Colin Keenan

Dubbed, “The Minister of Sinister” by bassist Bryan Beller (The Aristocrats) for his dark-hued lyrics and cynical outlook, Colin Keenan started his music career in Connecticut where he played in various bands. After a series of foreseeable failures, Keenan entered Berklee College of Music in Boston as a bass player and composer. Fortunately, Berklee did provide a fertile ground for his latent songwriting skills, and he was soon writing and performing with Brad Fernquist (GooGoo Dolls), Wes Wehmiller (Duran Duran), and film/TV composer Shawn Pierce among others. After graduating and moving to Los Angeles, Keenan fronted the seminal band, I, Claudius with Wehmiller, Joe Travers of Zappa fame and other LA session musicians. Following the dissolution of Claudius, he started the “Mother Eff” project with Guitarist, Rick Musallam (Ben Taylor, Carly Simon), Bryan Beller and Joe Travers. Their “Are We Famous Yet” album was met with critical acclaim, and featured guest artists such as Mike Kenneally. Relying on his classical composition background combined with Berklee’s jazz-infused palette, and with an abiding love for the simplicity and lyricism of the American singer-songwriter tradition, Keenan soon turned to creating his own complex yet accessible music.