Keel is an American heavy metal band founded in 1984 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. They are best known for their rock anthem "The Right to Rock". The band was active until 1989, with a brief reunion in 1998. Keel reunited again in 2008 and toured in 2009 for their 25th anniversary. Although the band is still active to this day, they have not released any new material since 2010.

History

Keel was formed by former Steeler vocalist

Ron Keel Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

. The original members were Ron Keel on vocals, former

Icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

/ Schoolboys member David Michael Phillips on guitar,

Marc Ferrari Marc Schumann(known professionally as Marc Ferrari) (born January 27, 1962) is an American musician, author, entrepreneur and investor. He is best known for his work as a guitar player in the 1980s and 1990s rock bands Keel, Cold Sweat, and Medi ...

on lead & rhythm guitars, Bobby Marks on drums and Kenny Chaisson on bass guitar. Within months, Phillips left to join

King Kobra King Kobra is an American heavy metal band founded by drummer Carmine Appice after his tenure with Ozzy Osbourne from 1983 to 1984. History For their first two albums, the band consisted of four relatively unknown musicians: vocalist Marcie F ...

and was replaced by ex-Cheetah guitarist Bryan Jay. This was the lineup for their 1984 debut album '' Lay Down the Law''. After the album's release, Marks left and was replaced by Steven Riley, who subsequently left early in the recording of the band's second album to join W.A.S.P., and was in turn replaced by Dwain Miller, forming a lineup which would remain stable for almost four years. Their debut album caught the eye of

KISS A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; he, חיים ויץ, ; born August 25, 1949) is an Israeli-American musician. Also known by his stage persona The Demon, he is the bassist and co-lead singer of Kiss, the hard rock band he co-founded with Paul ...

, resulting in his production of their second album, ''

The Right To Rock ''The Right to Rock'' is the second studio album by American glam metal band Keel (band), Keel. It was the first to be produced by Kiss (band), Kiss's Gene Simmons under their new label Gold Mountain Records (which was distributed by A&M Records ...

'', released in January 1985. Their next and also Simmons-produced third album ''The Final Frontier'' was released on April 30, 1986. It included the single " Because the Night", a song that was co-written by

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''. Called the "punk poe ...

and

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

and had been a hit for Smith in 1978. In 1986, Keel won the Best Band of the Year award in the second annual ''

Metal Edge ''Metal Edge'' was a magazine covering heavy metal music published by Zenbu Media. The magazine was founded in the summer of 1985, during the height of glam metal's success. Zenbu Media acquired ''Metal Edge'' in February 2007. Both ''Metal Edg ...

'' magazine reader's poll, beating such noted bands as

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

and

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

. In 1987, the song "Rock & Roll Outlaw" (a cover from the 1978 self titled debut of Australian hard rock band

Rose Tattoo Rose Tattoo are an Australian rock and roll band, now led by Angry Anderson, which formed in Sydney in 1976. Their sound is hard rock mixed with blues rock influences, with songs including "Bad Boy for Love", "Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw", "Nice ...

) appeared on the soundtrack of the movie '' Dudes''. Their fourth album, ''

Keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

'', was released on June 21, 1987, recorded with producer

Michael Wagener Michael Wagener (born 25 April 1949) is a German former music producer, mixer, and engineer from Hamburg, best known for his work with many top glam metal and heavy metal bands in the late 1980s. He is particularly renowned for his multi-amping an ...

. An unreleased track from the album, Ferrari's "Proud To Be Loud", would eventually wind up on

Pantera Pantera () is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas formed in 1981, and currently comprised of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and touring musicians Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The group's best-kn ...

's ''Power Metal'' album, which Ferrari produced early in 1988. Ferrari and Jay both left in 1988, after touring in support of the ''Keel'' album. They were replaced by keyboardist

Scott Warren Scott Warren (born November 3, 1962) is an American musician best known as the keyboardist for the heavy metal band Dio from 1994 until the band's dissolution in 2010. Scott began playing keyboard instruments at six years old. He first taug ...

, later in Dio, and

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

guitarist Tony Palmucci. Their fifth album, '' Larger Than Live'', was released in 1989 with six new studio recordings, including a cover of the 1980 Humble Pie song "Fool for a Pretty Face". Also on the album were six live tracks recorded in March 1989. Following the shooting of the music video for the song "Dreams Are Not Enough" on that same year, Ron Keel announced the disbandment of Keel.

Post-disbandment and first reunion

In the 1990s, Ferrari wrote a gear column for ''Metal Edge'' magazine entitled "Power Sources", and went on to form

Cold Sweat "Cold Sweat" is a song performed by James Brown and written with his bandleader Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis. Brown recorded it in May 1967. An edited version of "Cold Sweat" released as a two-part single on King Records was a No. 1 R&B hit, and rea ...

with among others ex-

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

guitarist Erik Gamans, who would release the album ''Break Out'' in 1990. After the demise of that group, Ferrari appeared in both ''

Wayne's World "Wayne's World" was originally a recurring sketch from the NBC television series ''Saturday Night Live''. It evolved from a segment titled "Wayne's Power Minute" (1987) on the CBC Television series '' It's Only Rock & Roll'', as the main characte ...

'' movies (as the guitarist for

Tia Carrere Althea Rae Duhinio Janairo (born January 2, 1967), known professionally as Tia Carrere (), is an American actress, singer and former model who got her first big break as a regular on the daytime soap opera '' General Hospital''. Carrere played C ...

's band "Crucial Taunt") and formed the band

Medicine Wheel To some indigenous peoples of North America, the medicine wheel is a metaphor for a variety of spiritual concepts. A medicine wheel may also be a stone monument that illustrates this metaphor. Historically, most medicine wheels follow the basic ...

, which released three CDs. In addition, he released two solo CDs and started a music publishing company called MasterSource, employing Ron Keel to write material for the library. Ferrari also recently wrote a book titled ''Rock Star 101''. Bryan Jay and Dwain Miller went from Keel to forming a band called Dogbone, with ex-

Riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

vocalist

Rhett Forrester Rhett Forrester (September 22, 1956 – January 22, 1994) was an American musician best known as the lead singer for New York-based band Riot from 1981 until 1984. Biography Forrester was born on September 22, 1956, in Tucker, Georgia. His m ...

, bassist Rob Thiessen and vocalist Eddie Saiz. Kenny Chaisson teamed up with former Hawk and Masi vocalist, David Fefolt, guitarist Jim McMellen, and drummer Timothy Yasui under the name Forty Thieves. The group recorded a pair of demos in 1990 and 1991, the latter featuring former Surgical Steel drummer, Bob Milan, before disbanding. Chaisson also had a brief stint with

Warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have been p ...

. In 1998, members of Keel got together to release their sixth album '' Keel VI: Back in Action''. It mainly consisted of unreleased material from their previous albums, including the aforementioned "Proud To Be Loud". The band's song "Speed Demon" (from ''The Right to Rock'') is briefly heard on the 2002 movie ''

Men in Black II ''Men in Black II'' (stylized as ''MIIB'') is a 2002 American science fiction action comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld from a screenplay by Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro. It is the second film in the original trilogy and a sequel to ''M ...

'', and appears on

Mike Varney Mike Varney is an American record producer and music publisher. He is the founder of the Shrapnel Label Group, which includes Shrapnel Records, Tone Center Records, and Blues Bureau International. He also has a 50% stake in Magna Carta Recor ...

's ''U.S. Metal Vol. IV'' compilation. Ron Keel pursued multiple musical projects before forming the country metal band IronHorse in 2001. In 2006, Ron left IronHorse and formed K2 Featuring Ron Keel a year later.

Second reunion

In November 2008, Keel reunited in time to celebrate the band's 25th anniversary. All the members from ''The Right to Rock'' era had rejoined except for Chaisson. The new bassist is Ron Keel's longtime friend, Geno Arce. Their first reunion show was held in

Hollywood, CA Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

, on January 24, 2009. In addition, the band played at the third annual Rocklahoma festival in July 2009. A reunion album, '' Streets of Rock & Roll'' was released in 2010, as well as a 25th anniversary edition of ''The Right to Rock'' featuring a brand new re-recorded version of the title song as a bonus track. Keel continued to perform live sporadically throughout the 2010s; however, according to

, the band has no plans to follow-up on ''Streets of Rock & Roll''.

Members

;Current members *

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

, guitars,

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, keytar (1984–1989, 1998, 2008–present) *

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, backing vocals (1984–1988, 1998, 2008–present) *Bryan Jay - guitar, backing vocals (1984–1988, 1998, 2008–present) *Dwain Miller -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, backing vocals (1985–1989, 1998, 2008–present) * Geno Arce - bass, backing vocals (2008–present) ;Former members *Kenny Chaisson - bass, backing vocals (1984–1989, 1998) *Bobby Marks - drums, backing vocals (1984) * David Michael Phillips - guitar, backing vocals (1984) * Steven Riley - drums, backing vocals (1985) *

- keyboards, keytar, piano, backing vocals (1988-1989) *Tony Palamucci - guitar, backing vocals (1988-1989)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:120 bottom:60 top:0 right:0 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1984 till:12/31/2020 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:1 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1984 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1984 Colors = id:v value:red legend:Vocals id:g value:green legend:Guitar id:b value:blue legend:Bass id:k value:purple legend:Keyboards id:d value:orange legend:Drums id:alb value:black legend:Albums id:bar value:gray(0.9) LineData = layer:back at:11/01/1984 color:alb at:03/26/1985 color:alb at:04/30/1986 color:alb at:06/21/1987 color:alb at:09/01/1989 color:alb at:04/07/1998 color:alb at:01/29/2010 color:alb BackgroundColors = bars:bar PlotData = width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(12,–4) bar:Ron Keel from:start till:12/31/1989 color:g bar:Ron Keel from:01/01/1998 till:12/31/1998 color:g bar:Ron Keel from:11/01/2008 till:end color:g bar:Ron Keel from:start till:12/31/1989 color:k width:7 bar:Ron Keel from:01/01/1998 till:12/31/1998 color:k width:7 bar:Ron Keel from:11/01/2008 till:end color:k width:7 bar:Ron Keel from:start till:12/31/1989 color:v width:3 bar:Ron Keel from:01/01/1998 till:12/31/1998 color:v width:3 bar:Ron Keel from:11/01/2008 till:end color:v width:3 bar:Marc Ferrari from:start till:06/30/1988 color:g bar:Marc Ferrari from:01/01/1998 till:12/31/1998 color:g bar:Marc Ferrari from:11/01/2008 till:end color:g bar:David Michael-Philips from:start till:03/30/1984 color:g bar:Brian Jay from:04/01/1984 till:06/30/1988 color:g bar:Brian Jay from:01/01/1998 till:12/31/1998 color:g bar:Brian Jay from:11/01/2008 till:end color:g bar:Tony Palamucci from:07/01/1988 till:12/31/1989 color:g bar:Kenny Chaisson from:start till:12/31/1989 color:b bar:Kenny Chaisson from:01/01/1998 till:12/31/1998 color:b bar:Geno Arce from:11/01/2008 till:end color:b bar:Scott Warren from:07/01/1988 till:12/31/1989 color:k bar:Bobby Marks from:start till:12/31/1984 color:d bar:Steven Riley from:01/01/1985 till:03/31/1985 color:d bar:Dwain Miller from:04/01/1985 till:12/31/1989 color:d bar:Dwain Miller from:01/01/1998 till:12/31/1998 color:d bar:Dwain Miller from:11/01/2008 till:end color:d

Discography

! Year ! Album ! US ! certification ! Label , - , 1984 , '' Lay Down the Law'' , - , - , Shrapnel , - , 1985 , style="text-align:left;", ''

The Right to Rock ''The Right to Rock'' is the second studio album by American glam metal band Keel (band), Keel. It was the first to be produced by Kiss (band), Kiss's Gene Simmons under their new label Gold Mountain Records (which was distributed by A&M Records ...

'' , 99 , - , Vertigo , - , 1986 , style="text-align:left;", ''

The Final Frontier ''The Final Frontier'' is the fifteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 13 August 2010 in Germany, Austria and Finland, 17 August in North America, 18 August in Japan, and 16 August worldwide. At 76&nbs ...

'' , 53 , - , Vertigo , - , 1987 , style="text-align:left;", ''

'' , 79 , - , MCA , - , 1989 , style="text-align:left;", '' Larger Than Live'' , - , - , Gold Castle , - , 1998 , style="text-align:left;", '' Keel VI: Back in Action'' , - , - , DeRock , - , 2010 , style="text-align:left;", '' Streets of Rock & Roll'' , - , - , Frontiers Records

References

External links

Keel Official Site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keel Glam metal musical groups from California Heavy metal musical groups from California Musical groups from Los Angeles Musical groups established in 1984 A&M Records artists MCA Records artists Shrapnel Records artists Frontiers Records artists