In 1995, in Champaign, IL, Bobby Alcott and Jason Tanner scoured the University music department for the very best musicians to form a funk/jazz band with no peers. After months of tryouts, My Brother's Keeper was formed from 10 talented musicians - ranging in age from 18 to 35 - who were committed to creating something special. Comprised of a five-piece horn section and a super-funky rhythm section, MBK finally played their first show on September 25th, 1995 on Green Street in Urbana. After months of local sold-out shows and a ton of campus buzz, the band was signed to Hammerhead Records in the Summer of 1996. They soon went into Pogo Studios in Champaign to begin recording their first album. After laying down three original tracks, the band decided to record as much of the record live in concert as possible. Jonathan Pines and Brendan Gamble of Private Studios digitally recorded the band on a frigid night in February of 1997. After adding the remaining original tracks at Private, Shoulder To Shoulder was finally released to local fanfare in May of 1997. Shortly thereafter, the band decided to call it quits - but left this album as a snapshot of a band that was the biggest thing to come to the small town of Champaign in many years.