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BAY MILLS - Kellen Perron is not your typical, run-of-the-mill, 18-year-old high school student. One could argue that the simple fact he's one of 11 children and wears his hair long sets him apart from the rest of the kids his age. But it's what he does late at night, when most kids his age are usually sleeping comfortably in their beds, that makes him a little bit different than the rest.
After dropping 7 points on the Pickford Panthers en route to a Brimley Bays victory on Jan. 20, Perron, a Brimley High School senior, made his debut with his new band "Shift" at Lake Superior State University's Walker Cisler Center. Shift was founded by Grooves Music guitar instructor Joey Beairl in November and also features his wife Amy Beairl on rhythm guitar and vocals, Odin Osogwin on drums, Tony Rogers as a fill-in bass player, and Perron on lead vocals. Perron was asked to be the lead singer of the band when he turned 18 on Nov. 5.
"It was an incredible experience," Perron said of his debut performance at LSSU. "I love playing music and I really love playing music that other people enjoy listening to. It's always been my dream to do this. The guys I play with are all awesome."
For Perron, finding the time to juggle all of his extracurricular activities is not an easy task. In addition to his schoolwork, family life, sports, and music, Perron said he must also find the time to do the other things he loves to do -spending time with his friends and feeding his voracious appetite for reading books, playing computer games, and playing golf and fishing, when the weather permits.
"It's difficult and tiring, but I make it work," Perron said of his hectic schedule. "But at the same time I couldn't quit one for another. I'm not a quitter. Sure it's hard to play until three in the morning, get up and go to school at eight, and then go to either a practice or a game, but it is possible to do all three. I'm doing it."
With Perron screaming on the microphone, Joey Beairl putting on a dazzling guitar show, Osogwin banging away on his kit, Rogers jumping around on stage with his bass, and Amy Beairl playing the rhythm guitar and singing, Shift wowed local club-goers when they debuted their hard rock show at the Satisfied Frog in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., on the weekend of Jan. 26 through 29, and again on I-500 weekend Feb. 2 through 5. Shift packed "The Frog" for three straight nights on consecutive weekends, barraging listeners with an assortment of hard rock songs, which Beairl jokingly reminded the crowd would not include Bob Seger or Foghat.
According to Perron's best-friend, cousin, and teammate on the Bays varsity squad, Brad Cameron, who was among a large group of friends in attendance at Perron's debut show at LSSU, Perron is a different person when he gets up on stage. Cameron said to see his friend, who is polite, well-mannered, and good-humored most of the time, on stage singing in a rock band was like looking at a completely different person.
"He goes from the shy kid sitting at my house playing the computer one night, to the kid leading a mosh pit on the dance floor on the next," Cameron said. "It's amazing. It's almost as if he is a totally different person. And his band, they rock!"
Shift is slated to make their debut performance in Bay Mills at the Back Bay Grille and Games on April 8 and 9. For more information on Shift and for a complete listing of their show dates, visit their website at www.shift06.com.
