Category: News

I gotta bring some books back to the library before I leave the country so I’m making this quick!

Hi! What the hell! I hope you’re good! I’m good, grateful you’re reading this, grateful to Scott Chatfield for putting these words out there to you via the Keneallist, and grateful for all the gigs I’m about to do, the musicians I’ll be playing with, the audients who shall be witnessing, and the hard-working folks who’ve put the dates together (special thanks to George Hofmann at Shooter and Julie & Rodney Cord at Blue Mouth Promotions).

There are a number of performances coming in the very near future featuring myself inserted within a varied array of musical disciplines!

First a gig in Slovenia on July 15 with SUPERHAMMERS (Stu Hamm, Chad Wackerman and myself) at the Beer and Flowers Festival in Lasko (played this fest with Satriani last year, so much fun; excited for my first performance with this trio!). Stu just posted video on his Facebook page of me and him practicing his song “Radio Free Albemuth.” I’m playing the melody on guitar and keyboards simultaneously. I’m working it out, hopefully it’ll feel ready for the stage in three days. If you see me playing the melody on only one instrument you’ll know I didn’t feel ready but I will feel no shame.

Then a couple of weeks of German dates with Jaan Wessman and Schroeder (formerly known as Mike Keneally & Friends, this trio is now formally identifed as THE MIKE KENEALLY REPORT. Because it’s a much better name! Schroeder thought of it!). I am really blazingly happy to be playing with Jaan and Schroeder again this year and I’m looking forward to some wonderful shows, premiering some tunes we’ve never played together, including stuff I’ve never played in Germany at all. This band is a blissful thing for me, I hope some of you can be present for these gigs.

Then there’s a show in Brazil with Joe Satriani but I still don’t see it announced anywhere so I’m not announcing it either, really. This doesn’t count! But I have plane tickets so I assume it’s happening. I’ll put the word out officially as soon it seems official.

Then I’m doing two days at GUITAR WORKSHOP PLUS at Seattle University, August 15/16 – a performance and a clinic. Deep music diving into a bunch of my songs and other things. I like Seattle. I do!

Then a short but sweet series of California dates with the BEER FOR DOLPHINS quartet (me, Rick Musallam, Bryan Beller and Joe Travers). LA, SF, Napa, San Diego. So happy about these shows.

Then in September, three dates with Extreme Cream at the Iridium in NYC, and in October a couple of nights at PROGTOBERFEST III with Beer For Dolphins (on Oct. 21) and The Don & Bunk show (on Oct. 22)…

So much is occurring! The details are these!:

MK LIVE DATES July-October 2017

SUPERHAMMERS (Stu Hamm, MK, Chad Wackerman)

July 15 2017
Beer and Flowers Festival, Lasko, Slovenia

THE MIKE KENEALLY REPORT (MK, Jaan Wessman, Schroeder)
GERMAN TOUR

July 20 2017
Opening for Lee Ritenour-Dave Grusin
Nurnberg – Hirsch

July 21 2017
Opening for Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Tuttlingen – Honberg Sommer

July 22 2017
Mike Keneally Report headlining
Reichenbach – Bergkeller

July 23 2017
Mike Keneally Report headlining
Cologne – Yard Club

July 26 2017
Opening for Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Karlsruhe – Tollhaus

July 27 2017
Mike Keneally Report headlining
Dortmund – Musiktheater Piano

July 28 2017
Burg Herzberg Festival
Main Stage

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MIKE KENEALLY at GUITAR WORKSHOP PLUS

Seattle, WA
August 15-16 2017

Aug 15 – performance
Aug 16 – clinic

Diving deeply into many aspects of playing ferocious music on the guitar
Also appearing – Tony MacAlpine and Peppino D’Agostino

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MIKE KENEALLY & BEER FOR DOLPHINS
(MK, Bryan Beller, Rick Musallam, Joe Travers)
West Coast dates

August 17-18 2017
The Baked Potato, LA (2 sets per night)

August 23 2017
Biscuits And Blues
San Francisco, CA
Travis Larson Band opening

August 24 2017
Silo’s
Napa, CA
Travis Larson Band opening

August 26 2017
The Merrow
San Diego, CA
Travis Larson Band opening

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EXTREME CREAM
(Kofi Baker, MK, Rob Pagliari)

September 14-15-16 (2 sets per night)
The Iridium
NYC

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MK at PROGTOBERFEST III
for 2 nights

MIKE KENEALLY & BEER FOR DOLPHINS
(MK, Bryan Beller, Joe Travers)

October 21 2017
PROGTOBERFEST III
Reggie’s
Chicago, IL

and…

MK as special guest with THE DON AND BUNK SHOW (featuring Don Preston, Bunk Gardner, Ike Willis and Nick D’Virgilio)

October 22 2017
PROGTOBERFEST III
Reggie’s
Chicago, IL

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Finally I’ll just say that I really love the new Beach Boys 1967 compilation Sunshine Tomorrow which has the first-ever stereo mix of the whole Wild Honey album which would be awesome enough for me even if there weren’t an additional two hours of Smiley Smile outtakes and live recordings and rehearsal tapes and stuff… it is wonderful! It is a reminder that it’s a great thing to be alive and have access to fantastic things like this. Fantastic things such as the library, which is where I’m going now.

Keep ’em flying!

Doot,
Mike

Greetings! (That’s a royal word for “hello”)

RECENT OCCURRENCES

I hope you’ve all been copacetic or better. I had a great and crazy tour with BFD last month – wildly fun shows, beautiful audiences, cancelled flights, emergency van rentals and vast quantities of friendship on display. My favorite shows were the two Iridium gigs where Rick Musallam was able to join us – see photographic evidence herein. We’re working on putting together a west coast BFD run with the Travis Larson Band later this year, about which I shall inform thee when I have information to inform thee withupon.

Also last month I whooshed up to Vancouver, BC for a few days to work on some new music with Devin Townsend. It was just the two of us in his studio writing and recording stuff. It’s sounding fascinating thus far, and we’re both looking forward to continuing the process when schedules allow – the music is very varied and we’re eager to continue discovering what exactly we’re creating here.
GIGS AND WHISPERS OF GIGS

You know what’s coming up? Some gigs! Here’s them.

On June 4 and 6 there are a couple of Extreme Cream shows with Kofi Baker and Rob Pagliari.

June 4 – Extreme Cream at Brick By Brick, San Diego

June 6 – Extreme Cream at the Baked Potato, LA

Playing with us at Brick by Brick is instrumental progressive band Pet Shark, and their cellist Lindsay Jagich will join us on one of my favorite Jack Bruce pieces, “As You Said” from Wheels Of Fire. Cream themselves never played this piece live – I am really excited about playing it! I love it a lot.

On June 22 I’ll be doing a clinic at Murrieta Arts Studios in Murrieta, CA. I’ve not been to this place yet, but Pete Griffin did a clinic there not so long ago and he told me this place is happening. So this will be a new experience for me and I am very much looking forward to it, like a baby fish looks forward to Infinite Day.

June 22 – MK guitar clinic at Murrieta Arts Studios

Starting in mid-July I’ll be doing various things in Europe – for one thing, a trio gig with Stu Hamm and Chad Wackerman somewhere in Europe (the precise location and date are being kept a secret from the public for a few more weeks. Exciting!) where we’ll be playing Stu’s stuff, a little of mine, some Zappa, Satriani, Vai, Holdsworth – a cornucopia of wonderments.

Then I’ll be out and about in Germany and Italy for a couple of weeks with comrades Jaan Wessman and Schroeder – those details are still being sealed in wax and will be presented with love to you quite soon.

There’s going to be a gig somewhere in South America with some fine musicians we all know quite well which I see has not been announced online yet, so I’ll keep my trap shut on that.

As indicated above, west coast BFD August action is in the planning stages. There’s also some Extreme Cream touring in the blueprint stage for sometime around September/October.

Late October I’ll be returning, with relish, to Progtoberfest III at Reggie’s in Chicago. Last year was a hoooot and I look forward to further hooting. I’ll be doing a set with BFD, and another set sitting in with the Don and Bunk Show (Don Preston and Bunk Gardner – freakin’ legends), along with several other wonderful people, the also legendary Ike Willis and Nick D’Virgilio.

Progtoberfest III at Reggie’s, Chicago Oct 20-22

Oct. 21 – Mike Keneally & Beer For Dolphins
Oct. 22 – MK guesting with the Don and Bunk Show

Other acts at Progtoberfest III include Martin Barre, Alphonso Johnson, The Tangent, Karmakanic, Necromonkey, Cast, Aisle, Bruce Soord, Dave Kerzner, District 97, Thank you Scientist, Discipline, Frogg Café, Randy McStine and many others – it’s going to be a severely action-packed three days in a great venue. Definitely worth your time!
VIDEO ACTIVITIES

I shall leave you with a couple of new videos of songs from Scambot 2 that I played for EMG pickups in their video studio up there last October, which I hope you enjoy the bejeezus out of –

Here’s Roots Twist:

And here’s In The Trees Part One:

GRATITUDE

Many thanks, my friends!
Unquestionably,
Mike