Mike “Shinetop, Jr.” Sedovic started playing piano as soon as he could reach the keys. Some of his earliest memories include listening to his mother practice piano at home, and watching her feet play the pedals on the organ at church. Showing a natural gift for music, he began learning classical piano around age six. But it was a Merry Melodies cartoon, “Jungle Jive”, that would unwittingly lead him into the world of Boogie-Woogie and Blues piano.
Mike joined the Marine Corps after High School, and returned home to find his passion for music had turned to Blues. He still remembers the first time he went to one of John Paul and the Hellhounds’ legendary jams at BB’s Lawnside BBQ on a Thursday night. The combination of blues and BBQ was unbeatable, and lured him in every week for years to come. Mike credits John Paul’s generous nature, and BB’s reputation as a Blues hotspot as being the catalyst for his Blues career. It didn’t take long for Mike to be “discovered” by one of Kansas City’s longest running Blues bands, The Blues Notions. Mike spent the next eight years honing his skills alongside some of the best and most knowledgeable Bluesmen in the game. It’s also where he was given his nickname, “Shinetop Jr.”, by none other than Tom “Trashmouth” Baker. Some of Shinetop’s influences on piano include Henry Butler, Little Anthony Geraci, Pinetop Perkins, Roosevelt Sykes, Mose Allison, Otis Spann, Henry Gray, and Big Joe Duskin.
Shinetop, Jr. now appears weekly at BB’s on Wednesday nights, and can be found sitting in with many bands around town, as well as performing in the duo Shinetop n Hudspeth. He has been lucky to share the stage with some amazing local players, including: The Blues Notions, Lee McBee and the Confessors, Trampled Under Foot, John Paul’s Flying Circus, Levee Town, Samantha Fish, Mary Bridget Davies, The Hatchlings, The Big Three, Shannon and The Rhythm Kings, Grand Marquis, Scotty Boy Daniels, Justin Andrew Murray, and many others. And thanks to his local connections, Shinetop has also been blessed to play with a number of national players on occasion, including: Hubert Sumlin, Taj Mahal, Lazy Lester, Michael Brooks, John Nemeth, Tommy Castro, Marquise Knox, Big Bill Morganfield, Steve Gerard & the National Debonaires, John Marx, Kurt Crandall, Mark Hummel, Mitch Woods, Eden Brent, Deanna Bogart, Kelly Hunt, David Cohen, Sean Carney, Victor Wainwright, JP Soars, Damon Fowler, and many others.
In 2012, a super-duo was formed with Levee Town guitarist, Brandon Hudspeth, called Shinetop n Hudspeth. These two talented musicians proceeded to win the Kansas City Blues Society Solo/Duo Competition for the right to represent KC in at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. They not only made it to the Semi-Finals, but they garnered a great deal of praise for their exciting performances. They came away from Memphis with a better understanding of what needs to be done in next year’s competition. Rest assured, they plan to hone their set and come back with a vengeance.
Fall of 2013 will be a new chapter in life for Shinetop, Jr. as he leaves his full-time job of 20 years and focuses his attention on a career in music. He is excited to be on the new adventure, and promises that the additional time will be spent “learning more boogie-woogie, B3 organ, and anything else that catches his ear.”
- April 2013
