1.20 A wknd w/ Kela
Kelly O’Meara Morales on Guitar Center hangs, coffee for connoisseurs, and the stuff he'd prob be doing if his band wasn't playing THIS SUNDAY NIGHT at Arlene's
First off, we apologize.
It’s 3:30 p.m., which must mean you’ve been lying in bed, paralyzed, unable to decide what/where/how to eat/drink/do without your guiding force, north star, instruction manual for all things relaxation and recreation (+ occasionally inebriation) that is THE SETLIST at your disposal.
Damn shame, too. Beautiful day out there.
ANYWAY! As they have been known to say, better late than never, so let’s get on with it and introduce you to the artist who, upon the arrival of this digital document in your inbox, is 100% responsible (though 0% liable) for your enjoyment over the next 72 hours.
Don’t worry, he’s been highly vetted.
This week’s featured musician is none other than he of the fountain photo above: one Kelly O’Meara Morales of the project Kela, who we met at a show last year and immediately recruited to play this month—specifically THIS SUNDAY at Arlene’s Grocery with C.P.S., Dogs on Shady Lane and Wiring!
(Tag yourself; we’re the beetle with the boujailles on the right)
Tix available here.
If your response to this news is SAM! I’m prowling Spotify to no avail! All in search of some Kela so I can get a sweet, sweet taste of what to sonically expect this Sunday…
Well, your searchin’ and surfin’ skills aren’t the problem, pal. While Kela has been active as a band since the members met at Sarah Lawrence back in 2017, they haven’t—aside from some unrelated Bandcamp b-sides—quite managed to capture their sound on the record in a true and satisfying way, so instead you’ll have to settle for the following description from Kelly O himself:
“In its best moments, Kela is a machine flying out of control. You'll hear moments of arrogant riffs, bossa sway, psycho funk, blast-beat metal, slithering salsa, and shoegaze swirls of delay and modulation.”
And as for musical strategy, the artist shared the following:
“I don't write the most crazy, theoretically sound music, but I have always been interested in trying to make music that is familiar but also outside of the confines of our expectations. Many years ago, I read the liner notes to a Stevie Ray Vaughn best-of compilation and something really stuck with me: Stevie's wife said that he would wake up from dreams and tell her that he'd met Jimi Hendrix in these dreams and that Jimi had taught him ‘secret’ chords. I've always been fascinated by that concept, trying to find movements, shapes, and patterns that no human has ever done, which is of course mathematically impossible, but is still fun to aspire toward.”
Curiosity piqued? Perfect. Appetite whetted? Amazing. We’ll bank on seeing you Sunday evening, then. And in the interim, prepare to officially begin your weekend with the following itinerary, which contains a list of Kelly O’s favorite spots in NYC, most of which are heavily influenced by both his background (he was born in Mexico) and time spent abroad.
In other words: You’re gonna eat real good. Enjoy~
FRIDAY
Is there a basketball game on? I'll watch a game most nights that my hometown Warriors play. If it’s a good game — one that a casual watcher might have some interest in — I’ll try and herd the cats to Bushwick Ice House. The bartenders there are lovely. Neda is warm and thoughtful, Norm looks like Jeff Goldblum in a punk phase, and Rosie has great taste in Northern California ska.
After a few gin & tonics, I’ll head to Yasin’s halal cart on the corner of Bogart & Seigel. I was raised vegetarian and only in the last few years started making meat a part of my diet. I might have made that conversion earlier in life if I’d had my first lamb gyro prior to the year 2022.
If you’re still hungry, walk wast on Bogart towards the Morgan L Train station and you’ll find a food truck called Taco Rapido. I’d walked by there a million times before one day realizing that I recognized Victor, one of their cooks. Victor is from Veracruz, the state in Mexico where I was born and my family lives. I met Victor when he worked at Brookyln’s finest dive, Divine, may it rest in peace.
Upon realizing Victor was one of the cooks at Taco Rapido, I became a patron. That Victor works there underpins my love for it — over three years as a frequent patron of Divine, I had lots of conversations with Victor after the kitchen would close — but the food is genuinely excellent and that’s not always the case with Mexican food in New York City.
But here’s a little secret about the NYC Mexican food scene: don’t lament the burritos or seek to replicate the California or Tex-Mex experience. I spent most of my youth in and then out of San Francisco and while I miss the burritos, life goes on because New York does great southern Mexican food. A hilarious amount of Mexicans from the southern state of Puebla live in New York. In fact, by the next decade, it’s expected that Mexicans will become the biggest Latinx demographic in the entire city. So be cognizant of that and enjoy Taco Rapido’s tortas and cemitas because that is southern Mexican food done well.
SATURDAY
I’m a breakfast-at-home man, so I’ll whip up some scrambled egg tacos (make sure to grill your tortillas lightly with olive oil and salt) with homemade salsa. I like a fresh salsa verde for breakfast foods but my go-to sauce is known as Pandora’s Sauce. I make batches of Pandora’s Sauce every few months and it’s a chile de arbol, garlic, and nut-based salsa. I’ll have breakfast with coffee, of course, and make some espresso-adjacent drink in my Aeropress.
If I want another cup of coffee, I’ll make a trip out to Sey Coffee over by the Morgan L train. My family lives in a coffee-rich state in Mexico so I’m picky about coffee — I buy my bags fresh from Mexico at a huge comparative discount — but Sey is the real deal. Their iced coffee is to die for in the summer but if you want a more contemplative experience, get one of their single cups and sit down with it. It’s a little pricy, but it’s made with a quality of care that you could only get from people who really give a shit about coffee.
On the same block as Sey is Semkeh, a delightful Lebanese spot. Lebanese food holds a special place in my heart because of the six weeks I spent there during college. Semkeh hits all the right notes but they also take risks, most notably with their Semkeh Sandwich, which highlights grilled fish with traditional Lebanese flavors. After a bite at Semkeh, I’ll be tempted to drop into Pine Box Rock Shop for a quick beer and to say hi to Charmaine, one of the bartenders, who also plays in a sick band called Nevva.
After Pine Box, we’re going to Manhattan. One of my favorite pastimes is taking an illicit vape pen hit and going to Guitar Center on 6th Ave and 14th Street. Guitar Centers are hellish places — God bless the poor employees there who have to listen to Sweet Child O’ Mine played badly 100 times a day — but I find solace and inspiration there. Guitar Centers are like libraries but with more toys. As long as you’re respectful to the employees and the gear, you can try out anything you want for pretty much as long as you want, within reason.
What I like about Guitar Center is that I’m being heard by other people. My fear of annoying the Guitar Center employees drives me to play interesting things so I’m less apt to fuck around and noodle. Instead, I play thoughtfully and with a level of intention that’s sometimes hard to find at home.
After an hour or two of riffs, I’ll head over to University Place and 14th St for a few slices from Little Italy Pizza. Despite being a chain, I think Little Italy Pizza has the most underrated pizza in the city. The mushroom slice does not skimp on the fungus, all of their slices are crisp and well-coated with a cornmeal-like texture at the bottom for a nice crunch, and the Sicilian slice is thick with cheese and fluffy in all the right ways.
If I’m staying in Manhattan for the night, I’ll head to Tile Bar on 1st Ave and 7th Street, I used to go there when other places in the East Village let me down or were too busy, but in recent times I’ve accepted Tile Bar is the right destination. The crowd there, even on a Saturday night, is rarely juvenile or out of control, the beer selection is solid, and the vibes are adult in the right ways.
SUNDAY
If it’s warm enough, I’ll go play basketball somewhere. When I used to live on the east side of Bushwick, the court at Bushwick Playground was my best bet, but nowadays I gravitate towards Justice Gilbert Ramirez Park on Seigel and Bogart or the courts under the freeway exit for the Williamsburg Bridge.
I’ll take a shower after hooping and run errands. One of the key ones: getting bagels through Too Good to Go. The bagel spots are the best bang for your buck on the Too Good to Go app and The Bagelsmith on Bedford in Williamsburg usually gives 12-18 bagels for $4.99. After my bagels are procured, I’ll cut and freeze the ones I won’t eat today.
Spending less time the last year or so actually in New York behooves me to actually take advantage of the things that are special about this city, so I’m going to make a plan with some friends who live in the Bronx and see if I can drag them out to Jackson Heights for a carnival of flavor.
If my plan comes together, we’ll go to Angel Indian and I’ll insist that we all share the vegetable dum biryani, which comes in a bowl of buttered naan and is saffron-flavored with a generous quantity of paneer. After that, we’ll walk around, try and find a Colombian bakery that sells pan de bono, pop our heads into Patel Brothers supermarket to stock up on interesting spices, curry blends, and Indian snacks, and then make our way home.
On the long train ride home, I’ll text Tommy, our bass player in Kela, guitar player in Marinara, drummer of Sugar Mama, and mad scientist behind his band, Toobin. If I’m lucky, Tommy will be wrapping up a recording session at his recording space, Mousetown, and will let me pop in.. The perfect way to end the weekend? A beer and a hang at Mousetown where Tommy and I talk, sit, wrap cables, organize, and then jam.
Itinerary above written and submitted by Kelly O of Kela. Follow the artist at @itskellyo.
MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS
WINTER MADNESS IS NEARLY UPON US ! Every Friday and Saturday in February bands will battle it out for a suite of sick prizes (+ street cred obv), and earlier this week, the sweet Sweet 16 was announced! Prepare your ears n hearts to witness pure artistic warfare (in the most kind, fun and supportive-of-the-scene way, of course) between Dead Stars, Deep Sea Peach Tree, The Dracu-las, Gocco, Gooseberry, HYPEMOM, Karabas Barabas, LEONE, Maya Lucia, My Son The Doctor, Night Spins, Pamphlets, Pons, Royal Blush, T.S. Tadin and Uncle Skunk all month. Holy hell — it’s gonna be a good one. See ya there!
NEW CLASSIFIEDS ARE HEEEEERE! Monarch. is on the hunt for a keys/synth player who can harmonize, Matthew DeAscentiis is a guitarist looking for a bassist and drummer to start a pop-punk band, Michael Love Michael is a vocalist searching for bandmates and more more more! Find all the ads (and reach out or refer your talented friends) here or post your own. THEN GO MAKE SOME MUSIC <3
RELEASE RADAR
New(ish) stuff from local (+ occasionally, once-local) artists we love, listed in no order whatsoever:
Pebble // Glom
“Fake Friends” // Gold Casio
13N // 13 Necklace
“Speaking for Myself” // Ryan Egan
IT’S HAPPENIN’
Here’s a look at the events we’ve got coming up. Mark your calendars and come hang!
2.3 BdBK 4th Birthday Bash w/ Shred Flintstone, Two-Man Giant Squid, Talon, Go Home, Screenager @ The Broadway - tix here
Thx 4 reading! Find more fun stuff at bandsdobk.com and @bandsdobk. <3
Order the Bands do BK BOOK (!) (out now via Lit Riot Press) here.