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Keel | |
|---|---|
 Frontman Ron Keel | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1984–1989, 1998, 2008–present |
| Labels | Shrapnel,Gold Mountain/A&M,Gold Castle,MCA,Frontiers |
| Spinoff of | Steeler |
| Members | Ron Keel Marc Ferrari Bryan Jay Dwain Miller Geno Arce |
| Past members | Kenny Chaisson Bobby Marks David Michael Phillips Steven Riley Scott Warren Tony Palamucci |
| Website | keelband |
Keel is an Americanhard rock/heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1984.[1] They are best known for their rock anthem "The Right to Rock". The band was active until 1989, with a brief reunion in 1998. Keel reunited again in 2008 and toured in 2009 for their 25th anniversary.[2] Although the band is still active to this day, they have not released any new material since 2010.
Keel was formed by formerSteeler vocalistRon Keel.[3] The original members were Ron Keel on vocals, formerIcon / Schoolboys memberDavid Michael Phillips on guitar,Marc Ferrari on lead & rhythm guitars, Bobby Marks on drums and Kenny Chaisson on bass guitar. Within months, Phillips left to joinKing Kobra and was replaced by ex-Cheetah guitarist Bryan Jay. This was the lineup for their 1984 debut albumLay Down the Law.[4] After the album's release, Marks left and was replaced bySteven Riley, who subsequently left early in the recording of the band's second album to joinW.A.S.P., and was in turn replaced by Dwain Miller, forming a lineup which would remain stable for almost four years. Their debut album caught the eye ofKISS'Gene Simmons, resulting in his production of their second album,The Right To Rock, released in January 1985.[3] Their next and also Simmons-produced third albumThe Final Frontier was released on April 30, 1986.[5] It included the single "Because the Night", a song that was co-written byPatti Smith andBruce Springsteen and had been a hit for Smith in 1978.[3]
In 1986, Keel won the Best Band of the Year award in the second annualMetal Edge magazine reader's poll, beating such noted bands asIron Maiden andJudas Priest.
In 1987, the song "Rock & Roll Outlaw" (a cover from the 1978self titled debut of Australian hard rock bandRose Tattoo) appeared on the soundtrack of the movieDudes. Their fourth album,Keel, was released on June 21, 1987,[3] recorded with producerMichael Wagener. An unreleased track from the album, Ferrari's "Proud To Be Loud", would eventually wind up onPantera'sPower Metal album, which Ferrari produced early in 1988.
Ferrari and Jay both left in 1988, after touring in support of theKeel album. They were replaced by keyboardistScott Warren, later inDio, andBaton Rouge guitarist Tony Palmucci.
Their fifth album,Larger Than Live, was released in 1989[3] with six new studio recordings, including a cover of the 1980Humble Pie song "Fool for a Pretty Face". Also on the album were six live tracks recorded in March 1989. Following the shooting of the music video for the song "Dreams Are Not Enough" on that same year, Ron Keel announced the disbandment of Keel.[3]
In the 1990s, Ferrari wrote a gear column forMetal Edge magazine entitled "Power Sources", and went on to form Cold Sweat with among others ex-UFO guitarist Erik Gamans, who would release the albumBreak Out in 1990. After the demise of that group, Ferrari appeared in bothWayne's World movies (as the guitarist forTia Carrere's band "Crucial Taunt") and formed the band Medicine Wheel, which released three CDs. In addition, he released two solo CDs and started a music publishing company called MasterSource, employing Ron Keel to write material for the library. Ferrari also recently wrote a book titledRock Star 101.
Bryan Jay and Dwain Miller went from Keel to forming a band called Dogbone, with ex-Riot vocalistRhett Forrester, bassist Rob Thiessen and vocalist Eddie Saiz.[6]
Kenny Chaisson teamed up with former Hawk andMasi vocalist, David Fefolt, guitarist Jim McMellen, and drummer Timothy Yasui under the name Forty Thieves. The group recorded a pair of demos in 1990 and 1991, the latter featuring former Surgical Steel drummer, Bob Milan, before disbanding. Chaisson also had a brief stint withWarrior.[7]
In 1998, members of Keel got together to release their sixth albumKeel VI: Back in Action. It mainly consisted of unreleased material from their previous albums, including the aforementioned "Proud To Be Loud".
The band's song "Speed Demon" (fromThe Right to Rock) is briefly heard on the 2002 movieMen in Black II, and appears onMike Varney'sU.S. Metal Vol. IV compilation.
Ron Keel pursued multiple musical projects before forming the country metal band IronHorse in 2001. In 2006, Ron left IronHorse and formed K2 Featuring Ron Keel a year later.
In November 2008, Keel reunited in time to celebrate the band's 25th anniversary. All the members fromThe Right to Rock era had rejoined except for Chaisson. The new bassist is Ron Keel's longtime friend,Geno Arce. Their first reunion show was held in Hollywood on January 24, 2009.[8] In addition, the band played at the third annualRocklahoma festival in July 2009.[9]
A reunion album,Streets of Rock & Roll was released in 2010, as well as a 25th anniversary edition ofThe Right to Rock featuring a brand new re-recorded version of the title song as a bonus track.[10]
Keel continued to perform live sporadically throughout the 2010s; however, according toRon Keel, the band has no plans to follow-up onStreets of Rock & Roll.[11]
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| Year | Album | Label | USTop 200 Peak[12] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Lay Down the Law | Shrapnel | - |
| 1985 | The Right to Rock | Vertigo | 99 |
| 1986 | The Final Frontier | Vertigo | 53 |
| 1987 | Keel | MCA | 79 |
| 1989 | Larger Than Live | Gold Castle | - |
| 1998 | Keel VI: Back in Action | DeRock | - |
| 2010 | Streets of Rock & Roll | Frontiers | - |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
