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.

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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.

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Brad Shipley- Bio

Brad is a well known Vancouver Island mult- instruemntalist who is featured on guitar, mandolin and lapsteel.  

Brad has a Bachelor's degree in Jazz Studies from VIU and enjoys teaching music to all ages. he has been performing since 1998 in many different styles and genres. He believes music is in everyone and that you are never too old to learn. Brad is also the music director with Gabriola Chamber Ensemble.

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”.

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