THe sHinE-oLas

Bruce Gerrish- Bio

A versatile vocalist, award winning, published songwriter, entertainer and accomplished musician, Bruce Gerrish accompanies himself on acoustic & electric guitars, banjo, ukulele and piano. His “Quirkophony” studio album features The Shineolas in a seamless combination of Roots, Blues, Folk, New Orleans Boogie, Texas Swing and sincere ballads. “Quirkophony” has received airplay on CBC, BBC, Scotland, Germany, Holland and Italy. Bruce's style is reflective of the times he has spent living and working in New Orleans where family friends own and operate Preservation Hall. In addition to maintaining his own active live music playing schedule, Bruce owns and operates Cozy Shack Studios in Nanaimo (along with John Ellis) and his own Cozy Shack Productions where he produces audio and video, live recoding, music production and multi-camera video and live streaming. 

John Ellis Bio

John MacArthur Ellis is a Canadian award winning Producer and Multi-Instrumentalist whose known for capturing the hottest sounds in the Americana, Alt Country, Folk, Singer/Songwriter and Roots Rock genres. John started gigging at the age of 12, and by 18 he was touring auditorium shows and major festivals around the world. John has lent his talents to a number of high reaching stars such as The Be Good Tanyas, Colin James, Bruce Cockburn, Jim Byrnes, Doc Walker, Jeremy Fisher, Tom Jackson, Charlie Major, George Canyon, Doug & The Slugs, Barney Bentall, Ridley Bent, Leeroy Stagger, Ferron, Dan Mangan and Jane Siberry. Over the last two decades, John’s productions have appeared in the top ten on Canadian charts, and in television placements including hit series’ such as Breaking Bad, Da Vinci’s Inquest, and more.

​

Marty Steele Bio

A direct disciple of Jimmy Smiths' keyboard bass playing, Marty Steele is a master of playing the keyboard bass lines while playing piano. With over 45 years of active and steady gigs, in his past travels he has performed with Andy Williams, Jack Jones, Trini Lopez, Martha Reeves with the Funk Bros., Glen Campbell, and even Stevie Wonder and John Fogerty, just to name a few. In 2002 he had the opportunity of a lifetime to play at Carnegie Hall performing with a college quartet at a jazz vocal choir festival. In Nanaimo he helped launch the first "Have You Heard" series for the Nanaimo Jazz Festival Association (NJFA) and the first Nanaimo Night Market for the Chamber Of Commerce. He was the musical director and the composer in tandem with Bill Miner, the playwright/director/lyricist for the hugely successful revival of the Cult Of Brother XII Broadway stage play for the past two years. As a final note, he is the only musician on Vancouver Island to have presided over both a Jazz Jam for the NIJFA Jazz Festival AND the Blues Jam at the Queens. His repertoire, range, and versatility is unmatched by any other.

​

Tom Neville- Bio

Tom's playing offers up a wide variety of musical tastes; folk, celtic, blues, pop, jazz, country and ethnic styles performed in many varied settings. He has played on many recording sessions for film, commercials and on album projects. In 2001 he released his first solo CD, "Highly Strung", a collection of original and traditional material featuring many of the finest musicians and singers around B.C. and Canada. Tom can often be seen performing live in concerts with; Joelle Rabu, Nico Rhodes, Ken Lavigne, Bruce Gerrish (the Shineolas, Hopeless Romantics) Gerry Barnum, Bev Finch, Blue Dog Ramble, Typsy Gypsy Jazz, and the Hot Club of Mars. He is brilliant soloist and an adaptable player who is in high demand as he is adept at many styles. 

James McRae Bio

James has played with a wide diversity of players from Miles Black or Gerry Barnum to David Essig or Marc Atikinson. His passion for music defies easy categorization. He’s lived on Vancouver Island since 1986 and has long been an important part

of the Vancouver Island music scene, including his time in the 1990’s with the popular Victoria group Loose.
In 2011 he releaseed Slow Down, an album of all original songs he wrote with a Brazilian
flavour that received praise from Canada and internationally. He more recently was the
leader of a project reimagining Gordon Lightfoots music in a jazz context, which included
a CD release in 2017 titled “impressions of Lightfoot”.

​

Larry Miller Bio

Larry Miller has performed on saxophone in rock, jazz and blues groups. He played saxophones and flute in The Big Thing, a Chicago tribute band, baritone sax with the Nola Night Hawks and was a founding member of Nanaimo’s group Decadence. Larry has performed on cruise ships, big bands and various sized jazz groups. In Victoria B.C. he has performed with the Temptations and played in the big band opening Bob Newhart’s comedy tour. Larry holds a B.F.A. (York Univ.), B.Ed. and a Masters of Music from the University of Victoria. 

​

​