Featured Guests
Ryan Shupe
Fiddle, Mandolin, Guitar
Ryan started playing the fiddle at the age of five (he is a 5th generation fiddler). From that early age his dad woke him up every morning and practiced the fiddle with him for two hours. When he was about eight years old he started playing fiddle professionally in a national touring band called the PeeWee Pickers. Since then he has picked up the guitar and the mandolin.
Throughout his career he has performed with a number of artists and groups including Chris Ledeaux, Powder Ridge, Salt Licks, Peter Breinholt and Judith Edelman. Around 1996 he organized Ryan Shupe & the RubberBand and continues to sing original tunes and jam on a variety of instruments in the band.
Bart Olson
Drums (and occasional Fiddle)
Bart plays the drums (and the occasional fiddle) in the group Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand. He grew up in Spokane, Washington. He learned the fiddle when he was eight years old because one day the TV broke; the next day his parents showed up with fiddles and guitars for all of the kids. He grew up performing with his family (the Olson Family Fiddlers) all over the northwest and spent summers playing at fiddle contests. At twelve, he picked up the drums and they soon became his passion. He started out focusing on jazz drumming, but his interests soon broadened to include lots of different styles.
He attended college in Utah and spent most of his time drumming in groups that were all over the map stylistically: country, rock, funk, fusion, latin, ska, blues, etc. He graduated with a degree in International Studies. After making waves while performing around Utah with folk/blues player Matt Harding, Bart soon joined the RubberBand. He once learned horse vaulting (acrobatics on the back of a moving horse). He would like to announce that he is the reigning foosball champion, although that comes as no surprise once you see Ryan’s foosball skills.
Roger Archibald
Guitar
Roger started playing the guitar at age eleven. He spent countless hours fighting for quiet practice time amidst the swirling torrent of heavy metal pounding from his two older brothers’ stereo. Roger learned how to put up with it and kept practicing. A peculiar blend of styles emerged while practicing scales and learning acoustic songs with the raging accompaniment of the likes of Krokus, Black Sabbath, Metallica, and AC/DC. Needless to say, Roger rocks. His nicknames in the studio are “the robot” and “sine wave” because his precision as a guitarist and vocalist is so good it’s almost inhuman.
He plays acoustic guitars by Gibson and Santa Cruz, pick-ups by L.R. Baggs (the Dual Source), Dunlop Ultex 1.14 picks, and Shubb Deluxe Capos.
He loves strawberries and his Mama’s Famous Lasagna.
Craig Miner
Craig Miner is a multi-instrumentalist and, according to some, the closest thing to McGyver on the planet. He plays guitar, mandolin, bouzouki and banjo and made almost all of his instruments himself. Craig started his musical path with a ukulele that his dad bought at a garage sale. He soon moved to the guitar and played in a band with some of his high school friends called the Smokey Mill Boys. He also played electric guitar in his high school jazz band. He started playing banjo at the age of 15 and has since picked up the mandolin. He has performed with other groups including Fire on the Mountain and Salt Licks. He uses a Taylor 810 guitar, banjo (self-made), and bouzouki and mandolin (both self-made) – Amplified by a Boss GT-3 Multi effects processor and a variety of Fishman, Baggs and Custom pickups. He likes building things, camping, rock climbing, and mountain biking.
