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Kenton Shelley
Published: May 2006
Story: P. Bradley Robb
Photo: Fly Magazine photo by Shanin Goelz |
Kenton Shelley may just be the coolest guy around. But his particular breed of cool is closer to the Fonz than to Miles Davis. He projects a constant sense of mild enjoyment and a confidence that if he hit the jukebox in just the right place, it’d start to play.
I told Shelley this, and he just laughed, which suits his personality just fine. He’s about as easygoing as they come, something that becomes blatantly obvious when he takes the stage. Born in Denver, Co., Shelley has been playing around York since late 2002. But instead of bumping the jukebox, Shelley has a band.
This collection of friends, commonly referred to as Kenton Shelley’s band, appears in a two-, three- or four-man lineup that alters itself at will. Shelley sings and plays acoustic guitar. He’s aided by Tony Aguirre on drums, Jason Hankey on bass and Vito Grippie on lead guitar.
The four friends come together with such a devastating array of talent that it’s almost impossible to believe – especially when Aguirre rips into a hurling three-minute drum solo, during which the audience alternates between holding its breath and cheering wildly.
The band has so much going for it that these guys can make just about anything work, leaving people scratching their heads in wonder at how exactly they went from all four members vamping on the opening riffs of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Under the Bridge” to Grippie singing Gloria Gaynor’s disco anthem “I Will Survive.”
The catalyst to that sudden change was Shelley leaving the stage to grab another beer. The deeper reason is that these four friends know what they are doing. They have been playing together since late 2002, early 2003, with essentially the same lineup. And they play often.
“I play so many shows,” Shelley says. “I mean, I play like five nights a week. My philosophy is you just gotta get out there and play. It’s a work ethic – you gotta get out there and play. And why not? What else am I going to do?”
Play they do – everything from originals to covers to practical jokes, all for the sake of having a good time. A typical Kenton Shelley show consists of original music that’s hooky and pop-fueled, buttressed by jokes, short improvisational skits and original takes on popular songs.
“I know certain people who like certain songs. If I see them come in, I’ll play for them,” Shelley explains. One such cover that night was “Crash into Me” by the Dave Mathews Band, in which Kenton infused “every single song I think of when I’m listening to [‘Crash Into Me’].”
As he kicked off this song, one that I’m personally not fond of, I was struck by a scene from Nick Hornby’s “High Fidelity,” during which Rob Gordon hears a cover of a Peter Frampton song and suddenly likes it. Maybe it was because he changed it. Maybe it’s because Shelley’s voice is vaguely similar to John Mayer’s. Maybe it’s just because he’s that good.
Shelley does not do seven songs arranged in 50-minute sets. He and his friends prefer a blistering two hours that would leave most road-hardened touring bands winded. When asked the reasoning behind this, Kenton laughs. “Dude, at 50 minutes, I’m just getting worked up.”
Worked up he is, but not stressed. Shelley’s shows are high-energy while remaining paradoxically relaxed, a state otherwise known as a “jam session.”
Shelley brings something unique to the York music scene, a setting he describes as having “a lot of good bands. I mean a lot.” His sound has been compared to everything from the Goo Goo Dolls to Sister Hazel, both of which seem to dwell on the acoustic aspects. Shelley cites influences ranging from “Jeff Buckley to U2 to punk rock. I’ve played piano since I was five. I’ve done the whole classical route. You know, that stuff.”
This level of musical diversity shows not only in Shelley’s original material, but also in what he covers, and how. Shelley knows music, admitting, “There’s really nothing else. It feels at home, you know? Everything else is kinda just like, ‘whatever.’”
Intimacy of this caliber leads to songs written from an honest place, encapsulating friends and situations alike in a unique blend of pop music that’s more than radio-friendly. But do not confuse Shelley’s music with the over-produced, emotionally blunt pop music that fills the airwaves. No, Shelley’s music bears an honesty of man who’s doing all he can to enjoy the world and to help everyone else enjoy it, too. While his voice is easily described as smoky, you’ll never confuse Shelley for Teddy Geiger or his crowd. Shelley makes pop music not for the money, but because he’s got the performer’s itch. He’s compelled.
With Shelley, there’s always a bit of energy under the surface. He’s looking for the good time. His shirt that night boldly proclaimed “You’ll Do” – a mentality befitting the way he and his band act.
A Kenton Shelley show is a great deal like hanging out with Kenton Shelley, except louder. Before he and the band were finished warming up, a fan approached with a tray of shots for the band and requested a song. During the second set, Kenton launched into an impromptu duet with local alternative soul singer and rapper Ralph Washington, a duet that lasted for several songs. Between sets, as he and the band pushed out a pair of two-hour bursts the night after Saint Patrick’s Day, Shelley took time to sit and marvel at Chris Kayes, who’d been scheduled to open, remarking on Kayes’ “brilliance.”
But that’s just how Shelley is. He’s quick to admit that “I’m kind of a comedian in my head,” something that shines through whether he’s on stage or off. He’s a two-way street of jokes and heckles, requests, drinks and more than a healthy share of laughs.
Somehow Shelley manages to simultaneously project both a mellow chill and that high beat-per-minute that pop music is supposed to have. And he does all of this without a scrap of conceit. He knows that he has talent, and he’s thankful that he gets to play music for a living. But he doesn’t let this get to him, doesn’t let himself believe that he’s better than his fans. His band members are his friends. His fans are his friends.
According to Shelley, “We’re not arrogant, trying to pretend we’re something we’re not.” Luckily for Shelley and his band, they just might be four of the coolest people in York, and cool’s something that you aren’t able to pretend.
More information about Shelley and four tracks from his EP Bridges can be found online at http://www.myspace.com/kentonshelley.
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