The Lanham Boys: March 2008

I AM SO PROUD!!!! This is Brady, Kelly's cousin Lisa's son.......

From the Graham Leader

http://www.grahamleader.com/news/get-news.asp?id=12503&catid=1&cpg=get-news.asp

Gunning for successFriday, March 14, 2008David Rupkalvis
Brady McCool and the Young Guns
Put four friends and music lovers together, add a lot of creativity and what do you get? In Graham, the answer is one of the best young Texas country music bands in the state.In just a matter of weeks, Brady McCool and the Young Guns have grown from a band with a loyal following in Graham and Possum Kingdom Lake to one that is on the verge of being known statewide.With a little bit of luck on their side, the band was invited to compete in the Texas Music Showdown sponsored by The Ranch radio station. Winning was the furthest thing from their mind when McCool, Corbin Bailey, Spenser Freeman and Tucker Dalton learned they were going to compete.
Getting in the competition required a little bit of luck. First, the competition required all band members be 18 or older, and all four members of the Young Guns are high school students looking up at 18. That rule was waived for the group, but that wasn’t the only lucky break.Getting an invitation started when Dalton competed with a second band he was a member of then.“I got one of my CDs from us and when I walked out of there, I snuck the guy a CD,” Dalton said.A few days later, a band scheduled to compete dropped out, and organizers knew who to call.“He gave them that CD, and the guy from The Ranch called Ty Fisher and asked if we could do it,” McCool said. “Ty told them, ‘If you get them in there, they’ll be in the finals.’”
But even then, the band was not sure. With final first round competition scheduled Feb. 26, band members waited.“We didn’t get the call until 9 a.m. Tuesday morning telling us we could do it,” Freeman said. That night, the Young Guns walked in the White Elephant Saloon in Fort Worth ready for their shot at fame. The drew the long straw and got to play last, giving them an opportunity to listen to the three bands they would be competing against.“I was intimidated when I walked in,” McCool said. “Me, Spence and Corbin had never been there before.”As they listed to the other bands, one stood out.“The second band was really good,” McCool said. “We went into playing that night thinking we were playing for second place.”“Those guys were really, really good, and they had great stage presence, too,” Bailey said.But when McCool and the Young Guns took the stage, they put on the performance of their lives and earned the judges’ nod as the winners.“I’ve never hugged a guy like I did Spencer that night, not even my dad,” Dalton said. “I was freaking out.”The win put the group of teens into the semifinals against the Ben Austin Smith Band. On Tuesday, they went back to Fort Worth and again got to play last. While listening to the other band, the Young Guns learned they had a tough challenge.“What people listen for in country music is the twang of a 57 telecaster, and they had it,” Dalton said. “If they had been somebody down here, I probably would have gone and seen them.”But rather than be intimidated, the Young Guns took the stage and again put on quite a show.“I was confident in our music,” McCool said. “I don’t see how other people get up there and play without moving.”This time, the judges had an easy decision, picking McCool and the Young Guns to play in the finals scheduled at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the White Elephant Saloon.“I cried, I cried like a little American Idol baby,” Freeman said.Playing in the finals of one of the biggest battle of the band competitions in the state is a huge step for a band that didn’t exist eight months ago. Back then, the members played in different bands and McCool was performing a solo act.That changed when Ty Fisher called McCool and asked if he could get a band together for the Young County Music Fest. With two weeks to get a band together, McCool went to his friends.“We only had a couple of friends, so I just grabbed a couple of guys I felt comfortable with,” McCool said. “Tucker and I have been playing in a band a long time.”McCool is the lead singer and plays rhythm guitar while Dalton plays bass guitar. Freeman rounds out the guitar trio at lead guitar and Bailey handles the drums.At first, the mixture wasn’t magic, just ask McCool’s neighbors. When the band first got together and practiced at McCool’s home, the result was a loud mix of sound ... music.“When we first started playing in that room, we’d rattle things off the walls,” McCool said.But it worked out, and the band played in the music fest. At the time, there were no plans for repeat performances.“We just thought it would be that one show,” Freeman said. “We’d all been in bands like that before.”But this one persevered and played in a few benefit concerts. Eventually, the music improved, and the group was invited to play at some business at Possum Kingdom Lake.“The first time we got paid, it was awesome,” McCool said. “It’s like being a kid who loves drawing with crayons and gets paid. It’s icing on the cake.”Getting paid only served to inspire the boys more. Far from being musicians only, they also write some of the songs they sing.“I write the lyrics, these guys do all the magic you hear,” McCool said. “We have eight original songs, and we started off with two. Anybody can play cover songs, but it’s having your own music that gets you out there.”The band also has fun on stage. With each member living a dream, it is easy to enjoy performing. But they work hard to make sure the music is good and the performance is entertaining.“One thing that separated us, the judge told me he liked our stage presence,” McCool said. “Those people want to be entertained. It’s so awesome to be on stage and look out and see people smiling and having a good time. That’s our goal.”Spending time together practicing and on stage have also made the Young Guns better — one step at a time.“You want the band to sound like one sound,” McCool said. “We’re finally getting to the point where I can tell what Spencer’s going to do, and Tucker can tell what Corbin’s going to do.”And for Brady McCool and the Young Guns, the fun is just beginning.“We can go as far as we want,” Dalton said. “If we stay together 10 years, we can be in the top 10 in Texas country music. In this business, even with as much as we’ve learned, there’s so much more to learn.”Right now, the goal is to put forth one more winning performance Tuesday. A win in the finals would not only give the band bragging rights and a lot of attention, they would also win a valuable package that includes $2,000 at Guitar Center, a photo shoot, new wardrobes from Panhandle Slims and 10 hours of recording time at Roughwood Studios.“Since we made the finals, our name will be out there,” Freeman said. Once the name is out, the band can begin chasing bigger dreams. Like most teens, the group is thinking of the future and envisions a time they can make a living as musicians.“That’s the ultimate goal,” Dalton said. “It’s playing at Billy Bob’s and then making a living.”“Playing music for a living would be something a lot of people dream about and very few get to do,” McCool said. “It’s something you dream about doing.”But for now, there is one other priority the boys cannot forget about.“We’ve finally got our priorities in line,” McCool said. “We’re not doing this for a living. We’re doing this for fun and to entertain people, but school is No. 1 right now. It has to be.”To hear some of the music from Brady McCool and the Young Guns, visit www.myspace.com/bcoolyoungunz.

Here's something Jake did for school last year...he loves these guys!