He describes his teenage self as a "strange, lonely, outsider kid whose life was saved in the most extremely clichéd way by rock and roll, specifically The Beatles, Bob Dylan and the Velvet Underground."
Early in 2010, Shelley disclosed on the "official" band web page, bookofkills.com, that he was disbanding Book Of Kills for the foreseeable future, if not for good, and on March 13, 2010, the group (at that moment featuring Shelley, bassist George Nipe III and drummer Mike Hicks) played one final time at the Little Grill Collective in Harrisonburg, Virginia, the venue where the initial version of BOK had delivered their debut show in 1994.
A month later, Shelley created a new group called Fear + Whiskey with bassist/vocalist Amy Bugg and drummer Jeff Lown (later replaced by Zack Simpson) that attempted to blend elements of country, folk, and old-time music with hard rock.
Shelley revealed in mid-2013 that he was practicing on occasion with former Book Of Kills members Casey and Jane Firkin, and George Nipe III with the intention of playing one or two (and possibly more) live shows.
Until 2022, Shelley made only two live appearances including one in late 2017 as Book of Kills with George Nipe III and drummer Garfield Banks.
Shelley announced in late 2021 that he was practicing with “one final” version of Book of Kills with the intention of performing a few live shows in the latter half of 2022, the first in five years.