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about us
| Michael Keller has been playing guitar since his mother taught him at 5 years old. He was singing from the time he could open his mouth... got up spontaneously at his older sister’s wedding when he was 2 and sang the Anniversary Waltz... even if he doesn’t remember it . He has always been an excellent whistler and remembers whistling loudly to steel himself on the long walks home after dark when growing up in the countrysides of Bonner’s Ferry , Idaho and later Spokane and then Napavine , Washington. His father, Jimmie Mac Keller was a retired Texas Ranger and when Michael was little he was sheriff of Boundary County , Idaho, as well as playing in his own modern dance band with Michael’s mother Ethel , a fine singer and musician herself. Michael’s older brother, Jimmy Keller cut a 45 in the 60’s ("the name is love", an original ) with his band , The Four Playboys from the Spokane/Coeur d’Alene Wa/Idaho area . Michael started in his first band, The Royals at 15 and continued playing with local musicians....playing several festivals ...Waushugal’s Lighter Than Air Fair and Bigfoot Boogie in Tenino WA. He has sat in with some notables, including "Steppenwolf" at the Smith Tower in Seattle, Marilee Rush of "Angel in the Morning" fame and Paul Revere and the Raiders as well as jamming with Robert Cray when he was still known as "Bobby" in Tacoma WA. His other bands included "The Exhiles"", "Concho", with bandmate and pianist Buck England (formerly from the 60’s San Francisco band "Captain Beefheart "). Another Buck , in his life was Buck Owens, who was a regular visitor on many Saturday "hootenanny nights" in his parents’ home in Centralia Washington were Jerry Owens, Buck’s brother were friends with Jimmie Mac...Michael often playing rhythm guitar or stand up bass ... his father was also a Weezer, Idaho OLD TIME FIDDLER champion. Fiddle player, Don Rich from Buck Owens band, loved Jimmie Mac’s Delta Blues style of bow-drawing, that he had learned as a kid in the 20’s in Texas/Louisiana and Don eagerly learned his style . Michael’s own love in music however leaned towards Freddy King , Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton/Mark Knopfler and his style is a blend of all his early influences uniquely his own. One of Michael’s upcoming project’s is releasing a new version of his grandfather, Pitman Mitchell Keller’s original song, The Keller Waltz written in 1898 and sometimes traditionally known as The Kelly Waltz, and will be available in Dec. 2008 . Sherry Potter is originally from the San Francisco bay area and started playing guitar at age 8... as soon as she first heard the Beatles on the radio in the early 60’s she decided then and there that music would always be a big part of her life . She has always loved celtic music as well as muscle shoals,delta blues r& b (Aretha /Bonnie Raitt) and Cat Stevens. From 10 to 14 yrs. old she played "folk masses" at local catholic churches, in the many cities that her family was stationed . One of her first paying gigs in a band when she was 15 was for for Bob Hope in Palm Springs, when she lived in southern California. The band was good experience but didn’t move in the direction musically that she wanted at the time and she continued with her guitar, practising endlessly and writing songs and staying in choir throughout high school. After a semester in college she left the U.S. and spent a few years travelling in Australia, where she had her son, Skye. After returning to the states she started writing songs and playing coffeehouses around the San Diego area...then relocating to Quebec in ’79 . Sherry and some new friends formed and toured as a french top 40’s rock band called "Milady" for almost 2 years. Then she started an all original band in 1985 called "Commusication" with then song- writing partner, Gaston Gagnon, (former guitarist of quebec's, "PLUME") and her SAPMUSIC publishing company that is now known as MONDIGMUSICPUBLISHING , was formed. She was also involved in recording commercial jingles for a Quebecois recording studio with Denis Aubain and put back vocals on many different recording projects , some that aired on Canadian radio and TV. Sherry sings, plays electric and acoustic guitar and bass(she is the bass player in Kellers Lighthouse). She writes music ,lyrics and arranges songs. Her mother Annamaria, her biggest supporter, was an opera singer from near Venice (Trieste), Italy, who gave up professional singing when she married Sherry’s father, an Army g.i. from Dallas Texas, stationed in Europe in the 50’s. As Kellers Lighthouse, the band has been together 18yrs. playing from Portland to the greater Seattle/ Olympia Wa area. They have appeared on 3 different shows with their band (with a drummer) and as a duo on the local Olympia ,WA P.B.S. t.v. station. They have had 8 drummers in the 17 years that they have been together and are currently playing as a duo with live programmable drums. as well as working in new drummer former Seattellite LINDA WOOD, now living in the same town of Tonasket WA also. ~~WELCOME LINDA!!!~~SHE ROCKS !! UPDATE:Linda will be joining the band on the upcoming c.d. as well...more bio on her soon. Kellers Lighthouse have played on bills with the Guess Who, Elvin Bishop, Edgar Winter and Randy Hanson for B.A.S.H. at Darrington WA... Mystic Mountain, as well as opening for the New Blues Brothers Revue in Centralia Wa. and headlining at the S.W.WA Rock and Blues Festival. They are currently working on a c.d. of all originals in their OFF-THE-GRID studio in the Okanogan Highlands of northern Washington state . The release date is uncertain at this time...(the FOSTEX unit they use to record with has been to the repair shop 2 times since buying it and it came back broken again ((aug8 2008))...so, hopefully before the beginning of winter 2008 a release date and c.d. release party date can be finalized and listed here and their music available on their INDIE LABEL MONDIGMUSICPUBLISHING ...through this site and www. kellerslighthouse.com and (ITUNES, RHAPSODY,SONY,EMUSIC, NAPSTER and AMAZON). |
