Every once in a while as a journalist, you experience a surreal moment where you momentarily drift outside of your professional persona and feel a bit intimidated, or giddy or awed. This usually occurs when interviewing someone who you have regarded as an idol, someone you have observed for years in some exalted fashion in the media or spent considerable time singing along with in your car. If you're good, you channel that slightly nervous energy into capturing the magic their fans feel on paper. But you wouldn't expect that feeling from chatting with a relatively unknown band of brothers from a small town in Indiana. But if you've seen the Clayton Miller Blues Band on stage, you can easily flash ahead to a time when you'll be bragging to your friends that you saw them or met them, that you were there on the way up. This is not just a band destined to succeed, this is a legend in the making. They made their college circuit debut in October with just one NACA showcase, but still ran away with the on-site selected showcase at the NACA National Convention just 4 months later and were one of the top acts at both that conference and the APCA National Convention the next month. With over 100 college dates already scheduled, they are easily the most in-demand new act nationwide. These guys would be astonishing even if they weren't all from the same gene pool.

Typically, there are a lot of things families do together. But with the exception of the Jacksons, Hanson and the Osmonds, few families have a successful band together. But as Don Seybold of Purdue University coined introducing them, "this ain't the Osmonds, baby." This is a family that sings the blues together and has shared the stage with Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Mississippi Heat, Buddy Guy, and coming soon B.B. King and Blues Traveler, all before the oldest brother's recent 20th birthday. But while audiences are amazed by the novelty of a band that consists of Dad Larry on bass, brothers Clayton, 20, on guitar and vocals, Cole, 16, on drums and vocals and L.D., just 8, wailing on the harmonica, they come away captivated by musical chops that any blues musician of any age would be proud of. Clayton's guitar playing has been compared to the early genius of Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan and his vocal maturity is well beyond his years. Cole's drumsticks are a natural extension of him and his vocals have already developed an old blues man's power and passion. L.D.'s harmonica skills have amazed the best in the business and on his own he's been invited to sit in with some of Blues' biggest names. The charm and allure of a young family band certainly packs the house at colleges, clubs and festivals, but innate talent, hard work and rocking crazy musicianship brings audiences to their feet dancing and applauding.

This is a band that was "born" not made, and while they have been together all their lives, they moved beyond the singing around the campfire stage in 1999, when Clayton left his alternative band he had been fronting since the age of 15 and took up the family passion for the Blues. In less than a year, they were playing throughout the Midwest and had been asked to appear on no fewer than 10 TV shows and had features written on them in countless newspapers and magazines. Playing music as a family is very unique in a sense, but having this level of talent all in one family is now garnering them world wide attention in the Blues world and beyond. They are already being considered for appearances on The Tonight Show and on Letterman.

Now just three years later, the band has shared the stage with the greatest names in Blues and headlined many important music festivals on their own. They got big news recently when they were selected for the Blues Deluxe Radio program. This is a program that is aired on 100 radio stations around the world and they are wedged in the play list comfortably between B.B. King and Bob Dylan. They are the only band on the play list that doesn't yet have a record label listed after their name, but this won't be the case for long. This is definitely a band you'll be proud to say I booked just before they got huge, ..that you helped "discover" before the rest of the world claims them.

What is it like to travel around the country with your family and be surrounded by fans, Clayton says "well, sibling rivalry is not completely absent, we fight sometimes, but there is a special connection that family members share, which is evident in the band's performance." Cole, 16, says "We can talk to each other just by looking at each other. You feel more comfortable." L.D. shared that, "I have to watch cartoons at night since the family practices in the mornings, but we have fun." Not the kind of response a reporter is accustomed to hearing when interviewing successful bands.

While still in high school, Clayton already studied guitar at the Berklee School of Music during the summer. Cole trained with the legendary Bill "Stix" Nicks (Temptations, Wilson Pickett) on the drums. As for 8 year old L.D., his father says "one day he just got off the school bus only 5 years old, just wailing on the harmonica. We couldn't believe it because none of us plays the blues harp. We don't know how he learned, just listening to CDs and stuff. He went for four lessons, but the teacher said he couldn't do anymore for him, he was already better than anyone he knew." All three of the brothers are also quite skilled on each other's instruments now as well and L.D. has started to show off a voice that is sure to be as amazing as his older brothers'. As individuals, any one of the three brothers would be considered a phenomenon in their own right, but there should be a law against this much talent in one family. I experienced this mass phenomenon with hundreds of college students at the late hour of 1 am at the APCA convention in Florida recently. Despite the hour, every student at the conference was waiting, anticipating the most talked about act of the year. Clayton's guitar work blew me away, from his innovations on traditional blues shuffles to his solos. Both Clayton and Cole's vocals went beyond their age, reminding me of an old time blues singer wailing away in a smoky bar. But it is no surprise that the attention largely circulates around the presence of 8 year old L.D., the coolest little harmonica player on the planet. He was breaking it down with some smoking solos, also using his ear to echo Clayton's riffs.

One musician in attendance who has played with L.D.'s idol John Popper said that at his rate he'll pass up Popper's harmonica skills this year and is already one of the greatest harmonica players in history of any age. On and offstage, L.D. is as charming as he is talented. It is almost unsettling to be around someone so young with that much talent and the ability to harness the awe of an entire audience, but in many other ways he is a typical kid. Asked about his plans, he loves to play music and wants to maybe win a Grammy someday because that means people like my music a lot. But if I couldn't play music, I like traveling and I like animals a lot so maybe I'd be a Crocodile Hunter' or a baseball or basketball player." At college conferences, he can usually be found mastering magic tricks with professional magicians or telling jokes or jamming with other artists. Like any 8 year old, L.D. has a list of artists he dreams of meeting and playing with, but unlike most kids, L.D. has already played with half of them and will likely play with all of them eventually.

At just 16, Cole's vocals resonate with the passion and pain of an old soul. He attributes this to "being raised around great music and understanding its power, legends like Buddy Guy, Etta James, Freddie King have shown me how to open up my soul, to sing the blues with a feeling." Offstage, it is evident where little brother L.D. gets much of his humor and charm. And like his brothers, Cole can play multiple instruments. It is evident that they have a lot of fun together and laugh everyday, but are focused on the music. Cole says "keeping the music moving is job one and we rehearse and create about two hours every day."

Clayton's guitar and vocal skills are impressive and he has a quiet, smoldering aura. One of the most exciting things about the stage dynamic is the bond between Clayton and L.D. when they play. "With the Blues, songs are different every time...it's based on skill and emotion. There is a unique connection between L.D. and me. We kind of just look at each other and know where the song and the audience and each other want to go. His style and feel for music is similar to the way I play and our influences are pretty much the same, but blood and music bonds us together."
There is a bond that goes beyond brotherhood and music. Mom Tammy says "L.D. was a home birth, an amazing family event. Clayton and Cole were in it from the beginning, attending birthing classes. Dad Larry delivered him, Clayton cut the umbilical cord, and Cole was there with warm receiving blankets to wrap him up and announce the arrival of his baby brother. They helped with labor and caring for everything (even me) afterward, such support from your own children is awesome, and a bond was created that makes our family even more connected than most."

Because of all the attention on the young brothers, dad, Larry Miller settles back comfortably in a supporting role holding down the bass lines. A skilled musician in his own right, he humbly claims that his sons have long since passed him up. He even suggested finding another bass player for the band at one point, but "the guys wouldn't hear of it. They love the family playing together, that makes us what we are, so I'm their bass player. And I might add it's not bad, being taught by my sons. There is no better high than looking across the stage, whether a small club or a big arena, and watching and listening to my sons pour out their souls through music. To watch them progress from campfire to professionals in such a short time makes me proud to be their father. You know a lot of men dream of playing music for a living when they're younger, but what I get to do now, playing professionally on the stage with my three phenomenally talented sons, is beyond what most people could even dream as possible."

A story about this incredible family would be incomplete without a few words about their fifth member, Mom Tammy Miller. While she isn't on stage night after night, the music wouldn't be the same without her. Tammy is the kind of force behind the art that is dramatized in film with all the intense coolness of Francis McDormand's mom character in Almost Famous. A certified home schooler who splits her day between teaching, road managing, parenting and inspiring, she is part soccer mom, part poetic muse, part cheerleader, and part roadie with the kind of vision, love and strength it takes to carve out a normal life for a family of possible artistic geniuses. She jokes that they got their musical talent from their dad, but their rhythm from their Mama, as she shows off a step or two. She says "we've really always been a very involved family. The experience we are now in the midst of has cemented our already tight family. The band (which just accidentally evolved from this relationship) has kind of taken over, it's just us, out there working hard together for a common goal, but feeling constantly blessed, I mean how many families have this kind of opportunity to be together, travel, have a great time, doing what we love? It's definitely challenging and it forces us to communicate effectively, unselfishly and constantly brings us closer. One of my mantras is 'say what you mean, mean what you say, and don't say it mean'."

One of the biggest challenges, according to Tammy, is to raise three sons to be happy personally and professionally. "Right now, music seems to be everyone's choice as long as we are all happy doing it, great. If it ceases to bring satisfaction, we'll adjust. I mean if one of the boys decides to be a sanitation engineer, I guess we'll start looking for a great garbage truck. Whatever they decide as individuals, the rest of us will be here backing the others up."

Based on the level of burgeoning national interest, I don't think there is much need for exploring alternative careers, but they will approach their career a little differently that many bands. While a certain amount of club gigs may be necessary, the Millers love the college circuit. According to agent Nancy Oeswein of Auburn Moon Agency, "this is the perfect fit for them. The shows are typically earlier in the evening than club shows, with little or no cigarette smoke and alcohol, and an audience that appreciates great original music. They have loved meeting interesting people that are genuinely concerned with their welfare. Overall, colleges, corporate shows and festivals provide the healthiest environment for such young performers to play in. They are also an agent's dream, incredibly talented with a great hook that brings in an audience, genuinely kind and professional, responsive and loyal. We are blessed to have them as a part of our family."

The Millers share in the mutual admiration. Says Tammy of their agency, "Auburn Moon Agency came along at just the perfect time for us. The boys are so perfect for college shows, I think that there are many people that could have brought us a lot of success, but it's even more important for us to have people around us that we trust, and we have adopted them (Auburn Moon Agency) as a part of our family for good."

The timing for the college circuit is perfect as well. The Blues has been making a huge resurgence among young audiences nationwide and the Millers are hitting a national scene that is crying out for a new twist on this timeless art form. Blues is really the root of all American music, be it rock, jazz or country. And the Clayton Miller Blues Band brings something special to the front of this reemerging style.

BOOK IT! Clayton Miller Blues band is represented exclusively by Auburn Moon Agency. For more information call 800-566-6653. For a virtual link go to www.campusactivitiesmagazine.com