The Get Up Johns profile picture

The Get Up Johns

Early Country Brother Duo

About Me


Like the great brother groups of the 30s and 40s--the Delmores, the Louvins, and the Stanleys--The Get Up Johns combine close tenor harmonies with adroit and polished musicianship.
Their impassioned brother duet sound developed from a shared affection for the profound beauty of two lonesome tenor voices in perfect harmony. Jake Hyer’s West Virginian roots manifest in the sweet sadness of his fiddle and mandolin solos while Josh Wenck’s innovative bass runs and array of Carter style guitar rhythms give this unpretentious and minimalist duo the range and energy of a full band.
Dressed in matching black suits their repertoire is composed largely of old-time and early country tunes, with an emphasis on songs recorded by the Louvin Brothers. Each show turns an unswerving spotlight on the experience of sin, salvation, and heartbreak with Hyer playing the stone-faced straight man to Wenck’s garrulous carnie barker.
They have enjoyed favored status in the eclectic Twin Cities music scene, headlining at the Varsity Theater and The Cedar Cultural Center. In December of 2004 the staff of First Avenue and local industry taste-makers picked the Johns for their annual “Best New Bands of 2004” showcase in the Mainroom of the First Avenue nightclub. They also landed a top ten finish in the City Pages “Picked 2 Click” of 2005. The Johns have been nominated for three Minnesota Music Awards and their first full-length CD, “Trouble in Mind,” was released by the Mercy Recordings label in 2006 and was chosen as one of the top local releases of the year by The Onion and the City Pages.
Trouble in Mind is available at Miles of Music

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 12/1/2005
Band Website: getupjohns.com
Band Members: Josh Wenck Jake Hyer
Influences: Louvin Brothers Stanley Brothers Delmore Brothers The Carter Family Gillian Welch Roscoe Holcomb Dwight Diller AC/DC
Sounds Like: Everly Brothers Louvin Brothers Dwight Diller
Record Label: Mercy Recordings
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Mount Kisco

We made the long drive up from Hillsboro, WV on Saturday evening after the most pleasant of times playing at the Pearl S. Buck Birthplace. It's situated beautifully on a high plain in the midst of th...
Posted by The Get Up Johns on Mon, 25 Jun 2007 10:19:00 PST

The River Car

Last night we were at the River Car Restaurant on the banks of the river Cheat. Beautiful little Jimmy Buffet type place next to a peaceful campground area down in the valley. Mostly friends and fam...
Posted by The Get Up Johns on Sat, 23 Jun 2007 08:27:00 PST

El Gran Sabor

We had a very nice night at El Gran Sabor in Elkins, WV last night. Our host, Rob Masten, was drinking caucasians, the Dude's drink, and so we got to talking about the Dude and he started mixing us u...
Posted by The Get Up Johns on Fri, 22 Jun 2007 10:10:00 PST

West "by gxd" Virginia Tour

Hey Friends:We're out on the road heading east to West "by gxd" Virginia and New York City. We've had a couple of nice night the last two nights. The Red Line Tap in Chicago with Sexfist (aka The He...
Posted by The Get Up Johns on Thu, 21 Jun 2007 09:21:00 PST

Tour blog

Check out our tour blog at my blog.Enjoy the fun with us as we experience it.
Posted by The Get Up Johns on Sat, 19 May 2007 03:22:00 PST

Revival Show podcast

Thank you to everyone who came out for the show last weekend. We had a great show and an even better turnout. All right!If you weren't able to make it out for the debut of the Revival Show you shoul...
Posted by The Get Up Johns on Wed, 25 Apr 2007 11:45:00 PST

1000 friends!

Yeah!After two years on the MySpace we finally have added our 1000th friend. Take a look at our 1000th friend's MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/outlawart)Here's a list of the nice things that MySpace...
Posted by The Get Up Johns on Mon, 26 Mar 2007 02:02:00 PST

Elmer Gantry Revival

So much has happened since Jake and I returned home a week ago this morning. We had a nice night at the Cedar with V3, albeit with subzero temps and the consequent light crowd. We found out about so...
Posted by The Get Up Johns on Fri, 09 Feb 2007 07:25:00 PST

Day 12, We're home!

We surprised our lady friends, and ourselves I think too, and drove through the night from Madison and pulled into my driveway this morning at 5AM. A couple of double depth charges are as good as che...
Posted by The Get Up Johns on Fri, 02 Feb 2007 07:28:00 PST

Day 11, Tour Top Ten

10. Breakfast at the Bad Earl in Atlanta. The biscuits and gravy were killer yummy and the link sausages went down so good with a little green Tobasco. Free Bloody Mary's (sorry mom and dad) and go...
Posted by The Get Up Johns on Fri, 02 Feb 2007 05:56:00 PST