The first result of this record deal came forth this past June 10 when the label issued The HJBB's debut Pay Me No Mind. True to the name "homemade jamz," these jams were recorded, rather, hand crafted at the Perry home in only three days in January. That's helped to foster a down-home (literally) sound that you don't hear from electric blues bands with record deals, save for perhaps Tab Benoit.
The brand of blues the kids present here has been called a blend of "Chicago and Mississippi juke joint blues" and clearly shows the influence of the Kings (B.B., Albert, and Freddie) as well as the Texas blues of Stevie Ray Vaughan. The stamp that the Perry children put on these styles is that they play it clean, lean and steady. Their exuberance shines through in every song they play.
That enthusiasm bubbles over from the opening moments of the record as Ryan shouts "are y'all ready for the blues?" before the band dives into "Who Your Real Friends Are." And can the kids play? Well, perhaps they're not at Double Trouble level yet, but I'll bet those guys weren't good enough to get gigs all over the world in their early teens, either.
Ryan Perry is of course the main draw. He plays a clean straightforward soulful style effectively appropriating the aforementioned heroes and is more interested in playing the blues more than cramming in too notes in each chord. As a singer, he's well beyond his years; there's enthusiasm and commitment that you can't miss, but he doesn't over emote, either.
Kyle Perry's job of locking down the groove is doubly important since there's no full-time second guitarist and when Big Brother goes off on a solo, he's holding firm. And for a nine year old who's only been drumming for only about two years, Taya Perry seems to have the hang of it pretty darned well. She keeps a good rhythm in sync with Kyle and slips in lots of mini-fills that give the tunes a little lift. 
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
i'm glad you wrote this because i heard a segment on them on npr, got distracted, and totally forgot the name.