by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
What: Conrad Oberg with Rob Piazza and Danny Roberts
Where: Mojo Kitchen in Jacksonville Beach
When: December 15th
I’ve known musical prodigy Conrad Oberg for more than three years. I first covered him at his London Bridge debut when he was just 10 years old. Legally blind, Conrad was born with a Mozart-like talent for music. He started off playing tunes on a small piano at age 3, and had a repertoire of piano songs by 9-years old. Later, Conrad took up guitar and fell in love with the blues. Now 13, his guitar technique has advanced rapidly. In fact, every time I hear him play, I find he has made a quantum leap in technical skill. Conrad’s performance of Hendrix’s ‘Little Wing’ at age 12 went viral on YouTube. Every week I hear about another Conrad Oberg triumph, playing with some blues luminary or at big blues festivals. The kid is omnipresent, I swear.
Indeed, Conrad has the best ear of anyone I can remember. He can play anything he hears, which is the holy grail of musical genius. But he’s not taking this gift for granted. Conrad is attending the La Villa School of the Arts and plans to attend Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. He’s learning everything he possibly can about music and his father, Michael, can’t keep him away from his piano or guitar. Conrad literally lives and breathes music and his supportive parents encourage him and travel with him to out of town gigs.
To get an update on Conrad and help him promote his upcoming Mojo Kitchen performance on Dec. 15, EU gave him a call. In a surprisingly mature voice, Conrad told me he is dedicated to his music career and spending his summers touring. It was hard for me to think of Conrad as only 13-years old.
Conrad has come a long way since I last saw him at the George’s Music Springing the Blues Festival last year. His performance on the west stage lasted just 45 minutes. Now, Conrad has a hot new band and has toured many festivals and clubs, including the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi, co-owned by actor Morgan Freeman.
“My dad (Michael) fired himself on bass and Danny Roberts now plays bass and Rob Piazza plays drums. Danny played bass with Tom Petty’s original group Mudcrutch. Danny also toured with Derek Trucks for 3 years in the early 90s. Danny, along with Charlie Souza and Stan Lynch [former drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and a formidable record producer] formed The Mudbreakers. I was invited to lay down guitar and piano tracks for The Mudbreakers album; they are currently working on it and should have it completed by next week.”
“To answer your question whether I prefer piano or guitar, I will say I like them both equally. I started out on piano and I can do things on the piano that I can’t do on guitar (and vice versa). But I’m really into the guitar now. And yes, I’ve been studying hard at the La Villa School. I do plan to go to Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, so my winters are devoted to school and some weekend gigs mostly out of town, and my summers are open for touring extensively.”
Conrad Oberg along with Rob Piazza and Danny Roberts will perform at Mojo Kitchen on Beach Boulevard at the beaches. This is one of the few shows Conrad will be doing in Jacksonville in the foreseeable future. His unlimited talent needs a worldwide universe to thrive.
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