The Strawberry Jam Band

     For this interview I thought I was going out of my comfort zone. At my age when you think of young musicians, you think of Rap, Heavy Metal or who knows what. . I was in for a pleasant surprse.
     The oldest of the four young men is Tyler O. Shea, twenty-five years of age and plays guitar, harmonica, sings, and is a talented songwriter. Tyler started playing guitar at the age of twelve with Bob Dylan and The Allman Brothers as his influences. Tyler has played with grammy nominated Kennny Neal and The Ryders. Two of the songs Tyler has written are The Garden and Rambling Blues.
     Next we have Andrew Booher who is twenty and plays drums and does vocals. When I first saw Andy I thought he looked very much like someone I knew. When I asked him how he got started playing drums at the age of thirteen, Andy gave me the biggest of smiles and said, "My Uncle plays with The Dave Steffen Band. My Uncle is cool."  Right then I knew who he reminded me of...a younger version of his uncle, Craig Neuser. Andy's other influences are Doug "Cosmo" Clifford the drummer from CCR and Charlie Watts from The Rolling Stones. When asked about his playing style Andy said, "I like to think I play simpler. I don't fill out the music as much. I add to the music, but don't over power it." Along with playing with The Dave Steffen Band, Andy also performed with Michael Murphy and the M.O.B., Darryl St. John and The Ryders.
     Andy and Tyler met at a blues festival that Tyler's dad, Tom Shea, puts on yearly. Andy was playing for The Dave Steffen Band and Tyler went up to jam with them. "I gave my number to Andy," said Tyler, "and a couple of years later he called me and we started playing together." While playing with The Ryders, Andy and Tyler opened for Vic Ferrari, Pat McCurdy, The Dave Steffen Band and The Happy Schnapps Combo. After a lengthy stint with The Ryders Andy wanted to form his own band and convinced Tyler to join him. Through Craig Neuser they met our two youngest members, brothers Adam and Nick Liske. They became The Strawberry Jam Band.
     Nick Liske is seventeen years old and goes to Appleton East High School. In eighth grade he played the oboe and was given the chance to play bass. Nick said, "What the heck. I'll give it a try." He pretty much taught himself to play with a little help from Russ Reiser from Vic Ferrari and Stringbenders. When asked about his singing Nick replied, "At first I refused to sing, but after some prodding decided to give it a try. I personnaly think my brother is better than me with the songs we do."
     The youngest member is Adam Liske. At the young age of fourteen, Adam seems to have an ear for music which allows him to add his own variation to songs. A student at Appleton East High School, Adam started playing guitar about three years ago. "The Beatles are definitely a big part of my musical influences, along with Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones and Russ Reiser. Russ Reiser gave Adam guitar lessons and evertually voice lessons. "I really was nervous about singing at first. I'm getting more comfortable with it now." commented Adam.
     Being under age, Adam and Nick need the support of their parents to be able to play at venues that serve alcohol. Nancy and Scott Liske have been there for them through out their young carreer. Nancy once told me, "I hope my boys realize how lucky they are. To have musicians like Russ (Reisers) and Ron (Kalista) take them under their wings is a privelage."
     The Strawberry Jam Band has over one hundred songs to their repretoire and are adding more. With songs from Tom Petty, Van Morrison, Cream, Neil Young and John Fogerty just to name a few, my fear of what I was getting myself into was alleviated. Their musical talent is going to keep them busy for a long time.
    You can follow The Strawberry Jam Band on Face book or at http://www.thesjb.com/ .