Lisa Kekaula (born July 31, 1967) is the

lead singer 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 the ...

of American "

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

'n'

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

" band

The Bellrays The Bellrays (also capitalized as The BellRays) is an American rock group that combines garage rock and punk with soul music, founded in Riverside, California in 1990 by vocalist Lisa Kekaula and guitarist Bob Vennum. They have been with severa ...

Early years

Kekaula was born to an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

mother, Linda and

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii ...

father, Alan Kekaula in Los Angeles, California, although the family continued to grow and relocated to suburban

Moreno Valley Moreno Valley is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and is part of the Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario metropolitan area. It is the second-largest city in Riverside County by population and one of the Inland Empire's po ...

, California. While there, Kekaula began to immerse herself in singing and had her first appearance in a talent show at Edgemont Elementary School. She graduated from Moreno Valley High School and then from the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

Career

Since 1990, Kekaula has been vocalist with

the Bellrays The Bellrays (also capitalized as The BellRays) is an American rock group that combines garage rock and punk with soul music, founded in Riverside, California in 1990 by vocalist Lisa Kekaula and guitarist Bob Vennum. They have been with severa ...

. From 2003 to 2007, Kekaula joined a cast of vocalists guesting at live performances by the surviving members of

the MC5 MC5, also commonly called The MC5, is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The original line-up consisted of Rob Tyner (vocals) Wayne Kramer (guitar), Fred "Sonic" Smith (guitar), Michael Davis (bass), and Dennis ...

. Kekaula has featured on two singles by British

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

band

Basement Jaxx Basement Jaxx are an English electronic music duo consisting of Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe. The pair got their name from the regular club night they held in Brixton, London, UK. They first rose to popularity in the underground house scene ...

, most famously "

Good Luck Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at any time, both due to rand ...

"; the tracks "Realizer" and "High and Low", from the 2004 album '' Legion of Boom'' by

The Crystal Method The Crystal Method is an American electronic music act formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in the early 1990s. They were pioneers of the big beat genre and their music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, video gam ...

; and "Talkin' in My Sleep", from

The Bloody Beetroots The Bloody Beetroots is an Italian electronic music project of musician and producer Bob Rifo (also Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo and SBCR, born Simone Cogo). Established in late 2006, the Bloody Beetroots were initially a duo consisting of Bob Rifo an ...

' first studio album, '' Romborama''. She has also been featured on

The Legendary Tigerman Paulo Furtado (born 9 September 1970) is a Portuguese singer-songwriter who performs under the stage name The Legendary Tigerman. Furtado started his music career in the lates 1980s when he joined the psychobilly band Tédio Boys. After leaving ...

's fifth studio album, ''Femina'', released in 2009. In 2014, Kekaula contributed vocals to two tracks for the ''

Re-Licked ''Re-Licked'' is the first solo album by the guitarist, songwriter, record producer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee James Williamson released in October 2014. It features tracks originally performed and demoed between 1973 and 1975 du ...

'' album of

Iggy and the Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave ...

songs re-recorded by former Stooges guitarist James Williamson. The songs were also released as a 7" single. In 2016, Kekaula and Williamson collaborated again, releasing a single in aid of a

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

an homeless charity.

Personal life

Kekaula is married to Robert Vennum, also of the Bellrays; they have one daughter, Twylla. In 2014, Kekaula and Vennum released an album under the name Lisa and the Lips. Kekaula was raised

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

References

External links

2013 interview2015 interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kekaula, Lisa Living people Singers from Los Angeles 20th-century African-American women singers American women rock singers African-American rock musicians Native Hawaiian people University of California, Riverside alumni 1967 births 21st-century African-American women singers African-American Catholics