“We’re an eclectic Blues band,” says Michael Baier on his band, Back Pack Jones.  The Springfield natives recently had the honor to open up for the Blues legend, B.B King.

A self-described “very un-traditional Blues band,” Backpack Jones features 10 members. The standard guitar, bass, drums and keyboard are all present, but Backpack Jones also features trumpets, saxophones and a trombone.

“We do some very traditional Blues, slow and fast. We also do some Latin things, some heavy Blues. Backpack Jones has been together for just over two years, but recently released their first full album, ‘Betsy’s Kitchen’.

The band is no stranger to playing large gigs. They have played in front of about 5,000 people at the Downtown Springfield Blues & Barbecue Festival. Last year, they played the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN., which featured 130 bands, who compete for spots at other festivals. They played it again this past January.

They were also a part of the Blues in the Schools program, where they played for kids in District 186 in grades K through 8. Backpack Jones also played a show at the Third Base Sports Bar to raise money for victims of the November tornado in Washington, IL.

Backpack Jones writes and plays their own original music. Having their own arsenal of music, they also play many covers live.

“When you play a gig you have to fill two to three hours. A Blues audience is primarily in their 40’s and 50’s, so you want them to hear recognizable songs,” says Baier. “We tend to pick topics of life where people can relate to them. Even though we talk about some dark subjects, we always talk about there being a little hope in things.”

To get the gig, a friend of the band helped to put in a good word with B.B King’s staff who was looking for a local band to open up for the icon. Backpack Jones was then picked to be the opening act.

“When we found out everyone was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’. There are people who play their whole lives that never get the opportunity to open for somebody like B.B King, who is probably the most famous and gracious Blues artists of all-time,” says Baier.

As for achieving such a huge milestone in only a few years, Baier cites it as “a blessing from God.”

As for the concert itself, the evening went very well for Baier and the band.

“We were all very pleased on our performance and thrilled by the audience reaction. It was also an honor to be part of a historic bill.  It exceeded all of our expectations. Performing on a big stage with an appreciative audience is what every musician dreams of,” says Baier.

Guitarist for the band, Kirk Lonbom and singer, Mike Wallace got to speak with B.B King after the show, too.

Michael Baier has been playing music since he was seven years old.

“I started out playing drums and then I switched to play French horn, and that was my main interest in college and I played with the Decatur Symphony. Then I decided I wanted to learn bass (the instrument he plays for Backpack Jones), that was also in college,” says Baier.

In the 90’s he was a part of Alternative bands called Taylor Ash, Outer Park and The Cry, as well as playing in various praise bands for churches.

Notably, he was a teacher and director at Southeast High School from 1989 to 2011.

“My fondest memories are spending time with students and getting to know them as people. I still have former students who are friends, and I still get to see a lot of them. All of my former students are like my kids, but then they grow up and become my friends,” says Baier.

Baier left Southeast High School in good hands with his replacement, Tom Philbrick. Philbrick led the band as they played the halftime show for the 2013 Russell Athletic Bowl on Dec. 28, 2013.

Since retiring from teaching in 2011, Baier has put a lot of time into his band. But he has recently discovered a talent of his: painting.

“I wrote a comic book about six years ago and never found someone to draw it. So my wife, Jennifer, gave me a semester of Drawing 1 at LLCC for a Christmas present. When I found out I was blessed artistically I continued with my painting,” says Baier.

Baier also currently takes painting classes at LLCC and teaches a portrait class at the Springfield Art Association.

After being in a school and in front of classes for more than twenty years, you would think he would be content never being back in one, but Baier has enjoyed his time attending LLCC.

“It’s wonderful taking classes at LLCC. The art program and music program are top-notch. I’ve learned a great deal and enjoy the teachers very much. The students are very accepting of all of the older students too,” says Baier.

Baier has been a fan of comic books his whole life.

“It’s dynamic art that tells a story. It also allows people to escape life for a little bit. Even though comic books kind of exaggerate the human form, if you look at Michelangelo, Da Vinci or classical Greek sculptors you see the human body and there’s a point as an artist where you don’t see the human body in a lustful way, but for the natural beauty. And artists for comics can do that,” says Baier.

The comic book he mentions is based on a character of his own creation, named Ryder Speed.

“He’s a regular, nerdy kind of guy who’s really into cars, and somehow he gets these powers where he can control any kind of electronic device. He can get into any car and make the car go 300-400 miles because he has all this technology in his brain,” says Baier.

Anyone interested in reading the full story would have to convince Baier to finish it, because he has yet to illustrate it.

Currently, Baier does representational art in which he paints things and objects that look just as they would in reality. As a man of faith, Baier’s goal is make paintings that, as he says “people see God’s love in.”

He has done one painting that captures Christ’s hand nailed onto the cross, which is at Cherry Hills Baptist Church.

“Everyone sees the crucifixion and Christ hanging on the cross, so I wanted people to look at just the hand and see the whole story – just in the hand,” says Baier.

Recently, one of Back Pack Jones’ songs, “I’ve Got A Girlfriend,” was played on the ‘Blues Deluxe Radio Show,’ which is broadcasted on 107 different stations and heard by nearly 2 million listeners.

They will have shows on May 10 at Lake Springfield Christian Assembly and May 18 at the Old Capital Art Fair in Downtown Springfield.

Austin Miller can be reached at [email protected] or 217-786-2311.

 

This was published in the April 9 edition of The Lamp.