London Inc. June 2022 - 18

Upfront Music
GETTING THE BAND BACK TOGETHER
After a long hiatus, Hello Kelly returns with modest expectations
and a refined take on success
BY ANY MEASURE, eight years of touring as a rock band
goes into the books as a big success. And it was for Londonbased
rock outfit Hello Kelly (www.hellokellymusic.com),
who toured from 2004 to 2012, releasing three records
along the way and amassing a community of fans across
the country.
Offer that trajectory to any band just forming in their
garage, and chances are they'll take it. So, after eight years,
when the band closed out that chapter, it'd be hard not to
call it a success and leave it at that.
But here we are, a decade later, and lead singer François
'Francy' Goudreault has reassembled Hello Kelly with a
new lineup, a new(ish) sound - and, maybe most importantly,
a new outlook on what the project means to them
and how success is defined.
" When we all started to get together, Francy had this
document drawn up about what success has looked like,
18|londonincmagazine.ca|JUNE 2022
 : Hello Kelly band members Cormac Elmes, François 'Francy'
Goudreault, Brent Lively and Aidan Scott
what it could look like and what it doesn't necessarily have
to look like, " says the band's bassist, Cormac Elmes.
All four band members have careers of one sort or
another outside of music, with families and responsibilities
thrown into the mix. So, it's not surprising a new
definition of success was on the table. Gone (for now) is
the laser-focus on a big tour; the band just wants to put on
a good show. What might've seemed like a stepping-stone
accomplishment in 2004 is now taking on a vastly different
meaning for them.
" We want to be an experience - and a party - but with
room for parents and kids, " says Elmes. " We're going to try
some new ideas to set ourselves apart. "
http://www.hellokellymusic.com
London Inc. June 2022

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