.
On a plane somewhere between Omaha, NE and Houston, TX: I love music. In fact, I love it so much that I got a job in the music business so I could be around it all the time. But like with any job, sometimes the to-do lists and endless emails to respond to cause me to lose sight of some of the magic that drew me here in the first place.
And then without warning, every decade or so, in the middle of an ordinary Tuesday, something transpires that starts to stir those original feelings that led me on this path:
I hear something that makes me stop dead in my tracks. A sound that makes me cock my head and strain to listen closer. Is that… funk music coming from that young, seemingly-green band I just passed in the backstage hallway? Wait… it’s more a mix of funk… with some soul… and an overall, simple good, fun pop sound.
After closer investigation, I realize that band is not only playing the kind of music that makes my hips automatically move on their own, but also that they’re freakishly talented. Two on guitars, one on keyboards, a tight rhythm section backing them up and three-part-harmonies that are reminiscent of The Temptations or Simon & Garfunkel… if Hall would have joined them for an album or a tour.
And then, they’ve got the look: Young. Attractive. Energetic. Passionate. Blue-eyed-soul. Boy band without the choreography (they’re playing instruments after all… though they still know how to move). And anyone who knows me knows that THIS is the highest compliment I can give.
Now that my soul has been re-energized by this incredible band, I feel like it is my duty as a music-lover to share this musical treasure with others who love good music and great harmonies. Or those who want to shake their asses off. Or those who love to stare at boy-band-types. Or all of the above.
Ladies and Gentleman, I give you… The Shadowboxers.
Read about them here.
Like them here.
Follow them here.
Watch them here.
Buy their music here.
And if you’re in LA this Wednesday (May 22), go see them at The Viper Room at 9pm. They’re playing 30-45 minutes so get there, get in, soak it in and tell them I sent you. I promise you won’t be sorry. If you are, you might want to check your pulse.
Though I bet zombies would love their music too.
The rest of you: watch them here now, and then go see them when they come to your town.
There’s going to come a day – really soon – that you’re going to look back and ask “do you remember the time I first read about The Shadowboxers on snellycat’s blog?” And then will laugh to yourself, remembering that the band taking over the world was once a little feature on a little blog.
And on that day, we will all celebrate and shake our asses off.
