Chel - ProfilesArchive

About Me

Once my parents had a good idea and then a few more good ideas and of those good ideas, I was dubbed Chel by the grandmother maternal. When accused of having two daughters and arranging for her sons to be fourteen years apart to complete SATB at the Christmas Tree, Mom just smiles. Now we all sing together or out and about.Out and about has carried me to the corners of New England, once on an errand to Northern California, once on an errant errand to Arizona's conservative bastion, and finally to the sweet reprieve of New York City.Aside from singing with my family the guitar comes up circa age 12 like some sort of Irish Catholic musical bat mitzvah. I learned on my Papa's guitar at the intermittant instruction of my mother (in the kitchen of course). I took a beat up Ovation from an island in Maine to a desert valley, until it sat exhausted and replaced by a Seagull. Sings like a bird she does.I started out at open mics at coffeehouses in CT in high school, later in Boston too, brought Dar Williams to the masses of students at CoA (and once brought the masses of CoA to Dar Williams), hit some local joints in Sacramento (the west coast Albany), then Tempe, Phoenix, New York. Once I was practicing outside the laundromat in Little Italy while waiting for my clothes to dry and people kept handing me money... and a little way to pay for my laundry was born. I don't think that will work in my new 'hood though.Anything else? Yes. I have a rabid, avid love of Architecture for Humanity. Also, I dig this life and I dig sharing the goods even more. To that end, I'll trade cds, take friends to shows and for goodness sakes have parties so that the people I love can love each other too (once they meet).That's me in a nut,Chel

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 22/06/2005
Band Website: just this here myspace.com/cheloreilly
Band Members: Chel O'Reilly - guitar & vocals when they can swing it: Tamar Korn (harmonies) & Jake Sanders (resonator guitar)
Influences: My mom used to put us to bed at night then go into the kitchen of our apartment and play: Joni Mitchell, Peter Paul & Mary, Bob Dylan... Then I discovered Dar Williams, The Nields, Cindy Kallet. I gravitate towards harmony (which is a lonely task as a solo singer) but compensate with melodious, mellifluous, locquacious storytelling. If I'm good at any of this music it's because of Patty Griffin in one ear and Ellis Paul in the other. /// I would say if I sound like any of the following it would be only as a sorry shadow, but I have watched & tried to learn from Erin McKeown (only I'm not a rockstar), Girlyman (only there's just one of me), Greg Brown, Josh Ritter, Redbird (those who comprise), Paul Curreri, Devon Sproule, Nil Lara , Mad Agnes, and were I not undone and remade by the stylings of Krystle Warren I could not lay claim to my own soul... Other teachers of this poor student are several friends-musicians-performers such as Matt Beem, Daryl Scairiot, 7 & Counting, Barclay Martin, Amber Rubarth, Kelley McRae, Jake Sanders & Tamar Korn. I couldn't touch y'all with a big stick, but I'd lean and stretch your direction any day.
Sounds Like: a soubrette with an acoustic 6-string
Type of Label: Unsigned

My Blog

celebrating 31

i forgot to say: ran that marathon, raised lots of dough for fighting cancer, yeah it was alll hard, but thanks for the love and support which was mind-blowingly awesome of y'all.more importantly!turn...
Posted by on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 07:26:00 GMT

The Novel Victory Lap (that i literally forgot to post)

I wrote the below as my "victory lap" before I'd finished my novel in July so I could look forward to getting to say these things upon completion. Among the many changes I found I came to during the ...
Posted by on Thu, 04 Sep 2008 07:10:00 GMT

Finally, sort of

I just threw down 3 songs, recorded live at the writer's salon from august 22nd. These are rough- just a tiny recording mic dangled in the air in front of me and my guitar in an acoustic set: no pick...
Posted by on Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:42:00 GMT

the 30 day/ 50,000 word challenge (feel free to encourage me)

hello all,i am embarking on a personal journey, a novel challenge if you will. what i'm doing is pretty much NaNoWriMo, but instead of during the month of November with the tens of thousands of novel...
Posted by on Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:30:00 GMT

NYPD

*Repeated without irony or judgment and posted here for (POLITE!) comment.*Conversation with police officer who was eating an apple and (sort of) directing traffic on 52st St & 2nd Ave this morning du...
Posted by on Tue, 25 Sep 2007 05:48:00 GMT

i'm so excited about this show i'll even give you directions!

that's it. i'm just excited. life's good: new job, new apartment, and still welcome at the old bar where the food is good, the waitstaff is friendly and the sound system is new and improved! did yo...
Posted by on Fri, 30 Mar 2007 06:55:00 GMT

people to do and things to see....

so... kenny g walks into an elevator and starts snapping his fingers, saying, "man! this place is happenin'!"everyone's busy lately. in my head i hear the andrews sisters singing "busy as a bbzz...
Posted by on Thu, 07 Sep 2006 15:31:00 GMT

essentially, we're all just loving beings

so these blog postings, they ask you for a feeling category like "happy" or "confused". the emotions are arranged in a pull down menu, alphabetically. there is no "everything" under t...
Posted by on Thu, 07 Sep 2006 15:03:00 GMT

when you can do something, do something

i have this problem with wanting to give the best... or nothing at all. take for instance, a response to the emai, "how are you doing?" well, the answer to that my friend is long if it's going to be ...
Posted by on Mon, 15 May 2006 21:33:00 GMT

The Secret Lives of Rock Stars

Okay, so I have a confession to make. I'm not just a musician. Like most musicians, I have a day job and it is not... glamorous. I am an office manager. I happen to manage the ...
Posted by on Tue, 25 Apr 2006 09:17:00 GMT