Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
"Laid back guitars for surfing in the rain. ..... Kelley's vocals are hypnotic, a surge of power that makes the bulbs glow......."
- Sara Warfield
- WOW Hall notes
"The Raventones' funky, bluesy, strangely complete sound sets a new standard for the capabilities of a solo rhythm section".
- Eugene Weekly
"Today, TR Kelley uses music to venture out into the terrifying world of activism, seeking to help improve the quality of life for other autistic people. She calls it "autistic-culture edu-tainment." When she has a guitar strapped across her torso, her speech is clearer and she tells her story with and between songs."
- Serena Markstrom - Eugene Register-Guard
Discography
The Raventones - "alive & flapping" (CD 2007)
The Raventones - "starstruck enterprise" (CD 2005)
The Raventones - "odd birds" (CD 2003)
TR Kelley - "ghosts of dreams" (CD 1997)
TR Kelley - "water wears the stone" (CD 1995)
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The Raventones / TR Kelley receive airplay on college and independent radio stations in the US, Canada and abroad. Tracks from "odd birds" are also featured on streaming and digital services including iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster , etc.
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Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
The Raventones
Driven by the often otherworldly intensity of rural Oregon musician/writer TR Kelley, The Raventones deliver a dynamic music and spoken-word show channelled from TR's blue-green corner of "Planet Autism", supported and facilitated by her drummer and life partner, Randy Hamme.
The Raventones' unusual twangy low-tuned baritone guitar & drums sound is fresh and flexible. Sultry ballads and soul screamers might appear in the same set with an outlaw country waltz or a jam-band instrumental groove. Vocalizations invoke spandex guitar solos, Seattle seagulls, the zing of photon torpedoes and the sheer joy of living, soaring over the chug and twang of one odd guitar and a vintage acoustic drum kit.
Lyrical themes range from dark camaraderie to quirky humor and transcendent joy. TR switches between different bass and baritone guitars during a show, coaxing complex solo arrangements and chords out of instruments usually limited to "accompaniment" roles in larger bands. All of The Raventones live show is generated in real-time, often on-the-fly, no loopers or computers are ever used. However props and silly hats are known to appear.........
TR Kelley is a savant, a visitor from a different mindscape, celebrating emerging Autistic - Asperger culture and other dimensions of human variety by sharing her unique art with audiences. Her eccentric orbit is a path made visible by "neuro-normal" Randy Hamme's cheerful and professional ability to negotiate the world offstage.
In addition to music festivals, The Raventones do ability-focused presentations for schools and other groups exploring the intersections of art and diversity.
Links
