from on this. Those who don't, go buy Scrubs from Season One on DVD and start there. You'll like it.Catwalk is up to his helmet in trouble in the third book, "Catwalk: Mercy Killing". Progress is going better than I'd expected. Prostitutes, Russian assassins, political ambitious, arms dealers and more....stay tuned :)Have a great holiday everyone. If you're traveling, stay safe!One Love!nKLabels: Catwalk, Division, JWP, Nick Kelly, nK, Scrubs, Sybir
When I've described Catwalk in the past, I've sometimes said it's part Spider Man, Blade Runner and Akira in one. This past week, I got to dig a little deeper into one of those ingredients.Fans of Blade Runner know that there are several versions, and several possible endings, but the biggest debate usually comes around the presence of Harrison Ford's voiceover track as he plays Deckard. It's either loved or hated in most cases. Regardless of anyone's stance on what it adds or takes away, it's obvious that the studio wanted to create the Film Noir detective flavor to Deckard's character. It's a throwback to the more famous detectives in the past.This week on Sirius satellite radio, the Radio Classics channel (118) had "Detectives Week". That meant an endless marathon of Dragnet, Sherlock Holmes, Philip Marlowe, Johnny Dollar, Sam Spade, and more. It was so much fun to immerse myself in the old school suspense around Private Investigators and the like. The timing couldn't have been better as I'm sitting down to edit Catwalk:Lineage before taking part in NaNoWriMo to write the third installment of the Catwalk series. (Messiah was written over the past year but hasn't undergone edits yet.)Among the shows I enjoyed was The Saint, featuring Vincent Price as Simon Templar, aka the title character. Price's off-the-cuff delivery to clients, bartenders, cabbies or even villains made for a great visit to some of Catwalk's own sarcastic traits. Fortunately, I get a chance to listen to more of it, thanks to the online stores that sell that material, and Sybir's aunt carrying a similar love for the detective classics.That's it for now. Back to the scalpel and editing Lineage. Don't forget the Bottles and Throttles Event on Oct. 20th.
One Love!nKLabels: Bottles and Throttles, Catwalk, JWP, Sirius, Sybir, Vincent Price
 Not like that kind of "get busy", get yer head outta the gutter!
With my day job in a sales organization, it's end of the quarter which means a huge exhale and maybe a chance to lay low for a bit. We'll see.
JWP is jammin downtown at Asylum tomorrow night at the After Party for the DC Roller Girls. Hit the site for details.
As for Division, well, we're live twice in July, and like I mentioned, our contest launched this week, as well as our virtual street teams. gonna be a blast!Much gratitude to everyone who's responded so quickly, and thanks to DJ Angel on The Cape Radio for helpin us out in the virtual world!
one love!
nK
Labels: Division contest, DJ Angel, JWP, nK, Sybir, The Cape
Wow, ever have one of those stretches where you felt like you were behind the wheel but not controllin' the car? That's me right now.With Division playing a ton of gigs and recording, and Just Wanna Play really taking off in our gig schedule, the hours I have outside of work are disappearing. Work has picked up considerably too, with a new product set and an expanded territory. I really dig what I do, and I think the company is moving towards a landscape-changing time with the upcoming Endpoint Protection product.Our son is still the same full-throttle little dude he always is, and he's so much fun. Tonight was Spongebob, baseball, Thomas the Tank Engine, Freak Kitchen and Tim Easton. Whew! After what Sybir had me doin' at the gym (not THAT!), it's hot tub time. God bless the Ghost of Jack Daniel.Anyway, Saturday, JWP hits the stage at the Big Boy Toy Show in Fredericksburg. Come on down if you wanna check out cars, boats, chicken wings and good music.One Love!nKLabels: Big Boy Toy Show, Division, JWP, Sybir
Okay, ow, my neck is sore. Why shouldn't it be? Division, the metal band I front, returned to perform our first live show in seven months last night. We had the fortune of playing with some great local talent, as well as some long-time legends in Metal. Doro Pesch, formerly of Warlock, headlined the show. Joey Belladonna from Anthrax and Chris Caffery from Savatage also played. What a great night.It felt phenomenal to come out on the Jaxx stage and rip peoples' heads off. Not literally, but hell, almost! The new material is infectious, and to see the crowd getting into things from the first note was a great experience.We won't be waiting this long for the next show. It's almost exactly a month away when we tailor our set to be even heavier and open for the Bay Area thrash gods, Testament! Details up on the official Division site.Today was a recovery day in which I didn't get to recover. Work went crazy, I was yanked in twenty different directions around a potential gig for JWP and little man wanted to take two hours to fall asleep tonight. Hey, when it rains....what's the rest of that, drink Jack, right?One love!nKLabels: Chris Caffery, Division, Doro, Jaxx, JWP, Nick Kelly, Testament
Danny, Cheyanne, Ray and I just wrapped up a great gig at the Family Festival at Chevy Chase Elementary School. We played nice radio edits of a number of our tunes we crank out in Just Wanna Play. Obviously, stuff like "I Touch Myself", "Crazy Bitch" and "Suck My Kiss" were withheld from the set list!Three more gigs this month...Division cranks it out with Doro Pesch, Chris Caffery and Joey Belladonna on Sunday, June 10th. JWP is out on the 16th at Happy Endings in Fredericksburg, and then the 30th at Asylum in DC with our babies, the DC Roller Girls!Saturday night, the Cat is loose! Join me with Sybir and Mijo at the DC Sportbike Riders' 5th Anniversary Party in Oxen Hill, MD. It's gonna be reeeeeeeediculous!One love!nKLabels: dc roller girls, DCSR, Doro, JWP, Sybir
Alright, so it's completely out of the norm, but duh, it's me. Today, Danny and I represented Just Wanna Play (since we're the founders and all) and played one of the most unique shows I've ever played. We performed at Chevy Chase Elementary School for 600 students, sending them off on their way on a 1.3 mile walk to benefit the Cistic Fibrosis Foundation. We played for them again when they returned, logging probably 45 minutes of music total, but it was an absolute blast.One of the participants was a student with Cistic Fibrosis, whose mother assisted in setting up this leg of the CFF Great Strides event. The last estimate was that the kids raised almost $3000!We made a lot of new fans, a bunch of new friends, and even got a visit from Montgomery County's police department. It was a strange day. Anyway, my best to Danny for helping me do something strange and creative on my 34th bday.One Love!nKLabels: CFF, Danny, Great Strides, JWP
Yeah, yeah, it's my birthday. No more 33 for me, just on the jersey not the driver's license. Ah, well. When you're as happy with your life as I am, you tend not to give a chit about how old you are.I'm still greatly reveling in the Lowen & Navarro concert from last week. What an inspiration. If things go as planned, I'll have a very cool story from scheduled events in the next two days. That's what we call a teaser, kids. Make sure you check back this time tomorrow. I think I'll have some cool stuff to discuss.In the interim, I aced an exam and am now an agent for U First Financial, meaning I can help homeowners' pay off their mortgage in as little as half the time it would take now. I know, it sounds like a gimmick. I wouldn't believe it myself if we didn't use the program here at home. Ask me more about it via email if you want, and we can discuss your free analysis.I had a writing session last night with the girl who created Delilah Dupree, which was fun. We kept missing one another. It was great to finally sync up.JWP had a fun and productive rehearsal on Monday night. Fun, productive and slightly intoxicated I should say... Anyway, the idea I had for Desert Skies worked, so expect to hear that one on the site soon.Division continues to ramp up for our June 10th gig with Doro. Our bassist is back in the country, so that helps. haha.Enough blabber. Go get some sleep! One Love!nKLabels: Division, Doro, JWP, Lowen and Navarro, MMA, UFirst
To say it's been an eventful night would be the equivalent of saying the Jim Jones mass suicide was "kinda upsetting". In the past ten days, I've had my day job change 180 degreees, my wife really dive deeply into her new role, our Motorcycle Club potentially double in size, my favorite team bounced from the playoffs, and my son prepare for pre-shcool. That's quite a deep-dish pizza, my devoted friends.Sybir swapped my schedule, leading to some cardio at 6:30 this morning, which should set the tone for this post. She's awesome, and the camo pants are just a tempting little finger drawing me to go to bed early. JWP finished another gig at Happy Endings this weekend, having an absolute blast while eating the fact that we played on the first gorgeous day of summer.Meanwhile, Division continues to work on selling tix to our next gig, June 10th with Doro. Old school metal heads will not want to miss out on this gig with the former vocalist from Warlock!Other than that, the edits continue for Catwalk: Messiah. Stand by for more free samples on the writing page!one love!nKLabels: Catwalk, Division, Doro, JWP, Lou-Evil Psycles, Sybir
Ok, on the briefest of breaks from workin on Catwalk:Messiah. I'm over 18000 words already, and that's after hacking...or as Joe Konrath or Sybir would say...editing...a few scenes.I'm solidifying a few scenes and the techniques that come into building them. I'm excited about how much the story is writing itself as well as guiding me to put some cohensiveness to what I have so far.On the music front, a three-plus hour rehearsal tonight puts Just Wanna Play in a prime position for our gig Saturday night at Happy Endings! Come on out and support us.Other than that, Vegas was a blast, including clubbing with David Hasselhoff, meeting Penn and Teller, and drinking more than a normal human's share. Now that I'm home, it's back to focus on education and safety for the kids, and community work while JWP works up to more regular gigs and Division finishes the touches on the next CD.I also had the chance to meet author Chris Gardiner, whose book, The Pursuit of Happyness, was recently adapted to movie form, starring Will Smith. It's an amazing story, worth a long, hard look from anyone who grew up without a parent.One Love!nKLabels: Division, Happy Endings, Happyness, JWP, Sybir
No April Fool's jokes, just more writing.Division had a band meeting last night. We're almost Nine songs into the next CD, with the probability of writing more before deciding on a studio, mastering and duplication. We want to do this RIGHT, not necessarily quick, so stand by, be patient and enjoy the surprises that will be coming from us in the next few months.With some very cool HELP, we've taken the first steps toward the 2nd Annual Caring for Kids Charity Event, to benefit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. That's going to be a very fun event, so check back often for details.The Catwalk fans out there should know that the working draft of Catwalk:Messiah is over the 17000 word mark, with some fun emotional rollercoaster stuff coming out tonight.Next gigs: Just Wanna Play - April 21st at Happy EndingsDivision - June 10th at Jaxx with Doro and Belladona, August 17th with KamelotOne Love!nKLabels: Catwalk, Division, JWP, Malena, NCMEC
Special thanks to every guy and grrl who came out and supported Just Wanna Play's successful debut at RNR Bar and Lounge in DC tonight! We had such a blast breaking out some of our new material, even just to watch the shock on several faces at our new medley blocks!RNR was gracious enough to give us a good spot, even with some bumps in the road, including a first-time soundguy and a pretty jumbled lineup. We want to extend our support to Flo Anito who opened the night, Omega Band who followed up with us, and the closer, who suffered through having half their lineup not post.Another thank you goes to Christine behind the bar, who helped us keep a smile on our faces all night.Next stop - April 21st at Happy Endings! You know that will be a good time!See ya there!JWPLabels: Flo Anito, Happy Endings, JWP, Omega Band, rnr
Updating a links page may not be big news, but in this case, I feel like it is. Not only did we review code and get the Family Watchdog information posted (the site for the National Sex Offender Registry) but also the java applet for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. So, take a look at those very important sites, as well as the other great people I have linked on that page.I topped 14000 words on the Catwalk:Messiah working draft, and I have the rest outlined pretty well. It should be a good time as I move along here. Got a few great character tie-in ideas the other night.JWP plays Saturday night at the RNR Bar and Lounge in downtown DC. We're on around 10, so if you're in DC, come on by.Division is halfway through another brutal tune for the upcoming CD. We also added a new LIVE performance from last year to our MySpace page. We've got tickets already for the next shows, so don't hesitate to drop me a line for tix to see Division with Doro in June and Kamelot in August!One Love!nKLabels: Catwalk, Division, Doro, Family Watchdog, JWP, Kamelot, NCMEC
Well, they hit you out of the blue from time to time but I wrote another song tonight, and I'm looking forward to seeing how Just Wanna Play handles it. After adding my insomniac song last month, "I Don't Wanna Dream Tonight", we added Danny's compassionate tune, "One More At The Bar" last week. Tonight, I finished a song called "Envelope" about a woman finally seeking out her independence from an unhappy relationship that goes really sour. I'm excited. I've rarely intentionally written something for someone else to sing, and I'm hoping this one works for the targeted, talented songbird in mind.if all else fails, I still have the tune "Pool Boy" that I'm wrapping up, which is essentially bad pr0n to a groove tune.One Love!nKLabels: Danny, Envelope, JWP
Okay, where to begin? Let's start with Saturday. Once Comcast decided it was okay for us to have internet connectivity again, I managed to get a few things done. Just Wanna Play had a gig at our little hole in the wall, guaranteed good time of a place, Happy Endings, in Fredericksburg. We had some technical difficulties, breaking a power amp, a tuner, a guitar string, a door handle and a light fixture within two hours. Happy St. Patty's Day!Sybir is now a Doctor, having her dissertation approved. Wow. I'm as proud as it gets!Horrorview is chugging along. If you haven't checked it out, Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon had it's theatrical release this weekend. Totally worth checkin out!Division rehearsed tonight after another two hour JWP rehearsal. Division's hitting the stage again in June. JWP is in downtown DC in two weeks at the RNR. Don't miss it!Ok, back to the day job bright and early tomorrow, so sweet dreams all! Lata!One Love!nKLabels: Division, Horrorview, JWP, Sybir
As a finale' to a marathon day, Division rehearsal resulted in the final touches to song number eight for our upcoming CD. It's another touching song where a not-so-innocent victim gets nixed by the storyteller. With three songs specifically not killing people, there's still a double-digit body count. Things are looking good and bloody.What made it a marathon? Well, for starters, my brother came into town and we hit the party for Pure Elegance and hung out with our homies in DCSR. We got home at 4 AM or so, then it was up early for a 10 AM Just Wanna Play rehearsal. We're all ramped up for our gig Saturday night at Happy Endings for our St. Patty's Day celebration. Then it was working on the cars and motorcycles in the afternoon. Our pup had his bday party this afternoon, then it was off to Division rehearsal. Ack.Anyway, it was a good long time, so tonight, it's blog, post some notes from the CD, toast to the Ghost of Jack Daniel, and hit the sheets around midnight. I hope everyone had as much fun this weekend as we did!One Love!nKLabels: DCSR, Division, Jack Daniel's, JWP
I managed to get the outline written for the Catwalk novel in the works. The humorous part is that it's the predecessor to the one I already finished in November. The goal is to have this one finished by next November and write book three in the next NaNo, though, this may wind up as Book Two and Lineage Book Three. So I'd have to write Book One or Four.Never mind. JWP is ready to roll, almost. Going to be fun. D sent out the new mix of Take It Easy by the Eagles. We'll put it up on our site so check it out. Next gig: St Patty's Day, March 17th, at Happy Endings in Fredericksburg. Stay tuned!It's the pup's 3rd bday today, so it's good to be home from the insanity of VA Beach. I like my job but offseason, that place is a nightmare. Road stuff is fun, but when you have a Sybir and pup at home, there's nowhere better.One Love!nKLabels: Catwalk, Happy Endings, JWP, NaNoWriMo
Alright, so there used to be a beer ad out there that said "It just doesn't get any better than this!" even though, considering the beer in question, it did. Still, if anyone wanted to describe last Friday night, that'd be the phrase I'd choose. The Anniversary Party for the DC Roller Girls was phenomenal, representing the largest and rowdiest crowd Just Wanna Play has ever performed for. We had such a blast doing our 80's party, hell, we didn't even have to sing half the stuff since the crowd knew it all.Now we're hoping to turn that into a huge debut at the RNR Bar and Lounge on March 10th. That's the new place that's gonna be a blast.On top of that, it's just good to be home instead of on business travel. Now I can chill out, write my Horrorview reviews, hang with Sybir, play with my kid and his Thomas trains, and go back to rehearsing and writing with Division.that's the plan. An' I'm stickin' to it!One Love!nK Labels: dc roller girls, Division, JWP, RNR Bar and Lounge
Just Wanna Play finished up our recurring fun at Happy Endings in Fredericksburg last night. It was another great night with the boys and gals of our little bar away from home. Next up is our gig with the DC Roller Girls at the Rock n' Roll Hotel on the 26th. That'll be a blast.We added some new tunes, and have five hours of rehearsals tomorrow. Going to be a long one. Division has to get our next CD written and JWP is set on adding some more roller skating music for the girls, so we have a full plate.I'm off to VA Beach, Richmond, Norfolk, Baltimore, Hunt Valley, DC and Dulles in the next five days for work. That's on top of the band stuff.On a lighter note, I watched a great flick tonight - Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. Too damn funny. Picture Halloween, Scream, The Blair Witch Project and VH1's Behind the Music rolled into one and you've got a good starting point.One Love!nKLabels: Behind the Mask, Division, JWP
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