Myers Brothers to play concert this weekend
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By David Burke | Thursday, March 27, 2008 |
Logan Myers, 7, plays drums with his brother, Kellen, 10, during a birthday party at the Redstone Room in Davenport Wednesday. (Jeff Cook/QUAD-CITY TIMES) Buy this Photo
It’s not every 11-year-old’s birthday party where the guest of honor sits down at the keyboard to lead a band in playing Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” and The Beatles’ “Hello Goodbye” while his friends wave lighted cell phones.
Yet that was how Kellen Myers, who’s still 10 for a couple more weeks, marked his birthday Wednesday afternoon at the Redstone Room inside the River Music Experience in downtown Davenport.
Kellen and his brother, 7-year-old drummer Logan, are already old musical pros and will release their first album with a concert at Mojo’s coffeehouse in the RME on Saturday night.
Kellen has been playing the keyboards “since I could get up on a piano” at 2 years, he said, and began taking lessons at 4 years. Logan has been drumming since he was 4.
“He was playing on the pots and pans and Tupperware at home,” said the boys’ mother, MaryBeth Myers. “A blues musician heard him and said, ‘This kid sounds like he could be a drummer.’ ”
The musician encouraged Logan’s parents to get him a drum kit. He’s already on his third one.
The two brothers have been a duo — joined occasionally by friends their own age or even some older musicians — for about 2½ years, with their first paying job coming during a Christmas party at the Outing Club in Davenport in 2006.
“I’ve seen a lot of bands and thought, ‘We can do that,’ ” Kellen said. “It was kind of fun because we could have a band practice and thought it would be cool to be the two of us.”
The family lives in Davenport, where the boys attend St. Paul the Apostle School.
MaryBeth, a speech pathologist, and Chris Myers, a fundraiser for Augustana College in Rock Island, have been fans of the RME since it opened and have taken their sons to many performances.
When the first Rock Camp for youth began at the RME in the summer of 2006, Ellis Kell, the RME program and education director, bent the rules that said participants had to be between the ages 8 and 18 years so Logan could join his brother.
“The kid was already so far along, and his brother is a prodigy,” said Kell, who frequently sits in with the duo.
“The Rock Camp really has done a lot for them, to show them they can do it,” Chris Myers said. “It allows them an opportunity to showcase themselves and for people to see what they’re all about.”
The two are fans of The Beatles (a Paul McCartney concert DVD has been played so much it’s worn-out), Billy Joel and Eric Clapton.
“It never gets old,” Kellen said. “Once you listen to it, you can’t stop listening to it.”
Some of those songs are featured on the CD along with their original tunes.
One is called “Little Brother Blues,” which Kellen wrote when Logan got on his nerves.
“I wrote that when he got his first drum set,” Kellen said. “I wrote that as a rock song, but I converted it to a blues song because I was annoyed at how he played the drums.”
Logan also plays bass, while Kellen plays guitar, bass and harmonica. For his birthday, Kellen wants a banjo and music editing software for his computer.
The brothers made their debut CD at the RME’s new recording facility. Money raised from the CD will go to Holy Childhood, a Catholic charity for African children, and the Ronald McDonald House in Iowa City. The CD is available at their shows and at the RME.
Justin Farley, the RME sound engineer, said it was no problem working with the young musicians.
“They’re always around. I know they’re very talented,” he said. “They wanted to crank it out in a day, so I set it up and let it be very natural.”
Both brothers have learned and received opportunities from Kell and other musicians in the Quad-Cities, their mother said.
“Both of them have been very, very lucky because the musicians throughout the Quad-Cities have been understanding,” she said. “Very, very kind, very generous to share the stage and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to take a break and let these kids come up and play.’ ”
Beginning so young is an advantage, Kell said.
“They can go as far as they want, starting out so young,” he said. “It’s just a matter of polish now. As far as talent, it’s already there.
“You get the pair. They’re like the Allman Brothers, they go together.”
Kellen was the center of attention at his party, asking friends to join him on stage while he manned the baby grand piano at the Redstone.
“I want to encourage more kids to play musical instruments,” he said. “It’s very cool.”
David Burke can be contacted at (563) 383-2400 or dburke@qctimes.com.
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