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HUXMONSTER LURCHES TO LIFE!
New Huxley-fronted trio to make live debut
July 3rd at American Music Festival
Parthenon has assembled a brand new band called Huxmonster featuring L.A. veteran/D.C. transplant/Cereal Eating Robot/Brother-In-Law James O'Connell on drums and D.C. bassplayer extraordinaire/niceguy/local legend Brian "Thumbs" Keating on bass.
Parthenon says the new band is called Huxmonster because it's "not exactly P. Hux. It's kind of a new mutation. We'll do a mix of my songs, favorite covers completely unrelated by genre and epoch, and some instrumental bits where I get to leave the mic and have some fun playing guitar. I'm thrilled to have a band together again."
Hux has mostly performed as a solo acoustic artist since relocating to Bethesda MD from L.A. four years ago.
Huxmonster makes its official debut at the American Music Festival in Harrisburg, PA on Friday July 3rd. The band will perform from 6:30 to 8pm on the Patriot News Market Street Stage.
Huxmonster will make its D.C. debut July 26th from 4 to 6 pm at The Bullpen just outside Nationals Stadium in downtown D.C.
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I will miss you, Kel!
You were the heart and soul of The Orchestra.
Rest in Peace my friend.
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In late 1998 I walked into a large, well worn rehearsal room in Birmingham, England for my audition with ELO Part II. I wasn't sure who everyone was, but immediately Kelly Groucutt positioned himself directly in front of me, tilted his head upwards and said, "You're TOO TALL!" We laughed. Leave it to Kelly to be the icebreaker.
Of course, Kelly needn't have worried about the new guy's height. Kelly was a giant.
He's rarely mentioned when rock media list Greatest Bass Players or Greatest Front Men, but he was among the best I've ever seen, much less had the privelege to work with. Kelly's voice was always front and center in our sound (he was louder than everyone else!) and the bass parts he commandeered while singing on every song were astounding. Try singing "Hey there Mister Blue/We're so pleased to be with you" whilst nailing the bass part of Mr. Blue Sky and you'll get an idea...
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Kelly never had an off night. Sure, he'd throw a clam on the pile--we were all guilty of that--but he never phoned in a performance. No matter how sick, tired or jet-lagged, he always gave everything he had. "Never punish the ones who show up" was his mantra. He loved the fans and respected them. It didn't matter who they were or how many of them were in the seats.
Fans of ELO Part II and now The Orchestra will attest that Kelly was always available after a gig for an autograph, a photo, a cigarette, a drink, whatever was happening at the moment. Hours after a performance the last thing fans heard in the parking lot was usually a tour manager shouting, "Kelly! The bus is leaving!" He gave the fans every spare minute he had...
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Kelly was a tinkerer, a gadgets freak, a student of puns, an expert Country & Western singer, a walking encyclopedia of music history (song title, artist, year released), a loving Dad, a smoker, a drinker, a traveller (China, Cuba, Chile...hmmm...never noticed how much he liked "C" countries), a joke teller, a tireless chatterbug, a generous friend, a lyrics freak, a willing accomplice.
I saw Kelly in planes, trains and automobiles but my cherished memories will always be our time onstage. I don't know how many shows we did together, but it's many hundreds. Over the years, Kelly and I developed several moments in the set that were "ours"--just dumb little things that we acknowledged with a covert grin or an overt laugh. When I'd join him on his mic for the "George and Paul" vocals in the chorus of Twist and Shout, he'd move his bass neck out of my way in an exaggerated "showbiz" sweep; in Xanadu we'd mouth the words "people are wanking" during the four beats between the title in the chorus; in Shine A Little Love I knew he'd be looking over at me during the third verse, the lyrics of which I was prone to botch. Kelly would jump in singing if I missed one syllable...
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It seems absurd that Kelly's gone. His spirit is that of a giant's. I wouldn't be surprised if, at Heaven's Gate, he has to duck to get in. Too tall, indeed.
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