The Bellrays (also capitalized as The BellRays) is an American rock group that combines

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

and

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

with

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...

, founded in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

in 1990 by vocalist

Lisa Kekaula Lisa Kekaula (born July 31, 1967) is the lead singer of American " rock 'n' soul" band The Bellrays. Early years Kekaula was born to an African-American mother, Linda and Native Hawaiian father, Alan Kekaula in Los Angeles, California, altho ...

and guitarist Bob Vennum. They have been with several independent labels, including Upper Cut, Poptones,

Alternative Tentacles Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 by Dead Kennedys vocalist Jello Biafra and guitarist East Bay Ray in San Francisco, California, with the intention to release the Dead Kennedys' self-produced single " C ...

, Bittersweet, Shock, Cheap Lullaby, Vicious Circle, Vital Gesture and Anodyne.

History

Kekaula and Vennum founded the BellRays on the dissolution of previous group The Rose Thorns, a group formed by Vennum in 1986, which Kekaula joined in 1988; the band released an album ''Ralph's Mom & Dad'' in 1990; songs from the album were later rerecorded by the BellRays. The same year the BellRays released their self-titled debut, cassette-only, album, with Kekaula and Vennum joined by Phil Phillips on bass and Brad Vaughn on drums. The BellRays released their second album ''In the Light of the Sun'', also cassette-only (until later reissue), in 1993, featuring new drummer Ray Chin and keyboardist Jim Kerwin. Tony Bramel (aka Tony Fate) produced and played bass on the recording and joined the band permanently as guitarist in 1996, with Vennum switching to bass. The following albums ''Let It Blast'' and ''Grand Fury'' were recorded live in the band's rehearsal space. Fifth album ''The Red, White & Black'' (2003) was released on the

Poptones Poptones was a record label launched by Alan McGee after the demise of Creation Records in 1999. Its roster included The Hives, January, Oranger, Arnold (band), Arnold, Cherrystones, King Biscuit Time (musician), King Biscuit Time, The Mardous, ...

label in the UK and

in the US. Craig Waters replaced Chin as drummer for the band's next two records ''Have a Little Faith'' and ''Hard, Sweet and Sticky'', the latter featuring

Billy Mohler Billy Mohler is a Grammy-nominated producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He was raised in South Orange County and is Bill Medley's (of the Righteous Bros.) godson. He attended and graduated from Berklee College of Music where he studi ...

on production and bass guitar, Bob Vennum having switched back to lead guitar with the departure of Tony Fate. The BellRays' eighth album proper ''Black Lightning'' was released in 2010 and their most recent album ''Punk Funk Rock Soul Volume Two'' in 2018. On the group's

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page, they described themselves as follows:

"High Octane Rock and Roll! Biography schmiography! Who cares about where they came from or what they did before or how many records they put out. Stats are not what music or this band is about. If you have an open mind and want something challenging in your life then this is where you want to stop and listen. Just take it in and make up your own mind. You want somebody to tell you what it is go to
Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...
's website instead. You tell us what we're about and then tell your friends whether you like it or not."

"Zero PM" was featured in the

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'' and "Revolution Get Down" in a commercial for the

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Xterra. "Revolution Get Down" was also used as a fade-to-commercial song during the 2006 NCAA Tournament in the

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, where he was one of three delegates who refused to sign the Constitution. His wr ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

semifinal on

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...

Discography

Albums and EPs

*''The BellRays'' (1990) *''In the Light of the Sun'' (1993; reissued 2002) *''Let It Blast'' (1998) *''Punk Rock and Soul'' (1999) ive tracks; split LP w/Streetwalkin' Cheetahs*''Grand Fury'' (2000) *''The Red, White and Black'' (2004) *''Have A Little Faith'' (2006) *''Hard Sweet and Sticky'' (2008) *''Black Lightning'' (2010) *''Covers'' (2016) -track EP*''Punk Funk Rock Soul Vol.1'' (2017) our-track EP*''Punk Funk Rock Soul Vol.2'' (2018) *''Heavy Steady Go!'' (2024)

Compilation albums

*''Meet the BellRays'' (2002) ompiled from ''Let It Blast'' and ''Grand Fury'' *''Raw Collection'' (2003) *''Raw Collection, Vol.2'' (2005) *''Merry Xmas, Love the BellRays'' (2008) *''It's Never To Late To Fall In Love With The Bellrays (New, Rare & Unreleased)/Introducing Lisa & The Lips'' (2019)

Compilation appearances

*''A Vital Gesture Christmas'' (1996) *''A Tribute To Really Red - Teaching You the Fear Again'' (2020)

DVDs

*''The BellRays @ the Barfly'' (2005)

References

External links

Official Website

The BellRays
at

The BellRays music videos
(Including live performances, and Tell The Lie, Fire and the Moon)

The BellRays - On Top (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellrays, The Punk rock groups from California Alternative Tentacles artists American garage punk groups Musical groups established in 1980 1980 establishments in California