Photo provided The Weirton-based band Keller is heading to Los Angeles to perform at the iconic Whisky a Go Go.

WEIRTON — James Keller and Geoff Tomes still have a hard time believing how fast things happened not too long ago.

They had sent a press kit about their band, Keller, to Whisky a Go Go, and 45 minutes later, they received an offer to play at the iconic music venue.

“If you would have told us a year ago that we were going to be here, we would have said no way,” said James Keller while talking about the Weirton-based band that carries his name. “When Geoff told me he was going to send the press kit, I was like, go ahead, but I had sent them 10 years worth of press kits with (his former band) Dissension and never heard anything.”

That all changed, and Keller is set to perform May 29 in Hollywood as an opening act for Powerman 5000. It’s a familiar pairing — Keller also opened for them last Monday during a show at the Crafthouse Stage and Grill in Pittsburgh.

“For me, it’s a vision come to fruition,” said Keller, who is the band’s lead singer. “My mother saw me on that stage long ago. When we got it, I couldn’t believe it. I wish both my mom and dad were here to see this because it’s pretty big — we’re from Weirton, and we’re going to Los Angeles and Hollywood, and we’re going to step onto the same stage that Jim Morrison made famous.

“We’re going to go on the backs of legends. We’re going to put our names with theirs,” he added.

The band’s lineup includes Keller and Tomes, a Weirton resident who plays drums, as well as co-vocalist Denise Powers of Weirton, Shawn Roe of Mingo Junction on guitar and Jason Poulton of Weirton on bass. They perform all original hard rock.

It’s a true collaboration, Keller explained.

“What we like to do is tell a story, every song is a story,” he said. “You know, personal growth. We all have these things that weigh us down, we’ve got these skeletons in the closet, or demons that gnaw at our ankles. We all have them — and it’s through song that saved all of us, so we use it to reach out to other people.”

Roe said that’s a strength.

“That’s what I like about our band,” he said. “All of us come from other backgrounds of music. We all have different styles. If you put all of us in a vehicle together, we’re not going to pick one song where everybody’s like ‘yeah.’ That makes writing pretty fun.”

Like Keller, Roe said the chance to play at the legendary club on the Sunset Strip that opened in 1964 was important.

“My dad grew up as a 1970s and ’80s child, so, of course while I was growing up I listened to a lot of ’80s rock through him,” he said. “Being able to follow in the path of Motley Crue and all of them and to know that most of the bands got their start on this stage … to be able to walk in those same footsteps and to do the same things they did, it’s just unreal.”

The sentiment is shared by Tomes.

“As soon as I found out, I called my parents and my grandma, because all three were big reasons for me listening to music of that era that was played on that stage,” he said. “It was just kind of unreal to be telling them that we were going to be traveling to California to play on a rock ‘n roll hall of fame stage. As soon as we are done, Keller will be a part of Whisky history.”

Each of the musicians brings a lot of experience to the stage. Tomes said he has been playing for 15 years, while Powers has been singing since she was 5 and Poulton has more than 30 years of experience. Roe said he has been around music all of his life, adding that his immediate uncles all played drums or guitar, and his great-uncle is Rob Parissi of Wild Cherry fame.

Keller said he started out as a dancer and then got involved with music, starting a band at his mother’s insistence. He and Tomes had a 14-year run with Dissension, before Keller said he closed it down in 2019 and, a couple of months later, formed Keller.

Keller’s song list includes “SINS,” a new single that Keller said the band’s fans really enjoy. There’s a new single, “Leave Me Alone,” that’s ready for release, he added, saying the song has received a pretty good response when they have played it live.

While Keller used to play in local bars, most of its performances today are at clubs in Pittsburgh, including Jergel’s Rhythm Grille and Preserving Underground. After the trip to Los Angeles, the band will be widening its area, members said, branching out to Indiana and Delaware, while looking to New York and Georgia.

The message they want to share is a positive one, something that touches all age groups.

“We want people to believe in themselves and to believe in the power of God,” Keller said. “That’s important to me — Christ has got to be the center in this, because he is making all of this happen. We live in a society where people want that instant gratification, and when they don’t get it on their first try, they give up. There are a lot of bullies and this, that and the other and tearing people down. We don’t want to be that group.

“We want people to see us as doing what we need to do to provide a better tomorrow,” he continued. “This is just not about playing music — it’s about the message. The message is more important than anything.”

Keller added that in earning the trip to the Whisky they will be able to represent our area on a true international stage.

“We hope that by us going out there, we represent more than ourselves,” he said. “We represent here, whoever’s at home, and I hope we can make everyone proud, and I hope that by us achieving this that we can prove that no matter what your background is, no matter where you come from or where you are, if you believe you want to do something, you have to believe that you can do it.

“You can’t allow the naysayers to tell you that you can’t,” he continued. “As soon as those naysayers start talking and you listen to them, you will never go anywhere. Just get tunnel vision, set your goal and chase it, because it will become a reality if you work at it. Everything worth having is worth hard work, and it takes a lot of hard work to take a chance on yourself — you just have to bet on yourself. Most important, you have to believe in yourself.

“I’ve been told a million times that I’m a terrible singer — well, guess what? I might be doing something right if I’m playing at the Whisky,” Keller added. “You just can’t listen to the negative — you have to stay positive, and you have to believe in yourself even when nobody else does. Because either way, God has you — just give it to him and let him take the wheel and see what happens.”