BIO
The Short Story:
Luke Janela is a cellist, guitarist and singer and songwriter who plays distinctive, emotive music rooted in the tradition of innovative rock that combines aspects of classical and electronica. He currently hails from the woods of Northern California.
Luke’s innovative use of the cello yields fascinating results. As opposed to using the instrument to create soft harmonies or classical embellishments, he puts the cello in front of the sound, played in a way that is rare: raw, intuitive, and creative. His technique is solid, and it is clear that the instrument is not a gimmick. By also immersing himself in electronic beats and the art of recording, he combines his guitar, cello, vocals and beats into a truly distinct sound.
“Luke Janela… writes amazing music. His voice is rich and honest, glimmering with harmonies, and buoyed by beats and the shivering pull of the cello…” - Portland Mercury.
The Long Story:
Luke Janela was born in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado during a thunderstorm. He grew up in a beautiful small town in Northern California called Ukiah (which is incidentally, haiku spelled backwards) where very large pick up trucks, unemployed loggers, aging hippies, an abundance of marijuana, and many amazing kids all co-existed in a more or less harmless manner. Instead of getting wasted and learning “his limit” in high school, Luke played guitar and cello and listened to any and all music he could get his hands on.
It was there in Ukiah, CA at age 12 that Luke picked up the cello and guitar. He began to discover classical music and jazz in High School and excelled at both. Dvorak’s 9th Symphony fueled an unrequited desire for powerful, structured passion in music. John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” inspired the intuitive and equally passionate side of musical expression. Luke went to college at the University Of California, Santa Cruz. He found himself clapping strange rhythms and singing atonal exercises at odd hours of the night in preparation for endless tests in music theory, history, performance and composition. Luke became wrapped up in the music and lives of Beethoven, Dvorak, Bach, Reich, Bartok and others. He played in several small ensembles and quartets, the UC Santa Cruz Symphony Orchestra, and moonlighted as a jazz cellist. Eventually he earned a BA in Music.
On the other side of the musical spectrum, a bootleg tape of Jimi Hendrix playing ‘Little Wing’ in a smoky blues club changed Luke’s life and made him want to pick up the guitar and never put it down. Folk and rock music was a natural; nearly every night growing up Luke fell asleep to Van Morrison’s ‘Moondance’ or Bruce Springsteens’ “The River”. He pretty much did not put that guitar down, in High School substituting most social life for time spent with Nirvana and Sonic Youth, Guided By Voices, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, The Doors, headphones, and his own band. That band played out a lot and gained a big name for that little town and it changed a lot of people’s time there, especially Luke’s.
Luke continued to play in bands and orchestras and especially solo after moving to Portland, OR. His innovative cello playing was very useful with recording and performances with rock bands, singer songwriters, and others. He fronted The Key with whom he produced two albums and toured the west coast. He played almost every venue in town at least once either as a solo performer or with a band: The Ohm, The Fez Ballroom, The Ash St., Berbati’s Pan, The Red And Black, Stumptown, The Mississippi, MusicFest NW. He composed music for theater and dance for solo cello.
After a few years in Portland, Luke played one last show with a flamenco dancer and packed it in to move to a cabin in the woods in the rural small town of Mendocino, CA. From there he played San Francisco and the west coast and from a distance had his music licensed for film and television with the music licensing company ‘Rumblefish’. After a year of seclusion in the woods, he set off on the road, traveling across the United States living in a pickup truck, writing new material and staying seperate from the “real world” for a life changing year. When the camping got cold and the money ran out, he found himself in Nevada City, California.
Since moving to Nevada City Luke finished work on three albums: MIDNIGHT DOOR, REDWOOD SUMMER & JUNEAUREVOIR. He also began playing art shows and parties as a trance meets cello electronic musician, produced and recorded Aaron Ross’ album “Paranormal Attitude”. In addition, he has recorded cello and collaborated on albums for Aaron Ross, Mariee Sioux, Alela Diane, Cody Coyote, Jeffrey Clarke, Chuck Ragan and many others.
