Oak City Underground is comprised of 5 talented, experienced, and ‘road tested’ musicians who each bring their own unique contribution to the band. Together they combine to form a band with broad capabilities to cover a wide variety of popular music genres as well as original material.
Kellene started singing in the 4th grade choir and continued onto the stage in school musicals and the chamber choir. Her first rock group was a punk rock band called “Snotface” that garnered a cult following fueled by cheap beer and teenage angst. Music became an outlet she used to escape the doldrums and hypocrisy of suburbia. Kellene’s early influences ranged from Carol King & Motown classics to singers of the 80’s like Annie Lennox, Pat Benetar, & Stevie Nicks. Later, she discovered early NYC and UK punk rock bands and indie artists such as Fiona Apple and Jeff Buckley. A U2 show in Nassau reignited a yearning for the stage resulting in the creation of her own original band called “What Remains”, enjoying significant success in the NYC/Tristate area from 2007-2013. She’s a wonderfully complex, sensitive, diverse & unpredictable singer with a whole lot of soul underneath it all! When Kellene isn’t rocking out a mic she spends lots of time with her dogs and her amazing son who has been a huge motivator in her own life.
Jerry grew up on the ethnic streets of the upper mid-west where live music in the clubs and streets was a cornerstone of the era. His musical career started with classical instruction at the piano when he was 7, and by high school he was playing hired gigs for professional sporting events. While being entrenched in the College bar band scene he was able to squeak out two Engineering degrees that further developed his attraction to technology and an affinity for synthesizers and electronic music. Prior to the Oak City Underground, Jerry was the keyboardist for the “Jan Fields Band” since its inception in 2017. He spent the prior 15 years supplying keys for several successful Raleigh bands including “SwivelHip”, “Neon Radio”, “Flatline”, and “Flybone” and also worked on notable projects with other popular local musicians. When not playing music Jerry enjoys racing cars, riding motorcycles, playing golf, supporting his alumni sports teams from West Virginia University and family life with his wife, their four cats, and daughter. His major influences are Deep Purple (John Lord), Led Zeppelin (John Paul Jones), and many 80’s synth masters (Geoff Downs, Trent Reznor, Tony Banks, etc.) and Michael Iceberg.
Marcel hasn’t provided any kind of a writeup for his Bio, so we just have to make it up. We have no idea where he came from, or what his background is – I’m guessing maybe some Guitar Hero and karaoke bars, – maybe an air-band competition here and there. He did provide a nice picture though, and swears he doesn’t own a Schecter – but I guess time will tell. We’re not sure whose landing strip was left on his chin, but he seems rather proud of it. Maybe this will all prompt him to provide us with a genuine Bio, or – knowing Marcel – he might just go with this.
Tommy originally hails from a small town in Missouri where he curated his love of the beat, fishing, and boutique tequila. He attributes much of his musical influences to bands like Rush, Styx, Spinal Tap, Tony Williams (Miles Davis), and Pat Metheny and brings plenty of style and flair to OCU. Work took Tommy to Nashville, TN where he spent much of the last decade, joining forces with one of the premiere local cover bands there “Top Tier” who were regularly named the People’s Choice for covers in the area. Tommy relocated to the Triangle area of North Carolina in 2018 and stormed right into an ongoing drummer audition for OCU leaving no doubt he was the clear choice and perfect fit for the band. As always, he wants everyone to “have a good time, all the time.”
John began his descent into funky bass grooves in the 5th grade lugging around an enormous stand-up bass and just being a general nerd of all things. His musical taste changed drastically then going from jazz, to funk, to metal, to jam bands, to hip hop. He wanted it all. The main influences in his playing eventually settled on Rush, Rage Against the Machine, the Dead, Jamiroquai, and the Chili Peppers. Throughout college he played in several original bands with the longest running being the “JDC Funk Project” playing a mix of reggae/rock/funk. Prior to joining the OCU crew he played in several RDU area cover bands such as “Supersonic”, “Redline”, and “Neon Radio”, rocking out every corner of North Carolina. In his extremely limited spare time between a lovely wife, a new baby girl and a long commute as the Head Brewer at Vicious Fishes Brewery & Taproom he is an avid board gamer and enjoys woodworking.