Kelly Carmichael

Artist Information

Biography

The heavyweight prewar solo guitarists Charlie Patton, Son House, and especially Robert Johnson, receive the lion’s share of attention from contemporary fans. However, string bands with fiddles from the twenties and thirties were enormously popular “back in the day,” with the legendary Mississippi Sheiks the reigning potentates of the form. Their expansive styles are still a joy to hear while also providing a misty window back to the pastoral roots of American music. Multi-instrumentalist and singer Kelly Carmichael embraces both genres with equal facility and boundless enthusiasm, while creating recordings that are likewise relevant and vital in the modern era.

No less amazing is the fact that Carmichael also plays in Internal Void and briefly the Maryland based Pentagram as a ferocious, fret-melting electric hard rock guitarist with roots in Jethro Tull, Black Sabbath and Jimi Hendrix. Born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on May 29, 1968 and raised up in Stone Mountain, Georgia, he was exposed to the fifties rock ‘n’ roll in his dad’s record collection but did not discover the real blues until he moved to Frederick, Maryland in 1980 and heard the recordings of Robert Johnson. Carmichael had found another “calling” and began performing solo in 2002. He released his blues debut Old Stock, in 2005 to rave reviews.

Carmichael’s second offering on Dogstreet Records, reveals his continuing mastery of authentic “olde tyme” styles ranging from ragtime to country, “hokum blues” to Delta blues and even a touch of Dixieland jazz. In sync withthe supple rhythm section of Jean-Paul Gaster (drums), Johnny “Lawless” Ray Carroll (doghouse bass), Scott Rich (trumpet),John McVey (trombone),Alexander Mitchell (fiddle) and Brian Simms (accordion), Carmichael sings with wit and expression, picks guitar and banjo, tickles the xylophone and even rattles the bones. Music this uplifting and energizing should be dispensed like a tonic to a grateful public.

Touring with Clutch in the Spring and Fall of 2005, Kelly covered the Mid-West, North East and the deep South areas of the U.S.

Instrumentation

Kelly Carmichael - Acoustic, Six String Banjo and Resophonic Guitars

Discography

QUEEN FAREENA - 2009/ Dogstreet Records
OLD STOCK - 2005 / Dogstreet Records

Audio

• Last Fair Deal Goin' Down
  Listen  
• Richland Women Blues
  Listen  
• She's Funny That Way
  Listen  
• Queen Fareena
  Listen  
• Beulah Land
  Listen  

Lyrics

• Queen Fareena

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• REVIEW QUOTES [+ Show ]
  

  "Bruce Springsteen revisited this era with his recent tributes to the music of Pete Seeger, but Ke...
  "Bruce Springsteen revisited this era with his recent tributes to the music of Pete Seeger, but Kelly Carmichael has trumped him with his excellent knowledge of the music and times in which "Queen Fareena" is set. His latest release on Dogstreet Records, "Queen Fareena," takes the listener on a mythical journey on the riverboat named for a "madam," back in an era where men were men and women were there to please them.  It's spiced throughout with Kelly's deft acoustic, dobro, and banjo work, and spot-on vocals."
  Nashville Blues Society - by Don Crow
  
  "The brilliance of "Queen Fareena" is derived from the joyous intensity of Kelly Carmichael's vocals and guitar along with Jean-Paul Gaster's expertise on drums and a talented crew of brass musicians. One of the best tunes on the album is "Untrue Blues." This song could be a major radio hit with its melodic chorus and a perfect balance of instrumentation and vocals. The eleven tracks on "Queen Fareena" prove that Kelly Carmichael is in top form. In fact, listeners can look forward to hours of pleasure, because this album allows you to imagine yourself on a Delta riverboat."
  by CountryChart.com
  
  
  “Simply Syncopatingly Stunning! The truly great atmospheric mixture of racy, fast paced saucy Dixieland Jazz and Ragtime is wonderfully evoked; underpinned by rural folk roots that are more than liberally sprinkled with the lazy hazy untroubled air of turn of the century New Orleans.”
  by Brian Harman (BLUES ART STUDIO)
  
  
  "If you like your old-time blues salted with spirited musicians, arrangements and vocals, this should do the trick. Carmichaels makes it sound authentic and enjoyable at the same time."
  (Pittsburg Post Gazett)
  
  
  "If you are looking for something to finally clear away the winter blues, Kelly Carmichael's "Queen Fareena" could be just the ticket."
  by Gordon Baxter (Blues in Britain)
  
  
  "This integrated approach has rarely been used this successfully. Los Lobos, The Band and Dylan's Basement Tapes come to mind. This one is highly recommended for those who love American roots music and are on the look-out for something original and innovative, if not new under the sun."
  by Terry Roland (TOLLBOOTH.ORG)
  
  
  "Carmichael shows a total understanding of his chosen territory with a swinging prewar jazz hue, worthy of the Chicago scene of Benny Goodman, that is spiked with stunning tempo changes and dynamics. Music this uplifting and energizing should be dispensed like a tonic to a grateful public."
  by Dave Rubin (GUITAR MAGAZINE)
  
  
  "This is a terrific record start to finish, and is so good it should easily cross genres – everybody’s gonna like it!"
  by Tom Petersen (VICTORY REVIEW ACOUSTIC MAGAZINE)
  
  
  “Carmichael is a master on both guitar and banjo and his warm, expressive vocals are ideal for the material.” “If you’re like me, you’ll find yourself listening to Queen Fareena over and over.”
  by Graham Clarke (BLUESBYTES)
  
  
  “This is 100% old-timey St. Louis / N'orleans stuff, with most of the tracks hand-picked from among some of the best the hoary estimables wrote…especially when they have a smart-ass slant to 'em.”
  by Mark S. Tucker (FOLK & ACOUSTIC MUSIC EXCHANGE)
  
  
  “His work on guitar and 6-string banjo here is majorly smokin’ and his vocals are a joy to behold, like Brian Setzer if he was born in 1930 and then got real, real good.”
  
  “Genres like Cajun, country roots, ragtime & Dixieland explode into a Technicolor panorama.”
  by Ray Dorsey (RAYSREALM.COM)
  
  
  “This is simply a snazzy, off beat good time that takes you on a tour of America’s neglected back roads with the spirit of John Hurt leading the way. The open eared owe it to themselves to check it out.”
  by Chris Spector (MIDWEST RECORD)
  
  
  "The result is a strong blues recording with a real vintage feel to it, which makes you sit up straight and listen, because these guys are really good!"
  by Freddy Cells (ROOTSTIME)
  
  
  READ FULL REVIEWS BELOW
  

• RADIO PLAYS [+ Show ]
  

  March & April 2009 107.1 / 95.9 F.M. Oroville, CA 88.9 FM mojostation Rome Italy KVMR ...March & April 2009
  
  107.1 / 95.9 F.M.
  Oroville, CA
  
  88.9 FM mojostation
  Rome Italy
  
  KVMR
  Nevada City, CA
  
  KRSC 91.3FM
  Tulsa, OK
  
  KGLT-FM
  Bozeman, MT
  
  WXOU
  Auburn Hills, MI
  
  Countrymusic24 Radio
  Berlin Germany
  
  ISW 93.1
  Waldkraiburg Germany
  
  O2 RADIO 91.3
  Cenon France
  
  Bluesy 97.0 FM
  Grenoble - France
  
  RMJ 90.1 FM
  Correze, France
  
  Baker Street - Radio Menergy
  France
  
  101.1 www.virusdeblues.free.fr
  France
  
  KBOO FM
  Portland, OR
  
  WRTB-FM
  Rockford, IL
  
  Acoustic Planet
  Erin, Ontario, Canada
  
  103.7 3WAY-FM
  Warrnambool Australia
  
  4ZZZ 102.1 FM
  Brisbane Australia
  
  783am Wellington Access Radio
  New Zealand
  
  1431kHz AM Radio Kidnappers
  New Zealand
  
  WFDU
  Teaneck, NJ
  
  KAFM Radio
  Grand Junction, CO.
  
  WFDU 89.1 FM
  Alpine, NJ
  
  KTEP 88.5 FM
  El Paso, TX
  
  91.3fm WYEP www.wyep.org
  Pittsburg, PA
  
  91.7 fm KVRX www.kvrx.org
  Austin, TX
  
  WVIA-FM 89.9
  Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton PA
  
  WVYA, 89.7
  Williamsport, PA
  
  WYEP
  Latrobe, PA
  
  VPR
  Colchester, VT

• Blues Art Studio (Austria) [+ Show ]
  

  Queen Fareena - 2009 As we comfortably sit back on the plush red velvet covered chairs around the...Queen Fareena - 2009
  
  As we comfortably sit back on the plush red velvet covered chairs around the dimly lit green baize of a small card table, we can take this opportunity to peruse our surroundings; other gentlemen quietly sit at similar tables concentrating far too hard to fully appreciate the low level plush velvet curtains which lend an air of shabby sophistication to the whole room; which also has a good number of well upholstered, sweet looking painted ladies, which are even faster than the flowing bourbon; which causes the cards to blur with alarming alacrity.
  
  Should you go outside and watch the paddles of the good ship Queen Fareena stir-up the lazy river into crashing foam, which washes over its stern? Or, do you settle down to enjoy the band on the small stage where they are playing timeless tunes of good-times, fun and frivolity?
  
  Well, you should certainly sit down and let the band play for you.
  
  A collection of footappingly joyous numbers including, Mississippi John Hurt's "Richland Women Blues" and "Salty Dog" also the Reverend Gary Davis "She's Funny that Way" and "Cincinnati Flow Rag" combined with Robert Johnson's "The Last Fair Deal Gone Down" and Blind Boy Fuller's "Untrue Blues" are here for your delectation. The rest of the eleven numbers on the album are an irresistible mixture of originals and a few from that great composer Trad Arrangement.
  
  The truly great atmospheric mixture of racy, fast paced saucy Dixieland Jazz and Ragtime is wonderfully evoked; underpinned by rural folk roots that are more than liberally sprinkled with the lazy hazy untroubled air of turn of the century New Orleans . This arresting music bubble has been marvelously achieved by Kelly Carmichael; who takes lead vocals and plays; guitars, banjo, xylophone and bones; he is stunningly accompanied by Jean-Paul Gaster; drums, Johnny "Lawless" Ray Carroll; upright bass, Scott Rich; trumpet, John McVey; trombone, Alexander Mitchell; fiddle and Brian Simms; accordion.
  
  These very fine musicians, together, recreate a time long past, which was fast, loose, dangerous and truly enticing. The six stringed banjo, lilting accordion, trumpet and trombone magically transfixes and transplants you, to a place you have only seen in sepia. Now you can visit it in your imagination as you waggle your arms and shake your legs across the living room floor!
  
  Simply Syncopatingly Stunning!
  
  Brian Harman.
  
  
  

• Victory Review Acoustic Magazine [+ Show ]
  

  Queen Fareena - 2009 Now, honestly, what’s more fun than good ol’ banjo blues and Dixieland rags?...Queen Fareena - 2009
  
  Now, honestly, what’s more fun than good ol’ banjo blues and Dixieland rags? And while by appearances, Kelly Carmichael might look unlikely (post-grunge, with a banjitar), he delivers the real deal on this rollicking CD. Everybody’s having a ball, with the horns braying and sliding, the drums and bones rattling and marching, and the fiddle and accordion skipping along with playful abandon. The set is heavy on the Mississippi John Hurt and Rev. Gary Davis, because, after all, what’s better? And Carmichael fearlessly plays the hits because he’s an adept and adaptive vocalist: sly and slurry on “Salty Dog,” cool and curt on “Richland Women Blues.” He’s got a couple solid originals, including the title track, but his superb renditions of classics like “Guitar Rag” and “Cincinnati Flow Rag” are likely to dominate the listener’s attention. Carmichael is a great steward of the form, and shows admirable honesty for crediting the artists whose versions of traditional songs he patterns his own after (for example, he notes that he’s doing Big Bill Broonzy’s arrangement of “Terrible Operation Blues.”) This is a terrific record start to finish, and is so good it should easily cross genres – everybody’s gonna like it!
  
  http://www.victorymusic.org/
  

• Tollbooth.org [+ Show ]
  

  Queen Fareena 2009 In blues, a good scripture could apply to each generation of artists...."there...Queen Fareena 2009
  
  In blues, a good scripture could apply to each generation of artists...."there's nothing new under the sun." So, if there truly is nothing new in blues, what's the next generation of artists to do, especially since we are so close in time to the greats like Robert Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt, and Leadbelly? People are still alive who knew them. It seems multi-instrumentalist Kelly Charmichael has stumbled on the answer. Reinvention. On _Queen Farina_, Carmichael has managed to bring together ragtime, roots country, blues, dixieland, and Cajun into a tribute which honors all styles without losing the essence of any of them individually.
  
  Carmichael takes his audience on a journey through the heartland of the deep south over the last century. Along the way, we hear the music of John Hurt on "Rich Woman Blues," a Robert Johnson song put to fiddle, a Cajun guitar rag and the Piedmont blues of Blind Boy Fuller. We also hear strains of Americana music crossing styles on each of the tracks. There are unique instrumentations like the Dixieland horns alongside a slide resphonic guitar and accordion.
  
  This integrated approach has rarely been used this successfully. Los Lobos, The Band and Dylan's Basement Tapes come to mind. This one is highly recommended for those who love American roots music and are on the look-out for something original and innovative, if not new under the sun.
  
  http://www.tollbooth.org/2009/reviews/kellyc.html
  

• Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange (USA) [+ Show ]
  

  Queen Fareena - 2009 I was rather shocked to find that this John Hartfordy roots musician was onc...Queen Fareena - 2009
  
  I was rather shocked to find that this John Hartfordy roots musician was once a member of Pentagram, a doom-metal group I've a strong liking for, but, er, possess only the first LP ( Relentless ). Carmichael pitched in during the late 80s (the band itself formed in the early 70s) and his involvement hasn't been too heavily covered in the music press, mainly limited to noting that he joined them and also Internal Void. Thus, I can't comment on that side of his work, save to say that if it's anything like the early Pentagram, then it has to be good.
  On Queen Fareena , though, he's changed up completely, one could even say 'shockingly', and the Mississippi steamboat on the CD cover lets you know just how much. Carmichael still plies the guitar but gone are all the effects pedals and screamers. He's now added banjo, xylophone, and 'bones' (trombones? drums? marimba? real bones?) to the armada along with a half-dozen sessioneers. This is 100% old-timey St. Louis / N'orleans stuff, with most of the tracks hand-picked from among some of the best the hoary estimables wrote…especially when they have a smart-ass slant to 'em. The band plays as though born to it, and Jean-Paul Gaster is particularly impressive on the drums, always rolling the beat along with nary a hint of the mundane, cementing the rhythmic bedrock while serving up engaging beats, supple and inventive.
  Carmichael's voice is frequently an easygoing sprechestimme more than anything else. One can easily picture the guy wearing a bowtie, arm garter, and straw hat while ambling across a bulb-lit stage, velvet curtains draped in the background, a mellowed pitchman joining the band for a stroll along backdropped paintings of picket fences and dirt roads lined with periwinkle, bougainvillea, and white roses. Scott Rich blows a boozily crowlined trumpet (great solo in Booker Blues) while Carmichael sticks chiefly to the banjo, playing the guitar in quite similar fashion, as in Untrue Blues.
  She's Funny That Way kinda typifies the whole thing: breezy, swozzled, entertaining, antebellum, and more than a little snarky-worldly. Thus, there's plenty to like here, served up low-smokin', swaybacked, and scintillating (great engineering job), reason to wanna get yourself all up in your own grill, traveling backwards to find what's still being lost all too easily in a mad chart rush in other groups.
  
  

• Bluesbytes [+ Show ]
  

  Queen Fareena 2009 Multi-instrumentalist and singer Kelly Carmichael took a circuitous route to h...Queen Fareena 2009
  
  Multi-instrumentalist and singer Kelly Carmichael took a circuitous route to his chosen genre of interest, prewar blues. Originally a hard rock guitarist in bands like Internal Void and Pentagram with roots in Jethro Tull, Black Sabbath, and Jimi Hendrix, Carmichael turned to the blues full time in 2002, when he began playing solo. He released a well-received disc in 2005, Old Stock.
  
  Queen Fareena , Carmichael’s second release for Dogstreet Records, is another entertaining offering of prewar stylings, ranging from blues, ragtime, country, to Dixieland jazz. Surrounded by an exceptional group of musicians (Jean-Paul Gaster – drums, Johnny “Lawless” Ray Carroll – upright bass, Scott Rich – trumpet, John McVey – trombone, Alexander Mitchell – fiddle, and Brian Simms – accordion),
  
  Carmichael brings the house down with a sparkling set of covers from the prewar era, along with a couple of original compositions, the dazzling title track that fits seamlessly with the classics, and “Booker Blues,” which has a Dixieland feel with Carmichael’s banjo and the backing trumpet and trombone. Carmichael is a master on both guitar and banjo and his warm, expressive vocals are ideal for the material. Wisely, he doesn’t imitate the originals either vocally or instrumentally, but performs them in his own “voice.”
  
  Among the well-chosen set of covers are songs by Mississippi John Hurt (“Richland Women Blues” and “Salty Dog”), and Robert Johnson (a jaunty cover of “Last Fair Deal Goin’ Down”) that cover the Delta blues genre. Ragtime and Piedmont styles are well -represented by covers of Rev. Gary Davis (“She’s Funny That Way” and “Cincinnati Flow Rag”) and Sylvester Weaver (a swinging version of “Guitar Rag”), and the old “hokum” blues style is featured on the humorous “Terrible Operation Blues” and “Come On Boys Let’s Do That Messin’ Around.” The final cut is a funky cover of John Hammond’s “Untrue Blues.”
  
  If you’re like me, you’ll find yourself listening to Queen Fareena over and over. It’s played with tons of energy and enthusiasm and is just plain fun to listen to. It’s great to hear old classics like these being redone and modernized.
  
  

• Guitar Edge Magazine [+ Show ]
  

  Queen Fareena 2009 Queen Fareena, his second offering on Dogstreet Records, reveals his continuin...Queen Fareena 2009
  
  Queen Fareena, his second offering on Dogstreet Records, reveals his continuing mastery of authentic “olde tyme” styles ranging from ragtime to country, “hokum blues” to Delta blues and even a touch of Dixieland jazz. In sync with the supple rhythm section of Jean-Paul Gaster (drums), Johnny “Lawless” Ray Carroll (doghouse bass), Scott Rich (trumpet), John McVey (trombone), Alexander Mitchell (fiddle) and Brian Simms (accordion), Carmichael sings with wit and expression, picks guitar and banjo, tickles the xylophone and even rattles the bones. His lightly stepping version of Mississippi John Hurt’s “Richland Women Blues” is the perfect lead off track as it shows his idiomatic, but never imitative vocals, and his deft banjo plucking. “She’s Funny That Way” takes the ragtime guitar tune of Rev. Gary Davis and casts it as a loose-limbed ensemble number. Perhaps the freshest interpretation on the disk is Robert Johnson’s classic “Last Fair Deal Gone Down” performed as a bouncy country two-step with tasty acoustic slide guitar. The Rev. Gary Davis instrumental “Cincinnati Flow Rag” that follows continues in the same vein, but with a jazzy N’Awlins vibe. John Hurt’s “Salty Dog” swings like a pair of bloomers in the breeze and features Carmichael nimbly executing acoustic guitar lines and Scott Rich blowing sassy trumpet blasts. The traditional “Come On Boys Let’s Do That Messin’ Around” contains some sly “hokum” while Carmichael’s sprightly but driving original title track sounds as classic as any cover in the set.
  
  To say that Carmichael knows his American music history like the fretboard of his various axes is further confirmed by his version of Sylvester Weaver’s landmark 1923 slide instrumental “Guitar Rag.” The original “Booker Blues” again shows Carmichael’s total understanding of his chosen territory with a swinging prewar jazz hue, worthy of the Chicago scene of Benny Goodman, that is spiked with stunning tempo changes and dynamics. The traditional and funny “Terrible Operation Blues” brings more jivey “hokum” and a humorous second vocal engaging with Carmichael that is reminiscent of the coda of Louis Jordan’s “Saturday Night Fish Fry.” The disk ends with the “get down” funk of John Hammond’s “Untrue Blues” that would have Big Bill Broonzy smiling along with everybody else lucky enough to be in earshot. Music this uplifting and energizing should be dispensed like a tonic to a grateful public.
  
  

• Midwest Record (USA) [+ Show ]
  

  Queen Fareena - 2009 Hard rocking white boy that didn’t really come to the olde tyme blues until ...Queen Fareena - 2009
  
  Hard rocking white boy that didn’t really come to the olde tyme blues until 2002 shows how the new century really turned his head. Very much in step with the white boy hippies that were trodding these boards as he was just coming on the planet, Carmichael might not be the most authentic but he has the spirit and is a boat load of fun. With a genuine love of kitsch, as evidenced in the artwork, this is simply a snazzy, off beat good time that takes you on a tour of America’s neglected back roads with the spirit of John Hurt leading the way. The open eared owe it to themselves to check it out.

• Vintage Guitar Magazine [+ Show ]
  

  Old Stock - 2005 "Down to its honest core, the 10-track Old Stock is barefoot, front-porch, sippi...Old Stock - 2005
  
  "Down to its honest core, the 10-track Old Stock is barefoot, front-porch, sipping-sweet-tea-or-something-stronger music at its most enjoyable, the kind of roots-righteous effort that Roy Bookbinder might add to his year-end “Best Of” list if he had a chance to hear it."

Setlist

A general setlist can be provided upon request, but it often changes depending on the venue and audience.

Basic Requirements

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