On the surface, the disparate parts of the Southern California quartet the BellRays seem to break down easily. The band, which blends old-school soul and hard rock, gets its soul side from Lisa ...

Lisa Kekaula is a knockout vocalist; her voice has been heard torching songs for the Basement Jaxx (“Good Luck”) and the Crystal Method (“High and Low”), and she perked up ears when her band the ...

Lisa Kekaula and the BellRays Always Deliver Whiplash Soul Credit: By David Ensminger The BellRays, featuring husband wife Bob Vennum and Lisa Kekaula, are a seminal, fiery rock’n’roll band that have ...

The BellRays have been forging their own path in rock and roll since their inception in 1990. Back then, as now, there were very few black women fronting rock bands, something lead singer Lisa Kekaula ...

In 1965 when a Byrds fan was asked to describe their music, she said, “they’re orange and green and yellow and near” and people actually knew what she meant. Of course you could get away with color ...

Former emo acolytes go searching for a heart of gold. While D.C.-area group Canyon’s deep roots may lie in the emo scene (via members’ previous bands, Boys Life and Farewell Bend), the only “emo” the ...

Cheap Tricks for Bellrays: Bob Vennum of rock & soulers the Bellrays told us about his love for a Cheap Trick gem. The next year they put out Live at Budakon and then I got it. I don’t think I put my ...

The punk and soul in the Bellrays’ music work like a chemical reaction: two independent and proficient pieces on their own which explode on contact, creating something wholly different, powerful and ...

Don’t bother asking Lisa Kekaula and Bob Vennum about the “return of rock and roll” currently celebrated by the mainstream music press. The married co-founders of the Bellrays will inform you that you ...

Don’t bother asking Lisa Kekaula and Bob Vennum about the “return of rock and roll” currently being celebrated by the mainstream music press. The married co-founders of the Riverside, California-based ...