You’ve got to hear this guy. He’s fantastic and he’s got shows coming up in Portland and Eugene:
Wed 7/10 – Mississippi Studios, Portland OR
Thu 7/11 – Cider House Music Hall, Eugene OR
Fri 7/12 – Timber Fest, Carnation, WA
Sat 7/13 – The Rickshaw Theatre, Vancouver, BC
Photo by Whitney Pelfrey
Kelly Finnigan, the lead singer of Bay Area-based indie-soul auteurs Monophonics, has just released his debut solo album, The Tales People Tell, via Colemine Records. Over the course of the album’s 10 new, original songs, Kelly channels a multitude of influences that reflect a lifetime immersed in the music and culture of soul, R&B and hip-hop. It’s the story of an outsider that followed an unorthodox route, always guided by his own creative north star.“I Don’t Wanna Wait,” the album’s opening track and lead single, is the first song Kelly wrote for the record, and the track features contributions from Max and Joe Ramey (The Ironsides) on guitar and bass. “It’s about that throbbing in your heart when you’re first falling in love with someone and all you do is think of them and the next time you’ll be with them,” says Kelly.
Kelly guided the songs on The Tales People Tell from their conception all the way to the record pressing plant over the course of two years. He wrote and produced each track on the record and plays 10 instruments throughout, while enlisting the help of friends and legends like drummer James Gadson (Bill Withers, Marvin Gaye, Beck), members of Monophonics, veterans of several Daptone and Big Crown sessions, and Kelly’s own father, prominent sideman/keyboardist Mike Finnigan (Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker, Etta James). The result is a timeless collection underscored by a sense of community, a family affair of a record that’s at once raw and gritty, tender and emotive, lush and symphonic.
Kelly grew up in Los Angeles in a musical household, but resisted any formal musical education until his teens, when he dove into the world of hip hop, beats and sampling, and began DJing events all over LA. He founded the hip-hop production crew Destruments, cut his teeth at legendary L.A. studios Village Recording and Cello Studios (where he eventually was fired for staying late and practicing on their Hammond B3), founded his own studio/label Transistor Sound, and became a core member of Monophonics after relocating to the Bay Area.
