{"id":51986,"date":"2019-11-27T16:42:42","date_gmt":"2019-11-27T16:42:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=51986"},"modified":"2020-06-06T11:31:19","modified_gmt":"2020-06-06T11:31:19","slug":"cardiff-character-joe-kelly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/culture\/cardiff-character-joe-kelly","title":{"rendered":"Cardiff Character: Joe Kelly"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Indie bands might be struggling to get gigs in South Wales but Joe and his band are fighting to get their new album out in January<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Joe has been playing guitar since he was 13, he writes all of his own songs and has travelled far and wide to play his music<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Joe Kelly, 27 is a musician from Newport. He is warm and shy, \u201cdresses for the weather,\u201d and is hoping to get an album out in the new year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He describes himself as, \u201cfree-spirited.\u201d Wearing a country-inspired bolo tie (usually cord or leather) and a vintage waistcoat, Joe\u2019s eccentric style complements both his persona and music. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe has been playing guitar since the age of 13. After a year of playing, his free school music lessons came to a halt. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the lessons ceased, Joe\u2019s guitar teacher would let him come in at lunchtimes to jam with him. And so began an inseparable relationship between Joe and his guitar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says, \u201cI think if it wasn\u2019t for him being so nice to me, I probably wouldn’t have had the opportunities that I\u2019ve had.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe is a full-time musician and writes his own songs, as well as those for his band, The Royal Pharmacy<\/a>. A new album is on their radar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe\u2019s face lit up when discussing the genre of his music, it\u2019s obvious he has sourced his inspirations meticulously. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe and the band have put their own spin on Americana, folk and blues music – blending powerful vocals with Joe\u2019s guitar and mouth organ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople say my music is Americana, and I would agree, I\u2019ve always been really conscious of having that kind of dustball sound to it, almost folky blues,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The release date of the new album has been affected by his \u201cfree-spirited\u201d nature though. When asked about future plans, Joe appeared to be excited but was apprehensive to discuss any concrete timescales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been pushing for an album to come out for a couple of years now. It\u2019s been a slow process, but the main goal is to get the album out,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, he grinned, \u201cWe\u2019re hoping for January, but every time I say a date, it just changes.\u201d He pauses and breaks eye contact, \u201cWe\u2019ll see.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Life as a musician <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe admits he has sacrificed home comforts to be a musician full-time. “If you\u2019re going to do what you want to do then you will make sacrifices, you have to compromise,” he says.  
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I think if you\u2019re going to do what you want to do then you will make sacrifices” 
<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI lived in a caravan for a long time,\u201d he smirks, \u201cjust so I could stay free and flexible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has lived a stereotypical musician lifestyle, always going where the music is. \u201cA couple of years ago, I lived in a Ford Fiesta in the middle of the Brecon Beacons,\u201d he explains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe explains how much he loves life\u2019s simplicities. He is aware that not many people would be prepared to live in a car in the middle of Wales to pursue their dream career, but Joe did.  \u201cIt was magical,\u201d he beams. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Joe and his band The Royal Pharmacy are aiming to release a new album January 2020<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Welsh music scene <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is naturally invested in the independent music scene in Wales and explains he’s experienced hardship firsthand due to the volatility of grassroots venues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think the closure of venues has affected me a lot,\u201d says Joe as he starts to twiddle his thumbs. \u201cWe just give up; bands disband because they didn\u2019t have their regular click or usual places to play. It\u2019s definitely affected confidence,\u201d he sighs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe has played fewer gigs due to venue closures across South Wales, the rapport between venue owners and musicians is lost he says, which makes it harder to find places to play regularly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He firmly agrees more could be done to help the grassroots venues of the independent music scene here. \u201cThe council create a hurdle and they don’t come up with any solutions to go around it, and we all suffer as a result,” he complains.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He shrugs his shoulders. \u201cEvery day, I have all these little ideas to improve the music scene and help us musicians, and I think, why can’t they do that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n


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Indie bands might be struggling to get gigs in South Wales but Joe and his band are fighting to get their new album out in January<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":204,"featured_media":51995,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12,19],"tags":[2282,1321,12413,10713,12773,11257,11149,3830,12920],"yoast_head":"\nCardiff Character: Joe Kelly - alt.cardiff<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A musician, Joe Kelly discusses the importance of compromise when making your dreams a reality, he has suffered hardship with the closure of venues\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/culture\/cardiff-character-joe-kelly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cardiff Character: Joe Kelly - 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