Jamming with the Bryan Brothers
Let me qualify this post by saying that I’m a huge tennis fan.
So when Mike and Bob Bryan, the #1-ranked Men’s Doubles tennis team in the world, greeted me at the Sherwood Country Club in Los Angeles, CA by giving me hugs and carrying my bags, it was more than a little surreal.
For the two days I spent with the eponymous founders of the Bryan Brothers All-Star Tennis Smash—the first annual charity gala and tennis exhibition in support of the Bryan Brothers Foundation to raise money for at-risk kids in Ventura County—the guys made me feel like I was family. After Mike and Bob drove me to and from the press conference when I arrived on Friday, they invited me to their home studio to jam with them before the weekend’s festivities would begin that night.
As it turns out, the twins are huge musicians. Their studio had some 20 guitars (including a Fender Strat specially designed for them by Adidas), half-dozen keyboards, flat-screen TVs, drums, and vocal mics amplified by a Bose sound system. Their neighbors came in to see us jam for 3 hours on tunes by Elton John, Dave Matthews, John Mayer, U2 and more. We started out with Mike on drums, Bob on bass, and me on piano, but by the end we were switching instruments from song to song: Mike going to keys while I played drums, Bob playing organ while I played guitar, and so on. All the while, the walls of their studio were peppered with framed magazine covers and press photos of them receiving championship trophies at the U.S. Open, French Open, Davis Cup, Wimbledon…suffice to say, the tennis fan in me was definitely geeking out.
As interested as I was in what it was like to party with Andy Roddick and win the bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics, the guys seemed to be just as interested in what blues licks would sound good during a piano solo on the Counting Crows’ “Hangin’ Around”, or how to finger the bass line to Dave Matthews’ “Crash Into Me”. Their love for music was sincere and palpable, and when they said they were as honored to have me as I was to be there, it was clear that you couldn’t wish for a nicer duo of tennis phenoms.
The next day, I got to watch a host of tennis stars and celebrity amateurs like Jon Lovitz (?!) play exhibition matches. Who knew the comedian best remembered as the crotchety brother of Billy Crystal in City Slickers 2: The Legend of Curly’s Gold had a serve that Lindsay Davenport couldn’t even return?
That night, the crowd gathered in the ballroom for the gala dinner, which was followed by a live auction where Justin Gimelstob inexplicably bid on every item. Finally at around 10:30, the musical performances began. Mike Bryan introduced me personally, and what a thrill it was to play “Love Is Just A Lie”, “Kids”, and “Nothing To Fear” on a stage directly in front of Maria Sharapova and Andre Agassi’s table. After I finished, I invited up the Bryan Brothers to join me for a rendition of Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” with Mike on drums, Bob on bass and organ, and me on piano and vocals. Everyone rushed to the front of the stage to catch a glimpse of the tennis stars rocking out, and I must say, they did a killer job. Despite a hurt shoulder aggravated from a long day of tennis, Mike came through on his drum fills while Bob kept the bass groove solid and steady.
After Evan and Jaron and Brandi Carlile’s sets, the Bryan Brothers invited me back on the stage with them to perform “Johnny B. Goode” and Dave Matthews’ “#41”. To close out the night, Evan and Jaron joined Mike, Bob, and myself for an impromptu rendition of “Brown Eyed Girl”, where Evan, Jaron, and I traded lead vocals while Bob and Mike played piano and guitar.
When the show was complete, Bob and Mike took me aside and said, “You know, we would trade our tennis skills to be rock stars in a heart beat.” Hard to believe, but when the night was over, the philanthropist tennis stars had managed to be both.
