After months of lingering low temperatures, summertime in Toledo has “been a long time comin’,” and The Bradberries are celebrating the new season with its “Generic Summer Song.”
This track for “Red, White, & You, Too!” is designed to sound like a standard country song, complete with guitar strummin’, Southern accents and a beer belly that “ain’t never gonna get full.”
“We obviously wanted to do a summer song and Scott had an idea for a country song,” band member Brad Bury said. “The majority of country songs have to do with drinking beer, pickup trucks and girls in bikinis … so let’s do a song based on that.”
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The three-man band recorded all the music for “Generic Summer Song” on the first take without having to redo anything before adding vocals to it.
“It pretty much just took an hour. We could’ve spent more time on it. But, as our bass player says, we’re not making gold records,” Bury said, laughing. “We know maybe a handful of country cover songs so playing ‘Generic Summer Song’ is definitely something different. We usually just play dance music.”
The trio includes Bury on drums, Scott Ballard on fiddle and guitar and Tom Kemper on bass. All three are veteran vocalists who have known each other and played in bands together for more than 20 years.
“We play as much as we can but we really don’t practice together,” Bury said. “We’re all seasoned musicians so we often learn songs on our own then play them out the first time when we’re at a gig together. It works because we’re all just on the same page.”
About a year and a half ago, the three friends decided to form a band. Today, they perform nearly every weekend.
“We’re pretty much a cover band that plays other people’s music when we play out,” Bury said. “Our No. 1 priority as a band is to have fun. If we do that, and people enjoy our music, then we’re happy.”
