Monday, March 26, 2012

Bryan Brothers Still In Tune Off Court

By Judd Spicer
Special to ESPN Music


INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Cougars cooed in the background and palm trees swayed gently in the cool desert night. And then the serenity was broken -- by a couple of tennis players.

Mike and Bob Bryan, ranked No. 1 in men's doubles for the past three years, made some noise -- on the stage, rather than the court. The Bryan brothers, who were in town playing in the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., performed with their band before an audience of several thousand people on March 8.

"We're trying to play every other week at these tournaments," said Bob Bryan during the sound check. "In the U.S., we have a little better following and it's easier to organize so we can bring our bandmates in from where they are in the country."

The performance -- their 70th in two years by Bob's estimate -- was one in a string of charity shows that have become a staple of their tennis appearances. And it turns out the Bryan Bros. Band isn't half bad. The twins have teamed up with Counting Crows drummer Jim Bogios, who has also played with the Dixie Chicks and Sheryl Crow, and Michael Johns, who was featured on "American Idol."

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