The Roy Kay Trio is a hard working traditional rockabilly band from the Northwestern United States. The line-up of the trio is the same today as it was when they formed in late 2001. Although, all three players, Roy Kay (vocals and acoustic guitar), Robin Cady (upright bass) and Mike Geglia (electric guitar and harmony vocals) had been playing music long before they met, the trio gave them a new place to play the intense, stripped down, heart felt music they have loved since they were young. In the tradition of Johnny Burnette, Charlie Feathers, Carl Perkins, Buck Griffin, Hank Williams and Johnny Horton, the trio writes original music staying true to the spirit of early rockabilly and country.

 

Roy started playing bass and singing in various punk and primitive rock ‘n’ roll bands as a teenager in the mid-eighties in Southern California. In the nineties he moved to Seattle, and started to play guitar, drums and sing in various projects. It was one of those projects where Roy and Robin first played together, Roy on drums and Robin on upright bass. Robin had also been playing as a teenager in various punk bands in California. In the nineties he transitioned to upright bass and played with several Seattle rockabilly combos. Robin and Roy met Mike through a “guitarist wanted ad” in a local paper. Mike had just moved from New York, where he had grown up and got his start playing guitar and singing harmony with his brother when they were both very young. Since then he has also played guitar and sang in bands from New York and Seattle.

 

The trio got along great right from the start and in less than a year after forming recorded their first record “Wanderin’ Mind” on their own Lur Liner label. This record was recorded by Kearney Barton (Sonics, Wailers, etc.) and produced by Deke Dickerson in three days in Kearney’s vintage Seattle recording studio. In their first year they played up and down the west coast of the US.

 

The next year, 2003, brought appearances at Viva Las Vegas 6 on Saturday night, numerous Northwest US and Western Canadian festivals, and a Friday night spot at Spain’s High Rockabilly Festival 4. Earlier in 2003 at Viva Las Vegas, Roy and Ashley Kingman started discussing the idea of doing the trio’s next album down in Las Angeles with Wally Hersom recording and Ashley producing at Joey Altruda’s recording studio. The former Electro-Vox studio, founded in 1935 has been the host to Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, the Maddox Brothers, Eddie Cochran, most recently Big Sandy and the Fly-Right Boys and hundreds of others in the last 75 years.

 

In Early 2004 this plan became a reality. In three days in January the trio recorded “Knockin’ Em Back” live with no overdubs, just like the first record. Roy and Robin mastered this recording back in Seattle and it was released a month later to the trio’s distributor as LL002 on Lur Liner. In 2004 the trio has played Wild, Wild, Wild 4, the VLV pre-show at Gilley’s in Las Vegas, toured the Netherlands and Germany, played the infamous D-Day Festival in Amsterdam, both Northwest Folklife Festivals in Seattle and Yakima, a second appearance at Seattle’ Rockabilly Ball and have been booked for next year’s Rockabilly Rave 9 in England and Green Bay’s Rockin’ 50’s fest. Still writing and arranging new material they have recorded two songs to be presented on their first vinyl single. Additionally, they will be included on three new compilations coming out this fall.

 

What’s next, we’ll see!!!… but in 2005 aside from playing those great festivals they plan to record another album and get back to tour Europe in the fall.