Ask a 13-year-old if he knows about the Moody Blues.
"The Moody Blues? Sure. It's a rock band, Mom. Well sort of romantic rock. You might even have heard some of their stuff. They sing `Once Upon a Time in Your Wildest Dreams' and `I Know You're Out There Somewhere.' You might even like them."Then surprise the kid. Tell him the Moodies were one of your favorite groups way back in the '60s. Tell him you thought they were better than the Beatles - in a different sort of way. Dig out some of those old albums and give him a taste of "Nights in White Satin."
Then tell him the Moodies are coming back to Utah for a concert and you're planning to go.
At first my emerging teenager didn't believe any of it - then he was begging to go with me.
The Moody Blues mystique lives on.
Back in 1960s the Moody Blues was formed by a group of teenagers who, in a period of technological innovation in rock music, wanted to create a style that bassist John Lodge says "would grow on you over time."
Lodge, in a phone interview, said, "I use the story that when you drop a pebble into a pond, it takes some time before the ripples hit the beach. That's how we wanted our music to be accepted, slowly but lasting over time."
He said the music of the late '70s and '80s was "instant music, instant popularity." But often both the music and its popularity faded fast. Not so with the Moodies.
After 23 years, teenagers - and their parents - are still listening, still appreciating the sound as the ripples reach the shore.
The Moody Blues have released their 17th album this year - called "Keys of the Kingdom" - and Lodge says it is "classic Moody Blues - interpretative, a lot like our 1972 album ("Seventh Sojourn," which contained the hit `I'm Just a Singer In a Rock and Roll Band')."
When the group appears Sunday, Sept. 1, in an 8 p.m concert at ParkWest, they'll include some songs from that latest album: "Say It With Love," "Lean on Me Today" and "Hope and Pray," which continues the saga of a lost love begun in "Your Wildest Dreams" and continued in "I Know You're Out There Somewhere."
Lodge says the concert will, without doubt (because "there are some songs you can't leave out of a concert"), also include the early hits - "Nights . . . ," "Question" and "Isn't Life Strange."
"It will be a journey through time . . . you want the audience to react immediately so you're all on the same journey together and you know how you want to finish . . . nothing's better than performing and having people recognize those songs."
How does Lodge explain the Moodies' continuing ability to get that audience reaction and add young listeners to their devoted following?
"We've always trusted ourselves - haven't brought others in. By being truthful to yourself, not trying for a set patent. All the things we do, we enjoy ourselves."
After years of being among the first to use the latest in music technology, the Moodies have gone back to a simpler style.
"We use technology just to paint a backdrop - in every song on the new album, the lyrics are at the forefront, the feel of the song is at the forefront. You can play these songs in a room with just a keyboard and guitar - it's a breath of fresh air."
It's been said the Moody Blues - which now include Lodge, vocalist/guitarist Justin Hayward, and other original members flutist Ray Thomas and drummer Graeme Edge as well as stage keyboardists Bias Bochell and Chris Neil and two backup singers - are like brothers. Lodge agrees, but has his own explanation.
"We're different than brothers. We all live within 20 minutes ofeach other in the United Kingdom, but we have our own lives. When we were separated (during a five-year period in the mid-'70s), it was to grow as individuals.
"I've known our flute player since I was 15. When you're young, you get together, then you have the lives of individuals within the band - we have our ups and downs, have kids, our own crisis points, like everyone else.
"We have unwritten laws: When someone has a new baby we don't work within a month of that day, and we never worked in summer when our kids were young so we could take holidays with them. But the ground rules are always changing."
The group's stop in Utah is near the end of the U.S. portion of a world tour, which now goes to Europe. Then, Lodge says, they will do theater concerts until March or April.
It seems retirement is not in the picture.
"Not at all," says Lodge. "After this tour, we'll see what happens - what we'd like to do next. I'm still excited about this tour and promoting this new album. It's been the only thing on my mind right now. When it's over, time to say what we'd like to do next."
We'll be waiting. We older fans and our children - maybe even our children's children - still enjoying the sounds of the Moody Blues' ripples on the beach.