FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Kelly Moreno, Central California Coast singer-songwriter and Cal Poly Psychology Professor, releases his second album, He Smokes with God.
The album and songs feature stories informed by his psychotherapy practice
and the sunny and shadow sides of everyday life.
(San Luis Obispo, CA, September 20 , 2024 ) – Dr. J. Kelly “JK” Moreno has an interesting offering in music: realities he shares from a deeply introspective and intense career to create stories that draw you in with compelling characters and catchy melodies. As a psychology professor, researcher, psychotherapist, forensic examiner, expert witness, and novelist, Moreno has plenty of inspiration to craft his storytelling.
With a musical pedigree including his mother, a child prodigy on the piano and lifelong pianist, music was a constant throughout his life. Acquiring his first guitar at age six, he played and sang regularly until he completed college. Then he stopped.
Moreno received his doctorate in psychology and the next 25 years were spent teaching, treating patients, consulting on court cases, overseeing mental health centers and authoring a novel, Duty to Betray. Several counseling centers, seven hospitals, twice as many prisons, dozens of research papers, hundreds of patients, thousands of forensic reports, and twenty-five years later— Moreno was ready to make music again.
Showing up to his accountant’s band jam every Sunday afternoon for the next 10 years was just what Moreno needed to lift his mood and recover his musical passion. Songwriting began to flow, followed by gigs at wine bars, parks, breweries, wineries, and private parties up and down the central coast.
Next up, he began working with producer Rob Vermeulen, and within a year they arranged, recorded, and produced, Elsinore, Moreno’s first album. However, the timing to promote his debut work could not have come at a worse time—August 2020—which made sharing the record through live performances impossible.
Moreno got to work again on He Smokes With God, a collection of songs largely based on his work with psychiatric and forensic patients. It includes songs about the function of a delusion ("He Smokes With God"), friends who like us better when we’re down ("Dark Weather Friend"), hope ("Come With Me"), OCD ("Sick With Thought"), acceptance ("Pitchfork Princess"), and other stories from the couch.
The record was recorded in Nashville and straddles rock, blues, reggae, americana, and country genres. It features a slew of accomplished session players such as Steve Latanation (drummer; Agent Orange), Fats Kaplin (pedal steel/violin/mandolin; John Prine), and sound engineer Stephen Leiwike (Yackland Studio).
Moreno says, “Were it not for music, I would not be here. It was music that brought my parents together; it was music that kept me sane during insane times; and it has been and remains music that keeps the dark passenger at bay and brings joy, levity, and light to every day I sing, play, and write.”
He Smokes With God is available on all streaming platforms.
The JK Moreno band plays an album release party for He Smokes With God on October 19 with an 10-piece band including a Brass Mash horn section!
Location: Mulligan’s, Avila Beach
Date & Time: Saturday, Oct 19, 5-7pm Free. All welcome!
Available media resources:
Please contact Liz Kay for images, music and interview requests.
805.994.9952
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