| |
|
|
from the issue of November 9, 2006
|
| |
|
|
| |
String Bean readies for Lied performance
Just playing along
BY TROY FEDDERSON, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Mom's guitar, a John Denver song book and a brother's request have led Curt Bright to the main stage of the Lied Center for Performing Arts.
| |
| | | COMING SOON - Members of The String Beans are (from left) Freddy Kerr, Randy Bright And Curt Bright. All three band members are UNL graduates, and Curt Bright is a broadcast specialist with University Communications. Courtesy image.
|
A broadcast specialist with University Communications, Bright is a founding member of The String Beans. The child-friendly band - which includes Bright, his brother Randy and Freddy Kerr - will perform a Free at 6 performance at 6 p.m. Nov. 13 at the Lied Center. And, the shy teen within (the one who would strum away afternoons in his room learning guitar chords) has a difficult time imagining how far the group has come.
"When we started this three years ago, I never dreamed we would be playing the Lied Center," Bright said with a laugh. "I figured we would be lucky to be playing in our grandparents' living room. It's really bizarre."
The path to local stardom began innocently enough in high school. Bright's mother purchased a guitar and the John Denver song book so she could learn the instrument. However, when she was put the guitar down, Bright picked it up.
"I sat in my room with mom's guitar and that book and taught myself how to play," Bright said. "It really was not that hard."
Eventually, he started writing his own songs - however those lyrics (mainly love ballads) never made it beyond Bright's room.
"I was too shy to perform in front of people as a teen," Bright said. "I never wanted to be in a band. And, those early songs were garbage. It was just a hobby that I really enjoyed."
Twenty-five years later, Bright's hobby took off.
During a gathering with friends in 2003, Randy sang one of Bright's songs. The tune, "Bomp She Bomp," followed the adventures of Percy the polar bear and an alligator named Jim. The friends (who were primarily elementary school teachers) liked the tune and asked Randy for more.
"Randy came to me and said we should start a band that played kids music," Bright said. "I agreed to it. Honestly, I figured we would play once or twice, lose interest and that would be the end of it."
The duo penned half a dozen original songs and selected a name based on the vegetable their mom served one night.
"It's a good thing mom didn't serve broccoli spears or yams that night," Bright said.
Their first "paying gig" was for a group of kindergartners at Norris Elementary in Hickman. Luckily the performance drew media attention.
"A reporter from The Voice in Hickman wrote an article about us," Bright said. "Someone read it and called to see if we would do a show for them. That's how it all got started."
Their high-energy songs (with titles like "Gophers in Loafers," "Chicken Pot Pie," and "Diggin' Dinosaurs") led to a regular schedule of shows and a following. Bright said the group has never really had to advertise their services, relying instead on word of mouth and a steady flow of contacts made after shows. They've also increased their reach with an online presence, offering contact information alongside coloring pages at www.thestringbeans.net.
Based on requests from parents, the brothers released their first CD, "Gophers in Loafers," in 2005. Kerr joined the band shortly after the release and helped with the production of the group's second CD, "Oodles of Noodles." The String Beans will release their third CD, "Rocking Your Christmas Stocking," featuring a line-up of holiday songs, during the Free at 6 show.
The Lied Center Performance will be the group's 83rd show in 2006. In 2007 The String Beans go national as the group and their song "Right Here in Nebraska," will be featured in a 10-part History Channel series on the United States.
Bright said he has started to look at national distribution for the group's CDs. Other plans include producing a music video and recording a fourth CD - possibly filled with lullabies.
"We try not to dream too big or get our hopes up too high," Bright said. "I keep reminding myself that this is just some crazy idea my brother had about entertaining a few kids in his friends' classrooms."
Regardless of what the future holds, Bright said The String Beans' focus is on entertaining children - be that in individual classrooms or a packed house at the Lied.
"It's really rewarding to see the kids, the really little ones, start wiggling in their diapers when we start playing," Bright said. "Then the older kids and the parents start singing along and you know that you've reached them, that they are enjoying it.
"I just want to keep writing songs and performing because I don't want to let our fans down."
GO TO: ISSUE OF NOVEMBER 9
ARTS HEADLINES FOR NOVEMBER 9
Just playing along
American Life in Poetry
Dominic Gaudious to perform at East Union
Flower powered rug exhibition at Hillestad
Lied Center hosts Good Humor Men Nov. 15
Sheldon completes conservation work on six outdoor sculptures
'Tales of the Rat Fink' plays the Ross
732624S36429X
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
