Shakey Ground

Mix of originals and covers by Blues Side Up

Hand Jive - cover

I'm Ready

Ain't Got The Time

Steve St. Pierre – Guitar/Vocals – Steve started playing at the age of 12 years old and never looked back. He knew what he wanted to do. Steve has opened for REO Speedwagon, Head East, Cheap Trick, Starcastle and Styx while still in high school. He wanted to learn more about the music scene and felt he had to move to a bigger and faster city. He made the move to Chicago and also Milwaukee where he played with local and regional Blues and Rock acts. In the late 1970’s he was the founding member of a band called “Tusk”; a very progressive R & B bad that developed a reputation as an opening act for a number of national acts: Kim Simmons, The Police, Elvis Costello and The Talking Heads. He caught the eye of Ray Raniey (Beatles fame), who signed Steve to a 7 year management contract as a side-man where Steve toured with a number of national acts. After moving to the Indianapolis area and working 6 sets – 6 nights a week, Steve met Phil Juillerat and they later started a band called “Longdistance”. Longdistance was awarded “Entertainer of the Year” by 95.5 FM & 104.4 FM “The Bear” radio stations. They were also the only house band at “Little Bit of Texas” (now known at 8 Seconds Saloon), where broke attendance records consistently. From there they went out on the road recording their first CD in Nashville, TN. They became the opening act at Little Bit of Texas for artists such as Brian White, Toby Keith, Confederate Railroad, Colin Raye, Leroy Parnell, Lone Star, Chris Cagle, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley among others. He has made his mark in the mid-west music scene and continues to do so today. Steve has played with Past Midnight, Shy Town Cowboys, and 8 Seconds Saloon band of the year (2008) “Blue River Band”.

Jonathan “Rod” January – Vocals & Bass – influences on bass include: James Jamerson, Jerry Jermott, Tim Bogert, Willie Dixon, Jaco Pastorius, Chris Squire and Barry Oakley. Vocally, the influence ranges from Issac Hayes, Marvin Gaye and Greg Allman to Smokey Robinson & Jimi Hendrix. These are just a few of the countless musicians & vocalists who have been an inspiration.
Jonathan has been in the music scene for a while, playing for audiences from San Francisco, where he graduated from The College for Recording Arts after studying with music producing legends Fred Catero and Dr. Richie Moore; to Frankfurt, Germany, where he recorded and performed with Irish guitarist Allan Hayes.
Starting out in Bloomington as a featured vocalist, flute player and bassist with the IU Soul Review in the early 1970’s, Jonathan has gone on to play alongside legends in blues and jazz like Yank Rachel, “Lefty” Bates, Johnny Blanchard, Steve Weekly, Billy Wooten and Randy Hanson to name just a few.
Jonathan loves many different styles of music. Composing is really his greatest joy and he gets fresh ideas constantly. Jonathan plays a lot of original music with blues, jazz and authentic rock and roll, which provides extensive space to improvise. He loves to incorporate funk into a lot of ethnic melodies.

Mark Wayne Minnick – Drummer – Mark has been a touring drummer since 1998 to present day. He has toured with Crooked County which recorded two CD releases on Rustic Records from Phoenix, AZ; The Mary Janes who has 2 CD’s on Steve Earle’s label “E Squared Records” and Delmore Record labels both out of Nashville, TN. He also recorded on the Tom T. Hall project called “Real” which also featured artists like Johnny Cash, Ryan Adams, Iris Dement and Ralph Stanley.
Mark has been on the blues scene in and around Bloomington, IN playing with Harsch Reality, which for the past four years has played at The Bean Blossom Blues Festival and has opened for Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Mark has shared the stage with Hank III, Del McCoury Band, Junior Brown, Dale Watson, Split Lip Rayfield, Gillian Welch, David Rowlings and David Allen Coe.
Studio work is another way Mark spends his time and has since 1995 for bands such as Joint Session, Crooked County, Mary Janes, Harsch Reality, Gus Moon, Indiana Boys, Jason Purnell, The Cox Brothers, and Otto Mobile.
Drum influences include John Bonham, Mitch Mitchell and Ian Paice all born from the Blues. Buddy Rich is also a favorite. Music influences: Outlaw Country, Americana, Blues.
“…Minnick’s full and sturdy tone represents the group’s mode of travel, be it a weathered pickup truck during rural-centric material or a sleek sports car for sophisticated pop…” David Lindquist, The Indianapolis Star.


BluesSideUp