Michael Kelley:  

MICHAEL KELLEY BIOGRAPHY by Nancy Moure, based on an interview conducted September 2005 Many people don't discover their interest in art until later in life, but when they do, it is usually obvious that the seeds for understanding it were there all the time. Michael Kelley of the Kelley Gallery, Pasadena, is just such a person. Related to writer Edgar Allan Poe and American composer Stephen Foster, Michael's genetic inheritance was noticeable in early childhood when he found himself interested in monsters and the supernatural; even in grade school he wrote stories on the theme. From both parents, Michael also inherited a love of music. His mother was a professional singer with the Roger Wagner Chorale and performed at the Hollywood Bowl, among other venues, while his father, from St. Louis, was a drummer. At the age of 2 Michael was already tapping his toe to favorite songs on the radio, and by the time he was eight or so was playing drums with various bands whose other members were considerably older. Through high school he played drums semi-professionally, and when he graduated in 1974 transitioned to full-time professional musician. From about 1974 to 1981 he played in nightclubs and small concert halls throughout California & Arizona, working with both cover bands doing popular tunes of the day and original groups performing their own material. During this period he worked with vocalists Robert Fleischman, original singer for the band Journey and composer of Journey's hit 'Wheel in the Sky", and Robert James, successor to Sammy Hagar in the band Montrose. During most of 1983 through 1985 Michael lived in England. This trip, of which he had dreamed for a long time, was originally connected to his ambitions in the music world. But when he finally made the move, he was no longer actively performing and owned a small food distribution company. Trust in his company's manager allowed him the free time to move to England to steep himself in his passions for English history and 18th/19th century supernatural literature. On arrival, Michael discovered that England had qualit...Expand for more