Now what about the professional musician part of your life?

I started playing professionally in '92 and have played with Stu Heydon, Michael Pickett, Carlos Del Junco, Chicago Pete, Lee Oskar, Jeff Healey, and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith.

All that experience and the Bluesers are your favorite. Wow!

Yeah. Like I said, we have an awesome base to work from, and the drive, the passion, the talent, and potential is really something special. [Author's note: Planet Jazz writer Robin H.S. Munro called Branton "the cream of Canadian guitar-slingers," so it's safe to say Mike knows 'special' when he sees it.]

You know, it usually takes a band about eight years to get to the level the Bluesers have reach in three. Tell me there's not something special going on.

[Mike had to leave at this point and turned things over to John.]

John, I know you fielded a similar question earlier, but based on Mike's comments, what do you think the "special something" is? Is it Mike?

Mike can play! There's no doubt about that. We would have never been able to do what we've done without him. However, at the same time, everybody has a role, has a part [in our success]. All the pieces, like with a puzzle, create something bigger and better.

We've all worked very hard to earn our place in the blues scene. We keep working at it, too. Mike is light years ahead of Mikey, Chris, and me. He knows music theory, reads music, and we don't. But we've all made a commitment to play the best we can and stay open to the knowledge he shares. Always. We have to!

You assume a responsibility when you get paid. Even if you're not getting money for a gig, once you step on stage, you're responsible for giving it all you got. That doesn't come from only me or Mike or Alex, it's what we all believe. Not only that, but you have to balance work with play. You have to. It's what the kids need to learn. We're not sacrificing education for rock star dreams, nor are we sacrificing fun to working hard.

Tell me more about Chris and Mikey.

Getting the kids involved with the blues has been wonderful. It's opened up all sorts of doors. You know, you want the boys to learn and absorb the history and culture of the blues — of all music — and you want them to want to carry on the tradition with a sense of reverence. It doesn't always work out that way, but with Mikey and Chris, it's working.

With the blues, it seems a simple enough art form that ends up taking forever to master, or at least attempting to master. Sort of like the journey being as important as the destination. The discoveries we make are priceless, like that Visa commercial.