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©2001
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Friday, February 23, 2001 By GENE STOUT
Singer-songwriter Kellee Bradley is still glowing from her trip last
weekend to the North American Folk Alliance, an annual gathering of folk
musicians in Vancouver, B.C. SONGWRITERS IN THE ROUND (WITH KELLEE
BRADLEY, HOLLY FIGUEROA, GREEN AND WILLOW) "It's a frenzy of music all weekend and you're up until 4 in the
morning listening to music," Bradley said. "And people are jamming in the
hallways and in hotel rooms. It's just insane.
"I met a lot of interesting people."
Tomorrow night, the local musician with the expressive voice will take
part in another gathering of singer-songwriters -- a "Songwriters in the
Round" showcase at 8:30 at the smoke-free Valdi's Ballard Bistro.
Admission is $8.
The lineup features Bradley, who lives in Mill Creek; Holly Figueroa of
Seattle; Green from San Francisco; and Willow, also of Seattle.
"We just kind of threw the show together," Bradley said.
Bradley released her first full-length album, "The Season," in January
2000. Produced by R. Chris Murphy, whom she met at the 1999 North by
Northwest music conference in Portland, the album features 11 songs, all
but two written by her. Her tastes range from Carole King and the
Carpenters to Irish traditional folk songs.
"I'm not a slave to one style of music," she said. "I love it all."
The album's title song is touching bilingual ballad about a 16-year-old
girl who falls for a hired hand on her father's ranch.
"My family and I were driving in the country, driving past these
orchards in Eastern Washington and my mind just went, 'What if?'" Bradley
said. "It was a vision that stuck in my head."
Christian De Santis, a Chilean guitarist who is a friend of Murphy's,
played acoustic guitar on the album.
"It just took him half an hour to knock it out," Bradley said. "I knew
what I wanted. I wanted that Spanish flavor."
Another song, "That's the Way We Are," is about a dysfunctional family:
"Momma's writing letters to the government again/
"She gets dressed up to go to the post office/
"She says Daddy was taken by a UFO/
"I don't know but he hasn't phoned home."
Concertgoers often wonder if the song is autobiographical. It isn't.
"It's a troubling song," she said. " People will say, 'Poor Kellee, I
wonder if she's in therapy?'
"It's a quirky song, obviously. It's just a statement on society and
how we are, how so many people seem so disconnected and can't have
relationships because of something in their past. I'm just happy that I
can write a song that's so believable."
The album closes with an a cappella version of "Bold Finian Men," an
Irish traditional song that Bradley often sings at the end of a set.
"It's a great way for me to wind down after a set," she said. "A way to
say goodbye."
"The Season" has opened doors for Bradley in the past year.
"I've totally surpassed my goals with this album. I've gotten airplay
on radio up and down the coast," she said.
Bradley plans to finish her next album this summer.
"It's going to be a little more Americana-ish," she said. "A little
more fiddle, a little more steel guitar. Not heavy country, but I just
want to give it some character.
"I'm doing the new country, folk-rock stuff. People are labeling it
Americana, but I don't know what to call it."
Bradley's songwriting career is now taking precedence over her acting
career, which has included small roles in TV's "Star Trek: The Next
Generation" (as an Amazon warrior) and "Northern Exposure."
"It's fallen by the wayside," she said of her acting career. "It's not
where my passion is anymore. My music is really taking the lead. I love
acting, but there isn't a lot of it going on here."
In a "Northern Exposure" episode, Bradley played the owner of a dog
whom Mary Margaret "Maggie" O'Connell (played by actress Janine Turner)
believed was her reincarnated boyfriend.
"Turner's boyfriend, Rick, was hit by a falling satellite and died,"
Bradley said with a laugh. "And she thought he had come back as a dog.
"I had this scene where I was trying to tell her, 'It's not your
boyfriend, it's my dog. Goodbye.'"
Bradley is on standby to play at the upcoming South by Southwest music
conference in Austin, Texas, next month. Last year, she sang the National
Anthem at two separate Mariners games at Safeco Field. And last summer,
she opened for Chicago at Chateau Ste. Michelle.
In October, she played at the first Rockrgrl music conference in
Seattle.
"The only way I'm going to raise the bar for myself is to be part of
bigger shows," she said.
Bradley is looking forward to joining her songwriting friends at
Valdi's.
Figueroa, who also played at Rockrgrl, has a new album, "Inside Out,"
due next month. In 1988, Figueroa founded Indiegrrl, a forum for
information, networking and conversation for independent women musicians,
songwriters, managers and booking agents. The Web site is http://www.indiegrrl.com/
Green, affiliated with the Rose Street Theatre of San Francisco, is an
award-winning songwriter who draws comparisons to Joni Mitchell, Shawn
Colvin and Ani DiFranco.
Willow's self-titled 1999 album explores such themes as loss,
spirituality and home. Two years ago, Willow founded Persephone's Circle,
a collective of women songwriters.
P-I pop music critic Gene Stout can be reached at 206-448-8383 or genestout@seattle-pi.com ©2001
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer |
