Local teen All-Star Band to rock out at Aurora's Downtown Alive
Henrik Olson is only 15 years old, but he's already wise beyond his years when it comes to rock 'n' roll.
He started playing guitar a few years ago at Hix Brothers Music in Aurora, and part-owner Peter Hix quickly saw promise in the young teen. On a hunch, he handed Olson a microphone and everything just clicked.
Henrik jokes that Hix discovered a "prodigy."
"He picked it up real fast," said Cliff Kapson, whose kids play in a band with Olson. "He seems to be a natural. He just got into it and started doing it."
Kapson's kids - Cassidy, 16, and Jack, 14 - perform with Henrik in the Hix Brothers Junior All-Star Band. Jack was only 9 years old when he started taking lessons. Like Henrik, this brother-sister duo was raised on rock 'n' roll.
"I grew up with nonstop rock 'n' roll around me because of this guy," Jack said, pointing to his dad.
"He's always been the radio dictator," Cassidy added. "When we were little, all we listened to was 'The Drive' and 'The Loop.'"
A blues lover himself, Kapson bobs his head and taps his feet throughout rehearsals, and plays air-drums to cue drummer Grant Pender, 14, at various parts.
"I live vicariously through them," he said. "It's fun to have my kids involved."
Other All-Star members include Grant's cousin Stu Pender, 17, Jack Whelan, 17, and Garrett Johnson, 13.
"There's no relation to Rob Johnson," Kapson joked.
All the kids were hand-picked by Hix from his "Rock U" program. He started it six years ago because he was dissatisfied with the "Battle of the Bands" format of most programs and wanted to give kids an outlet for music without the element of competition. He breaks them into smaller bands and they all play at "rock recitals" throughout the year.
"What's an 8-, 9-, 10-year-old gonna do?" Hix asked. "How're they gonna to get in a band?"
Then Hix started up the All-Star band a few years later because he noticed some of the kids showed some serious skills.
"I instigated it," he said. "I put it together because they're talented. It's kind of like an honors band."
More like a band with a huge honor - to play at the 14th annual Blues on the Fox festival, part of Aurora's Downtown Alive! summer festival series. It starts tonight at 6:30 p.m. and continues through 10 p.m. Saturday, June 19. The All-Stars kick off the festivities at 2 p.m. Saturday at the corner of Galena Boulevard and Stolp Avenue in downtown Aurora.
For Stu and Jack, it's their fourth time opening up at the fest for big name blues acts from around the country.
Last year, Stu and a couple of the other kids were invited on stage in the evening to play with Los Lobos, the headlining band - a huge bonus for kids looking to make a career out of music someday.
"The crowd was loving it," said Dave Glynn, publicity co-chairman for Blues on the Fox. "They just went crazy."
This year, it will be guitar hero Jimmie Vaughan, known for being a guitar teacher, brother of Stevie Ray Vaughan and former leader of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. He's gearing up to play at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival on June 26, so get ready for some serious shredding.
He'll be preceded by Tinsley Ellis and Trombone Shorty on Friday evening. Saturday's lineup features Chicago blues performer Guy King and his Little Big Band, festival favorite Ronnie Baker Brooks and Joined at the Hip featuring Pinetop Perkins and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith from the old Muddy Waters band with special guests Hubert Sumlin and Bob Margolin.
Pinetop Perkins and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith are expected to draw a big hard-core blues fan base, while Ronnie Baker Brooks has a lot of local pull, Glynn said.
"We're starting to get more acclaim due to the fact that we pack (the fest) with a wide variety of acts in two days," Glynn said. "We always have someone from New Orleans, something for old-timers, younger guys - we really span the generations, the genres.
"Not to pat ourselves on the back," he said, "but I think it's going to be a great fest."
Stu enjoys playing for Blues on the Fox because of the passionate fans.
"It's an awesome atmosphere," he said. "Everyone loves music there, so they just love when you're playing."
Every year, people come up to the kids all night and tell them how much they enjoyed the show. Kapson and Hix agree that the blues fans get a big kick out of seeing young talent on stage.
"The blues fans are really deep fans," Kapson said. "They appreciate it on a different level."
One perk of young talents is that they want to play old songs in a new way. This year, the kids decided to scrap their old, worn-out set list and start fresh. They've had a month to prepare 10 songs they've never played, but they were itching for a challenge.
"It's not your typical classic rock," Kapson said. "It's been quite an undertaking."
Look forward to Cassidy's impressive vocals in the band's cover of John Mayer's version of The Mamas and the Papas' 1965 hit, "California Dreamin'," and hearing the five-man horn section made of Neuqua Valley High School band students tooting trumpet, trombone and saxophone solos in true blues fashion throughout The Doobie Brothers' "Long Train Running" from 1975.
This year, they'll be sharing the stage with the Hix Brothers all-girls blues band, playing at the fest for the first time.
"People should definitely come out early on Saturday to see the kids," Glynn said. "We consider it to be a major focal point of the fest and they don't want to miss these kids because they're extraordinary."
Hix Brothers Music first opened in Aurora as a teaching studio in 1946. Peter, Carl, Andrew, Amy and their two cousins work together to keep John Hix's dream of teaching music alive.
For information on the fest, visit downtownaliveaurora.com or call (630) 844-4731.
Aurora's Downtown Alive! Aurora's Downtown Alive! music series features three weekends of concerts through July at Galena Boulevard and Stolp Avenue. The performances are free. Info: downtownaliveaurora.com.BLUES ON THE FOX Today6:30 p.m. Tinsley Ellis8:30 p.m. Trombone Shorty and Orleans AvenueSaturday2 p.m. Hix Brothers All-Stars3:30 p.m. Guy King and his Little Big Band5:15 p.m. Ronnie Baker Brooks7 p.m. Joined at the Hip featuring Pinetop Perkins and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith with special guests Hubert Sumlin and Bob Margolin8:30 p.m. Jimmie VaughanROCK ON THE FOXFriday, July 96:15 p.m. DBL-SHOT8:00 p.m. Creedence Again (CCR tribute band)FAN FAVORITESFriday, July 236:15 p.m. Winner of the Battle of the Ballybands8 p.m. ARRATrue20001488Members of the Hix Brothers All-Star Band Stu Pender, 17, and Garrett Johnson, 13, are getting ready to take the main stage at Aurora's Blues on the Fox festival. Johnson is the youngest member of the band.Bev Horne | Staff PhotographerTrue <p class="factboxheadblack"><b>If you go</b> </p><p class="News"><b>What:</b> Blues on the Fox, part of Aurora's Downtown Alive! festival series </p><p class="News"><b>Where:</b> "Blues Alley," Galena Boulevard at Stolp Avenue, Aurora </p><p class="News"><b>When:</b> 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. today, June 18, and 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, June 19</p><p class="News"><b>Cost:</b> Free</p><p class="News"><b>Info:</b> (630) 844-4731 or <a href="http://bluesonthefoxaurora.com" target="new">bluesonthefoxaurora.com</a></p>