Sean Kelly is a Canadian musician living in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

, currently playing

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

with

Nelly Furtado Nelly Kim Furtado (; ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Furtado has sold over 40 million records worldwide making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. She first gained fame with her trip hop-inspired de ...

and

Lee Aaron Lee Aaron (born Karen Lynn Greening; July 21, 1962) is a Canadian rock singer. She had several hits in the 1980s and early 1990s, such as "Metal Queen", "Whatcha Do to My Body", and "Sex with Love". Early life Aaron was born as Karen Lynn Green ...

. He founded the

-based

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on div ...

band Crash Kelly, and is the band's lead singer and guitarist.no byline (Sept–Oct 2004). "Crash Kelly sign worldwide record deal", ''Canadian Musician'', 26 (5): 18. Kelly was a member of Canadian rock band

Helix A helix () is a shape like a corkscrew or spiral staircase. It is a type of smooth space curve with tangent lines at a constant angle to a fixed axis. Helices are important in biology, as the DNA molecule is formed as two intertwined hel ...

, playing

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

. He stayed with them for most of 2009 at which time joined Furtado's band on guitar.HELIX Part Ways With SEAN KELLY
/ref> He is also guitarist for the Toronto rock group

69 Duster 69 may refer to: * 69 (number) * A year, primarily 69 BC, AD 69, 1969, or 2069 *69 (sex position) Arts and media Music * 69 (album), ''69'', a 1988 album by A.R. Kane * '69 (Deep Purple song), "'69", a song by Deep Purple from ''Abandon'' * Majo ...

, which he co-founded with the ex-singer for

Images in Vogue Images in Vogue is a Canadian new wave group formed in 1981 in Vancouver. It originally consisted of vocalist Dale Martindale, guitarist Don Gordon (later of Numb), synth players Joe Vizvary and Glen Nelson, bassist Gary Smith, and percussion ...

, Dale Martindale. He has done session guitar work for other bands as well, including

Neil Leyton Neil Leyton is a Portuguese-Canadian singer and guitarist born in Lisbon. He has lived and played music in Toronto, London, and Stockholm. He was a founding member and songwriter in Canadian art-glam indie project The Conscience Pilate from 1995 ...

's 2003 album, Midnight Sun, and was a member of Jeff Pearce's band

Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe ( Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is ...

. Kelly has also collaborated with

Gilby Clarke Gilbert J. "Gilby" Clarke (born August 17, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He had a 3-year tenure as the rhythm guitarist of Guns N' Roses, replacing Izzy Stradlin in 1991 during the Use Your Illusion Tou ...

Rough Trade Rough Trade may refer to: *Rough Trade Records, a record label * Rough Trade (shops), London record stores *Rough Trade (band), a Canadian new wave rock band * "Rough Trade" (''American Dad!''), an episode of ''American Dad!'' *Rough trade (slang), ...

Rudy Sarzo Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Lavieille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont (born November 18, 1950) is a Cuban American hard rock/ heavy metal bassist. He remains best known for his work with Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, and Whitesnake, and has also play ...

Coney Hatch Coney Hatch is a Canadian hard rock band who released three albums in the 1980s and released their fourth album ''Four'' in 2013. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the band consisted of lead vocalist and guitarist Carl Dixon, vocalist and b ...

, and

Canadian Brass The Canadian Brass is a Canadian brass quintet formed in 1970 in Toronto, Ontario, by Charles Daellenbach (tuba) and Gene Watts (trombone), with horn player Graeme Page and trumpeters Stuart Laughton and Bill Phillips completing the quintet. ...

Career

Crash Kelly signed a multi-album deal with

Liquor and Poker Music Liquor and Poker Music is an American rock music record label based in Hawthorne, California. Bands on the label are generally in the punk, stoner rock and heavy metal genres. Current artists * American Heartbreak * Backyard Babies * Black H ...

in 2004. They have toured internationally with

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guilloti ...

and

Backyard Babies Backyard Babies are a Swedish rock band originally from Nässjö and currently based in Stockholm. The band was formed in 1989 and over the years they have released seven studio albums and won two Swedish Grammy Awards. They are largely at ...

in the US and

Quireboys The Quireboys are an English rock band formed in 1984 in London, with strong ties to Newcastle. When the band formed they were originally known as The Queerboys and later as the London Quireboys in the United States and Canada, settling at ...

and

Enuff Z’Nuff "Enuff" is a song by the American hip hop producer DJ Shadow featuring the American rappers Q-Tip and Lateef the Truthspeaker, released on September 25, 2006 as the second single from his third studio album ''The Outsider The Outsider may r ...

in the UK. The group name, Crash Kelly, is a reference to the nickname of an uncle, who acquired it as an AHL player hockey all over the northern states (including a long stint in Pennsylvania). “Crash” Kelly was known as a tough player, and an enforcer on the ice. The film ''

Slap Shot ''Slap Shot'' is a 1977 American sports film directed by George Roy Hill, written by Nancy Dowd and starring Paul Newman and Michael Ontkean. It depicts a minor league ice hockey team that resorts to violent play to gain popularity in a declin ...

'' was based loosely on the antics of this league. Sean's uncle's team the

Johnstown Jets The Johnstown Jets were a professional ice hockey team from Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The Jets were founded in the Eastern Amateur Hockey League for the 1950–51 season, playing at the newly constructed Cambria County War Memorial Arena. The Jet ...

was said to have been an inspiration for some of the movie which was partly filmed on location in

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...

. Crash Kelly have opened for artists such as

The Black Crowes The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1984. Their discography includes eight studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer G ...

and

, and have had their songs featured on

Bam Margera Brandon Cole "Bam" Margera ( ; born September 28, 1979) is an American former professional skateboarder, stunt performer, television personality, and filmmaker. He rose to prominence in the early 2000s as one of the stars of the MTV realit ...

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

program ''

Unholy Union ''Profanum'' is the Latin language, Latin word for "profane". The state of being profane, or "profanity," refers to a lack of respect for things that are held to be sacred, which implies anything inspiring or deserving of Reverence (emotion), r ...

''. Sean Kelly, as one of the producers of Crash Kelly's album ''Penny Pills'', was a finalist for Best Album at the 2004 Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards. He has received formal training in classical guitar from

Eli Kassner Eli Kassner, (27 May 1924 – 23 August 2018) was a Canadian classical guitar teacher and musician. Eli Kassner studied guitar in Vienna and Israel before moving to Canada in 1951. He also studied in the United States, Israel, and in Spain, un ...

, and has worked as a music teacher in the

Toronto Catholic District School Board The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB, known as English-language Separate District School Board No. 40 prior to 1999) is an Canadian English, English-language Separate school, public-separate school board for Toronto, Ontario, Cana ...

and received his Bachelor of Education degree from Nipissing University. His influences include classic

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American Rock music, rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, ...

, and T.Rex.

With Helix

In February 2009, Kelly joined

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximat ...

based rock band

. Kelly joined as their new bass player, alongside original vocalist Brian Vollmer, and longtime guitarist Brent Doerner. Kelly co-wrote and co-produced the 2009 Helix album ''

Vagabond Bones ''Vagabond Bones'' is a studio album by heavy metal band Helix, released on November 17, 2009. It is Helix' 12th full-length studio album and 21st album released overall. It contains performances from members of the 1980s Helix lineup: Brian Vol ...

'' He stayed with Helix until fall 2009 when he joined

on guitar for his first show in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...

. The departure was amicable according to Vollmer: "I give Sean my blessings, no worries. As long as we continue to write together, I am happy."RockMusicStar.com: Interview with Brian Vollmer 04/17/2010
/ref> Since departing Helix, Kelly has co-produced and played on their 2010 release, '' Smash Hits...Unplugged!''.

With Nelly Furtado

Sean Kelly's first show with Furtado in

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

was attended by 165,000 fans. It was followed by an appearance on

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show that featured Conan O'Brien as host from June 1, 2009, to January 22, 2010, as part of NBC's ''Tonight Show'' franchise. O'Brien had previously hosted NBC's ''Late N ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. Kelly then headed to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

for a series of acoustic shows. He has continued to tour with Furtado through 2010.

Discography

Solo

* 2007: ''The #1 Classical Guitar Album'' (Opening Day/

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

) * 2008: ''Christmas Guitar'' (Opening Day/Universal Music Group) * 2011: ''"Where the Wood Meets the Wire" (Opening Day/Universal Music Group)'' * 2011: ''A Very Merry Christmas'' (with various artists) (Opening Day/Universal Music Group)

With Crash Kelly

* 2003: ''Penny Pills'' -(Bhurr Records (CA)/TB Records (UK)/Liquor and Poker Music (USA)/Spiritual Beast (Japan) * 2003 "Waiting For An Alibi" Single - TB Records/BMG (UK) * 2006: ''Electric Satisfaction'' - Bhurr Records CA/Liquor and Poker Music (USA)/Spiritual Beast (Japan) * 2008: ''One More Heart Attack" - Opening Day/Universal (CA), Warrior Records/Universal (USA), Spiritual Beast (Japan) * 2008 ''"Love You Electric"'' - Bad Reputation (Europe) * 2019 ''Touch Me (single)'' = Canadian Shield Music

With Helix

* 2009: ''

''HELIX - Tentative Title Of Reunion Album Revealed
/ref> * 2010: '' Smash Hits...Unplugged!'' * 2011: ''Skin in the Game'' EP * 2012: '' R-O-C-K! Best of 1983 - 2012'' * 2014: ''

Bastard of the Blues ''Bastard Of The Blues'' is the thirteenth studio album by Canadian band Helix, released May 5, 2014. Reception Reception of the album has been mostly positive. BraveWords gave it a positive review, stating that "Although Bastard Of The Blues h ...

'' * 2016: ''Rock It Science'' * 2018: ''

ICON An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most c ...

With Nelly Furtado

*2009: "Mas" Acoustic EP (Universal) *2010: "Walmart Soundcheck" (Interscope) *2012: "AOL Session" (Interscope) *2012: "Walmart Soundcheck" (Interscope) *2012: ''

The Spirit Indestructible ''The Spirit Indestructible'' is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado. The album was released on 14 September 2012. Furtado served as the executive producer for the album as well as a principal writer. Further prod ...

'' (deluxe edition) - (Interscope) *2016 ''

Feel So Close "Feel So Close" is a song by Scottish DJ Calvin Harris, released as the second single from his third studio album, ''18 Months'' (2012). In order to have lyrics and be standalone, Harris had to return to singing on this song, after previously s ...

'' -(Nelstar/E7) *2017: '' The Ride''

With Lee Aaron

*2016: ''Fire and Gasoline'' (Big Sister) *2018: ''Diamond Baby Blues'' (Metalville) *2019: ‘’Power, Soul, Rock N’ Roll - Live in Germany’’ (Metalville)

With Carole Pope

*2011: ''Landfall'' (independent)

With
Honeymoon Suite Honeymoon Suite is a Canadian rock band formed in 1981 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The band's name was a nod to the fact that Niagara Falls is the unofficial honeymoon capital of the world. History 1981–1985 The band was originally formed ...

*2016: ''Hands Up'' EP (as songwriter)

With Metal On Ice

*2013: ''Metal On Ice'' (Coalition Records/Warner Music Canada)

With Trapper

*2015: ''Go For The Heart'' EP (independent)

Film music

*''Randy Rhoads - The Quiet Riot Years (Red Match Production) *''The Day Santa Didn't Come'' (BravoFACT)

Bibliography

* ''Metal on Ice: Tales from Canada's Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Heroes'' (2013,

Dundurn Press Dundurn Press is one of the largest Canadian-owned book publishing companies of adult and children's fiction and non-fiction. The company publishes Canadian literature, history, biography, politics and arts. Dundurn has about 2500 books in pr ...

)

References

External links

carlbegai.com - interview

''Metal On Ice'' book/compilation
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Sean Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Musicians from Toronto Writers from Toronto Canadian rock guitarists Canadian session musicians Canadian male songwriters Canadian classical guitarists Canadian bass guitarists Canadian male guitarists Helix (band) members Liquor and Poker Music artists

Career

With Helix

With Nelly Furtado

Discography

Solo

With Crash Kelly

With Helix

With Nelly Furtado

With Lee Aaron

With Carole Pope

With Honeymoon Suite Honeymoon Suite is a Canadian rock band formed in 1981 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The band's name was a nod to the fact that Niagara Falls is the unofficial honeymoon capital of the world. History 1981–1985 The band was originally formed ...

With Metal On Ice

With Trapper

Film music

Bibliography

References

External links

With
Honeymoon Suite Honeymoon Suite is a Canadian rock band formed in 1981 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The band's name was a nod to the fact that Niagara Falls is the unofficial honeymoon capital of the world. History 1981–1985 The band was originally formed ...