The Raventones: About
The Raventones
The Raventones are a minimalist "power duo" from rainy, rocky, remote Swisshome, Oregon. TR Kelley plays baritone and bass guitars and bits of other things, Randy Hamme handles the drums, percussion and engineering. Kelley also plays a jazz vocalist, mixing melismatic word trance, rap, vocalese, and other noises into the stories.
The Raventones' sparse, thick, twangy low strings & drum sound grooves like a surf-jazz combo from the backwoods of outer space with whiffs of The Ventures, Ray Charles, The Police, Joni Mitchell, and Star Trek.
TR Kelley - baritone & bass guitars, vocals
TR Kelley's quirky but solid stage presence readily reflects 30+ years of gigging everywhere from roadhouses and jazz clubs to big festival stages. Before the launching of THE RAVENTONES, TR was known primarily as a bassist & vocalist in the mid 90's Oregon fem-folk powerhouse quartet Babes with Axes, and a side person to many other artists in the Eugene area. Before that, TR was primarily unknown as a shy bassist in cover bands playing B-hotels, fraternal lodges and taverns in the Pacific Northwest.
In 1990, TR had moved permanently to Oregon, eased out of the bar-band scene, and was appearing at coffeehouse open-mikes with a few original songs and a low-tuned 12-string guitar. TR's subsequent "discovery" by NY folkster Tom Intondi at a Eugene Green Party coffeehouse led to a slot on a nationally-released "Fast Folk Magazine" CD in May of 1993. Her song "Clearcut Disillusion" was described by the Eugene WOW Hall Notes as a unique twist on the 1980's Northwest timber wars delivered in "...a voice that can be chilling, grounded, haunted & soaring, all at the same time."
With that small foothold, TR entered the supportive and progressive Eugene music community as an original composer and instrumentalist. In the decade that followed, in addition to her solo work and appearances with BWA, she appeared as a bassist on many other artists' CDs.
Randy Hamme - drums & harmony vocals
Drummer Randy Hamme (rhymes with "mom") is the frame and the foundation for The Raventones' retro-millenial musical stew. Hamme's shimmering cymbals and thick vintage groove are the perfect anchor for TR Kelley's radically different sound and gonzo live show philosophy.
A Pennsylvania native, Randy's musical background included a father in the band-instrument business, and the inevitable stints with school-induced piano & clarinet before he "came home" to drums.
Previously a popular venue manager as well as charismatic music store salesman, Randy is also a master of publicity, punctuality & professionalism. He's also done a cross-country motorcycle trip, sold dream-catchers & tie-dye at Hawaiian military bases and built a revolving cat door from the kind of things that accumulate in kitchen junk drawers. Managing the unique challenges and attributes of The Raventones is a path he finds rewarding on many levels.
Like TR, Randy was another bright, small-town black-sheep who collided with bohemia and other big ideas and heard the soundtrack of a different future..... "Go west young man!" After many travels around the country, he landed in western Oregon and found the social and spiritual climate a good fit for his continuing journey.
And he's gotten used to the rain.........:)