Night Ranger celebrates 40 (+) years of an illustrious and impressive career with a special release which has already received positive reviews as it is a live album with an orchestra comprised of teenage musicians. So we grab the opportunity to get in touch with the band’s drummer, singer and founding member Kelly Keagy in order to learn a little more about the whole project and of course to go back in time for a walk down in memory lane… Interview: Sakis Nikas
Rockpages.gr: Kelly, first of all, I know that you’re a band with mainly an American fan base but you should do more European tours in the future because you also have many fans all around Europe.
Kelly Keagy: Yeah, I know. We have never played in Greece…you know, I was just talking to someone and I said that we haven’t played in Europe so much because we haven’t really broken that market like we have done in Japan and other countries. We enjoy every single time we visit Europe because we combine work with vacations (laughs).
Rockpages.gr: You celebrate Night Ranger’s 40th anniversary with the release of a special live album with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra. Was it on your bucket list to record an album with orchestra?
Kelly Keagy: Some friends of ours have recorded albums in the past with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra in Cleveland and they said it was a wonderful experience working with younger people in a huge orchestra setting. We also chose Cleveland because that was the place where Night Ranger first broke…on the radio. It was a great opportunity to come back to the place where Night Ranger songs were heard on the radio. Also, it was great to play with young people…actually, they were handpicked to play with us. It was a very good experience.
Rockpages.gr: You have played these classic Night Ranger songs countless times and I guess it’s like a muscle memory for you. Was it, though, kinda refreshing doing different versions of those classic songs?
Kelly Keagy: You know…it was kinda difficult to put “You Can Still Rock In America” and “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me” in an orchestra environment. But we did think that it was a unique challenge to try it and see what happens. That’s actually the case with any live recording in regards with how it will go down. Not how we are gonna perform as a band but how the orchestra will fit with us. That was the real challenge but also they were young people that maybe some of them haven’t played in such a live environment. That was a challenge, too. Make those Night Ranger songs orchestrated.
Rockpages.gr: How cool it was to see teenagers play songs that you have written 40 years ago?
Kelly Keagy: Oh yeah…very cool. The audience had enjoyed that experience, too. Lots of hardcore Night Ranger fans have travelled from all over the States for this unique event.
Rockpages.gr: With the exception of the song “High Road”, all the other songs are taken from the first four Night Ranger albums. Was it hard to come up with a setlist for this unique event?
Kelly Keagy: Not really because we wanted to record the setlist that we doing on this touring season. We also had to be careful not to be too complicated for the orchestra, too. Some of the songs were more difficult to orchestrate, like for instance the song “Night Ranger”. It’s an up tempo song with different guitar licks and some of these things can be a little bit more complicated but we thought it would be a good challenge for both of us and the youth orchestra.
Rockpages.gr: Kelly, you know that I am huge Night Ranger fan and I gotta tell you that you could have used a song or two from “Man In Motion”. I mean…“Restless Kind”, “Don’t Start Thinkin’” or “Reason To Be”. What do you think?
Kelly Keagy: I think you are right! You know, it’s funny that you mentioned “Reason To Be” because after we recorded this show and we continue with the tour and we decided to play a few times “Reason To Be” and the audience reaction was really good. So, maybe we should look at that album again. When we select songs we always think of the audience and how we are gonna keep them engaged to the whole experience. The truth is that some of the people that come to our shows are not familiar with “Man In Motion”. At least, not so much. But you’re right…in that setting we could have played something from “Man In Motion”.
Rockpages.gr: As a matter of fact when we last saw each other a few years ago, you told me that “Restless Kind” was the song that you’d love to play sometime in the future…you may be pleasantly surprised to see the audience’s response despite the fact that “Man In Motion” is not as popular as…let’s say “Midnight Madness” or “Seven Wishes”.
Kelly Keagy: I love “Man In Motion”! I remember turning that album in without a ballad on it…well, except “Reason To Be” which is kind of a ballad. We turned it in to MCA and they laughed! They said that they couldn’t release a Night Ranger album without a ballad. So, we went back to the drawing board and wrote “Restless Kind” which was the last song that we recorded for the album. They were very happy with us although they didn’t use the song as a single!
Rockpages.gr: In a 10-year period –between 2011 and 2021-, you’ve released 4 studio albums. I guess that says a lot for a band that doesn’t want to be a nostalgia act but it wants to remain current and productive…
Kelly Keagy: Playing live it’s fun and enjoyable because it keeps us in touch with our audience but making albums is like an artistic thing for us. It’s important for us to keep growing and expanding from a musical standpoint. We gotta create new music because that’s the very reason we are here as a band. It’s not about making money but creating something from scratch. That’s the reason why we go into the studio every two or three years…to create new music. I believe that thought applies to everybody in the world. Everyone has some sort of creativity in their souls. That’s a big part of being happy in your life.
Rockpages.gr: Kerri Kelly and Eric Levy are excellent musicians and wonderful individuals. Did they brought the much needed stability that Night Ranger wanted for quite some time?
Kelly Keagy: I think it was a real “plus” to find Kerri and Eric because they kinda completed the band. We were very fortunate to find them because they are, as you said, excellent musicians who contribute both in the studio and in the shows. I am very happy for both of them.
Rockpages.gr: On the other hand, I can’t help but asking you about Alan (Fitzerald) and Jeff (Watson)…when you last saw each other?
Kelly Keagy: Well, it’s been a while…we haven’t played together for quite some time. After the “Man In Motion” tour we broke up and then returned in the 90s for a reunion album and tour. You know…things change. People don’t wanna do records anymore or tour so much. But I think it would be fun to play with these guys again and see what happens.
Rockpages.gr: That’s great to hear from you because I know that lots of Night Ranger fans are asking for a special appearance from them…you know…a song or two. Especially they are asking for Alan who has disappeared really (laughs)!
Kelly Keagy: Yeah, I know…it would be cool.
Rockpages.gr: Kelly, before the Ranger days…and I am not referring to Night Ranger but to…Ranger!
Kelly Keagy: Oh yeah (laughs).
Rockpages.gr: There was a band called Stereo which morphed into Ranger. I guess that was somewhere around 1979.
Kelly Keagy: Correct.
Rockpages.gr: Were there any songs from the Stereo days that ended up as Night Ranger songs?
Kelly Keagy: Sure! The song “Touch of Madness” originally was a song called “Diary of a Madman”. Actually, I saw only a couple of weeks ago a clip of Ranger playing that song in Oakland, California…in 1980/81. Before we even got signed we had a song called “Diary of a Madman”. We used some of the lyrics to make “Touch of Madness”. Also, I think “Sister Christian” existed long before the “Midnight Madness” record. “Penny” was also written during the Stereo days. I believe we were also playing “Eddie’s Comin’ Out Tonight” with a different arrangement as Ranger. Actually, this is also available on YouTube and you can check it out!
Rockpages.gr: Do you miss the 80s?
Kelly Keagy: Yeah, of course. But you know the real cool thing is when you evolve as a band and at a time you need a break, you come back later and see that people had missed you. Nowadays we enjoy more success that we haven’t seen in a long time. We are selling lots of tickets, we are playing summer festivals, we are doing our headlining tours in theaters. So it’s really enjoyable to still have an audience waiting for you to play.
Rockpages.gr: Any regrets..? Would you change anything?
Kelly Keagy: Not really. Everything went kinda like it was supposed to be actually. Evolving as a band and enduring managements, record companies and music changes. We are very lucky to have a label like Frontiers and Serafino who really takes care of us. Relationships change but we are still here. Ultimately we are a band and we will do anything to play live shows and record albums. Even if we didn’t have a record label we would still write songs.
Rockpages.gr: You know when friends ask me what my favorite Night Ranger record is, I always say “Midnight Madness”. What’s yours?
Kelly Keagy: Yeah…you know, we always evolve. We had some pretty good records in the 90s. I think “Seven” was a good record which was almost modern and you gotta remember that it’s important for an artist to experiment out of his norm and out of his usual musical environment. I know that the fans didn’t really like much that record but it’s still one of my favorite albums. But when you are an up and coming band and you are at your peak as a singer and an artist, then the first 3 or 4 records are always gonna be very important.
Rockpages.gr: And how about the most underrated one? For me it will always be a toss between “Man In Motion” and “Neverland”.
Kelly Keagy: I think you are correct. Especially, “Man In Motion” is quite possibly the most underrated Night Ranger album because it has so many great songs on it. We were riding the tail end of the 80s and the music was about to change in the 90s. I am glad that we made that record because it was important to us.
