dedLilith

Singer Kelli Mccloud and Guitarist John Marone formed the hard hitting rock band, dedLilith in 2001. Also consisting of Robert Cusick on lead guitar, Bob Shanahan on bass, and Brian Hamilton on drums, the East coast based band has been compared to hard rock acts such as, Alice In Chains, Type O Negative, Down and Skunk Anansie. Kelli’s voice is pure, powerful, and hypnotic. She has a style comparable to no one else. She delivers her voice in a new style fashion with 80’s metal flavor. She uses phrasing as a vehicle for sustaining emotion, similar to Corey Glover of Living Colour. She seems to know her voice quite well, and you can tell that she’s had extensive training. So let’s see what vocal knowledge she is willing to share:





Jaime: How long have you been singing?

Kelli: About 29 years (since I was 3). My mother tells me that I was singing before I could talk.





Jaime: What got you interested in singing this style of music?

Kelli: I started listening to hard rock/heavy metal around 1986 and I’ve been hooked every since. Bands like Bon Jovi, Stryper and Vixen opened the door for me, but I think it was Joe Lynn Turner (on Yngwie Malmsteen’s ‘Odyssey’ Album) and Queensryche that started me on this particular course.





Jaime: Who are some of your major vocal influences?

Kelli: My major influences: Geoff Tate, Steve Perry, Joe Lynn Turner, Ray Alder, Eric Martin, Cher, Cyndi Lauper, Bette Midler and Skin of Skunk Anansie.





Jaime: Give me your vocal background. Did you sing in church? Who have you studied with? Etc...

Kelli: I was raised around music. My mother was a backing vocalist in a doo-wop group in the 60’s and my father was an amateur DJ in the 70’s. I spent most of my youth putting on little performances for my family at gatherings, parties, etc. Never sang in church. I didn’t go to church much. It wasn’t until I joined the high school chorus my freshman year that I received any formal training. I learned Italian Opera, Broadway and jazz styles in high school. I was a second soprano, so I got really good at harmonizing. I still think that I am a better backing vocalist than a lead vocalist. I took a semester of vocal lessons in college. I studied with Sebastian Bach from 1997-98 and I’ve been studying with Tony Harnell since Nov. 02. Outside of my band, I do session and live work as a backing vocalist.





Jaime: What did you learn of importance from Sebastian?

Kelli: When I started with Bas, I was all chest voice. I never knew that there was a different technique involved when it came to rock singing. He taught me how to open my mouth and belt it out.





Jaime: How about Tony?

Kelli: Tony is my guru. He has been instrumental in helping me shape my voice and define my own style. Before I started studying with him, I would blow out after singing for 1 hour or so. My stamina and range has increased. My pitch has improved by leaps and bounds. I went from sounding like a little girl to sounding like a woman. I can sing in ranges that I wouldn’t have attempted 3 years ago. People that have heard me sing in the past can’t believe it when they hear me now. It’s like night and day. We’ve been working on vocal interpretation these days. He’s a full-service, one-stop shop of vocal knowledge. I owe a lot to him and with each session, I learn more and more.





Jaime: What do you do to keep your voice in shape? What's your vocal practice routine? What does your warm up consist of? Any vitamins, sprays, etc...?

Kelli: Well, I’m not exactly a poster child for proper vocal cord upkeep. I do drink a cup of Throat Coat every morning (and contrary to what a lot of other singers say, I actually LOVE the taste). I’ve recently been forcing myself to drink more water. I have to talk all day at work, so by the time I have to sing, I’m pretty warmed up. I try not to eat anything before I sing and if it’s really cold, I will keep a scarf around my neck until the show. I still have a lot of bad habits to get rid of.





Jaime: Thank you Kelli.

Kelli: My pleasure.
- thevoiceconnection.com

Nameless Creek

Excellent musicianship on all fronts here. Not much i can think of to criticize. You wrote a damn-good straight-forward rock song and pulled it off to the T.
- DrunkPig from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on 11Oct2004

Cool hypnotic beginning. Vocal reminds me of someone, can't put my finger on it but it's kicking my ass. The song is a nice journey. The production is very pro and I like the mix as is. Wow that guitar part at 2:20 is scorching! OK, building to a nice ending...10 out of 10, nice landing, thank you for flying with Arena Rock Airlines.
- Straddle from Los Angeles, California on 10Oct2004

Breathe

cool vocals, nice lead guitar, riffs and rhythms are cool, mix is good, arrangement works well for me.
- ledzeprules from Rohrerstown, Pennsylvania on 10Sep2004

This sounds like some classic rock metal shiot! I dig it, Sweet. All the music sounds like gritty hard rock and the vocalist is just the icing. the sweet guitar riffs and the changes have got me sold on this one. good job. Here’s a five....
- easygoinperson from Austin, Texas on 10Sep2004

you got a hit here!awesome guitar!nice driving beat and feel. cool vocals. nice backups. this one is as good as what i have in my personal collection. Dokken should have been this heavy!
- lostsoulmusic from Covington, Virginia on 9Sep2004

Within

Awards! Best Female Vocals in Hard Rock, week of 27Sep2004

These guys have a original sound and with the female vocals there's no way you can miss to link their other songs to this band, and that's just what we want. It's a good song, has a solo, love solos.
- zakken1 from San Francisco, California on 25Sep2004

I love the guitarist arrangement of killer licks, they are dynamically contrasted by the sultry rocking female vocals. Excellent to hear a creative drummer. Overall an impressive effort, that solo is on the money! Great work.
- SoulCHANNEL from Sydney, Nsw, Australia on 21Sep2004

Great full-sounding band and riffs. Love the way the vox float on top of them. GREAT when you double the vox like that. Can we get more of that please?

Tell Yngvie Malmsteen there to stop listening to Frank Gambale! Ha ha but at least it was a short flurry. However, the song seemed short--which is a compliment. I wanted to hear more. Nice one.
- TortureSermon from Brooklyn, New York on 20Sep2004





Soul Sifting

Whoa, female vocals are creepy. Good singin but scary. Nice guitar work. Great production, good sound. Nice work !!
- RotationDJ from Detroit, Michigan on 26Sep2004

really dig the groove! sound quality was good. Very good lead vocals and a nice crunching guitar sound. The harmonies were very. very good. Don't hear enough of them these days. Cool tune.
- rich426 from Poughkeepsie, New York on 24Sep2004

I love this stuff - thick music and high pitched vocals great song. From the start this song makes me just want to listen to it on and on and on!! I would buy this I think you should definitely continue on your way - I am 100% sure I will hear from you again - much love from austria - Karl
- superfish from Unspecified on 23Sep2004

Wow! A sledgehammer rocker and its fronted by true lady rockers! Flawless vocals and Black sabbath style crunch rock. great harmonies really make this one shine! Black sabbath meets Dokken. This has to be a 5 star!I hope you let me download this one because it just has to be in my car's cd player.
- lostsoulmusic from Covington, Virginia on 22Sep2004

I feel like I am marching forward on an assault with a giant cosmic army. This would be great under the inf. of t.h.c. Very original, very feel oriented.
- Jasonhelium1 from Austin, Texas on 21Sep2004

Turn it up! This kind of thing is pleasing. Nice full sound. Great harmonies. Cool chick. Nice job
- TortureSermon from Brooklyn, New York on 21Sep2004

The song is catchy. The vocals are powerful and give it a great edge. Nice!
- SplungeTheBand from Hollywood, Florida on 20Sep2004
- Garageband.com