Love at first note.
by Sandra Benton, The SAM Project, Founder & Contributor
John Holmes and Jamie Shea. That pretty much sums it up. If you are lucky enough to know this musical duo, partners in The Holmes Shea Band you know they are quite the exceptionally talented team. And by exceptional I mean, both in the studio and out. Here’s the short story…
Individually, they are uber creators and major contributors to the world of music and song. Believe it or not, our universe put them together many years ago through an on-line dating experience. Talk about vibration! (Hey, there are no accidents, right? It happens.) So after many years of exploring, loving and living, they officially married in August of 2015. They are a blended family with well-loved adult children and grandchildren, considered good friends by many, exceptional community advocates, and just all around loving and cool people to hang out with.
John’s CV looks something like this: Since the late sixties, John’s contributions to the world of music have included personal work as a musician, singer, and songwriter. Professionally he has performed with several west coast bands, including Lost Continent and Spectacle. After meeting Jamie in 2003, John established The Holmes Shea Band and they are still making history. Today, John continues to encourage and support local musicians and regional talent through his Mount Vernon recording studio, Wired Homes Studio. John recently retired from a government job in IT, so you know this man is working both sides of the brain. As far as I have been able to figure out, in his limited spare time, John now combines his passion for music with playing a whole lot of golf and trekking the globe with family and friends.
Jamie, who is a creative light source in so many ways, is a graphic designer for one of our most renowned winemakers, Chateau Ste. Michelle. Graphic artist by day, musician by night, Jamie is not only the other half of The Holmes Shea Band, she is also a lead singer with Pacific Northwest classic rock band favorite, The Walrus. I don’t have my original Backseat Interview Notes (taken while we were on the way to a pizza joint in Bellingham), but maybe that’s a good thing. A child of the sixties, Jamie started strumming her guitar in coffee shops when she was a impressionable teen, studying music and voice. As awareness of her special gift grew, it wasn’t long before she was inducted into a number of local 70’s pop and rock bands. Her combined beauty, talent and relationship with the audience catapulted her life forever forward. Performing with bands like Chrome Dinette and What The Chelm, Jamie is not stranger to the concert scene. These days her exceptional musical talents can be experienced at regularly scheduled performances with her band mates of The Walrus.
Band Bios
For more information about The Holmes Shea Band visit their website.
About The Rick Epting Foundation for the Arts
A friend of John Holmes, Rick Epting was one of the founding members of both the Lincoln Theatre Center Foundation, the Skagit Performing Arts Council (SPAC), and appointed by the Governor to serve on the Washington State Arts Commission. He was instrumental in the restoration campaign for the Lincoln Theatre and the planning and organization for McIntyre Hall. In 2006, friends of the late Rick Epting formed the Rick Epting Foundation for the Arts and are currently active in continuing his legacy of supporting the arts in Skagit County. Visit www.rickeptingfoundation.org for a calendar of events and more information about how your support of the arts and music community make a difference.
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