Lee Aaron guitarist / Crash Kelly frontman Sean Kelly hops on board the official Danko Jones podcast to chat about all things rock - Dio, Dee Snider, Billy Gibbons, Lee Aaron, Helix, Brian Vollmer, classical guitar albums, and his book Metal On Ice.

Crash Kelly, founded and led by Canadian guitarist, singer, songwriter and author Sean Kelly, returned to rock ‘n’ roll duty with a brand new single in 2019, "Touch Me", produced by Kelly and multi-platinum producer/engineer Frank Gryner (Rob Zombie, A Perfect Circle). Kelly recently spoke with Sleaze Roxx about the return. An excerpt is available below.

Sleaze Roxx: What made you decide the time was right to bring back Crash Kelly?

Sean Kelly: "In the time since Crash Kelly stopped being active (since 2009), I have been blessed to have a great career working with a wide variety of artists, and to work on a number of exciting projects. I just didn’t feel the creative impetus to do another record until this year, where the fire returned. Just like the first time around, my decisions were fuelled by wanting to create music in that space."

Sleaze Roxx: The new Crash Kelly single is fantastic and picks up exactly where the band left off. Your vocals sound great and the production fits in perfectly with past releases. When artists return, often their sound or songwriting shows signs of aging, but it feels like Crash Kelly is the exact same band as it was previously, without any drop in quality or any drastic shifts, which in my opinion is a good thing. How were you able to accomplish this and pick up right where you left off?

Sean Kelly: "The one thing I am very proud of with Crash Kelly is that all three albums I made had absolutely zero compromise of vision, for better or for worse. They were exactly what I wanted to do. This blend of ’70s /’ 80s hard rock is never going to be a mainstream phenomena, although we all had hope when The Darkness were breaking in 2003! But there are people who love it, REALLY love it, and I’m one of those people. I fell absolutely no need or desire to try to make a record that sounds like anything other than what I want. The way the drums sound, the way the vocals and guitars work together are very specific to my vision, and perhaps that is why there isn’t a perceivable stylistic shift."

Read the complete interview here.

Crash Kelly's sound is best described as ‘70s glam rock on the early ‘80s Sunset Strip... T-Rex and Mott The Hoople by way of Mötley Crüe and Hanoi Rocks, with more than a fair dose of Alice Cooper, Cheap Trick and Thin Lizzy thrown in for proper effect.

Initially active between 2002 - 2009, Crash Kelly released two critically acclaimed cult classics, Penny Pills and Electric Satisfaction via Century Media’s rock ‘n’ roll imprint Liquor and Poker Music, followed by a third album, One More Heart Attack via Opening Day/Universal Music. All three albums were released in Japan via Spiritual Beast/Universal, and a European “Best Of” compilation, Love You Electric, was released via Bad Reputation. The band toured North America as support for Alice Cooper on his 2006 Dirty Diamonds tour, and also toured the US alongside Century Media label mates Backyard Babies.  Crash Kelly also toured the UK and Europe alongside The Quireboys and Enuff Z’Nuff, and in their native Canada as support to ex-Guns Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke (who also produced Electric Satisfaction and One More Heart Attack in his Los Angeles based Redrum Studios).

The decade that Sean spent away from Crash Kelly saw him become a highly in demand guitarist, songwriter, producer and collaborator. He has toured the world and recorded with a number of multi-platinum acts including Nelly Furtado, Helix, Lee Aaron, Coney Hatch, Honeymoon Suite, Gilby Clarke, Alan Frew (Glass Tiger) Carole Pope/Rough Trade, Harlequin, Trapper, Howie D, Doc Walker and many more. He has recorded four classical guitar albums, two of which charted in the US Billboard Top 10.  In 2015, Sean was cast to star alongside Twisted Sister lead singer Dee Snider and Taylor Dayne in Dee Snider’s Rock N Roll Christmas Tale, which ran during the Holiday Season at Toronto’s famed Winter Garden Theatre and played to over 20,000 people.

With the new single "Touch Me", Sean returns to his glam rocking roots. Musical support comes from Dave Reimer on bass and Tim Timleck on drums. This is the first release for Canadian Shield Music, a new imprint formed by Kelly and Gryner to bring ‘70s and ‘80s influenced hard rock to a very specific audience who longs for the days of glossy rock magazines, fully stocked record store shelves, loud guitars and big hooks.

(Photo by: Andrew Clowater)