Life is family. Life is love. This is our song…
The Meeting
James Mummey and Brad DiPietro frequented a local bluegrass jam at the Corner Store in Plant City. (Remember the Corner Store because they come back up in this story!) But their paths didn’t cross at the jam. Some members of the jam, including James, had a band that played locally and Brad and his wife attended one of their shows at Skipper’s Smokehouse in Tampa, FL. Brad was blown away by the band, especially James’s mandolin playing. After the show, James decided to walk down into the seating area in front of the stage and Brad managed to shake James’s hand and tell him he really appreciated his music. James simply responded, “Thank you. Thank you. It’s a gift from God and I’m so happy to share it. But I gotta get home to my family. Have a great night!”
The Name
All band names have an origin story and the Birthday Saps name is no different.
It was James’s daughter’s first birthday party at Edward Medard Park. At this time, James and Brad were still just acquaintances. While cleaning up the paper plates, streamers, and crushed juice boxes after the party, they discovered they both:
- Believe being a father is one of their most important jobs
- Like to play music they can share with their kids
- Are really just big kids themselves and
- Abhor celebrating their own birthday.
At this point, neither James nor Brad had any intention of forming a band since they were both trying to survive raising children through the early childhood years. But that didn’t stop them from joking about band names. Only the pages of history know the ridiculous names that didn’t make the cut.
But in the midst of the brainstorm, Brad picked up a trash bag that was sitting against a tall pine tree and discovered his hands were now coated in pine sap. As he looked at his sappy hands he said, “You know what we are? We are just a couple of saps. Birthday Saps.” James slowly smiled and nodded.
The Mistake
Fast forward a few years to 2017. James and Brad had been playing on each other’s porches just to pass the time and were only having more and more fun. There was casual talk of playing out, but neither was really pursuing it. The old jam at the Corner Store had moved on, as things tend to do from time to time. But one Friday night they read there was going to be another jam at the Corner Store. This was an opportunity they couldn’t pass up, for old time sake.
As they walked into the Corner Store, there was no sign of a jam. Being the out-of-touch, young fathers they were, they had misinterpreted the word “jam”. So James and Brad tried to play off their misunderstanding, but the event organizer saw straight through it. She immediately responded, “Wait. You thought this was a live jam? Does that mean you have your instruments? If you do, will you play!?”
Usually you have to pay for your mistakes, but not with this one. James and Brad played all night and had a blast. It was their first public performance.
Today
James and Brad play regularly between Plant City and Lakeland. They are always on the lookout for anyway they can have fun with their music and put smiles on people’s faces. With faith and family at the center, they continue to look for more opportunities to bring their own sound to your ears.