Kidney Brothers share their creativity in show for Art Youngstown

By John Benson

The event includes music and about 100 pieces of art.

Robert and Jack Kidney are best known for their nationally renowned rock act the Numbers Band (also known as 15 60 75).

But on off nights, the siblings can be found either playing together as the Kidney Brothers, or expressing their creativity as visual artists. On Friday night in downtown Youngstown, they’ll do both.

To celebrate the Kidneys’ diverse talents, Art Youngstown Inc. will present the art, music and stories of the Kidneys in a show called Blues Brothers Abstract. It starts at 6 p.m. at the Davis Building, downtown Youngstown.

“If you’re interested in the band, and you’re interested in The Kidney Brothers, then you’ll be interested in the art that we do,” said Robert, calling from his Kent home. “It’s a very extensive show. I have 15 paintings, over 60 drawings and 15 watercolors, while my brother has a few pieces.”

He added, “Plus, you get to hear music that my brother and I do. It’ll be a real interesting situation.”

Robert said his art is based in the abstract with plenty of landscapes and figures. Though he enjoys art, his main love remains creating music with the Numbers Band and the Kidney Brothers. The latter act recorded a full-length studio album a few years ago but it was shelved due to legal issues.

Among the songs the duo will be playing from that debut effort are the Chicago blues-sounding “Brand-New Lover,” the rocking “Heavy Rain” and the Latin “Somebody Shot’em.” In addition, the twosome expects to kick out stripped-down versions of a few Numbers Band tunes (“She is Electric” and “Jimmy Bell’s Still in Town”) and even some Bo Diddley covers.

When asked to describe how the Kidney Brothers digress from the Numbers Band, Robert said, “It has no rhythm section, so it’s a little freer, a lot more spontaneous, and we’re not dealing with as many people.”

Robert and his two bands are quite familiar with Youngstown. Both acts have played the Youngstown Blues Festival in recent years, and the Numbers Band came to town this past summer.

In many ways, the Numbers Band is an enigma on the local music scene. Together nearly four decades, the outfit is well respected internationally for its blues rock sound. In fact, a few years ago the band was asked to take part in the Royal Festival Hall shows in London. So how has this somewhat obscure but always working band lasted so long?

“I think over the years I’ve come to the conclusion that one of the reasons why we remain popular is that we’re constantly working on new material,” Robert said. “We’re constantly inventing new songs so when people come to hear us, even though they hear songs like ‘Jimmy Bell,’ they’re always going to hear something new.

“That’s one of the things that we do, we keep moving the band forward so we’re not stagnant. And although sometimes people are a little disappointed because you don’t play some of the songs they’re familiar with the last time they heard us, we’re doing something new and it’s simply something they can pick up on.”

Friday night’s Blues Brothers Abstract show will be one of the first chances for the public to see the John R. Davis Building. The three-story storefront building, next to the Draught House, recently underwent extensive renovations by Youngstown architect Ronald Faniro, who owns the building.