About the interviewer:   Monte Adkison, aka “The Blues Stalker”, has been a regular contributor for the Suncoast Blues Society’s publication the “Twelve Bar Rag” and the website Lahoradelblues.com in Barcelona, Spain for over a decade.

A Family Affair

Teenagers Cole and Logan Layman perform as an acoustic duo, a trio plugged, or as a full band with keyboards and horns. In addition to both playing different instruments, they also write original music, some of which is performed on their recently released disc, Tangled.  Cole and Logan have been participants in a number of music programs aimed at getting more youth involved in music such as Kid’s Care Clubs, Generation On, Brotherhood of the Guitar, and the Blues Foundation’s Generation Blues as scholarship recipients.

The Layman sibling’s musical immersion began as youths when introduced to open mics by their mother Sandy, who also sits in on drums for the duo while their father, Doug, learned to run sound for them. The family business, RhythmPlay-In Layman Terms, is involved with interactive musical outreach and creates a total family package of musical talent. While attending high school in Williamsburg, Virginia, sophomore Logan plays upright bass and is in the honors orchestra. Graduating senior Cole played percussion in the performing band and guitar in the advanced jazz band. Having recently participated in the 2016 International Blues Challenge in Memphis in the band category, along with their first release getting positive reviews from all over the world–a very busy summer of workshops and blues festivals is on this group’s calendar. You’ll definitely be hearing more from these talented two artists in the future.

I had the opportunity to see the Layman’s perform in December at the Bradenton Blues Festival in Florida. I was impressed with their enthusiasm and passion for the music as well as their talent and recently had an opportunity to talk with them after their release of their debut disc, Tangled.

BS:          Can you tell the readers how you became interested in blues music and your early exposure to  it? Also, as students at the Academy of Rock Music in Newport News, what was that experience like?

LL:           I got into blues music because my brother was into it.  All he ever wanted to do was listen to music and play the guitar.  I really wanted to spend time with him, so I started playing.  I was six.  The Academy of Rock Music is a very unique program run by Ron Lowder.  We started the program six years ago when we moved to Williamsburg.  We stopped officially playing with Academy bands about three years ago, but Ron continues to work with us.  He produced our album and played drums for us on it.

CL:          I got into the blues as I was exploring music when I was really young.  I would watch YouTube videos and play along.  I found Stevie Ray Vaughan and thought that he was the most incredible thing I had ever seen and heard.  I tried to emulate his sound and that lead me to dig further back and study the musicians who influenced him.  I have learned from blues music and culture that I am one lucky kid. Not everybody is born into a nice, caring, supportive and fun family, and not everyone Is close with their family either. I also realize that no everyone is born with an incredible sister that can carry the flow of the music we create with her amazing voice and professional, natural bass skills. Blues music has basically taught me that my sister actually has a soul, figuratively and literally!!

BS:          For all of the young, aspiring artists out there—can you tell us about the programs you have been or are still involved in such as Brotherhood of the Guitar, Generation On, and Generation Blues scholarships?  There are so many young people unaware of the opportunities that are available out there.

CL/LL:    I LOVED the Pinetop Perkins Masterclass camp in Clarkdale, Mississippi. It is a must-have experience for young aspiring blues musicians, I highly recommend it!! You get to stay in shacks and get the true feel of the blues era and what originally sparked such genuine music that runs through our veins. I also love the IBC (International Blues Challenge) I recommend young musicians go for the youth showcase so they can go to Beale St. and have the opportunity to watch all the amazing other youth acts and the adult bands and solo duo’s compete, it’s an AMAZING experience I also highly ,highly, highly, recommend!!! Like really!!!

BS:          Logan, what can you tell us about your organization, the HART Squad?

LL:           We started HART Squad (Healing Arts Squad) to get other people our age involved in spreading joy and goodwill through the arts.  Getting our busy friends together was a challenge, so now we focus more on the drum circles and rhythm events that our mom leads.  We go along and help and even lead sometimes.  It is really fun.  We have brought circles to people of all ages with disabilities, Veterans, Senior Citizens who live in assisted living and nursing homes, and we have even lead a community workshop in Midland, Texas last summer when we played at Tall City Blues Festival.  My mom and I are going to lead a woman’s drum circle at the yoga studio that we go to.

BS:          How valuable was your participation the in International Blues Challenge this year? What was your favorite experience?

CL:         My favorite experience? Uhm, how about the whole dang thing? Is that a good answer? Because it’s the truth. I have no particular experience I can hand pick as my favorite from the IBC. The IBC is a full package. The whole thing is just incredible.  We barely sleep the whole week, we just go from venue to venue watching and learning.  We have made so many incredible friends during IBC over the past four years.  Every year feels like a family reunion.  We have gone twice in the youth showcase category, then competed at solo/duo, then competed with our mom playing drums with us in the band category.  Not THERE’S a memory!  How many people can say they rocked Beale with their mom on drums?

LL:         The IBC is such an amazing, unforgettable experience that I will absolutely enjoy going to, to the day that I die. There can’t be any one thing to choose from that makes it my favorite thing. There’s many things that made this year’s IBC stand out to me, such as the killer blues artists that I had the chance to see. This year was so relaxed, and we met so many outstanding people! Can’t wait for next year!  Although, we may have to take a year off.  We are going to keep coming back every year that we can until we end up on the Orpheum Stage!

BS:          Cole, congratulations on your acceptance into Berklee in the fall. Will such a rigorous school schedule still allow time for gigs?

CL:         Thank you!  It is very exciting.  Berklee has been a goal and a dream of mine since I was in the third grade.  Yes. I will never leave In Layman Terms, and I will always make time to come back and gig. Plane tickets from Boston to Richmond are really cheap and I will be flying home for some of the local festivals that have booked us.  There ain’t nothing like playing with Logan Layman. A true talent, an absolutely unbelievable feel for not only blues music and the soul that I enriched within the genre, but the passion she sings with and her natural niche for brightening up the stage.

BS:          You both are Farmer Foot Drum artists and foot stomping rhythms obviously is part of your sound. I can probably guess but how did the focus on percussion and rhythm come about?

CL:         Rhythm came for us as we began to take advice from our mom, Sandra Layman. She used to play in a punk rock band in her teens, and years later she ended up dusting off the drum kit and playing with us after days and days of pleading her to jam with us. That is also how In Layman Terms started. Mom is the inspiration to our music.

LL:        As Cole said, our mom used to be in a punk rock band when she was younger. She has really taught us rhythm and how to keep a beat. Without her, there would be no In Layman Terms!

BS:      Your songwriting is exceptionally mature and deals with ordinary issues life confronts us with such as battling cancer and depression. How do you collaborate on your songwriting? Is one the lyricist and the other the music writer or do you just bounce off each other?

CL:       We bounce off each other’s ideas for the most part. It’s easy for us to write collaboratively considering we’re best friends in addition to being brother and sister. We have similar vocabulary and writing styles, as well as sense of humor for sure!!! Hahahaha!!

LL:        Cole and I have a very strong connection, and writing songs together is a way we bond!Typically There’s no designated lyricist or music writer, Cole and I often tend to switch positions a lot, or add to each section we make up.  We don’t really plan it, it just kind of happens.

BS:          Logan, I understand you have just received quite an honor for a bass player from Ernie Ball. You have to be excited. Can you tell us all about it?

LL:         I can’t wait.  I am sponsored by Ernie Ball and endorse their Music Man bass.  My custom build is in progress right now.  It is a four sting Stingray with high action and custom pickups.  It is chili red.  It is such an honor to join the elite list of Ernie Ball Artists.

BS:          Do you guys utilize Facebook. Twitter, and other social media so fans can follow you?

CL/LL:    Yes, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, ReverbNation.  Look for 3inlaymanterms.  The 3 is a private joke, and we will never share it with anyone.  Jhaha We also have a mailing list.  You can sign up at our website.  www.3inlaymanterms.com

BS:          What advice could you give to other young artists such as yourself who are currently involved in the music scene?

CL/LL:    Keep pushing and pardon my French, but don’t give any damns to the haters that are out there to put you down, or are out there to make you feel bad about being young. You do you, and you play YOUR music, and you cover YOUR favorite songs, and you follow YOUR dreams. Make your own footsteps. Take advice and take notes when you listen and watch others in their craft, but remember to be your own leader, not someone else’s follower.

Best wishes to you on the new release and enjoy your busy summer, learning and touring. The best is yet to come and I know we’ll be hearing more about both of you, together or charting individual paths. Enjoy the journey!

Blues Stalker

THANK YOU!  WE DO, AND WE WILL.  We know how Blessed we are to be able to do what we do and to have a family that supports us no matter what we decide.