Larry Keel: Progressive Bluegrass
By Tricia Lynn Strader, Shepherdstown, WV
Flatpicking guitar virtuoso Larry Keel likes to mix up all kinds of musical styles in his pursuit of progressive Bluegrass. He blends Bluegrass, Jimmie Hendrix or Jerry Garcia, jazz, classical, or George Jones into his versions of popular songs or original tunes. He and Adam Aijala from Colorado’s Yonder Mountain String Band plan to tear it up Wednesday night at Shepherdstown Opera House in a highly energetic acoustic performance—their only one in the region this year.
Keel and Aijala are on a tour of shows in the South East. Last year, their wild riffs and antics in their live shows were very popular out West
Photo by Bright Life Photography
Since he was a boy, Keel has played guitar and performed in various bands around the world. He’s worked with legends such as Tony Rice, Sam Bush, Vassar Clements, Jim Lauderdale, Peter Rowan, and Mark Vann to name a few.
At 18, he began a professional musical career by working for the Disneyland theme park in Tokyo, Japan. But that came after growing up in a musical family. “My father played banjo and guitar,” he says. “He taught my older brother Gary how to play. They were always playing even though they never had a touring band. Every weekend they’d play and have musician friends over.”
At eight years old, his brother bought him a guitar. “He saw I was itching to play. Ever since he bought it for me, I never laid it down. The guitar is always part of me.”
When he was younger, he listened to Flatts and Scruggs, Bill Monroe, and old country like Webb Pierce or George Jones. He says as a teen, he discovered Hendrix, Garcia, and all kinds of music.
“I love it all – bluegrass, country, jazz, reggae, classical. The other styles inspired me to learn different songs I liked.”
Keel started playing in different semi-professional situations like fiddlers conventions or community events. He paid his dues early, as a young player and teen. Then, lady luck began to strike.
“A friend of mine in Florida was playing and told me about an ad for musicians with Disneyland. He talked me into coming down to audition. We found a bass player, and formed a trio. After rehearsing for two weeks, we auditioned, and they gave us a deal with Disneyland in Tokyo.”
Larry and Jenny Keel. By James Mayfield.
He was 18. “It was an interesting learning situation. We played six half-hour shows six days a week for seven months. It really makes you get your chops down.”
Keel met Mark Vann and John Fowler in Fauquier County, VA., and started to explore progressive string music in their band, “Farmer’s Trust.”
They played the festival circuit in Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Keel and friend Will Lee, son of Ricky Lee from Ralph Stanley’s band, formed Magraw Gap.
Keel says at that point, he and the musicians hadn’t quit their day jobs.
Mark Vann moved to Telluride, Colorado to join the ultra progressive electric Bluegrass band Leftover Salmon. He encouraged Keel to try playing at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Keel entered and won first place in the guitar competition.
Magraw Gap did their first studio recording. The band won the 1995 band competition at Telluride.
“Telluride’s a great stepping stone, a good place for a musician to launch a career. There’s a lot of prestige with it. There are some high end musicians there, too. I was proud to be part of it.”
He was playing among the likes of John Hartford, Sam Bush (post-New Grass Revival) and Bill Monroe at Telluride to name a few.
Other musicians of note began using Keel or his band as supporting musicians. He formed The Larry Keel Experience in 2000 with fellow musicians Will Lee and Jason Krekel. He says the name came from the various incarnations of the band, sometimes a trio, foursome, or whatever. To date, he has recorded 10 of his own self-produced projects, most recently two with his ensemble Natural Bridge which includes wife Jenny. He has collaborated on several projects with Keller Williams’ Keller and the Keels and collections of guitar-oriented projects released by Flatpicking Guitar Magazine. Del McCoury and Acoustic Syndicate have recorded his original material. His “Mountain Song” was on Del McCoury Band’s 2005 Grammy-winning The Company We Keep. He was part of a documentary in 2004 called “Larry Keel: Beautiful Thing.” In 2004, he and his brother Gary released “Keel Brothers.”
In his teaming for this tour with Adam Aijala, Keel says Aijala and his band Yonder Mountain come from a dissimilar background, one of punk, rock and metal. He says they play a popular tune to the younger crowd, then throw in a traditional Bluegrass tune, introducing a new generation to the genre.
“He grew up in Boston and takes a whole different approach to acoustic guitar. The last five or six years they’ve been opening the eyes of young people to their Bluegrass. The show is me and Adam on two guitars. We do original songs and some pretty diverse covers to keep it interesting. It’s very high energy. And we like audience participation.”
Keel says he plays everything and uses a Bluegrass band to do it. He says a song may have jazz or reggae mixed in it. He’s got a list of 1,000 ready tunes to pick from.
Show Information:
Larry Keel and Adam Aijala
Wednesday, May 5th
7:30 doors open; Performance 9 p.m.
Shepherdstown Opera House
131 W. German Street
Shepherdstown, WV
Tickets: $20. 304-876-3704
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