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The Beginnings

 

Thomas “Tom” Blakeney and our original drummer, Gary Brownlow, started putting together the band members in early 2004 with a newspaper ad and interviews with other musicians in the St Augustine, FL area. Tom loved singing karaoke for years and was finally convinced by Gary’s wife Paula to put together a band with Gary. In June of 2004, I joined the band and we officially stood up the Southern Rukus Band by the end of the month. Many miles and hours were spent in those early days inside the “handi house” storage building at Gary and Paula’s house close to St Augustine either sweating or freezing our asses off putting the “country with a twist” on the songs we practiced. Tom and I clicked on our song writing collaborations and our signature song “Southern Ground” came to be. Bandmates turned into friendship and friendship into family over the years and I think we all feel that way (except for some of the ex-members who hated me once we let them go). After Gary left the band, we moved the practice/try-out sessions to my pool house in Middleburg, FL and eventually just had everyone practice at home to learn new material for our shows.

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A few stats for the band over the years and it’s still climbing:

          Miles traveled to perform – over 100,000+

          Shows performed – over 1,800+ (60-70 per yr)

          Songs written – 50+

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Over a 20-year span of collaborating, many great Southern Rukus songs were written by Jessie and Tom, and we were fortunate enough to record 22 of them on CD. Our music on the Southern Ground and GRITS Cd’s has been heard from Florida to Alaska and even worldwide. All though Tom and I never got to sing our songs at the Grand Ole Opry or the Ryman in Nashville, we performed every show like we were there. There’s even a bar in Tampa, FL named after one of our songs; Southern Ground Saloon.

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Band Changes Throughout the Years

          4 drummers, 8 bass players, 4 lead guitarists, and 3 piano players (in the early years)

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And that doesn’t count the 30 or 40 musicians that we audition over the years that didn’t make the cut. (boy there were some doozies)

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​​Previous SRB Members

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Gary Brownlow (2004-2008), original drummer of the SRB hung up his spurs due to complications with his physical health and playing the drums.

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Ray Devito (2004-2009), original lead guitarist of the SRB moved on to play music with other musicians from the St Augustine, FL area.

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Dennis Holmbeck (2004-2009), original second guitarist of the SRB moved on to play music with other musicians from the St Augustine, FL area. In 2018 he passed away with serious health conditions.

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Greg “Doc” Smersh (2006-2010/2013-2014), close friend and original bass player of the SRB moved on to play music with other musicians from the Gainesville, FL area.

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Doug Kohl (2010-2013), second bass player of the SRB moved on to play music with other musicians from the Jacksonville, FL area. In June 2023 he lost his battle with cancer and passed away.

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Phil Jones (2008-2011/2012-2014/2016-2019), close friend and second lead guitarist/vocalist/steel guitar player of the SRB moved on to play music with other musicians in the Lake City, FL area. In June 2024 he lost his battle with cancer and passed away.

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Brian Morgan (2014-2015), third lead guitarist/vocalist of the SRB moved on to play music with other musicians from the Jacksonville, FL area.

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Paul Newbauer (2020-2021), third drummer of the SRB moved on to play music with other musicians from the St Augustine, FL area.

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Thomas “Tom” Blakeney (2004-2022), original bandmate, close friend, and lead singer of the SRB hung up his spurs due to ongoing health issues. In October of 2025 he lost his battle with cancer and passed away.

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Danny Ray Griffin (2014-2022), third bass player of the SRB hung up his spurs after 8 years with us.

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Dennis Pries (2008-2020/2022-2024), close friend and second drummer of the SRB hung up his spurs after 16 years of keeping us all in time and on the mark. He still sits in with us at local venues from time to time.

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Many musicians filled in over the years to help us complete our schedule and we'll be forever grateful to them! There were other musicians who were asked to join the band initially, but they eventually ended up not being a good fit in the SRB (<12 months) and honestly, I can’t remember their names these days.

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Current Members

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Jessie Wagner – vocals/rhythm guitar

Jacob Pries - lead guitar

John Jarrell – vocals/bass guitar

Steve Hardin - drums