Name game: The Little Blue Pill Band's moniker is a cheeky reference to a certain male enhancement drug.
Fun with friends: "I never expected to be having this much fun," said Blue, born Jeffrey Wilbert. "This started out as just a bunch of friends getting together in the basement. It was a bunch of old guys, that's why we came up with the name, the Little Blue Pill Band. We practiced and we got better and we said, 'Hey, we can play for people. Let's try to get a gig.' Our first gig was at Heather's in Springboro in March 2013. We have grown from there and we're playing stuff I never thought we could play."
Talent knows no age: The group features both seasoned performers and teenage musicians. Tellmann is 15, while the Parsons, Julia and Tony, are 17 and 19 respectively. "I've got a couple of pros in the band," Blue said. "Jersey Joe Lipinski started out as a professional musician over 40 years ago. Grant Koeller, who is a marvelous sax player, spent 20 years in the US Air Force Band of Flight and has a master's degree in music. They're both very talented but I also consider it an honor and a privilege to play with these kids. It keeps us all young and vibrant and they're a draw too. Part of my marketing approach is we've got these teenagers that are going places and now is the time you want to hear them. It's adds a unique dimension to the band."
On stage: The Little Blue Pill returns to Riff Raff Tavern on the Canal for its monthly show on Friday, Sept. 9. "Part of my marketing effort is to not just play at Riff Raff's," Blue said. "We're going to have an event there. It will have a name and theme. I'm going to bill the September 9 show as a Bengals Pep Rally because that's the first weekend of NFL football. That's part of the approach I take with the band and it seems to work."
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