Jake Orrell a.k.a. Kelly King performing live last month on a Thursday steak night at TheVSpot Bar in Scranton.
Photo Credit — Christopher Vernon
The local rockstar, who’s also frontman of rock band Drowning Kelly, sang original tunes along with classic covers.
Photo Credit — Christopher Vernon
Kelly King has been performing since 13, mainly beside his musician father on several projects such as The J.O.B., Bon Poison, The Grunge, Rock God Radio, etc.
Photo Credit — Christopher Vernon
SCRANTON — Whoever said the age of glamour hard rock is dead and gone must have been wearing blinders. That, or they haven’t looked around at some of the local bands playing right here in our NEPA backyard.
I recently had the pleasure of checking out a local talent I had heard about at TheVSpot in Scranton on one chilly Thursday evening. Come for the music of course, stay for the venue’s Thursday night delicious looking, bargain steak night special!
It was a stripped down, solo acoustic offering by a Jared Leto doppelgänger (just don’t tell him that, as he is not really a fan of the eclectic actor/musician) named Jake Orrell, or as his solo stage name he’s know far and wide as “Kelly King” in a band called Drowning Kelly. The rockstar sang some of his original tunes like the standout “Smoke and Mirrors,” along with some well known covers like The Cranberries’ “Zombie,” some Pearl Jam, and a more approachable version of ”Island in the Sun” by Weezer.
I was graciously given a promotional copy of the group’s eight-track debut album to sample entitled “10/31”. It’s no real mystery hearing the title what may have been the inspiration behind the album itself. Halloween was always Jake’s favorite holiday growing up, because “it was the one night of the year when as a child I felt safe and free. I could be who or whatever I wanted and nothing else mattered for a while.”
Kelly L. King has been performing since the impressionable age of 13, mainly beside his musician father in several collaborative projects: The J.O.B., Bon Poison, The Grunge, Rock God Radio, etc. Performing next to his dad is a “gift I’ll always be grateful to be blessed with. I find us always smiling and joking around with each other.”
When asked what famous bands or artists have inspired the young lad, he immediately broke out with “Breaking Benjamin” and “Linkin Park.” Other names of inspiration to follow were Nirvana, Disturbed, and Black Sabbath.
Moving forward, this enigmatic, blonde force is already working on Drowning Kelly’s second studio album. Their music can be found on most streaming services like Spotify, Pandora, YouTube Music, and Apple Music by simply typing in “Drowning Kelly.”
Look for many of the band’s upcoming live, “theatrical” performances throughout the region as Jake and his posse will be melodically fine tuning an event near you.
