I absolutely love it when I go to You Tube or turn on the T.V. and see a young boy or girl who excels at playing a musical instrument and/or singing. Go to You Tube and there are a LOT of them, its amazing. And this new kid (at least he is new to me), Grant Austin Taylor....wow! You can watch him play and sing on You Tube in videos made when he was as young as 9 years old all the way up to his latest professional video done at the age of 13. Or you can go to his official website and read all about him, which I did. (I don't know if I can link his website so I won't but all you need to do is Google his name and it will get you there.)

This kid is amazing and it sure looks like he is having the time of his young life, but after looking at all the stuff he is doing, all the touring and concert dates he has done at his young age, I just wonder if it is going to wind up being a bad thing for him in the long run. I mean, this kid has got a list of accomplishments under his very young belt already. He has played at B.B. King's Blues club in L.A. a couple of times, opened for Motley Crue and Aerosmith last year at the Beach Amphitheater, as well as toured extensively doing many, many large and small venues. Of course his parents are right there with him on the road, which is good. I read the archives at his website and from what I read they are quite protective of him. One thing that really caught my eye was this passage:

"The Taylors watch every face in that crowd. "There's always someone that you're not sure about," David says later. "Someone taking too many pictures, or just people who have maybe had too much to drink, and they keep talking to him, and sometimes we'll say, You need to give him some space. And sometimes, the venue will have to ask them to leave." Grant nods to each person, says thanks, shakes hands, holds still for pictures. But he's not crazy about this part of the deal. While he's all rock-n-roll swagger onstage, once he's off, he's a 12-year-old boy. Which means he's had enough of sharpies and strangers."

So I guess he is being taken care of ok, but still I wonder, is it all too much, too fast, for someone who is way too young? I know that there are plenty of child actors and that there are laws in place to make sure they aren't taken advantage of or over-worked, but is the same true for young musicians like Grant? You know, unlike most movie gigs, a musician can really put in some terribly grueling hours (days, weeks, months) on the road. They spend many, many hours in airplanes, airports, on buses and in all kinds of motels and hotels. Not to mention all the chaotic stuff that goes on backstage before and after every show. Then there are the shows themselves....lots of hard work, more than most people are aware of.

I know that at least one child guitar star fell to the challenges and pressures of the life of a professional musician. Kenny Wayne Shepherd started out at age 13 performing professionaly, by the time he was in his mid twenties (I think...) he was burned out and had to go into drug rehab for a very serious drug addiction. Thank God he got sober and today he is doing some excellent work, but it could have gone the other way and been yet another Rock and Roll tragedy.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. Anyone got any thoughts about this topic?