Randy Velez

Randy Velez rocked the NY and NJ circuit, supplying the bass lines for The Hellcats during the 80's. With their own spin on the hype of hair band metal and punk, influences of The Ramones and The Cult bled into their originals which were backed by the drive of Bonham’s heartbeat on drums. The Hellcats graced the stages of CBGB's, The Chance in Poughkeepsie, Billy O's, Murphy's Law, The Cat Club, L'Amour,The Class,The Kitten Club, The China Club, Zone DK, Connections, Escapades, The Sanc...

Randy Velez rocked the NY and NJ circuit, supplying the bass lines for The Hellcats during the 80's. With their own spin on the hype of hair band metal and punk, influences of The Ramones and The Cult bled into their originals which were backed by the drive of Bonham’s heartbeat on drums. The Hellcats graced the stages of CBGB's, The Chance in Poughkeepsie, Billy O's, Murphy's Law, The Cat Club, L'Amour,The Class,The Kitten Club, The China Club, Zone DK, Connections, Escapades, The Sanctuary, the infamous Nutshell of the original Woodstock era and many more. This opened the opportunity to shoot a video that was featured in MTV’s Underground USA series featuring a Hellcat original, "The Girl’s Got Too Much" and then Randy laid his bass to rest. After a 15 year hiatus, Randy had restrung his bass and accepted the invitation to join the boys of soulful blues and rock trio Shady Drive from west side Cleveland, Ohio for a year. Shady Drive has shared the stage with well known artists such as The Cherry Poppin' Daddies and The Buckinghams. In 93' Randy relocated to Ohio and found a new musical love performing as a solo vocalist with an uncanny talent of vocal impersonation. Randy has the incredible gift of replicating the vocals of many artists spanning the genres and generations of music. Randy could start a performance out as Louie Armstrong, move into a cover of Willie Nelson...or Johnny Cash... go into John Fogerty... and five minutes later become the voice of Dean Martin or Sinatra .... Freddie Fender .... or a cover of Jay & the Americans ‘Cara Mia’ ....Roy Orbison or Elvis Presley.... and then move through the decades of top 40 music.... and kick it into a modern rock or country cover... then end the evening with a cover of Groban, Bocelli or Pavarotti.... The possibilities are nearly limitless and even include a full selection of Latin music! His solo act became extremely popular and was regularly heard at Dutchman Hospitality's exquisite Carlisle Inn of Sugar Creek and Carlisle Inn of Walnut Creek for many years. Currently, Randy’s schedule is filled with performances in Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. The venues range from restaurants, hotels and wineries to festivals and summer events. Updates and sample vocal tracks can be found on his website www.randyvelez.com.