Article From The Statesman Journal, April 2, 2001

Guitar guru, Jake Blair is taking the blues into the most unlikely venue: an elementary school.

As a line of third graders come in and take their place on the floor, the children’s eyes are fixed on the trio of musicians in the front of the room. Waiting for the rest of the third graders at Portland’s Clarendon Elementary School to be seated, the threesome runs through standard blues riffs and make last minute adjustments.

With the students in place, vocalist/guitarist Jake Blair briefly discusses blues music with the class before breaking into a soulful rendition of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and not since blues great Stevie Ray Vaughan recorded the nursery rhyme in 1983 has the song seemed so apropos.

By the end of the 40-minute set, the kids are playing air guitar to the music and eagerly volunteering to be part of the select group of dancers next to the band. When the group brings the performance to a close with John Lee Hooker’s classic "Boom Boom," the students seem to have a connection with The Jake Blair Band.

Then again, why wouldn’t they?

At 14, Blair is only a few years older than the children are, and bass player Matt Seymour is even closer at 13. The band does not have a regular drummer.

Despite their youth, the local teen-age boys have established a name for themselves. Then again, in many ways, it’s because of their youth that they have established their name

"Just to get started, I don’t think it’s bad to exploit the fact that I’m 14 years old," says Blair, a Lebanon resident.

"All it is is a way to get in there (with audiences), but I feel confident enough in myself that I don’t need that gimmick beyond that."

Proof of his ability is obvious two nights later when the band packs a crowd at Hotel Oregon in McMinnville. The group is playing "Boom Boom" again, but this time Blair injects passion and power that were missing from the schoolhouse performance.

GOT THE GROOVE: Carol Armstrong of Portland finds a groove during one of Jake Blair’s guitar pieces at the Hotel Oregon in McMinnville. Not unlike his performance at an elementary school two days earlier, the dance floor was filled during the show’s final few songs.

A few patrons make jokes about the band’s impending bedtime, but those same individuals are quick to applaud when the band finishes a song.

As tempting as it is to tease the burgeoning bluesmen, audiences show up whenever the band plays.

"This place is packed every time he’s in here," says Dave Sanquinetti, the Hotel Oregon’s booking agent.

SHARING THE STAGE: Jake Blair jams with guest harmonica player Paul "Tweety" Armstrong of McMinnville during a recent gig at Hotel Oregon in McMinnville. "I’ve been playing for 25 years and playing with that kid is fun," Armstrong said.

Throughout the evening, Blair displays moments of visible talent that allude to the musician he will grow to be. Although the youth in his voice betrays him, the teen-ager handles his singing duties with confidence and stands before the band as its natural leader.

Adopting Vaughan’s rocking roadhouse blues style, Blair treads in an area of mimicking the Texas guitar great that drew criticism for another blues phenom, Kenny Wayne Shepherd.

Although The Jake Blair Band’s set includes material from blues greats such as B.B. King and Robert Johnson, the bulk of its show consists of either Vaughan’s material or songs that he was known to cover, such as Stevie Wonder’s "Superstition" and Jimi Hendrix’s "Little Wing" and Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)."

TEST DRIVE: Jake Blair, 14, studies bassist Matt Seymour, 13, as he test drives a bass at a shop in Sheridan. The boys have been playing the blues together as The Jake Blair Band since August.

Blair says he’s started listening to other musicians and working on developing a sound more his own.

"I’m starting to get my own style, " Blair says. "Lately, we’ve been noticing that we can say, "That sounds like Jake’ instead of "That sounds like Stevie,’" says Seymour, whose father, Dan, manages the band.

"I’m really kind of worried about the sounding to much like Stevie thing because I know Kenny Wayne Shepherd has been criticized for that." Blair says.

Both Blair and Seymour began playing their instrument when they were 10.

Listening to his parents’ blues and classic rock albums, Blair turned to his grandfather to teach him the basics on guitar. Months later, he got his first guitar and spent his time practicing the material his grandfather showed him.

Seymour, whose father and grandfather are both bass players, has been open to dabbling in various genres. Although the McMinnville resident plays in a blues band, his interest run more toward jazz and funk but says he never gave much thought to playing the music his friends are listening to.

"I never really had an interest in that stuff," Seymour says. "For a while there, I wanted to play alternative stuff, but it wasn’t my thing."

Blair and Matt Seymour connected after Blair’s grandfather passed a demo of the fledgling guitarist on to Seymour’s father. Impressed with what he heard, Dan Seymour invited Blair to jam. Blair spent four hours playing with Dan on bass and Matt filling in on drums.

Shortly afterward, Blair was invited to sit in with Ellen Whyte and Reflex Blue during a performance at The Hotel Oregon.

Impressed with what he saw, Sanquinetti asked Blair whether he would be interested in playing his own show.

Despite not having a band of his own, Blair agreed and went to work preparing material with Matt for the impending performance. Three months later, in August, the band debuted under the tongue-in-cheek moniker Pending.

As with young musicians in any genre, there are questions about whether youths can sing about subjects such as alcohol, love and heartbreak without experiencing them.

"Well, in all honesty, I haven’t led a sheltered life," Blair says.

"It’s not like I haven’t seen all the things I sing about at one point or another. Really, I don’t even think about it. It’s just words to a song, and that’s what the public likes."

Evident from the turnout at the band’s gigs, the public does like what it’s getting. This summer, the group will push things a little further as it travels around Oregon playing bars, which the teens have recently been approved to play, and other events, including the Oregon State Fair.

Sure of where they want to go with their music, the boys prepare for a busy summer and Blair knows the work he has cut out for him.

"There’s just a few main points I’m trying to concentrate on right now, getting better, writing original songs, getting a CD out and creating a buzz as big as I can," Blair says.

firmventures April 2001 webmaster