Douglas Cady
Co-founder
Started the band with Aaron in March 2024, in his garage in Atlanta, Michigan.
The Side Hicks were formed in March 2024 by Douglas Cady and Aaron Stumpmier. They were both going through some low points in life at the time, and one night they decided to sit down with a guitar and play some music. It all started in Douglas's garage in Atlanta, Michigan. After that night they started spending a lot of time together, enjoying their newfound talent.
Aaron's wife at the time joked that they were each other's side chicks because of all the time they spent together playing music. That was the band's original name: The Side Chicks. Now the name has changed to The Side Hicks, seeing as there are no females in the band and this name just fits us better. LOL
After a while, Aaron bought a new drum set and wanted help setting it up, so he asked Chris Cox (from Lewiston) to come over to the house and help. Aaron already knew Chris was a great drummer, so he asked him to play drums in the band. Shortly after Chris agreed to join, they asked Curtis Brennan (also from Lewiston) to join and play bass. Curtis was more of a guitar player, but he gave bass a shot, and within three months he had it down. He does an exceptional job, especially for someone who had never really played bass before.
The band played its first real show in the summer of 2024 as a four-piece, throughout the Tri-County area. That October they met Charlie Klutts performing at Patchwood Plaza in Hillman, Michigan, and asked if he would be willing to perform at Elk Fest with his band. They were so impressed with his lead guitar that they asked him to play with them, and he agreed. Charlie has over 20 years of Army service, is retired from the military, and gives free guitar lessons to veterans who want to learn.
As of May 2026, Charlie Klutts has moved out of state and is no longer with the band, unfortunately. But we were fortunate enough to meet another gentleman, Charlie Deardoff, at the Moose in the fall of 2025. He came up on stage and played a couple of songs with us, and he is now a member of the band on rhythm and lead guitar. Charlie is a retired police officer from Pennsylvania who moved to the Lewiston area, and he currently works with Aaron in Gaylord.
As of midsummer 2026, Curtis Brennan has stepped back to be a part-time fill-in due to lack of time, as we all understand. We all have full-time jobs, and performing takes a lot of time. We are currently playing with Donavan Drew from Atlanta on bass guitar. He's in training... LOL. He'll hopefully be coming on full time by November.