| Birth Date: | June 10, 1961 | ||||
| Birth Place: | Dayton, Ohio, US | ||||
| Years Active: | 1992–present | ||||
| Relatives: | Kim Deal (twin sister) | ||||
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Kelley Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American musician and singer. She has been the lead guitarist and co-vocalist of the alternative rock band the Breeders since 1992, and has formed her own side-projects with bands such as R. Ring and the Kelley Deal 6000. She is the identical twin sister of the musician Kim Deal.
In 2020, Deal joined the post-punk band Protomartyr in a touring capacity, after collaborating with the band on their 2018 EP, Consolation.
Kelley Deal was born in Dayton, Ohio, United States, 11 minutes before her identical twin sister, Kim Deal. The sisters grew up in Huber Heights, a suburb of Dayton and graduated from Wayne High School. They first played together in their late teens, with Kim playing guitar and both singing Hank Williams songs in biker bars.[1]
In 1986, Kim joined the Pixies in Boston. She paid for Kelley to fly to Boston and audition as drummer. Though the Pixies songwriter, Black Francis, approved, Kelley was not confident in her drumming and was more interested in playing songs written by Kim.[2] Kelley worked as a defence contractor at an Air Force base.[3]
In 1989, Kim Deal and Tanya Donelly (the lead guitarist of Throwing Muses) formed the Breeders. Kim invited Kelley to join the band for their debut album, Pod, but Kelley could not get time off from work.
In 1992, Kelley joined the Breeders as third guitarist, even though she did not really know how to play. The Safari EP was the first recording on which she appeared.[4] Guitarist Tanya Donelly left to form Belly a little after the release of Safari. Kim suggested Kelley should be the band's new drummer. After Kelley insisted on lead guitar, Kim gave her a crash course on all the songs in the band's set. Kelley picked up quickly and learned all the lead parts on Pod and the new parts on the album they were about to record, Last Splash. A new drummer from Dayton, Jim MacPherson, joined them. After Last Splash was released in 1993, the band toured, opening for Nirvana, and also got a slot on the Lollapalooza tour in 1994.
After Last Splash, Kelley started the Kelley Deal 6000.[5] [6] The band released two albums on Eel's Nice Records label, Go To The Sugar Altar in 1996 and Boom! Boom! Boom! in 1997, and went on hiatus when The Breeders were reunited.
Kelley also joined The Last Hard Men with Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach, Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, and Jimmy Flemion of The Frogs.[7] [8] She played bass for them and they recorded an eponymous album in 1997, which was released in a limited edition on Eel's own label, Nice Records, and in 2001 on Spitfire Records.
She teamed back up with her sister in the late 1990s and began recording new demos for the Breeders. With a new line up, they released Title TK in 2002. Title TK features three songs recorded in 1999, where the Deal sisters played all the instruments. In April 2008, The Breeders released Mountain Battles. All Nerve followed in 2018.
She co-wrote and played guitar on Magnetophone's "Kel's Vintage Thought". She has also performed duets with Kris Kristofferson and Supersuckers (notably, Hungover Together on Must've Been High).
Kelley Deal is lead singer and co-songwriter in the band R. Ring with Mike Montgomery and various musicians since 2011.[9] . On top of releasing many singles seven singles or EP, R. Rings also released two full-lenght albums : Ignite the Rest in 2017, and War Poems, We Rested in 2023.
In January 2020, Deal joined the band Protomartyr as a touring member for their 2020 midwest tour. Deal had previously provided vocals on Protomartyr records.[10]
Deal has a life-long interest in textile arts. She brought her sewing machine to the studio while recording Last Splash so that she could quilt during down-time. Its amplified sounds were used in the album, on the song "S.O.S.".[11] The machine is on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
She has been knitting in recent years.[12] She specializes in knitted handbags, which she sells on her website, and appeared on the DIY Network knitting show Knitty Gritty, and in 2008 released a book of her knitting handbag patterns,[13] Bags That Rock: Knitting on the Road with Kelley Deal. One of her patterns is included in the DIY Network's book Knitty Gritty Knits: 25 Fun & Fabulous Projects.[14]
In 1994, Kelley was arrested for heroin possession. She had been using heroin since she was a teenager.[15] She went through drug rehabilitation throughout the following year. In a February 2018 feature article, The New York Times reported that Kelley was in her eighth year of sobriety.[16]