Looking for Magic

Josh spent the next year (10th grade) "jamming" with different people and trying to find that magical combination. To be honest, I don't really know much about this time. I saw lots of different people come and go out of that band room, but nothing really gelled I guess. The group that stuck together the longest actually went to audition for "America's Got Talent" in St. Louis and they did pretty well there. 

I wasn't the one who took them, so I don't know many details except that they got called back for a second audition the next day. I think there is a judge named Nigel who really liked them and was talking them up to the other judges. When the band went back the next day they were escorted past a long snaking line into a special holding room. They said it was probably the closest they will ever be to feeling like real rock stars. Alas, they did not get called back to the next level. 

In November of Josh's junior year, he connected with a guy named Andrew Eaton-Clark who was in his grade at Booker T. Our family actually knew Andrew fairly well already because he had been on Luke's club soccer team and we carpooled with him. I was used to seeing him hanging out with Luke and wearing a soccer uniform; it was strange to now see him hanging out with Josh and holding a guitar. We couldn't be more thrilled though. He is a great kid.

After a couple of months, a new guy from Josh's school started showing up. Josh introduced him to me as Aaron Hockett. The wheels in my brain started turning. Hockett.....Hockett.....Oh! Hockett!! "Is your dad a TU professor?" I asked. I take classes at TU every now and then for fun. Three years prior I took an American Government class and Dr. Hockett was my teacher. I remember him talking about his kids to our class, and back then I connected that both of our boys were in 8th grade (at different schools) and would be freshmen together the next year. I remember wondering then if our paths would ever cross at school events or if our kids would be friends. Funny now here we are a few years later and I'm taking his son to Nashville. Life can be so crazy!

It is also interesting to note that Josh had his first knee injury while I was taking this class. I remember telling Dr. Hockett that I was going to have to miss class one day because my son was having surgery. Isn't it bizarre to think that that very knee surgery would one day have a ripple effect that would ultimately ripple it's way to his house. I love mulling over deep thoughts like that.

Now we are to January of this year. It was immediately clear that these three guys were clicking. One thing I took note of right away was how quickly they were churning out original songs. And this was in the middle of a very busy school year. I was also a little bit surprised by how much I liked their music.

They tried on a few different band names but finally settled on The Tandems. Once again, I don't know how or why they chose The Tandems, but I'm learning that I'm not really supposed to know the origin or meaning of band names. Or song lyrics for that matter. Apparently they need to maintain an air of mysteriousness about themselves in order to be true musicians. 
 
The guys used a computer software program to record a demo CD of their songs to pass out around town along with "The Tandems" business cards, and they put their music on websites such as itunes, spotify and reverbnation. One of these avenues is what led them down the path to Nashville....