Fourth of July celebration," he recalls. "As my mom reports, I just stood there mesmerized the whole show. I immediately noticed Ryan and how good he was. That's about the time I started playing the uke and guitar." In those days, Shupe's trademark enthusiasm and showmanship were nowhere to be found (that didn't come until after he returned from his church mission). "I tried to get (the group) to smile and to be showmen," Ted says. "I remember once Ryan was playing 'Orange Blossom Special' and just tearing it up, and he's looking at ants crawling on the floor." The PeeWee Pickers eventually grew up and moved on to other things. Shupe joined an adult band, Powder Ridge, which claimed first prize at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. By that time, he was living in two worlds. During the week, he attended Weber High School, where he won the Sterling Scholar Award for music, started a snow-boarding club with his friends and sang in the school choir. On weekends, he performed professionally with an older crowd in Powder Ridge. Then he left music behind to serve his LDS mission in Portland, Ore. He rarely played music during those two years, and upon his return, Shupe completed his public relations studies at Weber State. "On my mission, I didn't really think I'd be a musician," he says. "Even today I wonder if I'll be doing music years from now. I'm not one of those guys who has to be a rock star. The mission was a good next step. I played bet- band mates were apoplectic, according to Ted. Nobody turned down such an offer. Recalls Ted, "Ryan said, 'Dad, music is my life. I am not going to be at the mercy of somebody else controlling my life and my career.'" After the band broke up over that issue, Shupe took a gamble. He formed a flexible or "rubber"band that used whatever musicians were available when he needed them Using an even- Eventually, a permanent band solidified, comprised of drummer Bart Olsen via Spokane/BYU; Miner, who grew up in Utah; guitarist Roger Archibald, from Spanish Fork; and bassist Collin Botts, another BYU alum. They spent a decade playing 80 to 90 dates a year and honing their act, sometimes touring with the likes of Tricia Yearwood and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. , Along the way, Shupe and his friends became jacks of all trades designing album covers, building a Web site, advertising, booking gigs, producing press kits, handling finances and bookkeeping. They didn't have a record label and all the promotional clout that comes with that, so they did it the long, hard way, hitting the road and developing a following and their own musical style. "We spent so many years refining what we do," says Shupe. "When we finally went to Nashville, the reaction was, 'Hey, you guys are unique.' Being able to develop outside of the normal umbrella helped. Being on our own, we found our ways to do it. Mostly, I just followed my gut. People said, 'You need to go to Nashville;' we said, 'No, not yet, let's wait' Then one day it seemed time." The time came when Shupe shopped one of his self-made CDs with a Nashville insider to gauge where he fit commercially and to seek a critique. That led to a meeting with a producer and to gigs in Nashville and the deal with Capitol. Shupe and the RubberBand are currently recording their second album for Capitol. Rather than record it in Nashville, they are working in a studio in Provo. Unlike some bands, they perform on their album, and they spend extra time perfecting their arrangements. "Where we are now is definitely as good as it's ever been, and it's getting better," says Miner. "We can go to a lot of cities and draw a pretty good crowd. It's a hard road to get there. You have to play a lot of places. The deal with Capitol is huge for us. They have so much visibility. Millions of people heard 'Dream Big.' We're going to continue to do what we do musically. We don't want to change to what someone else might want; we're just doing what we do." In the end, the sheer joy and pleasure Shupe and his band derive from playing their music for audiences so evident in their ebullient, almost giddy stage presence has been what has sustained them through the years. "I don't need to make millions," says Shupe. "There's a lot more to music than just being funneled through the giant music machine. What it really comes down to is if people leave your show feeling uplifted; they're going to come back. It's more a labor of love. You have to love it because you're most likely not going to strike it rich. "People e-mail and write letters to tell us how our songs have helped them. I keep them all. I'm blessed I get to play music and travel and meet lots of cool people and hopefully make a difference in people's lives." E-MAIL drob@desnews.com stuart johnson, deseret morning news Ryan Shupe, left, band member Craig Miner and engineer Scott Wiley lay down tracks in Provo. Even today I wonder if I'll be doing music years from now. I'm not one of those guys who has to be a rock star. Ryan Shupe musician