And the boys, knowing they're gaining memories and practical experience from it makes it even more exciting for all of us.

My nephew Mikey is 16 and in 11th grade. This is where most kids would either lose interest, fight having to practice, or go off on some head bangin' metal tangent. But Mikey's dedicated and he's really talented. He's playing beyond what you'd expect from a 16-year-old kid.

When you think of his role in the band, it's a big responsibility. He sets the pace for the band. As the bass player, I depend on him to keep it together. The rest of the band, they solo and fly through chords, but Mikey's carrying a lot of weight in keeping us on track. He never gives up and he never ceases to amaze me.

And Chris?

I'm gonna let Chris take this one and I'll chime in later.

Okay, Chris, let's start with meeting B.B. King.

Oh man, that was awesome! We spent, like, 30 minutes on the bus with him after one of his shows. Mikey and I had to wait for these other people to finish with him and they had about 80 things they wanted signed. I just wanted my turn, but then, I sort of realized the longer they took, the more time we got to hang out on B.B. King's bus! And it turned out the people we were waiting on were the owners of the restaurant where we play now.

So, B.B. was really cool. He was really nice and friendly. He signed guitar picks and asked us about what we liked about the blues, he told us to keep playing, keep practicing. It was definitely one of the best moments in my life.

What's it like to be in this band, play festivals, and compete at IBC?

It's fun... it's funny. It's never boring. The flying and the driving is fun. There's a lot to see and I get to meet a lot of people. I've met Hubert Sumlin, Phil Guy, Dr. John, and Pinetop Perkins. They have all these great stories and they always seem to like talking with us. I mean, they know we're just kids, but they still seem to like having us around.

Are your friends impressed with your success?

Aww, they don't think anything of it. I mean, they think it's cool that I'm in a band and get to play festivals, but other than that, we don't really talk about it. We're too busy doing other stuff.

Like what?

Video games, hockey. Normal stuff.

What video games do you like, what system do you have, and what's with the hockey?

I have PlayStation 2 and PSP. I also play on my computer. I don't really have a favorite game, but I like RPGs, MMRPGs, and online games.