John Kelly

Originally from Teaneck, NJ, John began playing music at the Red Lion on Bleecker St. in NYC and made a name for himself in New York's Greenwich Village area. Early on he felt the need to express his own style of music. "I learned alot back then...playing covers...it molds you. I played them all...Allman Bros., Marshall Tucker, Eric Clapton, The Grateful Dead...you name it. I loved being on stage playing and singing. I just wanted to play and sing my own songs".

In 1995, John put together a band and went by the name Cross Eyed Chicken. "This band was fun...a lot of crazy stories there! I wasn't too serious about it looking back, but I sure had fun. I owe a lot to those guys". Later, John and the guys got serious and decided to move to Nashville, TN - a long time dream of John's. "I was definitely going. I didn't know what was gonna happen...and I didn't expect the guys to follow, but they did and I was damn glad". They hit most of Music City's hot spots and made a pretty good name for themselves. They changed the band's name to Leftfield Jackson after John's dad, Jack, (another story). John continued writing and playing with a more serious and dedicated approach.

The band broke after seven years of great music, but not before completing their long awaited debut, Just Another Day. "I still think about those days... some of the best years of my life!" With a bunch of songs on the shelf, John and a few of Nashville's own put together a seven song CD, entitled There's The Door. "There's some really interesting stuff on that CD. I had an opportunity to have fiddle on a couple cuts... I think I found my sound around that time - much more acoustic".

John then moved to St. Petersburg, FL and formed The John Kelly Band. "What a great band this was - these guys were so talented - we knocked the heck out of my three chord tunes". Steve Moretti, Sly Bryant and John made up this rootsy country rock trio. John penned and recorded two more CDs, Everyone Tries and Waiting with the help of Steve and Sly. (They also demo'd two songs, "Jackson" and "Take Your Time", which can be found in the music gallery. Steve's drum and vocal contributions can also be found on the Waiting album on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7.) The trio still looks forward to future shows together.

Unfortunately new families and new opportuntities would pull these guys apart. Steve moved to Oregon to persue his career touring and john gave Nashville another ride.

Now, back In St. Petersburg, FL, John and his new band can be seen at the Old Northeast Tavern every Saturday night.