One of the most unusual acts at the Pittsburgh Blues Festival this year will be the young Mississippi band Homemade Jamz, a brother and sister act -- Ryan Perry, 16, on guitar and vocals; Kyle Perry, 13, on bass; and Taya Perry, 9 on drums.
Being young blues musicians may seem like a contradiction today, but many of the legendary figures started young. For example, John Lee Hooker left Mississippi at 14, following his blues dream.
The Perrys are still at home, though, where their father, Renaud, writes most of their sings and oversees their career.
They play traditional, straight-ahead blues on their new CD, "Pay Me No Mind," and, despite their age, create music that rings with blues authenticity.
They agreed to answer a few questions by e-mail:
There are so many music styles these days, especially for young people. Most of it is not blues. What got you interested?
Ryan: Blues was always in the family growing up, and when I started learning to play the guitar and sing, naturally I landed in learning about the blues and now playing the blues.
Kyle: Well, my brother was already playing the blues, so I just followed him along and became the bass player.
Taya: Same with me, I just followed right along with my brothers and became their young drummer.
Who are some of your favorite blues artists? Non-blues artists?
BB King, SRV, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Milton, Albert King, Albert Collins, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Wells and a whole lot more.
Non-blues would be: Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, The Eagles, Carlos Santana, Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Coldplay, Miley Cyrus (Taya), Cheetah Girls (Taya), Alicia Keys, The Foo Fighters, John Mayer, Metallica and much more.
Are you ever nervous about performing with older performers?
Ryan: Not at all.
Kyle: A little.
Taya: Yes, at first.
Do you have any plans for your lives that go beyond blues music?
Ryan: I have plans for a college degree in music.
Taya: If the music does not work out for me, I am interested in becoming a zookeeper.
Kyle: I'm not quite sure right now, but I am interested in building a race car and putting it on the track.
First Published: July 24, 2008, 4:00 a.m.
