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Katye Kellye and the Interruption – a late bloomer claims her prize

January 19, 2020
Katye Kellye’s story is the story of “too”: “I’ve been writing and singing my own songs as long as I can remember. It’s how I made sense of my experiences - of being told I’m “too young”, “too pretty”, “too loud”, “too smart for my own good”, “too aggressive”, “too rude”, “too female” - “too, too, too”. “ Despite all that, in the 1980s, Kellye started a successful all-woman punk band, Toxic Shox, and they built enough of a following that they were in the process of negotiating a recording contract with a major NYC punk label – until it was derailed due to a “#meTOO” situation. “The band members weren’t okay with the idea of negotiating the contract horizontally, so they walked away, and went on to have too-typical lives” explained Katye.

Katye Kellye may have left music, but it never left her. She continued to write songs, but recalls how she shoved most of them in a drawer while she built a post-music career, had a family and went through some seriously trying times. “Some of my songs are autobiographical, and some are about stories I’ve heard from other people. Some of the stories are none too pretty.” She’s not saying which are which.
Fast forward 30 years.…”I’m a Jersey girl now, and spend a lot of time in Asbury Park, NJ.” You may recognize the name from such musical luminaries as Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. There must be something in the air, because it’s still home to one of the most vibrant music scenes in the U.S..

One day about 3 years ago, Kellye was with Paul Friend, who is a talented rhythm guitarist (now the rhythm guitarist for The Interruption). Paul was picking up a guitar he’d brought in to be serviced at an Asbury Park music store. He mentioned he wished he’d been in a band when he was younger.

“The tech said there was a new music studio upstairs in the same building that was putting together bands for adults, so we went up and checked it out.” Paul convinced Kellye to join an adult “student” band, and, although she didn’t think she’d hang out very long with a beginner band – her plan was to bow out once Paul meshed with his new bandmates – but she soon realized how much she missed making music and performing.

Katye continues, “I also realized after a year or so of doing covers of other music I loved, I missed creating and performing my own music, so I recorded a three song EP, “Vanity Project”. Recorded with a “wrecking crew” of local music professionals, “Vanity Project” was set released in January 2019. In the six months or so since she finished the EP, Katye then learned how to self-release music, copyright her songs, preserve her music publishing rights, and market herself on social media. She  received radio play around the world on over 50 different stations, gave interviews, earned impressive reviews, made a music website, created music videos, and recorded three more songs to add to her in-progress LP project, “Late Bloomer”, with studio musicians.

Kellye’s persistence has paid dividends in the form of critical acclaim. After the release of “Vanity Project”, Amanda Vandergast wrote in A&R Music Factory:
The fact that Katye Kellye waited 35 years to release her latest album is nothing short of criminal. Her unique energy is more than deserving of a spot on the airwaves. There are so few female artists willing to put their all into a performance with little regard whether it comes off perfumed and sultry. Which is just one of the reasons why ‘Suddenly Everything Changes’ is so refreshing to listen to.
 Not “too” shabby. To finish the album, Katye has assembled an impressive group of experienced musicians to back her on the final six tracks. They’ve already started work-shopping these songs with their cover band (which is made up primarily of the core members of Katye Kellye and the Interruption) and will be back in the studio soon to record the rest of the album. The other members of the Interruption are Larry Donnell Gray (Lead guitar), Paul Friend (Rhythm rhythm Guitar), Rich Stern (Bass, guitars, Harmonica), and Mary Pranzatelli Gray (backing vocals). They’ll be joined on “Late Bloomer” by Jose Loo (keyboards/vocals), Eric Novod (drums) and Raf Santiago (percussion/guitars/vocals). Evan Rudenjak, himself a busy and popular Asbury Park musician, will be the Production production engineer. Per Paul , “The Interruption is made up of musicians of different races, religions, ages and genders – we look like America”. A single version of one of the 3 songs already recorded for the album, “Museum of Feelings”, was released August 7, and is already getting widespread Internet and terrestrial radio play around the world.

The band is up for an “Alternative Artist of the Month” award from the prestigious International Singer Songwriter Association, and recently climbed to the top of the Alternative Charts on Indie band website ReverbNation.com. Through these opportunities, Kellye is hopeful that her music will hit the right ears who can help The Interruption make up for lost time. As she sings in a line from the title track of the upcoming LP “Can you hear me now?”

Though they was featured in recently released Lifoti's January/February 2020 issue 11, you can check it from below link's for your country:

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