Columnist Susan Snyder: Band is a Diamond in the rough

Friday, Jan. 3, 2003 | 4:33 a.m.

On weekends, J.B Ourada and his sisters listen for the motorcycles to pull up in front of Blue Diamond's little store.

At the first telltale rumble, J.B. grabs his mandolin, Eve and Sarah snap up their fiddles, and they run up the road to greet the riders with a song -- or two or three.

"They came home one day with $40 in tips," Lisa Ourada said of her progeny.

Lisa and Mike Ourada and their brood play for real money too, as the Blue Diamond Highway musical group.

Lisa and Mike aren't your typical stage parents. They're singing, playing pawns in the hands of 10-year-old J.B., who took to picking the guitar and mandolin the way some kids take to X-Box.

J.B. was 7 when he started lessons on a guitar his grandfather gave him. His family attended a California bluegrass festival a few months later, and J.B. found destiny. At 8, he placed third in a guitar contest against adults and started playing mandolin.

Eve, 15, and Sarah, 9, thought winning contests looked pretty good. They took up fiddles and began playing gigs with J.B. By Christmas 2000 Mike and Lisa figured they had to play if they wanted to see their kids. Mike chose guitar. Lisa plays bass.

"We had no plans of doing this," Mike said. "But once we figured out we were going to be following J.B. around, we thought we might as well learn to play something."

Their first performance came six weeks after their first lesson. Their teacher snared a spot on a local cable television show. Lisa thought he was joking.

"We only knew two songs," Mike said. "And we were really glad they didn't ask us to play the second one."

They take voices lessons too and know a whole mess of songs now -- old bluegrass, new bluegrass, some gospel and modern country tunes. The newest addition is a version of the Judds' "Grandpa" that Sarah sings. The older folks weep when they play it at senior centers.

"She sings like a bird," Lisa said.

But a family's got to eat. So Mike works about 80 hours a week for a carpet installation business that serves convention halls nationwide. Lisa home-schools the children, who practice an hour every morning. Full rehearsals are whenever Dad gets home.

The family performs 15 to 20 times a month at senior homes, parties and events, such as Spring Mountain Ranch State Park's Pioneer Days. They hope to hit the state fair circuit this year. Check their schedule on the Web, bluediamondhighway.com

For free or for pay, the Ouradas enjoy hanging out together and making music that makes people happy.

"You don't get kicked out of a family band," Mike said. "But then again, you have to be good. You have to know your part."

Mike and Lisa have a lot of parts. They run the website, market the band and learned to re-string four guitars, three mandolins, four fiddles and one upright bass. They keep sound and recording equipment in the living room.

"We just want to keep having fun," Mike said. "We're spending a lot of time together as a family and making people happy."

Their children are very proud. And like they often tell people:

See what happens when you make your mom and dad practice?