Stretch

Bryan Mayer, a.k.a. Stretch, mastered his first instrument when he was 14 years old, after his middle school's band director noticed the 6'1" seventh-grader towering over his classmates in the cafeteria. The director asked the adolescent Mayer to play the stand-up bass, an instrument that most middle schoolers are too short to handle.

Learning music in the school band eventually led to the guitar, and a duo he and a friend formed called the Basement Boys. Then, he took a break.

It wasn't until he was enrolled at East Carolina University in the mid-'90s — by then a 6'8" man — that he picked up a guitar again. He'd play a few songs during parties when it got late and, with little interest in academics, had much more time to practice.

During a short residency on Oak Island, he found himself performing an impromptu gig at a local joint that led to regular appearances. He gained a substantial following around Wilmington, and earned his nickname “Stretch.” A move back to New Bern in 2001, however, meant slowly rebuilding his fan base.

Now, he's a regular performer at several venues in eastern North Carolina and he's opened for national recording artists like Natasha Bedingfield, Edwin McCain, Rehab and Drake Bell. On Aug. 29, he performed at North Campus Crossing's party with Jesse James and Thriving Ivory, and he's finishing a CD of originals with Barry Knox of Parmalee.

“I think I'm kind of a mix between Edwin McCain and Eddie Vedder,” Stretch said. “I'm not quite as love-song-and-sappy as Edwin McCain and I'm not so edgy as Eddie Vedder. I'm somewhere kind of in the middle of that.”

“I also try to emulate some of these people because that's what my voice fits best.”

Stretch also has a regular spot on Bob 93.3 FM called the “Stretch Remix After Six,” where he parodies a different popular song each week. His favorites so far include “Swine Flu, Fever's Gettin' Higher,” “30 in a 55” and one song set to the tune of Gavin Rossdale's “Love Remains the Same” about a banker who loses his job and is forced to work at McDonald's. In September, Stretch says he'll probably put together a lot of back-to-school parodies.

But Stretch started off as a cover musician and that's what helped draw so many fans. We hit the Web and asked Stretch fanatics which songs were their favorites to hear him play, and based our questions on what you said:

mixer:You're a classic-car collector. So tell us, do you ever roll in your 5.0 with your ragtop down so your hair can blow? (“Ice, Ice, baby,” by Vanilla Ice)

Stretch: I do not roll in a 5.0, but I do have a '62 Corvette.

mixer: Can't you see the sunshine? Can't you see the moonshine? Ain't it just like a friend of mine to hit me from behind? (“Carolina In My Mind,” by James Taylor)

Stretch: I always look for the sunshine/Not only can I see the moonshine, I can smell it, taste it, and get my buddy to make it.

mixer: In Hootie and the Blowfish's hit “I Only Wanna Be With You,” Darius Rucker proclaims that the Dolphins make him cry. What makes you cry?

Stretch: Long car rides, not having my night light and vegetables.

mixer: If you left here tomorrow, would you still remember your Greenville fans? Or must you be traveling on now 'cause there's too many places you've got to see? (“Freebird,” by Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Stretch: Never would forget them just hope they would come see me.

mixer: Why did they come snuff the rooster? (“Rooster,” by Alice in Chains)

Stretch: Because he was one the best marksmen in Vietnam and that's the true story.

mixer: Ain't it funny how the night moves, when you just don't seem to have as much to lose? (“Night Moves,” by Bob Seger)

Stretch: The night always move to fast, but there's always tomorrow night.

You can hear some of Stretch's parodies through the podcast at www.Bob93.com or check out his Web page at www.stretchlive.com.

Contact Kristin Day at kday@coxnc.com or 329-9579.