It’s not often that you get to see a band in its formative stages that you know is destined for greatness. Oh sure, if you were lucky enough to see, say, the Beatles at the Cavern Club in 1961; or the Rolling Stones on Eel Pie Island in 1962 or 1963; or even the Replacements at the 7th Street Entry in 1981, then you know what I am talking about. But a good friend of mine, who goes by the name of Mr. Whoamus on his blog, and I traveled to Grandpa Al’s in Faribault on Thursday last to see a fella by the name of Brandon Scott Sellner and his band. Now he may be a well-kept secret, but I had an “in:” their new bass player, Todd, whom I’d worked with and played drums with a couple of years ago, called me up and clued me in to Mr. Sellner, a 24-year-old wunderkind and guitar whiz, who’s got a CD single out called “Things are Gonna Be Good.” And indeed they are: you never met a nicer, more personable fellow, and that goes for all of his band mates: Todd on bass, Hardy on 2nd guitar, and “Melvin III” on drums. Once introduced to Brandon and the guys by Todd, we were treated with respect and like equals, with no trace of ego by any of the band. What’s more, we were treated like fellow musicians, which to me, impresses the most (of course, they haven’t heard me play guitar – then their opinion might change!) about these guys. When I used to be a trucker, traveling the highways and byways of this land, we had a saying: “knock the balls off the dog on the hood.” Forgive the crudity, but it basically means you’ve really done something right; you’ve “nailed it.” And I have to say that Brandon really nailed it that night – he is nothing less than a prodigy on guitar (I’m told that he’s just turned 24 and has only been playing for seven years). Their CD single is a fine tune, but it doesn’t do justice to their live show, which is nothing short of incendiary. The way he tosses off Stevie Ray Vaughn licks on his Mexican Strat like he was doing it in his sleep left me with my jaw bouncing off the floor. With Hardy chugging away on rhythm, Todd laying down a rock-solid bottom, and Melvin III putting down a solid backbeat, they’re the real deal. He reminds you of “Kid” Jonny Lang in his early days. Yes, this kid is that good! I’m told that he’s got a CD’s worth of original tunes in demo form ready to be recorded and I for one, can’t wait to get my hands on that disc. So, if you hear of this guy or get a chance to see him live, by all means, make the effort, because he is gonna be great! Check out his MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/brandonscottsellner, and, as always, keep on rockin’!
Brandon Scott Sellner - "Things R Gonna Be Good"
