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DAVE KELLAN - VIRTUOSO ON FIRE By Randy Chandler Perhaps the biggest story in the local music scene of 2002 was Dave Kellan, who took the grand prize in the first-ever "Mid-Michigan Idol" contest. The competition, sponsored by WIOG and inspired by the hit TV show, "American Idol", focused much-needed attention on Mid-Michigan's vital music scene, with Kellan beating out eighteen other contestants from around the region over the course of several weeks this past fall. Shortly before Christmas, Dave was flown to New York City for a whirlwind weekend that included not only recording time at Smash studios in Manhattan, but also meetings with top executives from Atlantic/Lava, Sony/Epic, and Warner/Elektra. For the 23-year-old from Midland, these were heady times indeed. " I still can't get over how crazy this all is," commented Kellan in a recent phone interview. "It all happened so fast." Not that Kellan is a neophyte likely to be swallowed up by the corporate machines. On the contrary, he is a down-to-earth, focused individual who has already released an all-original CD entitled "Open Up" and has been befriended by the likes of Matt Besey and Larry McCray, as well as being a regular at open-mic/jam sessions in the area. He can currently be seen gigging around the Midland area with either Danny Brown, an acoustic trio he joined not long ago, or with his electric combo, which may soon be re-christened the Dave Kellan Band. Some tracks from Open Up have also found themselves in WIOG's regular rotation. "WIOG's like, probably the most prominent station in Mid-Michigan," Kellan asserts. "It's really great to have their support. They've been wonderful." Playing in bands since early high school (he graduated from Dow High in 1998), Kellan was first featured in these pages as a member of the Gutbucket Blues Band, a promising and somewhat revolutionary blues outfit that won local acclaim and a handful of REVIEW Music Awards. When that group disbanded, Kellan struck out on his own, continuing to write songs as he had done since high school. Hooking up with drummer/producer Jeff Wareham, Kellan recorded Open Up during the fall of 2001 at Huge Sound Pocket studio in Auburn, Michigan. It is an album that runs the gamut, stylistically, from rock, blues and jazz to gospel, funk, and beatcentric music, firmly establishing Dave as an extremely versatile songwriter and musician, not unlike current pop phenom John Mayer (ironically, it was a cover of Mayer's "No Such Thing" that, along with one of Dave's original compositions, served as his audition tape entry to the 'Idol' contest. "I just happened to find a transcription to "No Such thing" in one of the guitar magazines and since it was a cool song and kind of current, I figured I'd just send it in so the people in charge of the competition could have somewhat of a reference point." Perhaps what is most surprising about Kellan is the stylistic depth that belies his tender age. His first band, Maple Plaid was a straight-up, hard rock trio that traded on Kellan's impressive guitar abilities. After that he ventured into pop/punk territory with Everslacking, a group that helped him make the transition from high school to nightclubs, before falling victim to the same things that break up most young bands. When he re-emerged with Gutbucket, it was as a seasoned and credible blues guitarist in the same vein as his heroes, Jimi Hendrix and Robert Bradley. It usually takes a musician a lifetime to showcase this much diversity - and the kid's only 23! With the competition behind him (he bristles when friends refer to him as "Idol"), What's next for our hero? " One day in a New York Studio doesn't exactly leave you with a lot of finished material," he observes. "So, I brought the raw data back with me. We can finish it up here in Pro Tools and there's the next album!" Meanwhile, he'll continue to gig around the Tri-City area, teaching guitar to several students a week, and honing his craft. "There is record company interest, " smiles Dave, But we'll see what happens." Perhaps the most amusing aspect of his newfound celebrity is that he seems to have a lot more friends. "Musicians in this area have always been very cool to me, Larry and Matt especially, but there's been a few people that look at me differently now. There's a local musician who was always nice, but kinda blew me off at times. Now that person is all about playing with me. "It's kinda funny," he pauses before adding" But hey, I would probably do the exact same thing!"
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