Holly Keller

Sept. 13, 2006

Growing up in Cross Village, singing was a part of Holly Keller’s life from the get-go.  With a mother who sang beautifully (and daily) and a father whose side of the family all played music and lived nearby, music was taken for granted in Keller’s life. By the age of 18 she was learning the mandolin and the guitar, both of which she continued to play when she moved to Petoskey a year later. 
These days, Keller’s a solo performer in her own right, developing her own musical style and a quickly-growing following around Petoskey. She cites her mom as her number one influence. 
“My mom was never afraid to sing for anybody,” Keller says, “and still, to this day, I bet I could get her to come up on stage and sing a song with me.  My dad is also a good influence on me musically, but I wish I had more of his natural talent; he can make up an entire song at the drop of a dime.” 
As self-deprecating as she might be, Keller is certainly not lacking in natural talent.  With an easy voice that ranges from hushed, pretty tones to an out-and-out Janis Joplin-style howl, matched with Keller’s gift for instinctive phrasing and friendly onstage banter, her interpretations of folk-flavored popular songs are both impressive and heartfelt, bolstered by the musicians (outside of her parents) who also influence her work.

INFLUENCES
“Music can heal all your woes,” Keller enthuses, “my parents and my friend Tracy Eby have shown me artists like Bob Dylan, Donovan, Simon and Garfunkel, Janis Joplin, and lots more.  And along the way I’ve found great music on my own - some of my favorites are Patty Griffin, Sheryl Crow, Susan Tedeschi, and Alison Krauss, and any female singer that has worked so hard to get where they are; that shows a lot of passion.”  
Passions, ponderings, causes big and small, and loves both won and lost are all put forth emotionally by Keller’s singing, whether she’s performing a cover version or something that she wrote. As far as songwriting goes, she’s just getting started, which is good news for those who are looking forward to what she’ll come up with next. 
“The few original songs I perform, I did write myself,” Keller confirms, “but I really enjoy collaborating more. Maybe it comes from my day job, but I work better as a team.  I’m careful not to step on anybody’s toes, or get offended. It’s a lot more fun to bounce ideas back and forth, and create something together.  But songs that tell little stories are really my favorite things to write. I like meaning in a song, meaning that is hidden behind a natural situation in life.” 

A REGULAR
Keller’s singing voice and musical philosophy are helping find her plenty of people to collaborate with.  She’s a regular on the downtown Petoskey scene, accompanied by bass player/backup singer (“and my great friend,” Keller says) Denny Richards, and performing well-attended shows at City Park Grill, The Noggin Room (in the Perry Hotel) and Papa Lou’s.  She’s been sitting in frequently with the local band, The Sundogs, with recent gigs taking place at The Sportsman in Boyne City, the Railside in Elmira, and Northern Lights Recreation in her Petoskey hometown, And this past summer, she also opened up for fellow Petoskey musician Brian McCoskey, perhaps best known for his work with cajun-rock band The Mudbugz. 
But let it not be said that Holly Keller is resting on her laurels - the more she performs, the happier she is, and the more honed her performances get. 
“I love being able to show someone how a song makes me feel, whether my audience be one person or one hundred,” Keller explains, “if it touches them in some way, that balance of energy makes my skin rise.  It makes me smile on the outside, and tingle on the inside. Just to have that interaction in my life is truly a blessing - I think I notice a good reaction when I sing a lot louder, too, and to get that out, it has to come from deep down.  It really gets their attention.” 

LOOK OUT
In addition to her voice and guitar work, Keller’s still playing the mandolin, and is additionally tackling the violin and the ukelele, on which she says she “needs a lot more practice,” plus she’ll be taking a fingerstyle guitar class this fall at NCMC, “so look out!” she says laughingly, “I’m really going to focus on practicing and getting better;  it’s always in my intentions to keep learning.” 
In addition to her instrument studies, Keller’s biggest plan right now is to continue playing live, and to begin recording this fall, little by little, to augment the two songs that she has posted online on her MySpace music site. 
“I’d like to get better quality recordings, to allow people to download them,” she says, “you can still have a listen now, of course, but I need to do some more songwriting, and I will have a few more artists backing me up this next time around.”
With a great roster of musician friends to choose from, and a loyal audience waiting to hear her new material, the future looks bright for Petoskey’s own Holly Keller, and it’s all good for her as long as she can just keep playing music. 
“I think if I am going to accomplish anything in my musical life, I just want to have a CD that can be spread around. I’d kind of like to throw it out there and see where music will take me. It’s not really a big dream to become famous, but I will never stop playing. It just feels too good. The more people I meet, the more friends are made, and it all keeps piling up into my journey of life.”
 
Holly Keller’s music can be found online at www.myspace.com/msholly4u, on which you can also keep up-to-date with her performance schedule and other happenings.  Her next two shows will be at City Park Grill in Petoskey on September 21, and at the Shamrock on Beaver Island on September 29-30.