23 Years of Shakin' 

The Shakers were formed in 1987 when Steve, Donny and Dave decided to put a part-time dance band together to play wedding dances and private parties.

The founding three members had played together previously in several other bands.

Steve and Donny first played together back in the early seventies with Epic recording artist's "Overland Stage".

In 1978, Dave joined a band Steve was playing in called "Uglier Than Ever" (an off-shoot of the original "Uglies" band).

"Uglier Than Ever" eventually evolved into "FM Players" and in 1981, Donny joined the band as a replacement guitarist.

The three of them played together until Steve left the band in 1984. Dave left in 1986 and the band finally dissoved in 1987.

The band's original name was "Yuks and Bucks", which is basically the reason they decided to start playing again, but was changed to "The Shakers" because "Yuks and Bucks" sounded like a county band... (not that there's anything wrong with that). Hence, a 23 year history had begun.

"The Shakers" played as a 3-piece band for 12 years and as a 4-piece band for another 10 years. With only one personel change in 23 years, the most recent and probably the biggest change was the addition of Gary Bitzer (keyboards and vocals) and Matt Velline (guitar and vocals).

Matt has spent more than 30 years in the music business, including 13 years with The Johnny Holm Band as lead guitarist and vocalist from 1985-1998. Most recently he toured internationally with his uncle Bobby Vee and his cousins, “The Vees” from 2002-2004 including a three month tour of The U.K.

Gary is originally from Mississippi. He played in bands down South from 1964 to 1981. Toured the Midwest in 1971 for the next 10 years before moving to Fargo in 1981. He's played with many bands over the years, including 3 years with The Johnny Holm Band. Gary's probably best known for playing with "Icebreaker" for 16 years.

From Left to Right: Gary, Matt, Dave, Steve, Donny - Photo by Ann Tiegs