Lenny Keys
I Am I Am Not Band
When did you first get into music? Started classical education on piano at 6 years old. First, (high school pop) band at 15. After immigrating to the USA, I joined a pop band in New York. I played in clubs, a lot of international pop/rock/jazz/folk... music. It was great schooling. Who or What inspired you to pursue a career in music? My grandma was an opera singer. She insisted on my music education. During my teens, (back in Ukraine) I discovered.....Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Pink Floyd.... - classics which sparked my love for THAT SOUND. Of course, later on, different music styles came along and widened my pallet.
How has your music evolved since you first began performing/songwriting? Music is just like any other skill, the more you practice/perform the better you get. And by studying/adapting new styles/instruments/technologies...one gets better and better. Same goes for writing/composing. I’m sure you have shared the stage with a lot of talented artists/celebrities along the way. Would you share 1 or 2 of your favorite stories with us? Chris Penn just showed up once at our gig and wanted to sit-in. I was surprised how good of a blues singer he was. Prince with his girlfriend and another couple came in for a bite while in Honolulu. Gave us a thumb up. At a Russian club (NY) where I was gigging for a while, Neil Armstrong just showed up with a friend for dinner. A shy quiet man. While playing in a fine dining restaurant in Honolulu, M. Baryshnikov stopped by after a performance. We chatted a bit. A very nice guy. He came in every night for a week after theater, to relax. Narada Michael Walden came in to listen to our girl singer. “Almost” produced her :)
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