Terrible news. Thanks for sharing, Ron.
Ron, this is so awesome that you would go out of your way to share these memories with us! - Thank you!
That's definitely sad news.
Mmm... Saturns.
That really is terrible news, thanks for coming here to share it. I always enjoyed his posts over all these years, he was one of DC's most reliable members. He's a lock for the drumchat hall of fame! He will be missed around here!
What a great loss. Rest In Peace Brother. Thanks for the wonderful post Ron.
Conrad
R. I. P.
I see post 21 is lengthy but nothing to get banned or disapproved of.
Signature here
Hey, it's back (Post 21). Nice.
I'll write a 2nd 'chapter' very soon. I have two more 12-hour office shifts to go, including today.
I want to recall as much as I can. Tough to do in work mode!
Thank you everyone, for allowing me a welcoming place to share history that is so important to me.
Have a super Thursday.
Ron
Thanks, Tom.
I'm having trouble loading photos, here or in trying to create an album.
Any advice?
wow, so sorry to learn of this.. rip kay-gee ...
RDM/Damage Poets
UFiP TAMAHA Zildjian
REGAL TiP
AQUARIAN
Chapter 2...
There was a period of about three years where I actually lost track of Kelly.
The jams with Eugene Boyer began not long after his moving back home, from Sudbury, 1977 or early '78.
He drove an old purple Ford truck, and drove the **** out of it, lol.
His cousin, Ken, recalled recently a certain drive out at St. Joseph's Island, where, suddenly, for some reason, Kelly floored it.
"I told him...'Kell!...slow down!!!' We were rounding corners on two wheels!"
The Purple Ford was a practical need but also a key source of tunes for Kelly. Gas was cheap, and he liked highway drives to shoot the breeze and introduce friends to new music, or more precisely, music that was a new to them.
A number of neighborhood friends credit Kelly for introducing them to The Who, Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, Queen or Pink Floyd...and more.
One amazing listening experience stands out for me; from a muggy July night back in '78.
Kell at the wheel of the Ford with the 8-track player and off we went to tour around St. Joe's Island with great tunes and some of Mother Nature's Mary in tow.
Minutes into the drive, classic T-storms rolled in.
Sheet lightning - flash after widespread flash - lit up the roads. I was hearing Floyd's Echoes for the first time and with all that lightning - it was mesmerizing. A perfect light show to go with this newly-discovered great album!
I have often wondered if Kelly knew the lightning was in the forecast (lol). Unforgettable fun.
Listening to tunes at his house were events. Non-stop gabbing would taper to a listener-occupied random sentence or two as a cranked stereo played Dark Side of the Moon, Live at Leeds, Animals, Who's Next in their entirety.
Just don't listen intently like that anymore. So much of the music played and later discussed was new to me.
He'd lend me some of these albums and other treasures, like Pink Floyd's Relics and The Who's Odds & Sods. I was grateful to say the least.
---
Those Who albums had a profound impact on me.
Loved Keith Moon's drumming and pined for a better kit to practice with.
After months of trying to figure out which Slingerland kit I liked best from Kelly's copy of the 1976 catalog, I fell in love with a set of Ludwig blue vistalites at a local store. Had to have them!
22x14, 9x13, 10x14, 16x16 and 16x18 floors and a chrome Yamaha snare.
Kelly financed the transaction and I gave him the 16x18 floor to help offset the $1,000 price tag.
I was a huge Moon fan now and tore into Who's Next.
Then, one day...Kelly had heard enough Moon glow from me and felt compelled to shine another light.
"Keith Moon is a great drummer, but great for The Who. I don't know if I would spend too much time trying to play like he did. You're not likely to be asked to play anything like him in any band situation."
It was a rare wet-blanket comment from my good friend but deep down I knew he was right.
---
Kelly was gigging on weekends - country - and loving rock/fusion jams at his house or at a local studio downtown.
His prior gigs with Frank Boyer, Eugene's multi-talented brother, led to my becoming The drummer for Frank Boyer and The Kountry Kings.
Frank could play great guitar, and was a heckuva fiddle player.
Great first band to be in - very tight, a real musical education - and Kelly had no doubt had a hand in making it happen.
---
In 1978, the first Tim Horton's Donut Shop opened in the Sault, and just three blocks from our houses.
Countless nights spent there with Kelly and other friends. It was our place, we'd made it our own. Think...Arnold's from Happy Days. It was quite common to make long visits to Tim's, or multiple visits in the same night, because the coffeehouse chatter, the coffee, the donuts and tons of laughs were simply addicting.
If someone stood up at the counter and announced they had to get going, at 3:30 am, Kelly would say, "So soon?"
Chorus of laughter would fill the place.
---
Kelly and his good buddy Eugene got together whenever possible. Eugene was now studying jazz guitar at Humber College in Toronto, and Kelly was studying Hotel and Restaurant Admin locally at Sault College.
They still jammed, with various bass players, at his house, but were spending more and more time at a local studio.
I'll cap this chapter with a studio cut from 1979. Eugene Boyer and young Mike Cliffe (18?) on guitars, Kelly on drums. Mike somehow salvaged the tape, otherwise it wouldn't be available. He says the bass was added in later (likely by Eugene).
The cut is called "Alright!" because Kelly yells out the word with the groove happening...
https://www.reverbnation.com/mikecli...EwFM27dOdyOQoo
Last edited by RonJ_60; 01-29-2019 at 03:54 PM.
Thanks again for the Chapters, Ron.
I'm sure it reminds all of us of our early band-mates and the associated great memories....................magical stuff.
Gretsch USA & Zildjian(What Else Would I Ever Need ?)
Table hockey, 1987, my apartment in Windsor. My wife April snapped this one.
We were both married, Kelly to his first wife in 1984; April and I wed a year later.
I was going to college and Kelly had launched his health food delivery biz in Toronto. Dropped in for a visit.
You should write if you don't. Great stories and recollections.
Nice Vista's!
Back in the GOOD times before video games destroyed us. Well, that and Guinness after band rehearsal.
Signature here
Thanks so much, Bish
And you too, Ricardo...
I understand it's tough to comment; I appreciate the opportunity to share, immensely.
I studied journalism in the mid-'80s, worked as a reporter in local radio and as a writer for local papers.
Later, was a corporate writer before moving up to marketing where, since 1997, as an analyst, I have worked mostly with numbers.
I'm trying to write about my non-pretentious buddy in a fairly plain style, and I'm also trying to keep myself out of the way.
That's tough because as the first two chapters show, he helped me, musically, in all kinds of ways.
In the third and final chapter, which I'll write - then post - Sunday or Monday, there will be more examples of Kelly's help and positive influence.
Peace everyone, and thanks again.
Last edited by RonJ_60; 01-30-2019 at 09:51 AM.
This person is impossible for new people to understand, heck I barely do. His posts, were way beyond my level of comprehension, he was a very intelligent and well read person. I entirely refuse to believe he's dead, living where he does it just doesn't seem possible. Maybe that's very wrong of me, but it's just how I feel and what I believe. I want to think of the best about people, not bad thoughts of them. I want to speak to him again someday, I want to experience his knowledge and wisdom. Others also have that and I believe in them, I want to experience their abilities as well. I don't believe in people dying, just changing, becoming something else, maybe something better even. I will say this though - Aquarian and Zildjian, oh boy sign me up cause it don't get better than that!
ZildjianLeague/LP/Aquarian/Mapex/Pearl
Snares: 4
RIP- Frank, Wolvie, Les Paul
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The Rudiments
I really really hate to hear that. He was one of my favorites. He had an even keel and always seemed to be on top of the world!
I will surely miss him!
Take care and seeya!
Jim
He was a GREAT person and i always looked for his posts because they were always so positive and helped me when I was down.
Take care and seeya!
Jim
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