Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
GK is "a versatile and volatile performer." - El Paso Herald Post
GK's music is "a new world, a world of poetry - philosophy and lyric - that transcends any one type of music." - Southwest Art Form
"Celestially beautiful music seemed to originate in another world of intelligence, mellowness, sensitivity, and positive good times." - El Paso Herald Post
"One of El Paso's best songwriters. . . . With his strong vocals and lyrics, it's a coin flip you can't lose." - KLAQ Review
"Gene doesn't sing his songs as much as he prays them. . . [but] This isn't cocktail lounge music." - El Paso Scene
Eva Gardea - "Cool music
Ruben Ledesma - "music full of life and creativity and especially energy."
Rudolfo Gonzales - "BRAVO! I really enjoyed your performance. . . . The images of the poetry and music combined are a true and lasting marriage of rgythm and feeling." - El Paso Community College Arts Festival - 23 May 1997
Discography
Every Song the Mockingbird Knows -
forthcoming Autumn 2004
Only Half Blind - 2000 (Street of Trees)
99 NAMES - 1997 (Eutaxia)
Around the Bend - 1983 (Eutaxia)
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Gene Keller wrote his first song at the age of 8. At 16 he quit high school to become a cowboy. He was a smart kid, and after a couple of weeks he realized being a singing cowboy would probably be much easier and more fun. But what does a kid know? Two years later he wanted to be a preacher. Anyway, he went back to school, got a few degrees, and became something else.
Keller grew up in El Paso, Texas, though he spent summers in Parral, Chihuahua, and Ruidoso, New Mexico. He played all the various border musics and media waves - from folk in the 60s to reggae in the 80s - and learned to write songs. At the same time he was working day jobs: first as dishwasher or furniture mover, later as English instructor or research assistant.
He recorded an album of his songs in 1983 and a CD in 1997. In 2000 he recorded a homemade solo CD projext. He had a performance poetry video (Hiku Bob) aired on PBS (Are We On?) in 1995. A book of poems (Oñate and the Nightbirds) was published in 1998. And in 2002, Keller produced a limited edition of 52 handmade books of a series of poems written in 1999 (13 Full Moons). A new CD of 21st century songs (Every Song the Mockingbird Knows) with producer/multi-instrumentalist Doug Adams, will be released in Autumn 2004.
As an ever-emerging artist, Gene Keller laughs in the face of tomorrow, hopes in the face of nothing, & sings in the face of destiny. Whether playing solo or with his band - 99 Names - Gene Keller's charisma & charm exude light.
In the past 40 years, Gene Keller has played his songs and performed his poems throughout the southwest border region - Texas: Kerrville, Austin, Dallas, El Paso; New Mexico: Albuquerque, Truth or Consequences, Las Cruces, Roswell, Deming; Arizona: Bisbee, Tucson - & all over the world - well, Mexico, Ireland, & Saudi Arabia - though he always returns to his family on the Street of Trees & friends in El Paso.
Gene Keller's Recipe: Mix up a spicy elemental stew of border rhythms with strong lyrics and powerful vocals. Throw in the pepper of intelligence and the sage of insight. Sprinkle on a dash of humor and a pinch of humility. Savor the flavors.
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