Deseret Morning News, Friday, March 25, 2005

Middle-age musicians turn rock 'n' roll into Mid-Life Crisis

By Edward Reichel
Deseret Morning News

They're not doing it for the money, and they don't care how large their audience is. For the six members of local rock band Mid-Life Crisis, it's all about having a good time.

Vocalists Dave Thomas and Brenda Burton rehearse with drummer Barry Sanderson and guitarist Sherm MacFarlane. Keith Johnson, Deseret Morning News

"We're in the band because we want to be and because it's fun," said vocalist Dave Thomas.

Mid-Life Crisis is not an up-and-coming band to watch out for. "We're not a New Wave band," Thomas quipped.

As the name implies, the group consists mostly of older amateur musicians who play rock music from the 1960s and '70s in their spare time.

Thomas founded the group, and he said the band members are together because this is the kind of music most of them grew up with. "We can relate to it."

Thomas runs the recreation department for Layton city. He formed the band four years ago. "We just started the Family Recreation program up here, and I wanted something more than just having ball games. I wanted to have activities that the whole family could enjoy."

For the new program's kickoff, Thomas decided to organize a band. The idea came to him because he had just had his high school reunion and got together with members of his old high school band. "I decided to put that in the works and asked around, trying to find people to join this new band." Before too long, Thomas had about nine people who were interested.

The band played something for everyone at that first concert. "We played little-kids' music to old crooners, with a little rock 'n' roll in the middle."

After the concert, Thomas figured that was the end of the band, but people liked what they had heard. "They were interested in us, and two or three people even wanted to book us that night." That caught him and the others off guard. "We were surprised because we hadn't thought about tomorrow."

With that kind of unexpected response, Thomas and the others began seriously discussing the future. But they needed to reorganize and find other players. "One of our singers was the lead in 'Fiddler on the Roof,' and he couldn't stay with us. And some of the others couldn't go on because of the commitments they had."

Eventually, Thomas found five bandmates — including a couple from his high school days. The members of Mid-Life Crisis are Brenda Burton, vocals; Doug Pierce, lead guitar; Barry Sanderson, drums; Tyler Blackner, bass; and Sherm MacFarlane, rhythm. Thomas also sings with the band. "And I drive the Winnebago," he said with a laugh.

Mid-Life Crisis got its name when everyone was just sitting around one day and talking. "We started making jokes about our age and saying we're too old for this," Thomas said. Someone happened to mention that what they were going through was a midlife crisis, and the name stuck.

Three of the musicians are in their early 50s, while one is in his mid-40s. The other two are in their late 30s. "They're the babies in the group."

The music Mid-Life Crisis plays is mostly from the '60s and '70s. "We do some songs from the '50s and newer things, too," Thomas said. But the music that's played on classic-rock radio stations forms the backbone of the band's concerts. "It's what the audience wants to hear. Our audiences range in age from 35 to 60, and they relate to that music."

Thomas said that he and the others in the band get a kick out of watching people really get into it. "People who are very calm at work, once they come to our concerts, they let their hair down and rock to the music."

Thomas and the others in the band don't care where they play. "We just like to play. We've had audiences as small as 10 people and as large as 7,000 or 8,000."

A lot of their gigs are local events, such as vintage car shows. They also play for dances, church functions, company parties and weddings. "We do a lot of weddings," Thomas said. "I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe it's because the parents want old rock 'n' roll music, and they're the ones paying for the wedding."

Mid-Life Crisis tries to limit the number of its concerts to two a month, although it could book more than twice that. "Sometimes we've played four or five weekends in a row," Thomas said. "But we don't try to do so much. We all want to spend time with our families."

Thomas said that the band tries to get its music as tight as possible and sound professional. But no one is in it for the money. They perform purely for the love of the music. "We're having fun and the audience is having fun. That's why we're doing it. It's a hoot."

Mid-Life Crisis are slated to perform at the Kenley Centennial Amphitheater in Layton on Aug. 15.

Thomas handles all the booking for the band and can be reached at 801-336-3921.

E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com

© 2005 Deseret News Publishing Company