Genes make music a family affair for a trio of brothers

The Gibbons boys didn't have a chance, says their mother, Lucie, with a laugh. With their dad, Barry, who owns the Platinum Recording Studio and works as a producer and engineer, and grandfathers on both sides who were music educators, it was pretty much a given that the boys would be musical.

No chance, agrees Michael, the oldest of the three Gibbons sons. "We grew up in the studio. And we grew up with a wide range of musical influences — everything from Stevie Wonder and James Taylor to Debussy."

"Our music style really is thanks to our dad, who has great taste in music," adds the middle son, Guy Ritchie, who goes by his first and middle names.

Add Grant, 15, and you have The Gibbons, a trio that just recorded and released its first CD, "More Than Air."

"It's been a neat thing for them," says Barry. "They love music to death, but they are not caught up in the glitz and glitter of it all."

In fact, for the next two years, the Gibbons trio will actually be a duo. Guy Ritchie left in December for an LDS mission to France. Before that, the Gibbons brothers sat down with the Deseret Morning News to talk about music and their first CD.

Their goal, says Guy Ritchie, is to reach out to the younger generation with music that is wholesome and upbeat, but also fun to listen to. "We want to make parents comfortable, if they listen to it as well."

Their songs, which are written mostly by Michael and Guy Ritchie, with a little help from their dad and others, have a positive message, the boys say. "They are about love, about life and enjoying it, about relationships," says Guy Ritchie. "It's like Ben Folds meets John Mayer," he says, naming a couple of their musical influences. All but one of the songs on the CD are original.

Many are love songs. "That's how we all started. Doesn't everyone?" jokes Michael. But since they also have four sisters, they are very much tuned in to both sides of relationship-building, they say.

They bring not only genes but also a lot of experience to their work. They all have played and sung as long as they can remember. "It seems like we're always jamming together," says Grant. "We love to do that."

"Anytime they get together, it seems like a rehearsal breaks out," adds Barry.

Michael plays mostly guitar and banjo. He was named All-State in jazz guitar in high school and wrote the Especially For Youth theme song for 2008. Guy Ritchie does keyboards and acoustic guitar. He won a statewide Reflections contest as a songwriter when he was in high school. Grant plays the trumpet as well as some percussion and keyboards, and he seems to be heading in his brothers' footsteps.