Photo by Marty Schwarz
Matt (drums) and Jim Liban.
Milwaukee has a rich and varied history of artists who passed the music gene on to the next generation. Jim and Matt Liban, Greg and Dylan Koch and Kurt and Andrew Koenig have played occasional shows together as a multi-generational band, Blues Genes. The Carr family boasts three generations of musicians. There are many other examples. In rock, the generational torch-passing has mostly been father to son, but this is bound to change in the next few years, reflecting the greater participation of women in bands since the ’90s.
Several of these artists spoke about what it was like growing up with a working musician in the household, what it was like seeing their children pick up the torch and even what it is like performing together.
The Libans
Harmonica virtuoso Jim Liban started as a drummer. Inspired by the British Invasion of the 1960s, he was initially self-taught on harmonica but eventually found his real teachers—the Chicago blues wizards who he saw perform in person and got to know. He made his mark with A.B. Skhy and Short Stuff in the ’60s and ’70s and continues to perform. His son Matt’s steady gig these days is with 5 Card Studs, on drums. A few years ago, Matt played in Jim’s band.
“It is incredible knowing the same blood was pumping through him and me. It was a connection I never felt with anyone else,” Jim says of their time playing together. “He pretty much took it seriously from the git-go,” Jim says of his son’s musical path. “It was obviously a passion for him, taking all the steps to get better. He sought out teachers and saw the shows he could when he was young.”
Matt’s childhood memories include a day-long Washington Park concert, playing in the maze of tunnels under the stage. “The sound men and bandmates became a surrogate family. I remember getting a check from someone at Summerfest early in my career. The stage manager said, ‘So when the third generation is asking me for a check, I will have been doing this for too long, ’” Matt recalls.
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He played in his father’s band for about five years, including recording an album. “It is both good and bad—if you’ve ever worked with a family member you know what I’m talking about,” Matt says. “He was always an amazing performer, and I enjoyed people watching him. I sit back and think fondly what we have done together.”
Photo by Nicole Solakiewicz
The Richardsons
Drummer Jim Richardson got bit by the music bug before the time of the British Invasion. He eventually played with Milwaukee’s proto-punk band Death, formed the local power-pop stars The Shivvers and later played with The Aimless Blades. His multi-instrumentalist son, Jim Jr., performs with The Midnight Purchase and Time Spiral.
As a pre-teen Jim was inspired by Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson. “I took guitar lessons, but it didn’t work out,” he says. “My hands were too small to do bar chords with the cheap Stella acoustic my parents rented for me. The strings were about a quarter inch above the neck. After I saw the Beatles on ‘Ed Sullivan,’ I thought I’d give the drums a try.”
“I felt admiration for him from a young age, but also a deep sense of mystery,” Jim Jr. said. “I always knew musicians had an identity that radiated from them. They were content to be their authentic selves as they watch the world go by. That was my dad and his friends, and I thought that was cool.”
He also connected to his dad’s band the way other kids latch onto a favorite sports team. “It was never boring! There was always some cool, historic venue he was playing and I loved being along for the ride,” he says.
Before he learned any instruments, he would hear his dad’s band practice and “they felt alien to me but also fun and intense,” he continues. “They were able to tune into their own songs and discuss them on a much deeper level than anything I could perceive at the time. It felt like they were figuring out all the mysteries of the world.”
Photo by Rachel Taylor
Chris and his son Enzo DeMay
The DeMays
As songwriter/guitarist for West of Rome, multi-instrumentalist for Juniper Tar or WMSE volunteer coordinator, Chris DeMay’s life seems to revolve around music. It should come as no surprise, then, that his son Enzo is following in his footsteps.
“I just saw someone doing what they liked to do,” Enzo DeMay says recalling his upbringing. Today his drums are part of the band Retoro’s angular rock sound. He also performs as a DJ. “It’s interesting because when I was younger, almost all of the music and art that I indulge in now was constantly around me, but I didn’t pay any mind. I think sometimes in order to appreciate the music you have to have it become a part of your personal identity,” he says of growing up in an environment that surrounded him with “great films, books and art of all kinds, including music.”
Having performed as a duo last November at the annual “Nod to Bob” benefit concert, Chris admits, “I’m not sure which one of us was more nervous, probably me, but it was pretty wonderful.
“I didn’t know if it would be music or something else but given the fact that he has been surrounded by creative people since birth—both myself and his mother—my hope was that he’d find his own voice and method of expression when and if the time came,” Chris concludes. “And if he made that choice, I knew he would have access to resources and a community of support totally foreign to my experience as a teen.”
The Carrs
According to the old adage that the hi-hat doesn’t fall far from the snare drum, the Carr family boasts three generations of drummers. Jack Carr may be best known for co-leading the Ron Devillers/Jack Carr Big Band. After years of keeping time with alternative and roots-rock bands, his son John formed the New Orleans-centric band The Hungry Williams. Rounding out the family tree, for now at least, son/grandson Preston played with the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music’s Batterman Ensemble.
“I cannot recall ever not wanting to play music,” John says. “A babysitter told me she came along to Summerfest to help my mom and said she took me up to the stage at the Miller Jazz Oasis and had to hold me back. I was 2 or 3 years old.”
For John, it was all pre-ordained. “It didn’t occur to me that it was unusual for your dad to be a jazz musician until I was in grade school.” He recalls seeing his dad, freshly showered and wearing a tux with a huge frilly dickie, leaving early in the evening on a Saturday. Most likely it was a wedding gig
Dad was usually out on Friday and Saturday nights, and he recalls the phone ringing after 10 p.m.—jazz cats keep late hours—hearing dad chat with jazz radio DJ Ron Cuzner on the phone at 2 a.m. after he got home from a gig.
And those early impressions stuck with John. “Dad played with Sig Millonzi for many years,” he recalls. “As I’ve grown, I’ve realized that there isn’t anyone else who sounded like Sig. It made a huge impression on me. The sound of that trio, and the big band, are what I’m always shooting for.”
Blaine Schultz writes about music and people for the Shepherd Express. He plays with The Aimless Blades and The Riverwest Aces.
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