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John Booth and the Southside Band took its first breath in 2006. They have performed at the 2009 and 2011 Blues Showcases and the 2010 Red Rock Folk Festival and are featured regularly on Friday nights at the Valhalla Inn and at the ITAI Lounge at the Italian Cultural Centre.
John Booth – Vocals and harmonica
John Booth originally hails from Toronto. Inspired by the great Chicago blues harmonica virtuoso Charlie Musselwhite, he formed his first blues band in 1972 and toured eastern Canada from 1976 to 1979. John moved to Thunder Bay in 1986 and slipped into the local blues scene, his grits ‘n’ gravy vocals and blister-raising harmonica fronting the blues/rock band Roughhouse which was very popular between 2001 and 2005. He formed the Southside Band in 2006. John is emerging as a fine song writer. He can stay in the genre’s thematic pocket with the likes of Payday Blues and She’s Ditchin’ Me or interpolate custom-tailored lyrics to reflect the local temperament with Simpson Street.
Russ Nicholetts: Guitar
Russ Nicholetts is Thunder Bay’s ultimate side man. A multi instrumentalist, he started playing piano at 7, guitar at 11 and bass at 18. Russ joined his first band, Kicks in 1980. His clean, straight ahead fret work has been heard in bands like Diamonds in the Rough and Sue Watson. He has played bass guitar for Rough Mix, the Blue Pretenders and Diamonds in the Rough. Russ is a highly valued member of the hard working and talented technical team at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium and the Thunder Bay Blues Festival that keeps every show running like a Rolex.
Mike Schan - Drums
Mike began playing drums at the age of 12 and developed a groove-oriented style studying under session/pro Jim Watts. He was a founding member of CKPR Talent Search winning band Ministers of Persuasion that first recorded on the CD, Homegrown. The band released their CD What Do They Hear? in 1993, appeared on the nationally televised show Up and Coming and opened for a number of national recording acts including Bootsauce, Ray Lyle and the Storm, The Leslie Spit Treeo, Econoline Crush, and Teenage Head. Mike was also been a member of the Blues/ R & B acts Rough Mix and the Blue Pretenders (1995-2000) and the blues/rock/roots band The Roosters before joining the Southside Band at its inception.
Jim Bagshaw – Bass guitar and back up vocals
Listening to Jim Bagshaw play you would never guess that he had no formal musical training. A native of Sudbury, Ontario, he started to play the bass guitar in high school in the early 1960s, continuing in numerous local bands simply because he loved music. Jim relocated to Thunder Bay in 1981 where he held down the bass line for ten years in the local group Harbour and for another decade with Diamonds in the Rough before finding his current happy zone with the Southside Band.
Submitted Profile
