Now, I’ve never really done this before, but there is so much buzz around this New York City band, I need to feature them without even listening to a single song. I mean I’ve heard clips of a couple songs like “Scars Will Remain” and “Sing My Song” and I can’t wait to actually hear the full songs. I’m talking about the band Awaken The Shadow. You might have heard me mention this band in the past because it’s former Wildstreet bassist Ali Hassan and guitarist Aaron Joos’ new band and I always liked the Wildstreet stuff, so I’m really anticipating this new project, Awaken The Shadow.
According to their bio, Awaken The Shadow was formed a few years ago by bassist Ali Hassan and guitarist Aaron Joos. After performing with Wildstreet and touring all over the U.S., playing festivals like Rocklahoma and Rockstar Energy’s Uproar Tour, and supporting some of the biggest rock bands, the Wildstreet train finally came to a slow halt. This is when Ali and Aaron decided to explore more of their musical interests and began writing as much as they could. The two immediately knew who they wanted involved in this new project, it was guitarist Justin Walker. The trio’s first musical encounter was when Justin spent a year touring and playing festivals as guitarist of Wildstreet. The focus soon shifted to finding the right voice and character to represent what they envisioned for Awaken The Shadow. Just like it is for most bands, this task proved to be extremely difficult and became very discouraging at times. Then singer Taylor Paul walked into their lives. Better yet, singer Taylor Paul flew into their lives as a new transplant to NYC by way of Australia. New life was injected into Awaken The Shadow. The machine was now complete and ready to roll.
Now, I’m not sure if guitarist Justin Walker is still with the band since his name is no longer on the Facebook page, but there is a new guitarist in his place and his name is Sean Salant. Awaken The Shadow will be releasing their long-awaited debut CD, Life Beyond The Curse, in March. Pre-sales began last week with a free download of their lead-off single, “The Hunter.” For more on Awaken The Shadow and their debut CD, Life Beyond The Curse, visit Facebook.com/AwakenTheShadow.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
My little bros from Brand Of Julez have kicked off an Indiegogo campaign to help them finish their debut CD. The boys have been hard at work in the studio with Life Of Agony and Zire’s War guitarist and producer, Joey Z, since 2014 and now the CD’s ready to come out. They gave me a copy of their first single “Monkey” back in September and I thought the track kicked ass. Brand Of Julez is looking for fans to donate to their cause. In return, they will be rewarding fans with free downloads of the CD when it comes out, physical copies of the CD, t-shirts, your own private Brand Of Julez show, a Brand Of Julez vest or tickets to one of their shows. To help Brand Of Julez, visit igg.me/at/vuWo0VpbSxM/x. For more on Brand Of Julez, visit Facebook.com/BrandofJulez.
My bass brother, Mike Ferreira, who will always be Mikey Trudge to me, texted me the other day to let me know his band Civic have parted ways with singer Ryan Lauretano amicably. Ryan decided he wanted to pursue his Master’s Degree and I can’t say I blame him. That being said, Civic is now looking for a new singer. Visit civicband.com to see if these guys tickle your fancy as a singer. If they do, contact Civic on their Facebook page, Facebook.com/CivicNJ.
And finally, for many of you who’ve been asking, it seems the drummer from my band Rahway, Steve Cardenas, is one bad mofo. He looks like he’s almost healed from his death-defying car accident and this April, we’ll be making our triumphant return to the music scene after being put out of commission since October. On April 2, we hit Atlantic City as part of a Jersey Campfires Production’s show with our boys Sekond Skyn, One Hundred Thousand and Meatplow. Then on April 22, we return to North Jersey at the Stanhope House in Stanhope, NJ as special guests of my brothers, Saint Caine. These will be some pretty amazing shows, so I hope to see some of you out there. For more about my band Rahway, visit Rahwayband.com.
That’s all for now! If your band is from North Jersey, and you want some exposure, send your press kits to Arts Weekly, c/o Tim Louie P.O. Box 1140, Little Falls, NJ 07424, or you can email me at tim@theaquarian.com, where you can also let me know where you’re performing next!
Just remember….We’re all in the same boat, so every little bit of exposure counts!
Tim Louie is the Author of S**t Happens.
NJN Concert Calendar:
2/12—Lowlight/Modern Chemistry/Semiotics/Twin Coves—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
2/12—Leeds Point/Borgo Pass/Exist Among/Eternal Black—Mr. Beerys, Bethpage, NY
2/12—Off The Turnpike—Arlene’s Grocery, NYC
2/13—Black Satellite—Irving Plaza, NYC
2/13—Thanatotic Desire/Lethal Affection/Deadly Nights/Sycarian—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
2/19—Full Scale Riot/Robots and Monsters/Unkempt Herald—The Clash Bar, Clifton, NJ
2/20—The Starship Blues Project/Fever Vein/Natural Born Losers/The Dirty Staryouts—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
2/20—Fridays Child/Secret Sound/Big Shifter—Crossroads, Garwood, NJ
2/26—Zipperhead Productions Presents: The Rory Kelly Band/Natural Born Losers/Speed Queen—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
2/26—Joe Lynn Turner/Steve Bello—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
2/26—Vextion/Bobby Mahoney and The Seventh Son/Deaf Rhino—Paul’s Tavern, Lake Como, NJ
2/26—Midnight Mob/The Blackfires/Tempest City—DROM, NYC
2/27—TRAPT/Ronin/SYKA/Legacy/Corevalay/Gathering After Ashes/Empire Fallen—Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ
2/27—Michael Graves/Negative Traction/Sometimes the Devil/Immoral Support/EXM/Wolves Attack—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
2/28—Joe Lynn Turner/Atom Strange—Blackthorn 51, Elmhurst, NY
3/3—Zipperhead Productions Presents: The Rory Kelly Band—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/4—Dinasour Eyelids—Court Tavern, New Brunswick, NJ
3/9—FLAW/We…Our War/Maggotmouth/Palaceburn/Pyramids—The Backstage at Championship Bar, Trenton, NJ
3/12—“Shore Metal Madness IV”—Vision of Disorder/VSSLS/Cyperna/Scars of Envy/Stagger/We Our War/Ixion Lux/Paralysis/Eye of Anubis/Comb the Desert—Headliner Night Club, Neptune, NJ
