San Diego is home to a wonderfully diverse music scene, with plenty to offer both musicians and fans. Certainly rock, jazz, blues and folk artists as well as singer-songwriters have seen tremendous growth in popularity, with many venues now hosting concerts.
However, when it comes to country performers, pickings are slimmer. While many area clubs do host occasional shows, there really isn’t a large circuit of places for such bands to play. It’s a key reason so many local artists in the genre, including Barbara Mandrell, Rosie Flores and The Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash have relocated to the greener pastures of Austin or Nashville.
Following the same path to stardom are a trio, The Readings, who perform at Humphrey’s Backstage Lounge on Saturday, July 7.
Comprising brothers and Point Loma High School graduates Chris and Eric Reading, alongside multi-instrumentalist Dru Buchan, the siblings were perennials around San Diego’s beach community during the mid-1990s. This show will be their first local appearance in a decade.
While The Readings had always loved music and performed as a hobby, the two were well into starting other careers ” Chris as a baseball player and Eric in medical school ” when a personal tragedy caused them to rethink their careers.
“Our lives were headed down different paths, until we lost our mother to bone marrow cancer in 1995,” Eric Reading said. “It made us stop and consider what we really wanted out of life. We decided to pursue something we really wanted to pursue, rather than something safe, that we probably should pursue.”
Within two years they had set up a base in Nashville. Influenced by the music of Lyle Lovett and The Eagles, Eric Reading claims it was their only choice of a destination.
“When you realize you have a lot to learn, you go to school. And there is no better songwriting institution than Nashville,” he explained. “The bar is set so high there, that you just continue to try and reach it. If you work at it, and keep studying and learning, you can’t help but get better.”
Establishing themselves in their new home, the pair were quickly ensconced in their new music community. Over the past decade they have penned dozens of songs, releasing two albums. They’ve also toured extensively, opening for the likes of Charlie Daniels.
The music business is a tough proposition in the best of times, so Eric Reading considers himself lucky to be working with his brother. “It’s definitely a testament to our relationship that we’ve been working hard together all this time. We can fight like brothers, but we always have the big picture in mind, and work our way through whatever comes our way.”
Although he cites club dates as his preferred site to play, Eric Reading feels the band’s best show, ever, took place in a less orthodox location. On the road during 2006, they found themselves snowed in at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.
“Eventually, someone, seeing our guitar cases, asked us to play,” he recalled. “Well, it turned into a two and a half hour standing-room-only concert, with hundreds of people watching and listening, clapping and singing, instead of miserably waiting for their delayed flights.”
As a bonus, the group also sold out of their CDs.
Eric Reading admits to missing San Diego from time to time, but is happy with the outcome of his relocation.
“It was hard. There were so many friends and family that we had to leave behind to make all this possible. We’re also fervent Padres and Chargers fans, and it’s difficult to not be able to go to those games,” he said. “{But} there’s no question the move has paid off. The level of success we’ve reached to this point would have been unattainable without these last 10 years in Nashville.”
Eric Reading said there are also no regrets about choosing the less-than-stable music business to make his mark on society.
“In the grand scheme, I gave up medical school to pursue this and my brother passed on a minor league baseball offer. We’re 100 percent invested in giving it a shot,” he confirmed.
It’s clear from his demeanor that for The Readings, the ultimate reward isn’t necessarily financial.
“We both feel strongly that we’re in this to make a difference. To touch people’s lives. To inspire them, make them think,” Eric Reading said.
He considers the connection their music has made with an audience the ultimate success.
“We have plenty of examples of people who have told us we made a difference in their lives through music. So we feel like we’re on the path towards achieving what we’ve set out to do,” Eric Reading said.
The Readings perform at Humphrey’s Backstage Lounge, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, on Saturday. For more information visit www.humphreysbythebay.com.