We are so excited to have Guy Keltner joining us for our August Art Walk performance! Guy has recently moved back to Seattle from New York, and we are thrilled to welcome him to Standard Goods Art Walk! He is one member of the band Acid Tongue, and will be performing solo for us.

Stop by Thursday, August 9th for free music, art, and as always- beer!

Read on to learn more about Guy!

Tell us a bit about yourself? Where are you from?

 My family is all from Los Angeles, but my mom & dad moved us up to Seattle when I was a teenager. After high school, I stuck around, went to UW for Economics, spent most of my 20s here, and I just moved back after living in Brooklyn the past two years.

How and where did you become so musically talented?

 I started really young. My folks had me on piano at five, and then I was given a guitar when I turned 10. I think the most important thing in my education was to write a lot of music, at a really young age. I started making my own songs at 11 or 12, so I'm almost two decades in and I still learn new things every day.

What is your favorite song to perform and why?

Right now I love closing with "Careless". We change it just enough every time we play it, so it's always a new experience. The crowd seems really into it every time, and I let my bandmates take it in whatever direction feels right on any given night.

Since you normally perform as part of your band, Acid Tongue, how will this performance be different for you?

I can play any song I want. I might do some old Fox and The Law songs (my band from a few years back), or I might play some covers. I might just goof off and do a medley of whatever feels good at the moment.

Who has been your biggest inspiration in the music world and why?

Probably like a lot of artists, I have no biggest inspiration. I take from different things. Musically, Acid Tongue is heavily inspired by Jonathan Richman, Lou Reed, T Rex, and more contemporary stuff like Timber Timbre, Built to Spill and Charles Bradley. But I'm also taking stuff conceptually from Kurt Vonnegut, copping some of Anthony Bourdain's signature attitude, blending in influences from the beat poets.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

More stable financially, still making music I enjoy.

What is your song creation process like?

Depends on the song. Sometimes it starts lyrically, maybe its a melody, or maybe just a good idea for a riff.

What has been your biggest accomplishment as a musician thus far?

Touring Europe and the UK. Coming home and playing in-studio at KEXP. Then headlining my own festival (the Freakout). Last fall was great.

How do you distinguish yourself from other artists out there today?

I don't worry about the other artists. I stay true to who I am.

If you could collaborate with any musician or band past or present, who would you chose and why?

Sly Stone, before all of the drugs rotted his brain.

Do you have any exciting upcoming gigs?

August 10th, opening up for Built to Spill at South Lake Union Block Party. We're also touring England in September, and going to Mexico City in October.

Anything else you'd like to share?

Please attend this year's Freakout Festival! We'll be performing, alongside a ton of amazing bands (this year we have some killer headliners!): https://www.the-freakout.com

For more on Guy, check out his Website and Youtube! 

Join us next Thursday, July 12th for Capitol Hill Art Walk. We will be hosting musical guest Aleron along with our artist Kyra Anderson. 

Aleron Kelley is a poet, producer and MC known as Alterations. The Alterations project is a culmination of a experimental audio collage and hip hop instrumentals accompanied by poetic lyricism and ambient textures. This project spans an array of emotions from love to heartache sprinkled with cunning word play. Alterations has not released an official full length project and doesn't share much music online so everything you hear is exclusive and will be about as raw as it gets.

Read on to learn more about Aleron and his music.

 

How would you describe your musicality?

Passionate lyrical delivery and stage presence with inventive instrumentals

 Who has been your biggest inspiration in the music world and why?

Probably Digable Planets and The Blue Scholars . My dad played Digable Planets for me as a kid and it was the first exposure to hip hop. As I got older and more involved in the local scene I started going to Blue Scholars shows and really dug Sabzis production and decided to start making beats. Oh, and MF DOOM.

Do you have any exciting upcoming gigs/performances? What are they?

I kinda play shows as they come around but don't have any specific plans on playing next. Although my brother has a little group called Apt_E which throws techno parties around town and I'd like to open up for one of those sometime soon. Follow Apt_E on Instagram.

What is your biggest goal as a musician?

To make people feel an array of emotions and get a peak into my head and see my vision.

What's your favorite part of being in Seattle? 

I’m Seattle born and raised and have traveled a bit but always come back to Seattle with a fond sense of home. I love the seasons. I wish the summers were longer.

If you could describe yourself in 3 words, what would they be?

Empathetic, explorer, deep-thinker.

What do you wish to convey to the audience through your music?

I would like to convey a feeling that just because things end it doesn't mean that its over. Stories can still be told and I hope that the stories I'm telling resonate with the people listening. Also to just vibe out to some cool beats.

Anything else you'd like people to know?

 It takes me a really long time to write music these days and I haven't made beats in ages. I'm kinda experimenting with performance at this point, but doing things like this inspire me to get back to work.  So thanks for the opportunity and expect more dopeness coming soon. 

For more info about Aleron and his music, check out his Website.

See more details about our event next Thursday, July 12th at Standard Goods. 

We can't wait to see you all there!