Home · About Us · Schedule · Music · Photo Gallery
Equipment · Mailing List · Guestbook · Links · Contact

About Us: Sonic Blues Band Members

Bruce Pallan: Lead/Rhythm Guitar

At the early age of thirteen I started taking guitar lessons from my friends' older sister"s boyfriend, who was a high school teacher, but taught guitar on the side for extra money. Got all that? After a couple of years of lessons he asked me to join his band. So, at the age of fifteen I was playing in bars while my friends were in bed by 11:00 PM, and we were just gettin' our second set going.

One of the earliest bands I started that was successful in our area was Wizard, which lasted about five years. After that I decided to 'get out of town' and ended up on the road with a high energy hair band Warrior, which lasted six years. But the type of music that always pulled me back to my roots was the Blues.

Over the last eight years I've started or joined more than a few "Blues bands", but never found the right mix of music and ideas needed to keep one interested. When putting Sonic Blues together, we needed everybody on the same page, even though our tastes varied greatly. This is the result of a very long process of countless auditions and practices in which the end result is a great, tight, and fun band to play in. Come check us out.

Equipment: Strat-black, Les Paul-black, Strat-sunburst, Ephipone-acoustic, Line 6 AxSys 212 amp, Marshall stack w/800 head-Two Marshall bottoms, Fender acoustic.
Pedals: Crybaby, Univibe, Boss Pedals-Pitch shifter delay, Octave box, Turbo-over drive.

For booking information, contact Bruce Pallan at:
or use the form on the Contact Page.

Jonathan Smith: Lead Vocals/Bass

At the tender age of 14, I saw Johnny Winter in concert, and decided that my path was to be a musician. After buying a guitar, it turns out that EVERYBODY, their brother and their brother's dog were playing guitar. Couldn't get a steady gig, so I took the money I had accrued dressing window dummies in lingerie , and bought a bass guitar. Haven't looked back since.

Through the 70s to present day, I have performed in about 35 different bands, worked for professional sound companies, opened for many notable national acts, done countless recording and fill in dates, and for the past 15 years or so have hosted open stages throughout the Pittsburgh Area.

Played classic tracks, country, southern rock, jazz/funk, but still come back to my first love: playing blues. Besides performing with Sonic Blues, I work with several other regional acts, do photography and graphics work, and operate a Recording Studio.

Scott Shields: Drums

At the early age of 11, Scott started to learn to play the guitar, but over time he wanted to play more than one instrument. A friend had an old set of drums that he began messin' around with. After a lot of practice, Scott joined various bands from, Metal and Country, to Rock and Blues. Bruce Pallan and Scott Shields started the Sonic Blues Band in 2002, and after endless practices and fine tuning they debuted in early 2003.

Drums: Pearl, Cymbals: Zildjian, Stix: Vic Firth

Influences: Stevie Ray Vaughn, Allman Brothers band, Grand Funk Railroad

Home · About Us · Schedule · Music · Photo Gallery
Equipment · Mailing List · Guestbook · Links · Contact