Tim Kletti

Minneapolis, Minneapolis

Rock guitarist who went from Morticia in the '90s to co-founding Rival 5 and playing in the reunited Slave Raider.

Tim Kletti has lived in Minneapolis since 1991. He joined Morticia that year and played showcases with the band in Los Angeles. He later stepped away from music for 13 years. He came back around 2013 for a Morticia reunion benefit, then played about 400 shows over 8.5 years with Arena. He joined Arch Allies in 2022, co-founded the 80s pop band Rival 5 in 2024, and now plays guitar in the reunited Slave Raider.

On the Minnesota Music Note

The Minnesota Music Note - Ep 74 - The Business of Rock ’n’ Roll with Tim Kletti

12d ago

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Fun facts from the interview

He started playing guitar at age six after seeing Roy Clark on Hee Haw.
He first saw KISS on the Paul Lynde Halloween special in 1976. KISS Alive II was the first album he bought with his own money, and it is still his desert-island album.
He landed his audition for Morticia in June 1991, by pretending to sell the band's bass player a guitar.
On his first night in Los Angeles, Lemmy asked him and Morticia singer Jody to buy him a drink at the Rainbow. Lemmy later came to see the band play.
During his 13 years away from music, he played competitive golf and earned five soccer coaching licenses.
The first song Rival 5 learned was Mr. Mister's "Kyrie." The band planned 30 shows in its first year and played more than 70.
The Rival Residency on Wednesday nights at Bogart's drew 300 to 400 people.
He says the performance is about 10% of the job and the other 90% is business. His motto: "Take what you do seriously, but don't take yourself seriously."

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