Ben and Bryan were mostly responsible for the lyrical content. Rob was a precussionist and held keyboard responsibilities, Bryan played the acoustic guitar and was most instrumental in the direction of the band, as well as the most talented of the members at the time. Joe provided lead guitar duties with his electric guitar. And finally, Jeff was cheif precussionist. Much like Damn Jamboree...Jeff had to make due with an odd assortment of drum components and card board boxes. (On a side note: A card board box bearing the signage of "this side up" with an arrow pointing topside was the origin of the band's name.)
This Side Up was not a traveling Band...the group never played live. They had more an emphasis on recording. Unlike Damn Jamboree where most songs were made up as the band jammed along.....T.S.U. attempted to create original songs that actually had some structure. They recorded only a few songs. Some titles being: "End of the World", "Number Game", and "Yonker".
Bryan Lancaster wrote and played acoustic guitar for "Yonker" and Jeff accompanied on Drums. The song's deep, thought provoking lyrics, soft guitar strumming, and Bryan's haunting voice tells the tale of a lost soul in the final moments of life. Its even more haunting in that Bryan's life ended all too soon. Not long after "Yonker" was recorded.....In September of 1990, while riding his motorcyle on SR 60 in Brandon, Fl. Bryan was hit by a car that pulled out in front of him....fatally injuring him.
A great friend was gone...the band never played another song together again.
But after some time the original members of the Damn Jamboree continued. Bryan had always been considered the Damn Jamboree's biggest and only fan, even though he never would have admitted it....in fact he helped start the Damn Jamboree, though he never played as a memeber of the Damn Jamboree he was very influencial to Rob, Jeff, and Ben.
It is my belief that without Bryan Lancaster's involvement many of the former members of This Side Up would never have found their love of music, and perhaps never would have cultivated their creative talents in the manner that they have today.