By day, mayor ... by night, he jams

(by Dedra Cordle, Staff Writer - August 20, 2009)

Sometimes it is hard to picture politicians as anything other than being 24/7 serious.

Most of their time is tied up listening to legislation, going to meetings and overseeing the day-to-day affairs of their states or cities.

But that is just in the public eye. Outside of it, some can really cut loose.

Take the mayor of Reynoldsburg for instance. By day, Brad McCloud is responsible for all the city's administrative services, with the exception of city council, the city attorney and the city auditor. By night, he jams.

After a stressful workday, he likes to put on the tunes and take notes.

"Without question, music is a nice release," he said. "I play a lot and listen to a lot. Recently, I've been listening to a lot of acoustic musicians like Tony Rice, Gordon Lightfoot and the early country rock band the Flying Burrito Brothers."

McCloud said he is studying these artists because their style of tuning opens a whole new door of avenues, which he may try to incorporate into his own musical act when he performs in front of live audiences.

When he does take the stage, the public should not expect to see him donning the heavy makeup - gothic or glittery -, skintight leather, stiff hair and giving his instruments an early trip to the stairway to heaven.

"I've never smashed my guitar, tore my shirt off, or smashed my banjo on an amplifier," he says laughing.

As for his ensemble, he said when he performs solo his wardrobe consists of a Hawaiian shirt and a nice pair of pants, and - when he performs with his band, Red Mud Ridge (which he admits haven't performed together publicly in years) - he wears a white long-sleeved T-shirt, black pants and a bolo tie.

"No leathers, not so much," he joked.

McCloud said while he does enjoy classic rock bands such as The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Van Halen and recent bands like The Killers and The Strokes, he prefers to keep his stage act a bit mellow by singing tunes from artists like Gordon Lightfoot, The Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel. But he also wants to keep his musical act fresh for the occasional public event, which is why he has a to-learn list.

Featured on the list are "I've Just Seen a Face," "Octopus' Garden," "Here Comes the Sun" and "Things We Said Today" by The Beatles; "She Talks to Angels" by the Black Crowes; and "Wild Horses" by The Rolling Stones. He added that while Tony Rice is one of his musical influences, he doesn't often play his songs for the public because whenever he hears Tony Rice, he contemplates quitting because "I know I will never be able to play like that."

But fans of the musical major that got to hear him play at the Farmers' Market on July 9 should not fear him tucking away the microphone, guitar and banjo due to Tony Rice envy. McCloud he said he plans to perform again.

"There is no date scheduled right now, but it would be great to do again," he said.

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