'It's a family thing': brothers, dad perform timeless blues

Most teen-agers listen to the popular sounds of Limp Bizkit or the Backstreet Boys, but three brothers in a nearby town prefer to jam to the old sounds of blues.

Members of the Clayton Miller Band, a blues band from Battle Ground, demonstrated their talent and love for blues as they provided the entertainment at the Purdue Student Union Board's outdoor picnic Wednesday evening. Clayton, the lead guitarist and vocalist, is 17. His brother Cole, drummer and vocalist, is 14 and his other brother, L.D., vocalist, is 5. Their father, Larry, who plays the bass, introduced the boys to the world of blues music.

"It's a family thing," Larry said. "We just enjoy music as a family."

The band has been playing together for about three years and performing for more than a year, including at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago, where they performed in June with Harmonica Hines.

The band has also played at the Round Barn Festival in northern Indiana and at graduation parties, including Clayton's. Clayton, who was home-schooled, graduated from high school this year. He plans to take a year off to build experience and then attend a music school.

Clayton said that being in a family band has its ups and downs, "but it's really great for practice." Especially because the Millers have a room in their house that is designated for rehearsals, which they use for one or two hours each day.

"We fight sometimes, but when we want to practice, we just go downstairs to the basement," Cole said.

L.D., who performed "Checkin' On My Baby" by Junior Wells, said that he watches cartoons at night since the family usually practices in the morning. The practice paid off as L.D. worked the crowd in his dark sunglasses with a voice stronger than a typical 5-year-old's.

"It definitely attracts attention," said Halil Berberoglu, a junior in the Schools of Engineering, in reference to the talent that L.D. and his brothers show at such a young age. Berberoglu is a fan of blues music and decided to watch after he walked by the stage. "They play good together," he said.

Most people who walked past the Union stopped to watch the performance for a little while or at least turned their heads and slowed their pace for a better look at the young performers.

Much of the music that was performed was from the band's influences, such as B. B. King, Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Eric Clapton.

Recently, the band has started to experiment with some original material. "It's hard to write blues songs," Cole said, because so many blues songs have already been written. "Clayton and I are trying to set aside an hour or two each day to write music.

"I want to stay (in a band) with Clayton," said Cole, "and get up there and get famous."

Cole hopes to continue performing with his brothers due to the special connection that family members share, which is evident in the band's performance. "We can talk to each other just by looking at each other. You feel more comfortable," he said.

At the end of the performance, the crowd started to disperse and the Miller's friends and family packed up the band's instruments and equipment while L.D. pounded out his own tune on Cole's drum set.

"We had fun," said Cole, which is all that mattered.