Deer in the Spotlight
It all started, as most great music stories do
Words by Jinky Romero Portrait by Shelby Bella
Alyssa Kelly and Matt Salois had already been fans of each other’s works before they officially met in 2015. In that meeting, an idea was formed. With such complementing musical styles, why not try their hand at collaborating? They performed for the very first time as a duo during open mic at Firehouse Lounge. The rest, as they say, is history.
After a year of performing together as a duo, they decided to expand their band, now known as Deer Fellow, to include Joel Klaus on drums and John Wilhelm on bass.
With such diverse talent in one group, it’s hard to imagine how they can commit to just one sound. The answer is they don’t. “We’re a multi-hyphenated band,” Salois shares candidly.
Deer Fellow started out as an indie-folk, The Civil Wars-esque duo, focused more on both Kelly’s and Salois’ vocals with just an acoustic guitar and/or keys as accompaniment. With the addition of their rhythm section, they moved on to making indie-folk-rock music. They then decided to add jazzier elements to their sound, a fitting complement to their already soulful vocals, falling into the genre they dubbed as indie-alt-soul. It’s definitely a shift back to their more vocals-focused music, with a new wave soul twist; something, the band says, they plan to continue.
“As an artist, you try all these different things until you find out that this is what we really want to do, and this is who we want to be. I think we’re kind of figuring that out,” Kelly muses.
With the music that they write, they find inspiration everywhere and in everything: songs that come while in the shower, songs inspired by TV shows ranging from Dora the Explorer to Fargo, but mostly, songs that stem from personal experiences and universal human emotions.
Their latest single, “Black Honey,” is Kelly’s unfiltered take on the conversations people have with that negative voice in their head. “Stop Telling Me Lies,” she sings repeatedly in the track and, as a listener, you know exactly why she’s pleading because hey, we’ve all been there before too. The band also has their fair share of awesome covers, from classics such as Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me” to R. Kelly’s RnB hit “Ignition.”
When talking about the future, they share a genuine smile before Salois answers, “The goal is not to be crazy big, but big enough to know our music is reaching a big audience, where we know it’s making a difference and inspiring other artists – that’s all I really want.”
The future looks brighter than ever for Deer Fellow. They’re back to recording, with two singles slated to come out this year. Kelly and Salois, both from East Austin, are hoping to play more of their favorite Eastside venues, sharing how much they love their part of town. “It’s chill and laid back – progressive, but still has its roots,” Salois says. Deer Fellow’s unique, grassroots sound seems to be in rhythm with the progressive and laid back community they call home.
Contact:
deerfellowmusic@gmail.com
deerfellow.com
