Drummer, industrial designer, inventor, entrepreneur launches Kickstarter campaign

Wes Keely wears many hats. He is an industrial design student at Kendall College of Art and Design (KCAD), a professional drummer, an inventor and an entrepreneur. 

Keely's first commercial invention, KBrakes, helps prevent kick drums from sliding around while being played. He documented the journey from "idea" to "prototype" on a blog post here.

To continue the journey, Keely has launched an ambitious Kickstarter campaign, targeting $25,000 in order to fund the next steps in product development. "We have the Kickstarter launched to get more people involved. The additional funding pays for tooling and a first run of stock of 2500 units." 

Prior to the Kickstarter campaign, Keely received $5,000 funding through Start Garden, and the KBrake prototype has had extremely positive reviews from the music community including Mike Bedard (Jordin Sparks), Adam Silverman (Lauren Alaina), Matt Covey (Suicide Dolls, Young Pandas, ex-Shai Hulud/The Flaming Tsunamis), and Brad Moxey (Evergreen Terrace). The UK-based company Serenity Custom Drums has agreed to put KBrakes on every kit they sell.

Keely says that KBrakes will be just one of many products that he will design to serve the music industry.

To learn more about KBrakes you can view their website here.  To review the Kickstarter campaign, you can visit the site here.

Writer: John Rumery, Innovation and Jobs News Editor