BrightWater – A Band for All Ages

Children were frolicking in the newly designed “baby” pool, teens were sunning without their IPods, and a few adults danced to the tunes as BrightWater entertained all ages Saturday at Montclair subdivision’s “Chastain Night.”

“The kids love us as much as their parents,” said Gary Jones, the band’s lead guitar player.

The band, which is made up of five musicians in their 40s to 60s, played a variety of music from Buffet to Santana to Sinatra. “We give our audiences musical whiplash,” laughed David Lane, the band’s keyboard player.

With all members but one (who recently moved) residing in the same neighborhood in Snellville, the band got its start when Lane and lead singer and guitarist Bob Reid, hosted an open mike night in 2000 at their neighborhood clubhouse. Gary Youngblood, Buck Moore and Gary Jones soon joined in and the friends have been playing together ever since.

With a repertoire of 150 songs, BrightWater plays for “weddings, private parties, clubs and local restaurants,” said lead guitar player Gary Jones. They practice each week in the Reid’s basement, many times after a long day at their regular jobs. They’ve staged an annual “Spring Jam” in their own neighborhood for the past 11 years which recently built a stage to host the event.

Their day jobs pay the bills, but their evening and weekend gigs help them recall a time when they each played professionally. The owner of GwinnettShops.com, Reid was part of a soft rock duo, Windsong, that performed throughout the Carolinas.

Jones, who holds graduate degrees in counseling and business administration and is affectionately known as “Dr. J”, is the chief human resources officer for Grizzard Communications Group. He played in several bands in Missouri throughout the years.

Lane makes his living as an IT Architect at SunTrust Bank, and has played and recorded with a number of bands and artists in the Atlanta area. Drummer, Buck Moore, is a senior project manager at AT&T and has played drums and percussion in Atlanta for a variety of local bands. 

Bass guitar player Gary Youngblood, the president of Waterstone Publishing, played with several bands up and down the west coast and formed a band on board the USS Constellation.

When asked what they liked most about the band, Moore was quick to say, “I love getting together with friends. I enjoy the camaraderie."

Reid likes to note that the band is very self sufficient “with our own therapist, masseuse, bartender and two chefs” included within the band members and their best groupies (their wives).

Taking their name from their neighborhood, BrightWater started out as The House Band, but that didn’t translate well when playing beyond their community, Reid said. After reviewing two pages of names, they settled on BrightWater to celebrate the Snellville neighborhood that brought them all together.

One would think they were on a cruise ship instead of poolside at the Montclair subdivision in Snellville. BrightWater shut the party down with the teens now unabashedly showing their appreciation for the ageless music by boogieing up front while adults danced the Carolina shag and some swam to the rhythm of the timeless tunes.