7th and Boulder

Josh's first band was called 7th & Boulder. I'm not really sure how or why they settled on that name, but 7th & Boulder it was. One funny story about their name happened when a friend who was coming to one of their gigs texted me for clarification of where the boys were playing. He said he was at 7th and Boulder and couldn't find them anywhere. I felt a little awkward explaining to him that 7th & Boulder was the band's name, not their location. Makes perfect sense why there was some confusion though. :) Here is a sign they made for one of their shows (that still hangs in the band room) and some pictures they took when they first started:

This band was formed during Josh's 8th grade year after and as a result of the first knee surgery. They practiced a lot a lot a lot. I felt like I was running a boarding house because they spent enormous amounts of time here. In the morning we would find teenage boys sleeping all over the house, and it cost us a fortune to keep these growing boys fed. And I loved every minute of it. 

The last day of their 8th grade year, 7th & Boulder was the entertainment for their 8th Grade Fun Day at Edison Middle School. They got asked back to do it again the next year when Luke was in 8th grade:

This band played mostly cover songs but they had a few originals as well. After about a year, they had a fairly decent set list, and they were anxious to get out of the garage and go play a real gig somewhere. But where?? Then out of the blue, I got an email from a friend of mine from high school, Liz Cramton Neas. I don't know Liz's official title, but she does something really important at Youth Services of Tulsa. This is the actual message I got from her on December 9th, 2010:

Did I read on your wall at some point - one of your son's is in a band??? If I'm not totally confused- and they would be interested in a venue to play- we have teen bands play at our Coffee House at Youth Services almost every Saturday night. Do you think they might be interested??? All their friends can come - it's free! Let me know. 

Well, I knew the answer to that. I couldn't wait to tell the boys. They were so excited. They picked a date and got the word out to all their friends. The guys were in 9th grade at this point and had dispersed to several different high schools, so that helped create an even larger fan base. Their names are Grant Phillips, Kyle Reather, Matt Ogan, Blake Parr and Shane Muselman. Here are some pictures from that night of their very first gig at the Youth Services coffee house:

The boys absolutely loved that experience, and it served to galvanize their efforts to play more often at more places. When they couldn't find a place to play, they made their own. Our deck made a perfect stage for a couple of back yard concerts. They even charged admission. Here are a few pictures from one of those concerts.

One of my favorite stories about this band was the February we had two record-breaking blizzards in a row. Really....blizzards.

The kids were out of school for two full weeks and the band pretty much lived at our house. They got the brilliant idea to go out in teams and knock on doors to see if anyone needed their driveways and sidewalks shoveled. They even made national news as AP picked up a story that ran in newspapers across the country. Check out the last two paragraphs of this article in a New York newspaper:

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2011/02/sick_of_waiting_the_people_of.html

By the end of that two-week break these guys had earned over a thousands dollars. They used the money to buy new mics, amps, and other equipment they had been wanting for their band.

Once again, my friend Liz contacted me and said 7th & Boulder should enter The Battle of the Bands. This is an annual contest that is sponsored by Joe Momma's Pizza and benefits Youth Services of Tulsa where Liz works. To enter, the boys had to send them a CD of their own original music, then judges would choose the top ten bands to actually compete. Dozens of bands entered, and most of them were college age or older. Despite the odds, 7th & Boulder was chosen to be in the top ten and would compete on a big stage downtown. This was a huge deal for them!

Here is an article from the Tulsa World that talks about the event and lists them as one of the competing bands:

http://www.tulsaworld.com/article.aspx/Teenager_to_compete_in_downtowns_Battle_of_the_Bands/20110823_269_d1_cutlin84937

7th & Boulder was by far the youngest band in the competition. The winners were chosen by a combination of fan votes and judges votes. They definitely had the most fans there, and the band sounded the best I had ever heard them. When the winners were announced we were thrilled to hear that 7th & Boulder won 2nd Place! (On a side note, the kid who the Tulsa World article was written about got 3rd place.)

http://www.yst.org/yst/Battle_of_the_Bands.asp?SnID=2

We owe Liz Neas a huge thanks for all she did for this band!

The 7th & Boulder season was a really fun and special time for these kids. I especially liked the fact that it kept them busy and I knew where they were most all the time. Here are some final pictures toward the end of their time together. You can see how much they changed during that time!