Kevin Mishey began playing in local bands at the tender age of 14. He has been a member of Rock Dimension, Apricot Brandy, Dark Horse, T.J. Lewis Blues Revue, and mostly recently, The Kokosing River Surf Club. Kevin is a lifelong fan of the blues and currently shares guitar and vocal duties in Cryin’ Out Loud. He also plays in the acoustic trio Side Effects and hosts a classic rock radio show on WMVO.

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Rusty “Pooch” Shinabery has been playing the drums in country, rock, and blues bands for most of his life. He has worked with Country Cadillac, Slips in Around, Nomads, T.J. Lewis and the Blue Tones, The Kokosing River Surf Club, and now lays down the beat for Cryin’ Out Loud.

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Robert “Doc” Shipley brings more than forty-five years of experience to Cryin’ Out Loud as a keyboardist, guitarist, vocalist, and one of the band’s co-founders. Robert’s previous groups and collaborations include The Inner City Blues band, Shaun Booker, The Rolling Hams, The Barrelhouse Blues band, The Kokosing River Surf Club, and Six Miles to Nellie. Robert also runs sound for Cryin’ Out Loud, a task he once performed on tour for a small band named Crosby, Stills, and Nash.

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Zontar Heinamentos (aka, Eric Snyder) first blew his saxophone at the age of three. All were stunned when he played Lester Young’s “She’s Funny That Way” by heart. A 1947 graduate of the Millersburg School for the Bewildered, he was once the principal Guiro player with the Brazilian Nationalista Symphonia. Zontar later dabbled in Community Theater where he met his wife, ballerina Anastasia Volochkova, during a production of Grigorovich’s gripping ballet, Ivan the Terrible. After holding the pregnant Anastasia aloft during the demanding fifteen-minute “Mutilation Dance of the Ruptured Pansies,” Zontar proposed marriage right on the spot. He also likes to participate in the Federal Witness Protection Program, when he has time. Zontar has triumphantly returned to the stage with local favorites, the Cryin’ Out Loud blues band and Fat Tuesday, and he looks forward to greeting his legions of adoring fans.

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Bob Stulka got his first guitar for Christmas when he was 9 years old. He saved up his money and bought an electric guitar a year later. By age 11, Bob was jamming in a neighborhood garage band. He picked up the bass guitar at 23, when his new band desperately needed a bassist. “I switched and never looked back.” Bob has also played classic 60’s and 70’s rock with the Nomads. Later, in a band called Media, he switched to reggae. Over the years, Bob has performed with the T.J. Lewis Blues Revue and The Kokosing River Surf Club. In the mid 1980’s, he and Robert Shipley co-founded Cryin’ Out Loud. Although some of the players have changed, the blues band is alive and well in 2021.

 

Dave Wilkes is the newest member of Cryin’ Out Loud. Having played electric guitar decades ago in a California 50’s band, Dave has been pretending to sing like Neil Young ever since he heard 4 Way Street. Thankful for local jams and church gigs, he currently digs singing and playing the blues.