Rex Lex

Rex Lex founder Beau Lee found God and the guitar at age 16; he fell in love with the former, but left the latter to nothing more than a part-time hobby. It wasn’t until two years later and a long lay up in a hospital bed due to a near-death accident that the guitar became a close friend.

After a slow, 8-month recovery, the excessive pressure of energy, creativity, and a solid repertoire of music built up into a felt need to create an outlet. Enter Rex Lex version 1.0. (Note: Beau’s kid brother, Devon, was 8 years old.) The founder recalls, “We finished our first show--the first show--and everyone went out to eat after the show to celebrate. I was too excited--completely overwhelmed. I went back to my dorm room, shut the door, and prayed. I said to myself, ‘I was made to have a mic in my hand.’”

Shortly after the band’s conception in 2001, another current member stepped onto the stage: Ian Hellermann, a 16-year-old punk-rock kid with his punk-rock bass hung down to his punk-rock Vans. Ian was unable to escape the Sid Vicious comparison as one commenter proclaimed: “He plays the bass like a chainsaw!” (Note: Also consistently present at Rex Lex shows was a young girl named Elysa Swick who appeared and never went away--a “groupie” as some would dub her.) The reputed bottle-rocket energy was present from the band’s inception--a fixed element at Rex Lex shows; however, over time, the sonic performance began to grow increasingly polished as the stubborn young group stoutly pursued their vows of excellence and precision.

In 2003, while driving through the back roads toward his place of employment, Ian sent himself into a telephone pole and on to the hospital as a reach for an Oatmeal Cream Pie snack took his eyes off the winding road. A destroyed hip initiated a series of surgeries, and, by God’s grace, a period of physical and spiritual recovery took place. (Note: Shortly after the accident Ian and the “groupie” began a routine of three-hour phone conversations, unbeknownst to the rest of the band.)

After the drummer exited the scene in August of 2006 to head off to college, the much-matured Rex Lex team was left with a show schedule--but no drummer. Enter the little Lee brother, Devon, then only rounding 13 years old. Out of desperation, this outrageously young and inexperienced drummer was brought on board to help fulfill the show commitments. The uncanny speed and depth of improvement that followed was borderline divine, and the little stand-in stuck around--and with indubitably upbeat results.

The phone conversations between Ian and Elysa turned into face-to-face meetings, and the two eventually fell in love. On 6/30/07 they pulled away from the chapel with a “Just Married” sign in the back of their car. Elysa Hellermann now travels with the band, filling the vital role of “band mother” and “tour manager.”

In spring of 2007, Beau took a two-week hiatus from rock music to go backpacking through the Middle East. Bringing along four friends, one of which was David Brennan (a new arrival to the band’s hometown), the small crew got their faces dirty as they traveled in deliberate and complete improvisation. Caravanning through the deserts of Egypt, sleeping on the beaches facing Saudi Arabia, wandering through the streets of Old City Jerusalem, posing for pictures while balancing on the artillery barrels of destroyed tanks on Syrian border, and even sneaking their way into the Hamas military compound in Ramallah, Palestine--the adventure was complete. Shortly after returning to the U.S., David found himself being invited for jam sessions with Rex Lex. His notable guitar skills, his heart for God, and his reckless love for adventure earned him a seat at the Rex Lex round table.

Today, Beau, Ian, David, and Devon--Rex Lex --continue their journey, traveling around, doing what they do. Some people are born to entertain, and others are born to speak profound Truth--Rex Lex is called to do both, and they are and will continue to be faithful stewards of that dual-calling as they rock the stage and the lecture forums.