Kelley Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American musician and singer. She has been lead guitarist and co-vocalist of the alternative rock band

The Breeders The Breeders are an American alternative rock band based in Dayton, Ohio, consisting of members Kim Deal (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), her twin sister Kelley Deal (lead guitar, vocals), Josephine Wiggs (bass guitar, vocals) and Jim Macpherso ...

since 1992, and has formed her own side-projects with bands such as R. Ring and The Kelley Deal 6000. She is the

identical twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...

sister of The Breeders' lead singer and former Pixies bassist and co-vocalist

Kim Deal Kimberley Ann Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She was the bassist and the co-vocalist in the alternative rock band Pixies, before forming the Breeders in 1989. Deal joined Pixies in Janua ...

. In 2020, Deal joined the

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

band

Protomartyr A protomartyr (Koine Greek, ''πρότος'' ''prótos'' "first" + ''μάρτυρας'' ''mártyras'' "martyr") is the first Christian martyr in a country or among a particular group, such as a religious order. Similarly, the phrase the Protom ...

in a touring capacity, after collaborating with the band on their 2018 EP, ''

Consolation Consolation, consolement, and solace are terms referring to psychological comfort given to someone who has suffered severe, upsetting loss, such as the death of a loved one. It is typically provided by expressing shared regret for that loss and ...

''.

Early life

Kelley Deal was born in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater ...

, United States, 11 minutes before her twin sister

. The Deal twins grew up in

Huber Heights Huber Heights is a suburb of Dayton in Montgomery and Miami counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. Its origins trace back to the now-defunct Wayne Township, which was settled in the early-mid 1800s. Wayne Township was incorporated as the City of Hube ...

, a suburb of Dayton. The sisters first played together in their late teens, Kim playing guitar and both sisters singing

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

songs in biker bars. They both had an opportunity to join the Pixies in the mid-'80s, with Kim on bass and Kelley on drums; Kim followed through while Kelley opted to move to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. While Kim made her mark as an

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

musician, Kelley worked in computer programming.

Musical career

In 1989, Kim Deal and

Tanya Donelly Tanya Donelly (born July 14, 1966) is an American Grammy Award-nominated singer-songwriter and guitarist based in New England who co-founded Throwing Muses with her step-sister Kristin Hersh. Donelly went on to co-form the alternative rock ba ...

(lead guitarist of

Throwing Muses Throwing Muses are an American alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, that toured and recorded extensively until 1997, when its members began concentrating more on other projects. The group was originall ...

) formed the first incarnation of

. Kim invited Kelley to join the band for their debut album, ''

Pod Pod or POD may refer to: Biology * Pod (fruit), a type of fruit of a flowering plant * Husk or pod of a legume * Pod of whales or other marine mammals * "-pod", a suffix meaning "foot" used in taxonomy Electronics and computing * Proper ort ...

'', but Kelley could not get time off from work.

The Breeders

In 1992, Kelley joined the band as third guitarist, even though she did not really know how to play. The ''Safari'' EP was the first recording on which she appeared. Guitarist Tanya Donelly left to form Belly a little after the release of ''Safari''. Kim suggested Kelley should be the band's new drummer. After Kelley insisted on lead guitar, Kim gave her a crash course on all the songs in the band's set. Kelley picked up quickly and learned all the lead parts on ''Pod'' and the new parts on the album they were about to record, ''

Last Splash ''Last Splash'' is the second album by American indie rock band the Breeders, released on August 30, 1993. Originally formed as a side project for Pixies bassist Kim Deal, the Breeders quickly became her primary recording outlet. ''Last Splash ...

''. A new drummer from Dayton,

Jim MacPherson The Breeders are an American alternative rock band based in Dayton, Ohio, consisting of members Kim Deal (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), her twin sister Kelley Deal (lead guitar, vocals), Josephine Wiggs (bass guitar, vocals) and Jim Macpherson ...

, joined them. After ''Last Splash'' was released in 1993, the band toured, opening for

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lamp Richard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo. ...

, and also got a slot on the

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Mus ...

tour in 1994.

Other projects

After ''Last Splash'', Kelley started The Kelley Deal 6000. The band released two albums on Eel's Nice Records label, '' Go To The Sugar Altar'' in 1996 and '' Boom! Boom! Boom!'' in 1997, and went on hiatus when The Breeders were reunited. Kelley also joined The Last Hard Men with

Skid Row A skid row or skid road is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people "on the skids". This specifically refers to poor or homeless, considered disreputable, downtrodden or fo ...

singer

Sebastian Bach Sebastian Philip Bierk (born April 3, 1968), known professionally as Sebastian Bach, is a Canadian-American singer who achieved mainstream success as the frontman of the hard rock band Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. He has acted on Broadway and ...

Smashing Pumpkins Smash may refer to: People * Smash (wrestler) (born 1959), professional wrestler * Moondog Rex, another professional wrestler who briefly wrestled as the original Smash, before being replaced by the above. * DJ Smash, DJ and music producer Ar ...

drummer

Jimmy Chamberlin James Joseph Chamberlin (born June 10, 1964) is an American drummer and record producer. He is best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. Following the 2000 breakup of the band, Chamberlin joined Pumpkins fro ...

, and Jimmy Flemion of

The Frogs ''The Frogs'' ( grc-gre, Βάτραχοι, Bátrakhoi, Frogs; la, Ranae, often abbreviated ''Ran.'' or ''Ra.'') is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus i ...

. She played bass for them and they recorded an eponymous album in 1997, which was released in a limited edition on Eel's own label, Nice Records, and in 2001 on

Spitfire Records Spitfire Records was a subsidiary of Eagle Rock Entertainment located in New York City, United States. In September 1998, Paul Bibeau founded, launched and rapidly developed Spitfire Records Inc. from a two-man operation located in his home be ...

. She teamed back up with her sister in the late 1990s and began recording new demos for the Breeders. With a new line up, they released ''

Title TK ''Title TK'' is the third studio album by American alternative rock band the Breeders, released on May 20 and 21, 2002 by 4AD in the United Kingdom and Elektra Records in the United States, and on May 10 by P-Vine Records in Japan. The album— ...

'' in 2002. ''Title TK'' features three songs recorded in 1999, where the Deal sisters played all the instruments. In April 2008, The Breeders released ''

Mountain Battles ''Mountain Battles'' is the fourth studio album by American band The Breeders. It was released in the United Kingdom on April 7, 2008, and in the United States on April 8, 2008. The album was gradually recorded in a number of different locales i ...

''. ''

All Nerve ''All Nerve'' is the fifth full-length studio album by American alternative rock band the Breeders, released on March 2, 2018, 10 years after their previous album '' Mountain Battles'' (2008). A ''Stereogum'' article in June 2016 reported that the ...

'' followed in 2018. She has been

knitting Knitting is a method by which yarn is manipulated to create a textile, or fabric. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine. Knitting creates stitches: loops of yarn in a row, either flat o ...

in recent years. She specializes in knitted handbags, which she sells on her website, and appeared on the

DIY Network Magnolia Network is an American basic cable network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Chip and Joanna Gaines. It broadcasts personality-based lifestyle programs related to topics such as home construction, renovation, and cuisine. The channel ...

knitting show ''Knitty Gritty'', and in 2008 released a book of her knitting handbag patterns, ''Bags That Rock: Knitting on the Road with Kelley Deal''. One of her patterns is included in the DIY Network's book ''Knitty Gritty Knits: 25 Fun & Fabulous Projects. She co-wrote and played guitar on Magnetophone's "Kel's Vintage Thought". She has also performed duets with

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and " Help Me Make It Through the Ni ...

and Supersuckers (notably, Hungover Together on Must've Been High), and has also played in the band R. Ring. In January 2020, Deal joined the band

as a touring member for their 2020 midwest tour. Deal has previously collaborated on the band's records, doing vocals on 'a couple' of songs.

Drug problems

In 1994, Kelley was arrested for heroin possession; she had been using since she was a teenager. She went through drug rehabilitation throughout the following year. In a February 2018 feature article, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported that Kelley was in her eighth year of sobriety.

Discography

The Breeders

* ''

Safari A safari (; ) is an overland journey to observe wild animals, especially in eastern or southern Africa. The so-called "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo – particularly form an importa ...

'' (EP, 1992) * ''

'' (1993) * ''

Live in Stockholm 1994 ''Live in Stockholm'' is a live album by the band the Breeders. It was released exclusively by the Breeders fan club, Breeders Digest, and comprises eight tracks from a concert recorded in Stockholm, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom ...

'' (1994) * ''

Head to Toe "Head to Toe" is a song recorded by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam that appeared on their 1987 album '' Spanish Fly''. The song hit number one on three charts: ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on June 20, 1987, the Hot Black Singles charts on May 30 of that year ...

'' (EP, 1994) * ''

'' (2002) * ''

'' (2008) * ''

Fate to Fatal ''Fate to Fatal'' is an EP by the American alternative rock band the Breeders, released on Period Music, on April 21, 2009. It was recorded in three different locations by multiple engineers: the title track was recorded at the Fortress Studios, L ...

'' (EP, 2009) * ''

'' (2018)

The Kelley Deal 6000

* '' Go to the Sugar Altar'' (1996) * '' Boom! Boom! Boom!'' (1997)

The Last Hard Men

* '' The Last Hard Men'' (1998/2001)

R. Ring

* "Fallout & Fire" b/w "SEE" (2012) * ''The Rise EP'' (2013) * ''Ignite The Rest'' (2017)

Bibliography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deal, Kelley Living people 1961 births 4AD artists American women rock singers Musicians from Dayton, Ohio American indie rock musicians Identical twins Singers from Ohio The Breeders members American computer programmers American twins People from Huber Heights, Ohio Twin musicians Guitarists from Ohio 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American women singers The Last Hard Men (band) members Misra Records artists 21st-century American singers 20th-century American women guitarists