Keith Slettedahl is not your typical rock musician.
Oh sure, he’s got the chops and the look. He’s collaborated with some of the best musicians in Los Angeles and he’s backed Rock and Roll Hall Of Famer Ray Davies of the Kinks. He even has the theme song from the popular television show “Community” under his belt.
Credit: Melissa Sims-Slettedahl
Credit: Melissa Sims-Slettedahl
But the lanky artist did what most folks in his position probably would never consider doing. He left a burgeoning multimedia career in L.A. for a much more subdued domestic life in the metro Atlanta area.
“Well, the reason is family,” he says simply. “My wife is from Atlanta. I’ve been coming out here for years, for summers and holidays. When my father-in-law passed away in 2016, we started thinking about maybe moving here to be closer to my mother-in-law at some point.” A year later, when Slettedahl’s band The 88 ended, the family decided the time was right to relocate.
“But to be honest, we really didn’t know what we were doing,” he laughs. “Our daughter was in third grade and the ball just started rolling. Before you knew it, we were on our way here and we had to find a good school for her. Looking back, I think we were pretty crazy, like, what did we even think we were doing? It was a big task but it all worked out and I’m quite glad we’re here.”
Settling into the north Atlanta suburbs, full-time musician Slettedahl knew he could continue working in the film and television industry. “I’d done that forever and I knew I could do that here because of the incredible scene. When you get to a certain place in your life — after having a kid, being a little older and having gone through all the ups and downs of the music business, living here is even more appealing.”
The West Coast-born artist adds that he didn’t feel any sort of culture shock or creative upheaval from the initial move. “People out here have this stereotyped version of what L.A. is like, and I think people out there have a stereotypical version of what the South is like. They’re all wrong.” The self-described “boring person in his forties” adds that, “We weren’t exactly hanging out in Hollywood or anything anyway. We lived in Pasadena and Altadena so it’s not that different here, really.”
But he says parenting can change a musician’s mindset. In Slettedahl’s case, it led to the formation of a new band. “It’s like, all of a sudden, you’re just doing whatever your kid’s doing at any given moment. You’re hanging out with parents from your kids’ school and it just kind of dictates your whole life.” His current band The Announcements was originally formed from merely socializing with fellow fathers in the area. “I wasn’t really thinking of putting a band together and I never thought I’d have a ‘dad band,’ you know?” But that’s exactly what happened. So be careful what you wish for!”
Combining forces with Chris Blais on drums, Alvin Lingenfelter on bass, and Ben Karp on lead guitar, Slettedahl says the players’ varied influences make it interesting for him while presenting a new challenge. Originally formed to play covers and mingle, “I was like, ‘Yeah, maybe that’ll be fun.’ That’s pretty much how it started. We’d just pick songs to learn and then we’d get together and probably talk more than we’d actually play.”
Credit: Melissa Sims-Slettedahl
Credit: Melissa Sims-Slettedahl
But the concept quickly shifted when the other musicians wanted to take the concept to the next level and play real shows. “Yeah, they wanted to do ‘real’ gigs,” he says almost incredulously. “They wanted to learn my songs and just go for it. It’s not like it’s jazz or anything, but at the same time it’s definitely not straight down the middle stuff, either. It’s a bit left field.”
The budding band, playing material from Slettedahl’s 2020 album “You Know, You Know,” played a trial show at Smith’s Olde Bar last year, eventually followed by a sold-out performance this past May at Eddie’s Attic. “To have this kind of fall in my lap — really in spite of myself — is amazing,” he says. “There’s something in me that literally does not get expressed anywhere else but on stage. When I play live, I’m like, ‘Why do I not do this more?’ So to get back in touch with that feeling has been pretty incredible, ‘cause I hadn’t fronted a band in like seven years.”
Part of his emerging renaissance has been embracing “At Least It Was Here,” the song that became famous as the theme to the television series “Community.” “For years, with The 88, we never played that song live,” he explains. “When we did it, it was for the pilot. Who knows if a pilot is going to take off? But even after it did, I was like, ‘Well ok, I have all these other songs I’ve written, so why should I look back on that one?’ It’s taken me quite a while to see that people love the show, maybe more now than when it was first broadcast. I’m not embarrassed of it at all, but it took a while to get the point where I’ve finally embraced it. It’s been in everyone’s living rooms for a while and seems to mean a lot to the people who love the show. Sometimes it takes a while to appreciate what was right there, all along. Really since being in Atlanta, it’s like, ‘Dude, it’s the most popular thing you’ve ever written. Why are you not playing it?’ So ok, I get it! I’ll be playing it for a while. And loving it!”
CONCERT PREVIEW
Keith Slettedahl and the Announcements
9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5. $12-$15. Eddie’s Attic, 515-B North McDonough St., Decatur. 404-377-4976, eddiesattic.com
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