This month’s installment of Guitar Star of the Month features the Toronto, Ont based fret-board hero Sean Kelly. As the brainchild of the glam-rock band Crash Kelly, Sean has shown the world that he’s one of the most talented guitarists in rock today.

With Crash Kelly, Sean has opened for the likes of Alice Cooper, Gilby Clarke, LA Guns, Faster Pussy Cat, The London Quireboys and Pretty Boy Boy Floyd . Crash Kelly adds legions of fans after every kick-ass performance.

Crash Kelly’s two releases, “Penny Pills” and “Electric Satisfaction,” are loaded with extraordinary guitar work. Sean has a great talent for mixing melodic riffs with blistering fast leads. Take a listen to “Something Hollywood” from Penny Pills or “Hang out Where you Matter” from Electric Satisfaction and you’ll hear why Sean Kelly is a true Guitar Star. 

                                          For more on Sean check out  www.crashkelly.ca  www.myspace.com/crashkelly

How many guitars do you own.
I HAVE ABOUT 15...I USED TO HAVE MORE (SOME GORGEOUS VINTAGE GUITARS!), BUT I SOLD THEM ALL...I PLAY BC RICH GUITARS EXCLUSIVELY NOW, AND I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER WITH THEM

What was your very first guitar.
IT WAS A NO NAME HOLLOWBODY ELECTRIC THAT MY PARENTS GOT ME FOR CHRISTMAS...THEY PAID $50 FOR IT, AND I LOVED THAT GUITAR MORE THAN ANYTHING...I STILL HAVE IT!

What is your most favorite guitar that you have ever owned and what makes it so great?
MY EMOTIONAL FAVOURITE WILL ALWAYS BE MY FENDER ESPRIT, AS IT WAS THE FIRST PROFESSIONAL QUALITY GUITAR I EVER OWNED. HOWEVER, MY BC RICH CLASSIC GUITARS TOTALLY EMBODY MY ROCK PLAYING...THEY JUST SENT ME A KOA MOCKINGBIRD, AND THAT GUITAR PRACTICALLY PLAYS ITSELF!

What kind of Pedals and effects do you use when playing live?
THE ONLY PEDAL I USE REGULARLY IS MY BOSS STAGE TUNER...FROM TIME TO TIME, I WILL USE A ZAKK WYLDE MXR DISTORTION PEDAL AS A LEAD BOOST. I HAVE A BOX OF PEDALS THAT I WILL EXPERIMENT WITH OR USE ON SESSIONS, BUT I PREFER TO KEEP MY RIG VERY SIMPLE.

What kind of amp do you use?
I ENDORSE KUSTOM AMPS, AND I'M CURRENTLY USING THEIR '72 COUPE SERIES...I WAS JUST AT NAMM, AND THEIR HEAD ENGINEER TOKK ME FOR A TEST DRIVE WITH THEIR LATEST HEAD, AND I'LL BE TAKING HTAT OUT ON THE ROAD IN 2007

At what age did you start playing guitar?
I STARTED PLAYING WHEN I WAS ABOUT 11, BUT DIDN'T GET SERIOUS UNTIL I WAS 13 (WHEN A KID AT SCHOOL SHOWED ME THE CHORDS TO "HEAVEN'S ON FIRE" BY KISS!

What inspired you to start?
THE GLAM METAL OF THE DAY...TWISTED SISTER, MOTLEY CRUE, RATT ETC. FROM THERE, I GOT INTO THE 70'S GLAM STUFF THROUH MY SISTER'S RECORD COLLECTION.

How long do you use to practice when you first started ?
IN HIGH SCHOOL, I'D PUT IN AROUND 4 HOURS A DAY OF PRACTICE TIME, BUT I WAS ALWAYS PLAYING.

And what did you practice?
I WAS BIG INTO VAN HALEN AND YNGWIE, SO I WOULD WORK ON MY SCALES AND MODES, AND ALSO LEARN SONGS I DUG VIA GUITAR MAGAZINE TRANSCRIPTIONS. I HAD A GREAT TEACHER, WHO HIPPED ME TO COOL JAZZ CHORDS AND THEORY AS WELL.

Do you still practice often, if so how often and what do you play when practicing?
I AM MOSTLY PRACTICING CLASSICAL GUITAR THESE DAYS, AS I AM CURRENTLY RECORDING A CLASSICAL GUITAR RECORD. I'M ALWAYS PICKING UP THE ELECTRIC AND PLAYING, WHETHER IT'S FOR A SESSION OR JUST FOR FUN...I'M ALWAYS TRYING TO PICK UP SOMETHING NEW THAT I CAN USE ON THE JOB!

Who were some of your favorite guitarist ?
OH MAN...VAN HALEN, MALMSTEEN, RICHIE BLACKMORE, VIVIAN CAMPBELL, JOE PERRY, THOM SCHOLZ, ROY BUCHANNAN, GARY MOORE, ACE FREHLEY,WARREN DIMARTINI, MICK MARS, PAUL GIBLERT, SCOTT GORHAM AND BRIAN ROBERTSON, NEAL SCHON, RANDY RHOADS, TRACII GUNS, JOHN WILLIAMS, ANDRES SEGOVIA, SLASH, GILBY CLARKE, TIM WELCH, OZ FOX,RICK NEILSON, GEORGE LYNCH, STEVE LUKATHER, LARRY CARLTON...I REALLY COULD GO ON FOREVER!

What gave you the greatest degree of difficultly when learning the guitar.
MY RIGHT HAND PICKING CO-ORDINATION

Did you learn how to read music? If no, can you read music now?
YES, I BEGAN STUDYING CLASSICAL GUITAR IN HIGH SCHOOL, AND I HAD TO HAVE MY READING DEVELOPED FOR ENTRY INTO UNIVERSISTY...I'M VERY GLAD I DID LEARN TO READ, IT HAS BEEN A GREAT ASSET.

At one point where you able to play by ear?
THE FIRST SOLO I PICKED OUT BY EAR WAS THE LEAD IN "WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT"...ONCE I FIGURED THAT OUT, I KNEW I WAS I COULD FIGURE OUT ANYTHING WITH TIME AND PRACTICE.

What advice would you give someone who is struggling playing by ear?
WITH MY STUDENTS, I ALWAYS SUGGEST LISTENING WITHOUT THE GUITAR IN YOUR HAND...IF YOU CAN INTERNALIZE THE MUSIC, YOU WILL BE BETTER ABLE TO RE-CREATE WHAT YOU CAN HEAR IN YOUR HEAD ON THE INSTRUMENT.

How do you go about composing a solo for a song?
SOMETIMES I WILL BASE THE SOLO OFF OF MELODIC IDEAS THAT OCCUR IN THE SONG...MOST OF THE TIME I WILL JUST WING IT, AND THEN WORK WITH IDEAS THAT CAME ABOUT SPONTANEOUSLY.

Do you ever write in alternate tunings?
NO, I CAN BARLEY PLAY IN STANDARD TUNING, HAHA! FUNNY, I WAS JUST PLAYING THE SONG "TOP JIMMY" BY VAN HALEN, WHICH IS IN AN ALTERNATE TUNING, AND IT INSPIRED ME TO MUCK ABOUT A BIT...YOU MIGHT HEAR SOME CRAZY STUFF ON THE NEXT CRASH KELLY RECORD!

What other styles of music are you competent in?
I HAVE A UNIVERSITY DEGREE IN CLASSICAL GUITAR, AND I DABBLE IN A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT STYLES, FROM COUNTRY TO JAZZ, AND I'M EVEN PICKING UP SOME FOLK STUFF FROM ALLISTER THOMPSON, WHO ALSO PLAYS WITH CRASH KELLY.

Will you ever include a some classical guitar on a Crash Kelly release?
YA NEVER KNOW, BUT I CURRENTLY HAVE A DEAL FOR MY CLASSICAL STUFF, SO I'LL LIKELY KEEP THE CK STUFF ELECTRIC!

What other instruments can you play?
I PLAY BASS, A LITTLE BIT OF PIANO, AND I DABBLED WITH STRINGS AND BRASS INSTRUMENTS IN UNIVERSITY...TO PARAPHRASE KEEF, I CAN MAKE ANYTHING SOUND BAD, LOL!

What do you do when you're playing a kick ass solo live and all of a sudden you hit a really wrong note?
I'LL PLAY THAT SUCKER OVER AND OVER AGAIN UNTIL I CONVINCE THE AUDIENCE THAT I'M A GENIUS...NOT SURE THAT IT'S EVER WORKED, LOL!

       Sean Kelly’s five most memorable gigs

1) The Ryman Auditorium - Nashville, TN - Crash Kelly supported Alice Cooper at the one-time home of the legendary Grand Ole Oprey, and you could feel the very warm musical presence of Johnny Cash, Elvis, and the countless other greats that walked that stage...sheer magic!

2) Sturgis Bike Rally - Sturdis, SD - This was the biggest audience CK has played for to date...20,000 bikers showed their aprroval with the revving of their engines as we tore through an hour long set supporting Alice Cooper. Plus, I got to do it with Ky Anto on guitar...he is the guy who co-produced the first Crash Kelly record with me, and it was great to see our little creation get to that level.

3) Mile One Stadium - St. John's, NFLD - This was Crash Kelly's first gig in an proper arena, and our first in support of Alice on the Dirty Diamonds tour of 2006...I can still remember the feeling in my stomach as the houselights dimmed and the roar of thousands of rock-starved fans rose up and started bouncing off of the rafters.

4) Shrine Auditorium - Billings, MT - By know, you've probably figured out that the Alice Cooper dates were a lot of fun for me...this one really stands out because it absolutely felt like we were transported back to the 70's...from playing in that old hall, to the rabid crowd response, to the fract that it was all happening with Alice...the walls were sweating on this August night!

5) Rock City - Nottingham, UK - This was our first date supporting the Quireboys on their 2003 UK tour, and my first real tour with CK...I was thousands of miles from home, playing this legendary venue with a brand new band...I have a great memory of Neil Leyton (who was playing guitar with CK on the tour) bringing me up from the dressing room to see the backlit stage at Rock City before the doors opened.. a shot of adrenaline straight to the jugular.                                                                                                                                                        Check out our 2006 interview with Sean here