WELCOME TO THE BRIGHT SIDE!
As of late November 2012, the Bright Side Band mates decided to part ways. A big thank you to all who came out to support us at a show or online over these last two years. We have thoroughly enjoyed performing for you! Although you won’t be hearing us as a trio, we hope you will stay in touch with each of us and continue to support our other projects. The music, as always, continues!
Visit:
Jon Rubin, guitar & vocals:
Laurel Thomsen, violin & vocals: www.laurelthomsen.com and please sign up for her monthly newsletter http://eepurl.com/n9pr9 and “like” her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/laurelthomsenmusic
Shannon Miller, vocals & percussion: www.shannonmillermusic.com and please sign up for her mailing list and “like” her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/shannonmillermusic
Band bio:
Bright Side Band is a San Francisco Bay Area based trio featuring Jon Rubin, finger style guitar & vocals, Laurel Thomsen, violin & vocals, and Shannon Miller, vocals & hand percussion. The band offers a folk-blues style blended with Americana, British folk, and Celtic influences into an original acoustic sound. Formed in early 2011, most weeks they can be found performing to enthusiastic audiences, from California’s Central Coast to San Francisco.
Showcasing original compositions and stylized arrangements of traditional and cover tunes, the music of Bright Side Band tells stories - sometimes uplifting, sometimes dramatic and heart wrenching, often times inspiring. Expect melodically driven compositions, intricate, weaving violin and guitar lines, lush 3 part harmonies, and passionate performers.
Meet the band:
Jon Rubin, finger style guitar & vocals:
Inspired to play acoustic guitar by Bert Jansch and Jorma Kaukonen, a disciple of the Reverend Gary Davis school of fingerpicking country gospel blues, Jon Rubin has long crafted original arrangements of traditional songs in the Americana, Celtic, and British folk/blues idioms. Jon has studied and attended workshops with legendary fingerstyle players, including Martin Simpson, Woody Mann, Duck Baker, Rick Ruskin, Laurence Juber, and Bob Brozman.
Laurel Thomsen, violin & vocals:
Classically trained violinist/violist Laurel Thomsen enjoys performance and studio recording across a variety of genres. She is frequently sought out by songwriters and bands for her ability to “find the voice of the violin” in music ranging from Classical to Celtic, and pop-rock to Blues. Besides her live and studio performance work, Laurel is a private string teacher, the creator and host of the Violin Geek Podcast, a contributor for Strings magazine, and the author of Improve Your Bowing Technique, a book/video guide available through String Letter Publishing.
Shannon Miller, lead vocals & hand percussion:
Shannon Miller has always been a singer, performing from family dinner tables to concert halls, and for the past ten years at venues throughout the California Central Coast. A versatile vocalist, with a sweet, clear tone, Shannon loves to sing Celtic, jazz, folk, country, pop, and bluegrass. She is featured on the CD Sweetfire, which she co-produced with Laurel in 2006. Shannon sings for events, including the Carmel Authors and Ideas Festival and The Monterey Scottish Games and Celtic Festival, for weddings, and for live performance, studio, and television work with various singer-songwriters and bands, including the Monterey, CA based band Grumbling Ginger.
“There’s a bright side somewhere” states the lyrics of There’s a Bright Side Somewhere, a tune by the Reverend Gary Davis that inspired the band’s name.
“I ain’t gonna rest now, ‘til I find it again. There’s a bright side somewhere.”
Bright Side Band is dedicated to bringing music home to its communities and brightening life one note at a time.
