Pedal Artwork
“I am shit at art and always knew I’d need to recruit someone to make my pedals look amazing. I had spent a few weekends wandering around various craft markets looking for possible artists to work with and gathered a few business cards here and there. Then, one night I got drunk and started thinking about what if I crash and burn with this project and only manage to make one batch of pedals that nobody buys? I thought if that was going to be the case then who would be my dream artist to do it? So, I fired off a message via social media to Conrad, because I’m a total fanboy of his music and his art.
The next day I was filled with hangover regret because of course he’s not going to be interested because I am an idiot with delusions of grandeur, and then anxiety engulfed me at the prospect of him actually saying yes.
Fortunately, no message came back, my anxiety returned to it’s more regular level of “high” and I went back to thinking of other options.
A few weeks later, in the middle of the night, my phone pings with a message from Conrad saying “Did I ever get back to you on this?”. We went back and forth as I outlined my ludicrous idea of starting a pedal making business with a ridiculous attachment to Australian birds, worked out the terms, and away we went. Too easy!”
You might be wondering how a plucky startup pedal maker in Australia manage to access a prestigious artist such as Conrad Keely to work on their pedals? Well…
In Paul’s own words:
Original painting for the Razorbeak pedalWe are stoked with how our first pedal Razorbeak has turned out, and are excited about working with Conrad for our future releases.
Razorbeak artwork development
So who is Conrad Keely?
A visual artist and musician, Conrad is best known as the singer of the art rock band ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead.
Born to an Irish Catholic mother in Nuneaton, UK then raised among his father's Muslim family in Thailand, Keely's background has been a story of continuous multi-diversity. His parents eventually relocated to Hawaii, where he met his musical partner and band-cofounder Jason Reece. Together they spent the last thirty years touring their band and seeing the world in all its multiplicities, while recording and producing eleven albums on various labels including Interscope Records, where they were a pet project of industry mogul Jimmy Iovine.
A rare 10/10 review from Pitchfork for their third album “Source Tags and Codes” that Conrad described as “preposterous” was indicative of the hype and acclaim around the band that led to appearances on the likes of The David Letterman, and Conan O’Brien shows. Although the band still exists as an artistic entity, he and Reece have currently put the their touring and recording on hiatus out of mutual disgust for the insipid climate of the current music industry, clueless record labels and even more clueless managers, and the mind-boggling mediocrity celebrated by the Recording Academy.
In the wake of the band's inactivity Keely has decided to focus his attention on the infinitely more rewarding visual arts. His desire to continue to support and advance musical innovation has led to his artistic collaboration with Galahcore FX and the aesthetic co-design of their guitar pedals with their founder, Paul Wright.
Keely has learned to take pride in the fact that he has never won an award for anything (not even in the band's hometown of Austin, TX), has never been wildly recognized for his output, and remains free to do whatever the fuck he likes without having to please or answer to anyone but himself.
Be sure to check out Conrad’s website to see, buy and commission more of his work; here are a few of our favourite non-Galahcore FX pieces…
