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Lake Geneva native's musical talent adds to Bon Iver

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Lake Geneva native Sean Carey is a drummer honing his musical craft with the Grammy-nominated group Bon Iver. The group is scheduled to make an appearance on "Saturday Night Live" Feb. 4.

LAKE GENEVA — The best teachers know how to nurture children, using that innate ability to push here or pull back there while allowing students and their talents to blossom and flourish.

(Read all of this week's stories from Walworth County Sunday HERE. )

Lake Geneva Middle School band director Ray Ames, who’s taught in the district for 34 years, learned that the latter approach worked well for Sean Carey, who became one of his prized pupils.

“When Sean started band in the summer before fifth grade, I tried to encourage him to consider some other instruments instead of percussion,” Ames said. “As I met with him, I realized that he would have played anything that I picked for him. But he definitely had his heart set on percussion.”

Carey, 26, has used those musical gifts to earn national and international acclaim for himself and the band Bon Iver, a group that Eau Claire area native Justin Vernon founded in 2007.

Bon Iver was to hit the stage on “Saturday Night Live” on Feb. 4, and the band will be among the artists whose work will be in the spotlight at the 54th annual Grammy Awards, which air starting at 7 p.m. Feb. 12 on CBS.

Carey wasn’t sure whether the members of Bon Iver would travel to Los Angeles for the show, but the group was nominated for best new artist and alternative album of the year for its self-titled 2011 collaboration, while the song “Holocene” received nods for song of the year and record of the year.

A 2003 Badger High School graduate, Carey said band members are simply trying to get a handle on all of the newfound fame while staying true to themselves.

“In a way, we don’t know how to feel,” said Carey, the drummer who also plays piano and provides vocals. “It’s exciting and we are honored, but I guess we just want to stay focused on making meaningful music.”

Read the full story HERE.