Keith Karloff - Biography
AKA Keith Gale
KEITH'S CURRENT PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE with The BONEDRIVERS
|
|
Keith Karloff is a musician's musician in every sense of the term.
A Singer/ Songwriter who has been in radio rotation consistently since the early 1980s, Karloff is also a multi-instrumentalist and producer. He began his musical career as a drummer at the age of nine and played his first paid gig by age twelve. By the time Keith was seventeen years old, he was a full time working musician, under the tutelage of Soul great Bernard Purdie. Performing as Keith Gale, his early career included stints in regional N.Y. and N.J. outfits Peacock, Baby, Whiplash, Samantha and Streetfigher. During this period, he recorded as a vocalist, songwriter, drummer, bassist and guitar player for the RCA, Polygram, Island and Ze Labels and recorded at RCA, Electric Ladyland, House of Music and The Record Plant with noted Producers Jimmy Iovine, Joe Lopes and Mike Frondelli.
As a consequence of physical injury, Keith was forced to make a career transition from his primary instrument of drums to bass where he soon scored the Gold Record "Poemmes Rock" by Charlelie Couture (Island Records) while doing session work at Electric Ladyland Studios. An additional track was recorded by Keith for Charlelie which was included on the "Ze Christmas Album" (Ze/Island Records), earning Keith earned his second Gold Record. Kid Creole & The Coconuts and The Waitresses were also featured on this recording.
After moving from role to role within bands for most of his career, it was apparent the one constant in Keith's musical journey was to be songwriting, so his next move was to form and front his own band "Keith Gale". This fledgling outfit performed at such iconic NYC venues as CBGBs, Max's Kansas City, Xenon, 8 BC, Pyramid Club, The Bitter End and Folk City. On record and stage, Karloff has worked with music legends and contemporary groups as diverse as James Taylor, Iggy Pop, Cyndi Lauper, The Ramones, Twisted Sister (Karloff's teenage upstart band "Peacock" who recorded for RCA featured future Twisted Sister front man Dee Snider), David Bromberg, The Belmonts, Gary U.S. Bonds, Arlene Smith and the Chantelles, Wild Magnolias, Dave Mason, Meat Loaf, Savoy Brown and Alvin Youngblood Hart.
Keith Gale @ The Bitter End, NYC 1983 |
Early Cal Promo Shot circa 1985 |
At Xenon, NYC Early 80s |
| **NEW! KEITH'S PERSONAL BAND PICS!!** |
