Fathers and sons make music together

LEHI — It isn't every father and son who can work and play together without friction.

Usually, there's a little bit of family tension that crops up and makes things difficult.

But in the case of the band Crossroads, the two father-and-son duos do just fine.

At least that's their story, and they're sticking to it.

"They don't ever fight. Everybody gets along," said Rick Pray, the lead guitarist and the only member of the band not related to someone else in the group. "It's a democracy."

The band is named Crossroads partly because of the mix of two generations: Randy Ellsworth is Jared Ellsworth's father and Ron Dimmick is Scott Dimmick's dad, and partly because the music is a mix of country and rock. Randy is from Highland. Jared is from Lehi. Scott is from Spanish Fork. Ron and Rick are from Woodland Hills.

They've been together for eight years.

Jared, who plays keyboards, joined the band — that used to be known as Exit 254 — a few years ago when the band decided to get serious about playing.

Scott, who plays guitar and does the vocals, used to be a roadie for his father's band in California. "It's actually been a good experience (to be in this band together). We've grown closer," said Ron Dimmick.

"I don't know if it'll ever be a full-time kind of band. We all have day jobs and families," said Ron Dimmick, the band's drummer.

"I think if we were younger without families, we might be more interested in things like a concert tour or putting out a CD," said Scott Dimmick. "But we're all family oriented," he said as he watched his 2-year-old and 9-month-old sons oversee the setup at Lehi's Wines Park.

"We do this because we enjoy it. It's a fun hobby that pays for itself." The band keeps very busy during the summer months, playing gigs all over the state at fairs, festivals, weddings, reunions and corporate parties. The band plays a full range of songs from classic rock to country and blues. There's no event too big or too small, according to Scott.

"We're trying now to do more original stuff," said Dimmick. "But we do mostly cover tunes. That's what people want, songs from the '50s through now."

Randy Ellsworth is the bass player and is a CT scanner for a hospital when he's not playing in the band.

Jared Ellsworth is a computer specialist.

Ron Dimmick rebuilds classic Camaros. Scott Dimmick has his own Web site business.

"We turn down a fair number of jobs because of jobs and family," said Randy Ellsworth. "For what we can manage, though, we're doing fine."

The band has a gig coming up for the Fourth of July at Blanding, a concert event band members are excited to play.

On July 24, they're playing a four-hour stint in Provo in the city park.

Their engagement list on the band's Web site: www.crossroadstheband.com, has an impressive list of bookings.

Are they making money?

"We break even," said Jared Ellsworth.

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E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com