by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
A 13 year old kid-a piano-a guitar-mind blowing talent. Yes Conrad Oberg is visually impaired and can not see sheet music yet amazingly started playing piano at age 4. Now at only 13, he's a veteran musician with national contacts and a resume to die for.
At MOSH's Juke Joint Jam, as part of the Art Walk, May 7th, Conrad was playing with a substitute bass player because his regular bassist was involved in a serious car accident. So Angelo Olivieri sat in on bass from the Debbie Davies band. Bruce Stewart was on drums and Conrad was on piano, guitar, and lead vocals.
Conrad keeps wracking up the milestones. Over the summer, Conrad performed at 5 major blues festivals including the Sarasota Blues Festival in which Conrad opened for Buddy Guy. He also performed at the Beaches Springing the Blues Festival as well of the St. Augustine's Rhythm & Ribs shindig.
Interestingly, Conrad's various YouTube videos went viral and caught the attention of the producer of the Cartoon Network's Special Events, who invited Conrad to participate in the Cartoon Network's Most Talented Kids program. One can see his video on www.cartoonnetworkprops.com. At the taping, when Conrad arrived and his gear was being set up, he found a piano and he entertained the stage crew with his blues style playing. The producer had not previously known that he played piano as well as guitar. So he included Conrad's advanced piano chops on the video.
Incredibly, Conrad has just finished the 8th grade program and will be attending Douglas Anderson School of The Arts next semester, where he will study music. This summer, Conrad has booked gigs in Texas and other states. Of course, his dad/manager travels with him and does a fine job booking Conrad at various venues.
"People assume I've somehow pressured Conrad into a music career. But the truth is, I can't keep him away from his music. Another myth is, Conrad just sat down and started playing music at 4 years old. Yes, he could play simple tunes on a toy piano at 2, but he's worked very hard to perfect his technique on piano and guitar. When I gave him his first guitar, I couldn't get him to stop playing it. In six months he was playing Hendrix. He just keeps making quantum leaps in skill and technique. However, he loves it and he is the one who thrives on playing live. I'm just along for the ride," Conrad's dad, Michael said in a telephone conversation recently.
Michael, who is the President and CEO of MOSH, went on to say that he plans to make MOSH a permanent part of the Art Walk event. At the May 7th Art Walk, Jim Draper exhibited his stunning large landscape paintings of Florida scenes in the lobby as well as paintings by DAKOTA students in the auditorium. The free food was catered by Mojos Bar-B-Que.
Conrad and band will be performing at Mojo's on Beach Blvd. on Monday, June 2nd in a special early evening show from 7-10 pm. Don't miss the chance to check out Conrad's show. You will quickly recognize that this young man is destined for stardom.
Article Published in the May 2008 Issue of EU Jacksonville
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