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***Rock City News gives Kelly's Lot "Best Blues Band" Award for 2004.***

***Kelly's Lot chosen to play Freedom Fest at Nellis Air Force Base on July 3!***

 

A Note from Kelly

I wanted to take a minute to thank all of you for coming out to our shows in the past and I look forward to seeing you at future ones. Keep sending us those e-mails and all those referrals of new fans and shows. We couldn't keep doing this without you. We are still working on raising awareness about Hepatitis C and you can get information about this virus at any of our gigs. I lost my friend Gioia because of Hepatitis C. She is the reason I chose this cause. So if there is anything you can do to help with Hep C Awareness DO IT! If you want to share a story or just make a comment send us an e-mail. Here is part of a letter I received after we appeared on a television show in Houston:

"I saw you all on Debra Duncan last month and wanted to thank you for the work and support you all are doing ...I have hep c and b and wished I would of come out that night and I pray if you all ever come back that I can see you all perform. I too wanted to be a singer and songwriter and lost the ambition when I got sick. Thank you again for speaking out for us that sometimes are not able to do it for ourselves. I am grateful for the willingness of your hearts to do the work you all are doing it truly is an answered prayer....educating others ...one day at a time... love, joy"

"Hearing your music in the distance approaching that last mile really helped me! This was my fourth marathon and the first time I ran across thefinish line." - a fellow marathon runner

Kelly's Lot was featured on ABC Perspectives, a news magazine for radio. (Interview by Jay Sorgi)

Chosen from thousands, Kelly's Lot was 1 of 20 in Los Angeles Lilith Fair Talent Search.

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"Our community is so rich with talented songwriters & performers of many musical forms. Tops among this group is Kelly Z. & her band, "Kelly's Lot." This talented group of musicians fronted by Kelly Z.'s exciting & electric vocal style performs their rock/blues original music at endless charitable functions throughout the year. Whether it's giving of their time & talents to promote Hepititis C Awareness in music clubs both nationally & locally or helping the Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce in lining up talent for various community events & the nationally recognized NoHo Theatre Arts Festival, this is a very special performer whose heart is as big as her sound."
Bruce Spiegel, President Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce

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Kelly's Lot Tours from LA to Boston Tour for Hepatitis C Awareness

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"JUST CAUSE" - ARIZONA STATE PRESS Kelly Zirbes doesn't have Hepatitis C, but she's singing across the country so the disease won't be a secret anymore. Kelly Zirbes of the Los Angeles-based band, Kelly’s Lot, travels the country to raise awareness about Hep C through the third annual GoGirlsMusic fest, titled, “Get Hip to Hep C.” Zirbes lost a friend to the liver-deteriorating disease and says she wants people to be able to talk about it without shuddering. Kelly croons about love and life with her band, Kelly's Lot, but the singer/marathon runner/motivational speaker has an ulterior motive when performing. She wants people to talk about Hepatitis C. Better yet, she wants them to do it without cringing. "Hepatitis C is a lot more serious than you could ever imagine," says Zirbes, who's hosting a nationwide series of concerts called "Get Hip to Hep C" as part of the third annual GoGirlsMusic Fest.  > Read rest of article

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Part of LA Times Article on 2/26/02 By RUTH STROUD-Contributing Writer

......For Kelly Zirbes, who placed third among women in her age group, says her time is less important than her charitable agenda. Showcasing her blues-rock band, Kelly's Lot, and raising awareness of an insidious but little discussed disease, Hepatitis C, are her top priorities.

Zirbes will be one busy lady at the 5K, singing the national anthem, then running the race, and finally, performing with her band at the Finish Line Festival. The Finish Line performance will kick off the band's tour through seven cities culminating at the Boston Marathon. Seven-year-old Kelly's Lot, which includes sax, drums, base, guitar and vocals, also helped raise $10,000 for cancer research at the LA. Marathon two years ago.The band also performed at the LA. Marathon last year, and Zirbes handed out flyers about Hepatitis C, a blood-borne disease that affects the liver and proved fatal for one of her close friends.

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a note from a fan:

"Hi KELLY, I'm doing fine, working on my new web site "Habitat for Wildlife.com". I got the idea from doing the artwork for your band, and saw all of the charity work you were doing for the SPCA and Hepatitis C. So I thought I could do something similar with my time and art." - Joseph Antol check it out! www.habitatforwildlife.com

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LET'S GET INSPIRED! - send me an e-mail about what you are doing to Make A Difference!

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A little something a friend of ours wrote to us!

I wanted to tell you about something really cool that happened last Thursday, but first a little background. I was getting tired of all the tapes I had in my car, so I spent about 3 hours one day making a tape of all my favorite songs, all the songs I never ever get tired of listening to. So, last Thursday, I was driving home from work and watching my odometer because my car was about 1 mile away from turning 100,000 miles. I started thinking about when I bought my car 10 years ago when I was just19 and a college student who had never lived anywhere but Delaware. I thought about how I never could have imagined that first of all I would even still have this car when it turned 100,000 miles, not to mention driving it in L.A. when it turned! I was just loving my car and my life at that moment and the song that was on playing on my special tape was Ripple by The Gratefu Dead, which is one of my all-time favorite songs. I was just driving along with this big old smile on my face thinking how perfect the whole moment was and thinking how cool it was that Ripple would be the song playing when the big rollover happened. Then - BAM - I got stuck at a red light! As I sat there and listened to Ripple end, I was so bummed! I was thinking, "Oh, man! That was the perfect song for this moment! This sucks that it ended before the rollover." But then, I almost started to cry when the next song started. It was none other than Back to L.A. by Kelly's Lot. I didn't think there was a more perfect song than Ripple to listen to at that moment, but I was wrong. So, when the real moment came and my little Pypsy car rolled over to100,000 miles, I was singing Back to L.A. with all my heart! It was a moment in my life that I'll never forget. When I told Rick (my husband) this story, he got all choked up, too and we both decided that it was absolutely necessary to tell you about it, so, here it is. No matter where I wind up in my life, you and Kelly's Lot will always be a part of my history (and hopefully present!).

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Kelly's Lot and the Los Angeles Marathon

How can you run a marathon and then jump on a stage and sing RocknRoll? Easy I said, like I say about most things in my life. Just Do it! I remember when Nike came out with that slogan. I immediately started wearing Nike running shoes. That was a long time ago and I still swear by that slogan! So here I was at the Los Angeles Marathon, March 5, 2000. The plan was to run the marathon and then join my band on a stage set up near the finish line. Easy enough! Then the rain came, rain like no other L.A. Marathon day had seen. I was drenched within 1 mile. 25.2 more to go with soaking feet, freezing hands and a cough that wouldn't quit. So I was sick, that wasn't going to stop me. It would take a lot more than that. Plus I was raising money for cancer research and I wanted to collect all my pledges. That was the motivation I needed, that's what got me through. Just over 4 hours of misery but it was only a small portion of my life. "Just do it!" Finally I saw my band, Kelly's Lot, rocking out on Mile 26 waiting for their me to finish so I could get up on stage and really celebrate! They all cheered me on as I ran past them to go get my medal. As I ran that last block with my arms up, I was "Rocky", I had finished the marathon. But I still had more more thing to do. Get back to the stage and SING! As soon as I got there I wasted no time. People were offering me coats and towels but I wouldn't think of covering my marathon number. How would all those runners know that I had just been through the same thing as them. That was the point! They were the reason I went up on stage. The money had been raised and I had finished the marathon, now it was time to help a few others get to the finish line! As the runners ran past our stage they were in disbelief that I had also run the marathon. The chick that was rocking them home had also just suffered through what they had. They were happy for me and for themselves as I held my medal high in the air and screamed "You're almost there" I looked back at my band and I was so proud. They had been there since 7am waiting to set up and host 5 other bands that were there to play on our stage. But there was just too much rain coming down and the first 3 bands never got to play. My band was finally able to set up about 20 minutes before I got there. But there they were , with their smiles and their freezing cold hands like me. And we played and we played. It was then I knew how much these guys also cared about why we were there. We stood at the sidelines cheering on the runners and watching the next two bands play as they also rocked the runners home. As we packed the van and drove away the streets were beginning to open up. We headed home for pizza, beer and a warm fire to warm the frozen hands of a few warm hearted musicians and a really tired singer/songwriter/marathon runner. A little corny but true! Kelly

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LEAD SINGER OF KELLY'S LOT HITS THE PAVEMENT AND THE HIGH NOTES AT THE LOS ANGELES MARATHON TO RAISE AWARENESS FOR HEPATITIS C.
Runnin' & Rockin' - Kelly is Back Last year, Kelly, the songwriter, lead singer of Kelly's Lot ran the Los Angeles Marathon in chilling wind and driving rain. Being Kelly, she didn't stop there. Reaching the finish line, she took to the stage, grabbed the mike, and backed by her band, Kelly's Lot, she belted out tunes to promote her favorite charities and to cheer on her fellow racers. This year Kelly is back and she is upping the ante. She is taking up the challenge of running and rocking across the U.S.A. on behalf of Hepatitis C awareness. When it came time to choose a starting point, Kelly did not waver. Kelly felt there was no better place to kick off her campaign then at the Los Angeles Marathon. Last year Kelly and her Lot played at the Carbo Load Dinner, where she motivated runners to get out and do their very best. This year she has been chosen to open the 5K run with the National Anthem, and to be one of the pre-event motivational speakers, where she will be sharing the things that kept her going during last years challenging race. Additionally, she has been asked to reprise last year, by taking to thefinish line stage at the end of her run, where she will sing for her cause, and cheer on the other racers. Most important is how Kelly feels about the Los Angeles Marathon. In her own words, "It is truly an amazing experience running a marathon with people on the sidewalks cheering you on. And that is what the Los Angeles Marathon is all about for me. The people on the sidewalks. This year it will be an honor to celebrate with the runners at the Finish Line Festival. When I'm up there on the stage, I will know first hand what they went through! My gift will be my music to honor their long journey through Los Angeles." - Paula Bethesbe

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KELLY GIVES A LOT: A LOS ANGELES MARATHON STORY by Tracie Dumm

“Can you believe I have to run in this?!” were the first and only words out of my friend Kelly Zirbes’ mouth the morning of the L.A. Marathon as she thrust a special parking permit onto the dashboard of my car and disappeared into the rain. I wouldn’t see her again for almost five hours. As the rest of Kelly’s band, Kelly’s Lot, and I unloaded equipment onto the stage which was set up at mile 26 of the 26.2 mile marathon, we started getting worried that the rain would wash out Kelly’s big plans. As a tireless do good-er, Kelly decided to raise money for cancer research by running the entire marathon and then immediately giving a live concert on the last stage before the marathon’s finish line. I know, I thought she was crazy, too, but there’s one thing you need to know about Kelly, “I can’t do it” is not in her vocabulary. She even got other local bands to get in on the act, providing they each raised at least $100 for the charity first. Our hearts sank as band after band was forced to drop out of the event because of the deluge. Kelly had been pouring her heart and soul into this day for the last three months and now it was all falling to pieces - and she didn’t even know it because she was running her little heart out on the mean and wet streets of L.A. But, in the spirit of Kelly, our damp and intrepid group of about 10 decided that we were not going to let a few cancellations keep us from entertaining the runners. We hooked a CD player up to the band’s amplifiers and let loose the live CD that Kelly had recorded specifically for this event. We sang along and danced and screamed encouragement to all the runners as the majority of them hobbled by us. The tired smiles and “thumbs up” we got were all the thanks we needed. By one o’clock the rain had mercifully subsided and we were able to plug in the rest of the musical equipment without fear of electrocution. The excitement on stage was growing because we knew that Kelly herself would be running by us soon. I was the first to spot her but it didn’t take the others long once they heard my yelps of jubilation. We all went wild! We were screaming and jumping and running along side her for as long as the police would let us. Kelly was laughing at us so hard she nearly tripped. When she finally made it back to the stage after crossing the finish line, there were hugs and cheers from everyone, bystanders included. By that time they all understood the magnitude of what Kelly was trying to accomplish. Without a moment’s hesitation and still soaking wet and sporting her marathon bib and medal, Kelly took the stage and started her concert with a string of high-energy rock ‘n roll songs that had everyone staring at her slack-jawed. The looks on the runners’ faces were absolutely priceless as they went by the stage and realized that the woman who was singing had just finished running the very marathon that they, themselves, were still desperately trying to complete. We could all see that Kelly’s singing and our cries of “You’re almost there!” gave them a renewed sense of determination.The near freezing temperature and the icy cold rain stopped a lot of runners from participating in the marathon by striking them down with hypothermia. But not even the harsh conditions of the day could deter Kelly from her goal. Mind over matter. Or, as Kelly has been fond of saying since way before Nike ever thought of it, JUST DOIT!

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Press contact:
Kelly Zirbes, (818)769-2701
e-mail: kellyslot@aol.com

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"JUST CAUSE" - ARIZONA STATE PRESS By Ashlea Deahl ENTIRE ARTICLE! - Kelly Zirbes doesn't have Hepatitis C, but she's singing across the country so the disease won't be a secret anymore. Kelly Zirbes of the Los Angeles-based band, Kelly’s Lot, travels the country to raise awareness about Hepatitis C through the third annual GoGirlsMusic fest, titled, “Get Hip to Hep C.” Zirbes lost a friend to the liver-deteriorating disease and says she wants people to be able to talk about it without shuddering. Kelly Zirbes croons about love and life with her band, Kelly's Lot, but the singer/marathon runner/motivational speaker has an ulterior motive when performing. She wants people to talk about Hepatitis C. Better yet, she wants them to do it without cringing. "Hepatitis C is a lot more serious than you could ever imagine," says Zirbes, who's hosting a nationwide series of concerts called "Get Hip to Hep C" as part of the third annual GoGirlsMusic Fest. "It's frustrating that people don't know about it." The concert hits Minder Binders in Tempe on Saturday and will feature Los Angeles-based Kelly's Lot along with local punk, rock and folk acts. "People are burned out, they don't want to talk about disease," says Zirbes, who lost a friend to Hep C in July 2001. "So we're trying to use music to get to people. Musicians really are the best messengers." 'Get Hip to Hep C' benefit concert with Kelly's Lot, Mary Lemanski and the Arrangements, Carey Slade, Eugenia, Pink Slip, Blemished, Jarra, Dios Elefante, World Class Thugs and Jeordie Schekeryk at Minder Binders, 715 S. McClintock Drive, Tempe. 7 p.m. Saturday. $10. 480-966-1911. Zirbes teamed up with GoGirlsMusic.com, an online community of independent female artists that assists various charities through music, to raise awareness about Hep C. Transmitted through infected blood, Hep C is a potentially life-threatening disease that can lead to cirrhosis [scarring of the liver] and liver cancer. For someone who isn't infected with the disease, Zirbes is somewhat of a zealot for the cause. After running the Boston marathon in March, Zirbes hopped on stage with her band for a show to raise even more awareness. In addition, the back cover of her CD, Stop and Make a Difference, lists some risk factors for Hep C, including IV drug use and getting a tattoo or body piercing with an infected needle. Zirbes has been a musician since she picked up a guitar at age 12, but she says that charity work is her first love. Zirbes got her first taste of altruism when she helped raise money for a friend who was diagnosed with cancer and couldn't afford health insurance. She has since aided several charities, from animal shelters to women's trauma centers, and has dropped everything for the "Get Hip" tour. But she says not everyone should tackle such a feat. "I don't think everyone should try to do what I do," she says. "They should just do the best they can." The tour runs through 20 cities until Dec. 8. In addition to raising awareness about Hep C, the festival is a strong promoter for female musicians. Every band must have at least one woman in the group to be able to perform. Despite the heavy ratio of women, local "Get Hip" concert coordinator Mary Lemanski says that feminism is not the issue at hand. "I can see where they could get that idea since we have Rosie the Riveter on our fliers, but it's not about that. It's about supporting independent music and raising money for the charity," says Lemanski, 27, who will perform this weekend with her punk band, the Arrangements. Madalyn Sklar, founder of GoGirlsMusic.com, says that she hasn't received any negative feedback about her use of Rosie, the symbolic female freedom fighter, on the concert fliers. "We chose to use Rosie the Riveter for the image this year because of the strong female persona. But we're not feminists. We're not anti-men," Sklar says. She adds that most bands performing still have male musicians, including Kelly's Lot, a six-piece blues/rock band. Zirbes says she never heard about Hep C before her friend passed away last year, which is precisely why she's so adamant about spreading the word. "It's amazing how many people don't know about it. And of the people who do know about it, it's amazing how many people don't talk about it. Every week I get an email from a stranger who has Hep C…but they're not telling anyone about it because they're embarrassed," she says. Hepatitis C affects 1 in 50 adults in America, is four times more prevalent than AIDS and is the No. 1 reason for liver transplants. Because most people don't realize something is wrong until the disease starts wreaking havoc on the liver, Zirbes says the most important thing is to get tested. "What people don't know is that you can live your life out with Hep C. If you find out you have it, you can start taking care of yourself and live your life out but you have to find out."

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BIO | TEST SPIN | EVENTS/GIGS | REVIEWS | PHOTOS | CONTACT/LINKS