The Brewer Boys

DARCIE J. FLANSBURG - For The Californian

Temecula natives, brothers and country duo The Brewer Boys will perform May 16 at Country at The Merc.

The brothers ---- Justin Brewer, 15, and Nathan Brewer, 11 ---- have been performing together locally and out of state for several years.

"We started singing and taking formal voice lessons at a very early age," Justin said.

Justin was 8 when he started singing and Nathan was 6 years old. Justin plays the guitar and Nathan can play a bit, but he is still learning. Nathan also likes to play on the keyboard, especially when rehearsing their original music.

"They grew up listening and singing to country music, and four years ago formed their dynamic duo when Nathan discovered that he can sing harmony to every song that big brother Justin sings," said the brothers' mother, Elsa Brewer.

Elsa had a lot to do with the boys' interest in music.

"We think our mom has a lot to do with it ---- she's Filipino and they are big on singing karaoke," Nathan said. "We always hear music at home, and from when we were small, she would always sing to us. Then our dad introduced us to country music, and we really liked the music of George Strait, Lonestar and even Jo Dee Messina."

But it was the duo of Big & Rich and the Everly Brothers' music that got them singing together, harmony and all. The Brewer Boys like to say that they sing country "California style."

"We like the new country sound, and that's what we learned to sing when we started out, but also love to sing the older country style, like those of the Everly Brothers, Johnny Cash and other classics like the Beatles, Crosby Stills & Nash and even the Eagles," Justin said.

Previously at The Merc, the Brewer Boys performed tunes from their demo CD that they recorded in Nashville. One of the songs is called "Country California Style," which the boys co-wrote. The song describes the duo as boys singing country here on the West Coast.?

Another song is called "I Hope Heaven Has MySpace," which is a more serious song written about a teenager who was killed in an accident and how his friends continue to write to him on his MySpace page.

"This song tells something about us and we can relate to it ---- like we have our own MySpace account and know how it keeps communication lines between our families and friends open," Nathan said.

The boys have also performed cover songs of some of their favorite artists at The Merc.

"We have performed at the Country at The Merc a few times now," Justin said. "It is always pretty exciting. We love singing with a live band, and the Ranch Rockers Band are just awesome. Also, The Merc has a smaller stage and we feel a lot more at home and less formal singing there. We know that most everybody who comes out to see us are country music fans and it feels just like family. They are very supportive and everybody just wants to have a good time."

The boys have also performed at It's a Grind Coffeehouse, GospelFest 2008, Temecula Live 2009, Texas Stampede 2008 and the Eclectic Bookstore.

Though the Brewer Boys have more shows in place, the brothers still feel the challenges of their path.

"I think being young artists is an obstacle because we feel that people don't really take us seriously right away, you know, they say, 'Oh they're cute' ---- or something like that," Justin said. "And we don't really know if they're just being nice or really think we are good.

"Of course, we also lack the experience of older artists. And there are times when we get into a situation where we are competing with more experienced artists and we just say to each other, 'How can we compete with that?' But our parents always remind us that we just do the best we can and have fun doing it and experience will follow."

The Brewer Boys are currently working on a CD.

"We also want to do a crossover country-pop to be able to get to the younger generation like us and entice them to start listening more to country music," The duo said. "That's why in our selection of songs/covers we try to incorporate a little bit of everything, like the classics, some pop and even rock. That way, we can appeal to more listeners, young and old. Someday, we hope that country music will be as big as pop music to the younger generation."

Check out more info, music and videos on the Brewer Boys at myspace.com/thebrewerboys or youtube.com/thebrewerboys or thebrewerboysmusic.com.

Country at The Merc

When: 7 and 9 p.m. May 16

Where: The Merc, Old Town Temecula Community Theater, 42051 Main St., Temecula

Tickets: $15

Info: 866-653-8696 - CALIFORNIAN: | Wednesday, May 13, 2009 12:11 PM PDT 8

TEMECULA: The Brewer Boys attempt to overcome the 'young artist' stigma

There are plenty of young artists walking the streets nowadays. Youngsters hiding large quantities of talent, who have the ability to break into song at the drop of a hat. Temecula-based duo, The Brewer Boys, are the perfect example of this.

Earlier this year they made it to the third round of the Nashville-based singing competition "Can You Duet." In July they spent time recording their first professional demo at Hendersonville, Tennessee's Cash Cabin Studio, they've made appearances in "Country Weekly Magazine," and they even received an invite to sing the National Anthem in Dallas, Texas as part of the Final Rodeo Championship at the Texas Stampede.

The duo's next challenge is to overcome the stigma of being "young artists."

"I think being 'young artists' is an obstacle," Nathan Brewer said. "The title makes it harder for people to take us seriously right away. They say, 'Oh, they're so cute,' or things like that. We don't really know if they're just being nice, or if they really think that we're good.

"We also lack the experience of older artists. There are times when we get into a situation where we are competing with more experienced artists, and we just say to each other, 'How do we compete with that?' But our parents always remind us that we just do the best that we can, and have fun doing it ---- experience will follow."

Made up of 15-year-old Justin and 11-year-old Nathan Brewer, the Temecula duo were born with a passion for music, and vocal lessons only worked to make that passion and enjoyment stronger for the two.

"I started taking formal vocal lessons when I was just eight-years-old," Justin said. "Nathan was really small then, but I guess he was influenced by my performances during recitals, and before long was singing with me all the time. Then we just started singing along to music on CDs that our mom and dad would listen to."

The Brewer Boys play Nov. 21 at It's A Grind Coffeehouse in Murrieta. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show is open to all ages. Upcoming shows include TemeculaLive! 2009 on Jan. 23.

"People who come to our show can expect to hear music ranging from new country, to pop, and older classics like the Everly Brothers, Crosby Stills & Nash, The Beatles, and even Johnny Cash, and Journey," Nathan said. "We try to make sure that everybody who comes to see us perform would know, or can relate to some of the songs that we sing."

Justin added, "We make sure it's family-friendly. We want to see kids and their parents come and share their love for music and just have fun and hang out."


- By ERIKA SOROCCO - For The Californian | Thursday, November 20, 2008