Today we’d like to introduce you to Dennis Kelly.
Dennis, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
The spark for music started for me when a band performed around where I lived and I loved them so much, I had to have their autograph. Two of the bands that influenced me most were the Beatles and Kiss, but as I grew, my horizons expanded greatly to include bands like Dead Can Dance, Fields of the Nephilim, Pink Floyd, Cocteau Twins, Sheila Chandra, Kate Bush, Ministry, Loreena McKennitt, Skinny Puppy, Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies and Underworld… as you can see, my musical tastes have been pretty much all over the spectrum.
When I was 18, I started playing drums in a speed metal band called, The Killer Kitchen Utensils and we performed at a lot of venues in the city and suburbs. We played so heavily in fact, that many of the places like Medusa’s, Iron Rail and the Thirsty Whale closed down after our shows. After a few years though, I came to the realization that while I loved drumming, I wanted to stay behind the scenes and went on to film the band to catalog their career after my departure.
Some years passed, The Killer Kitchen Utensils had ended and my bandmate and friend was now playing bass in a band called Drop and in an attempt to help him and other local bands I knew at the time, I created Chicago Music Guide. This was January 2000 and it was originally on a Yahoo Geocities site until 2004, when I moved it over to become an official site where I was able to bring on volunteers to cover a lot of events throughout the city including many of the festivals like Lollapalooza, Blues Fest and more.
From that point on, we’ve helped many artists gain exposure with free pages on our site which they can create themselves, have provided insightful and relevant tips and articles from musicians like world music pioneer, Sheila Chandra to help guide artists through their career and we’ve also had some artists play live at our performance space which we created for them, giving them additional exposure and in person interview coverage opportunities.
For the immediate future, we’re working on more ways to help local artists by expanding our resources, featuring local and international artists weekly through a partnership we’ve had with ReverbNation, new podcasts and continuing to expand our global reach to ensure the artists we feature get the most benefit by being a part of Chicago Music Guide.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Quite honestly no. In fact, It has been a most difficult struggle, but it is my passion to help all gifted musicians and it is through their musical inspirations that I remain forever motivated and focused to do all I can for them.
Please tell us more about Chicago Music Guide.
Being the Owner/Editor, I perform the majority of the behind the scenes functions here, but in no way could I ever have done this alone. Thanks to the contributions of many, including Emmy Award-winning photographer Amy Aiello, Roman Sobus, Mike O’Cull, Michelle Wahl, Beth Shandles, radio personality Cara Carriveau and with additional support from fabulous interns from College of DuPage, Columbia College and DePaul University, Chicago Music Guide has had a lot of gifted and educated individuals all helping to make it what it is today.
What sets Chicago Music Guide apart is we’re a bit of everything…. we’re a magazine and a resource and through that, we can also help guide people to attractions like museums throughout the state. There are also very few publications who have been around as long as we have, I am most proud of that and we’re not going anywhere either.
The final point I want to express about Chicago Music Guide is that it is all about and for musicians; a place to become a part of, contribute to and connect through to other people in the music industry. So, whether you’re a music fan, musician, or someone about to visit Chicago, Chicago Music Guide has something here for you!
Thank you very much for your time and allowing me this wonderful opportunity to share with your readers all that Chicago Music Guide is about, I greatly appreciate it!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ChicagoMusicGuide.com
- Email: DKelly@ChicagoMusicGuide.com
- Instagram: @ChicagoMusicGuide
- Facebook: @ChicagoMusicGuide
- Twitter: @ChicagoMusic
- Other: Youtube.com/ChicagoMusicGuide
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