He Taught Parents How to Play Drums and Bass So he’d Have People to Jam With–Now They Have Album–WATCH
A New Zealander taught both his parents drums and bass so he could have people to jam with – and now they’ve released an album.
Ryan Stokes couldn’t invite his friends to jam during lockdown so he decided to teach his parents how to play instruments.
Inspired by The White Stripes, a two-piece rock band, the 20-year-old guitarist first taught his 55-year-old mother to play the drums. Two months later, his 60-year-old father picked up an electric bass for the first time.
The family appropriately dubbed their band “Mommas Boy,” with Ryan fronting the songs while Andrea Stokes keeps the beat on drums and Lyndon strums the bass – all with aplomb.
The trio have practiced three to four times a week and now they have released an album entitled Who Would Have Thought which was released on the band’s Spotify account in April.
“They were pushed to form the band by their very eager son,” joked Ryan, who was born in Hamilton, Scotland. “I had nothing to do during lockdown and wanted to make music.
“Mum loved the White Stripes – especially Meg White and was very excited to learn how to drum.”
After a quick drum lesson in the garage, Ryan says, “Sure enough she had a strong beat in an hour and was ready to play in three hours.” (Watch the video below…)
Both middle-aged newbies adapted to rock star life very quickly, popping up in videos on TikTok hours after they first picked up instruments.
The group quickly captured the hearts of the internet, amassing 72,000 followers on TikTok since its inception – with 700,000 views.
Ryan, a college student, and his parents, who both work in local government, are shocked at how popular Mommas Boy has become and love the support they’re getting online.
“Mum is known at work as the ‘Mumma drummer’ and Dad is always blown away by the response online, having initially thought social media was a very negative environment,” Ryan told SWNS News.
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The band, which don’t yet have a record label, uses Ryan’s bedroom as a studio – and using music editing software they put their album together in just a month.
Since their big online breakthrough, the band has also been playing live shows – with plenty of nervous jitters leading up to their first gig.
“Mum kept saying she wasn’t good enough to do a live show and Dad wasn’t optimistic, but after we finished our first show they were over the moon and couldn’t wait for the next one.”
A side benefit is that the family can now spend more time together and benefit even more from the music they all love.
“We’ve always bonded over our shared love of music. Now we can bond over our shared love of making music,” Ryan quipped.
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“Our taste in music is exactly the same, I grew up listening to dad’s live concert DVDs and vinyls. I think there’s footage of me being taken home from the hospital after giving birth and you can hear the Rolling Stones in the background.”
According to Ryan, the band members haven’t had any disagreements about their music so far, but Andrea is turning out to be quite the rock star.
“She seems to have the biggest following of any of us on TikTok. Also, I have a feeling if we were ever on tour, she’d be the one driving a car into a swimming pool!”
WATCH the impressive trio perform a selection of their tunes…
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