The Top Lady Bassist in Austin – My interview with Harmoni Kelley

Female bass players, although seem cliche, are totally awesome. Why? Because it takes a different kind of ear to play the bass. You need to understand rhythm & timing, melody and, most importantly, harmony. So is there a possibly more wonderful name to be destined to for playing the bass than Harmoni? I think not.

Female bass players, although seem cliche, are totally awesome. Why? Because it takes a different kind of ear to play the bass. You need to understand rhythm & timing, melody and, most importantly, harmony. So is there a possibly more wonderful name to be destined to for playing the bass than Harmoni? I think not.

Meet Harmoni Kelley. She is a famous Austin bass player. And she rocks.

She currently plays for a number of bands, most famously Bob Schneider’s band, Lonelyland. She is incredibly warm, bright-eyed and a fabulous bassist! She is not only very level-headed and easily accessible, but even with her blonde hair in a soft braid on the side of her head, you know she can rock!

Lonelyland currently holds down the 8:30pm-10:30pm time slot most Mondays at the Saxon Pub, so I took the opportunity to go down and check them out. The Saxon Pub was filled with a diverse crowd, all eager to see Bob Schneider and his band, Lonelyland. From young college frat boys to surgically enhanced 50 year old women, the once boisterous crowd became instantly calm with the first stroke of Schneider’s guitar. The lion tamer.

Lonelyland’s popularity is unmatched within the Austin music scene. Bob Schneider reigns as king over a vast demographic. Perhaps some of that is due to Schneider’s undeniable yet subtle sexuality, or his frank and honest and oddly intriguing lyrics, or maybe that he plays music that ranges from Texas Bluegrass, standard rock, upbeat jazz or even quieter ballads all within a single set list. Whatever the case may be, it works.

Bob and Harmoni at Saxon Pub

One very interesting and intriguing fact is that the percussion section of Lonelyland are women: both the drums and bass are performed by female musicians!

Of course, being a female bass player, I am a sucker for other female bass players, which I am in luck with Lonelyland! One of the top bassist in the city of Austin (regardless of gender) plays in Lonelyland, and I happily jumped at an opportunity to meet her.

Harmoni Kelley has been playing the bass guitar for 14 years, which she learned on her own and calls herself a late bloomer for picking up the bass in her late teens. She taught herself how to play listening to classic rock of the 1960s and 1970s including Little Feet, The Beatles, The Band, and Taj Mahal to name a few. Her dream band (or musician in this case) would be David Bowie. “That would be life changing for me!” she says when I ask her about Bowie.

Only within the last six years has she been able to quit her day job at the Paramount Theater to pursue music full time. She has her degree in Radio-Television-Film from the University of Texas (sound familiar!), which she would want to go into editing if she were to pursue it.

She didn’t start playing with Lonelyland until about three years ago. One great thing about Austin is how truly small the community is. Once you start playing with one band, it is quite easy to transition into a new band, while still playing at the same clubs and with the same people. Once you are in, you are in. Kelley began playing occasional gigs, which turned into filling in for musicians which transitioned into years of playing with bands. She played with John Dee, Jay McMurtry, and quickly transitioned into knowing other bands and playing with many bands filling in here and there. She enjoys the family like atmosphere playing in the rock and blues community.

“It’s kind of a weird incestuous little world it is, but it works!” She says with a laugh. “If you play at Saxton Pub or Continental, then you know those people who play there, too.”

Actually, she played with Fastball before she even played with Lonelyland. Yes, the band with that massive hit “The Way”…she played bass with them! While not in the band during the time of the hit, she still enjoyed her time playing with one of Austin’s biggest bands of the 1990s. Bet you didn’t know THAT about her!

At the 2009-2010 Austin Music Awards, Kelley was named the best bassist in Austin. To boot, she was presented the award by one of the most famous and influential female bassists of all time: Tina Weymouth. She is Kelley’s all-time favorite female bass player and she is a huge fan of Talking Heads. As she told the crowd, “I never win anything!”, and she was genuinely in shock. She says she has a great picture of her and Weymouth with the award, just glowing.

“I thought, I actually accomplished something. Even if I never win ever again, I won for that night!” she says with a giggle.

Harmoni in the background while Tina Weymouth presents her with the best bassist award. AWESOME!

She loves playing R&B and Soul because that is what she grew up listening to form her parents, which is great as Lonelyland is very diverse in what the play. Every genre of just about every moment in modern music history seems to get a nod from Lonelyland, which keeps up the skills of the musicians and keeps the interest of the audience.

When asked about adversity of being a women in rock, Kelley says that only in the beginning did she notice adversity or gender issues. “I don’t get it from any of the guys I play with. I don’t even think they notice or necessary know that I’m a woman. But I think from the fans you get a lot of gender issues. ‘You’re pretty good for a girl’, or ‘I love hot chicks who play bass’. It’s always something about you being a woman, or hot, or female. Like, how strange it is for a woman to play in a rock band. But not from the guys I play with.” She has the respect of her fellow musicians.

One of the most interesting topics came up about her ultimate goal in life, even beyond music. She hesitated, and explained that about a month and a half ago she got married, which is wonderful! But now, as she is getting older, she worries about the strain of starting a family on her career. “With me being a full time musician and touring: at some point, or at least a certain period of time, you can’t do that. And we are trying to figure that out. Do I play on the side while he does more production work? And not tour?” She brings up a big concern among many female musicians, or really, the whole female gender. When it comes to starting families, certain sacrifices must be made, but where do you make them? I find it refreshing that a successful bass player still struggles with the big questions and issues all women face. And the thought that she doesn’t want to sacrifice her passion yet she is willing to if she has to in order to start a family is a very familiar topic for women thinking of starting a family. These are not easy answers, and it’s oddly comforting to know that others still struggle with these big questions. “I feel like since I got married my adult life has started and I’m starting to think of big things like families and our careers for the rest of our lives!”

Harmoni Kelley is one of the top bassists in Austin, whether or not she attributes her popularity to the fervor of the Lonelyland followers, she still has the respect of her fellow musicians, male or female. She is a great inspiration for lady bassists (and hopefully I convinced her to volunteer at Girl’s Rock Camp in Austin!) and it is very exciting to have a generation of women a generation older than myself blazing trails and still remaining accessible. Kelley should take great pride in her top bassist award in 2010, as it takes popularity AND skill, and she certainly does, even in her own humble ways. She has accomplished so much, whether she meant to be the inspiration she is or not.

Harmoni Kelley, YOU ROCK!

Meet Harmoni Kelley. She is a famous Austin bass player. And she rocks.

She currently plays for a number of bands, most famously Bob Schneider’s band, Lonelyland. She is incredibly warm, bright-eyed and a fabulous bassist! She is not only very level-headed and easily accessible, but even with her blonde hair in a soft braid on the side of her head, you know she can rock!

Lonelyland currently holds down the 8:30pm-10:30pm time slot most Mondays at the Saxon Pub, so I took the opportunity to go down and check them out. The Saxon Pub was filled with a diverse crowd, all eager to see Bob Schneider and his band, Lonelyland. From young college frat boys to surgically enhanced 50 year old women, the once boisterous crowd became instantly calm with the first stroke of Schneider’s guitar. The lion tamer.

Lonelyland’s popularity is unmatched within the Austin music scene. Bob Schneider reigns as king over a vast demographic. Perhaps some of that is due to Schneider’s undeniable yet subtle sexuality, or his frank and honest and oddly intriguing lyrics, or maybe that he plays music that ranges from Texas Bluegrass, standard rock, upbeat jazz or even quieter ballads all within a single set list. Whatever the case may be, it works.

Bob and Harmoni at Saxon Pub

One very interesting and intriguing fact is that the percussion section of Lonelyland are women: both the drums and bass are performed by female musicians!

Of course, being a female bass player, I am a sucker for other female bass players, which I am in luck with Lonelyland! One of the top bassist in the city of Austin (regardless of gender) plays in Lonelyland, and I happily jumped at an opportunity to meet her.

Harmoni Kelley has been playing the bass guitar for 14 years, which she learned on her own and calls herself a late bloomer for picking up the bass in her late teens. She taught herself how to play listening to classic rock of the 1960s and 1970s including Little Feet, The Beatles, The Band, and Taj Mahal to name a few. Her dream band (or musician in this case) would be David Bowie. “That would be life changing for me!” she says when I ask her about Bowie.

Only within the last six years has she been able to quit her day job at the Paramount Theater to pursue music full time. She has her degree in Radio-Television-Film from the University of Texas (sound familiar!), which she would want to go into editing if she were to pursue it.

She didn’t start playing with Lonelyland until about three years ago. One great thing about Austin is how truly small the community is. Once you start playing with one band, it is quite easy to transition into a new band, while still playing at the same clubs and with the same people. Once you are in, you are in. Kelley began playing occasional gigs, which turned into filling in for musicians which transitioned into years of playing with bands. She played with John Dee, Jay McMurtry, and quickly transitioned into knowing other bands and playing with many bands filling in here and there. She enjoys the family like atmosphere playing in the rock and blues community.

“It’s kind of a weird incestuous little world it is, but it works!” She says with a laugh. “If you play at Saxton Pub or Continental, then you know those people who play there, too.”

Actually, she played with Fastball before she even played with Lonelyland. Yes, the band with that massive hit “The Way”…she played bass with them! While not in the band during the time of the hit, she still enjoyed her time playing with one of Austin’s biggest bands of the 1990s. Bet you didn’t know THAT about her!

At the 2009-2010 Austin Music Awards, Kelley was named the best bassist in Austin. To boot, she was presented the award by one of the most famous and influential female bassists of all time: Tina Weymouth. She is Kelley’s all-time favorite female bass player and she is a huge fan of Talking Heads. As she told the crowd, “I never win anything!”, and she was genuinely in shock. She says she has a great picture of her and Weymouth with the award, just glowing.

“I thought, I actually accomplished something. Even if I never win ever again, I won for that night!” she says with a giggle.

Harmoni in the background while Tina Weymouth presents her with the best bassist award. AWESOME!

She loves playing R&B and Soul because that is what she grew up listening to form her parents, which is great as Lonelyland is very diverse in what the play. Every genre of just about every moment in modern music history seems to get a nod from Lonelyland, which keeps up the skills of the musicians and keeps the interest of the audience.

When asked about adversity of being a women in rock, Kelley says that only in the beginning did she notice adversity or gender issues. “I don’t get it from any of the guys I play with. I don’t even think they notice or necessary know that I’m a woman. But I think from the fans you get a lot of gender issues. ‘You’re pretty good for a girl’, or ‘I love hot chicks who play bass’. It’s always something about you being a woman, or hot, or female. Like, how strange it is for a woman to play in a rock band. But not from the guys I play with.” She has the respect of her fellow musicians.

One of the most interesting topics came up about her ultimate goal in life, even beyond music. She hesitated, and explained that about a month and a half ago she got married, which is wonderful! But now, as she is getting older, she worries about the strain of starting a family on her career. “With me being a full time musician and touring: at some point, or at least a certain period of time, you can’t do that. And we are trying to figure that out. Do I play on the side while he does more production work? And not tour?” She brings up a big concern among many female musicians, or really, the whole female gender. When it comes to starting families, certain sacrifices must be made, but where do you make them? I find it refreshing that a successful bass player still struggles with the big questions and issues all women face. And the thought that she doesn’t want to sacrifice her passion yet she is willing to if she has to in order to start a family is a very familiar topic for women thinking of starting a family. These are not easy answers, and it’s oddly comforting to know that others still struggle with these big questions. “I feel like since I got married my adult life has started and I’m starting to think of big things like families and our careers for the rest of our lives!”

Harmoni Kelley is one of the top bassists in Austin, whether or not she attributes her popularity to the fervor of the Lonelyland followers, she still has the respect of her fellow musicians, male or female. She is a great inspiration for lady bassists (and hopefully I convinced her to volunteer at Girl’s Rock Camp in Austin!) and it is very exciting to have a generation of women a generation older than myself blazing trails and still remaining accessible. Kelley should take great pride in her top bassist award in 2010, as it takes popularity AND skill, and she certainly does, even in her own humble ways. She has accomplished so much, whether she meant to be the inspiration she is or not.

Harmoni Kelley, YOU ROCK!