Good Lord. This man is bad to the bone.
By Travis Fitzgerald

On October 27th, dark rainy Friday night that left most of the tidewater region indoors and void of excitement I ventured down to Casper's, wonderful bar sitting down on the oceanfront of Virginia beach to check out Ed Kelleher, the "one man band" of Hampton roads. As I walked down the corridor I heard the subtle groove of a bass line and some great drums overlaid with an incredible guitar riff. Ed's voice was apparently honed into a blues rock machine by strict regimen of cigarettes and lots of Jack. Lots and lots of it.

I was fortunate enough to share a drink with him between his sets and get to know this one man show.

Splash- Ed. A pleasure to meet you.
Ed Kelleher- heh. hey what's going on! Want a drink?
Splash- do I have to argue that? Rum and coke please. (insert drinks here)
S-so ed. Please explain this whole 'one man band' concept to me. What is it that brings you to this point.
E- well I was tired of the bitching and the whining that comes with trying to organize a group and decided it was time to go on alone. I do play with one guy from time to time at bigger gigs and he's a great guy, but I just enjoy what I do. I had a band for a bit but it became too much of a job, I wanted to play to enjoy, because I love music.....not because it was a 'job'. So I went solo about 5 years ago... I'll tell ya...the worst are drummers. Always showing up drunk, they're nuts.
S- I've been a drummer for 13 years. I'm really trying to find a good argument....but I got nothing. *laughs*.... So what else do you do with your time for work?
E- this is what I do. I retired a few years ago and decided it was time to do what I wanted...and I wanted to play music. Its held through an ex-wife and a few girlfriends. They are cool with the music for the first month then they usually start to get cranky about it.
S- sounds fantastic. I'm envious. So business is good then?
E- yeah. The summer is busy as hell with gigs all the time, but I keep busy in the winter doing a lot of indoor gigs and Christmas parties. My girlfriend will usually join me on those adventures.
(around this time his girlfriend Cathy McInnis stepped in)
S - a pleasure to meet you Cathy.
C - likewise, enjoying the show so far?
S - absolutely. I hear you two put on a good show together sometimes? How's that work out?
E - great. We have a lot of fun giging and drinking up and down the strip then ridding our bikes around drunk. Its a blast. We're gonna get back to the music for a bit...
S - thank you so much. Its been great meeting you guys. I look forward to seeing you play again.
E - thank you. Its been great.

I stuck around for a little while. Worked on a few rum and cokes watching Ed play, I was worried the lack of traditional accompaniment would be weird, but he carried it, and carried it well. No showboating and overbearing noise, just a man, his guitar and good old classic rock, gritty blues and a tone that just makes you wanna find a corner table and get another sweaty glass of jack and coke. All the groove and soul to make the alcohol flavored ice cubes satisfy until the bartender can provide backup in the blues rock inspired war against sobriety.
Cathy joined him on stage for a couple songs and showed her wonderful vocal talent. It was a treat. The two of them performed a 3 doors down cover of 'Kryptonite' that had me singing along. The two have a chemistry on stage that really brings the passion to the music.
Clapton, Bob Segar, George Thourogood and Johnny Cash slammed out on the strings with the bouncers carrying out the drunk dude shouting out 'play freebrid!!'
If you're looking for some good music to compliment a good night on the rocks, Ed Kelleher is your man. Blues, rock, and a little twang for everyone to enjoy. Go check out this one man party.