The Shady Janes
Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States | SELF
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The Shady Janes’ Facebook page describes the group as well or better than I can: “The band evokes the somber and the hopeful with equal fervor.”
The four-piece group is a straight-forward rock and roll band with a perfect balance of flavors — a taste of despair here and a drop of hope there. A rarity, The Shady Janes manage to evoke sadness without being whiny. They harmonize without coming across as sissyfied.
I was lucky enough to catch The Shady Janes at the ROTC Grill for a Saturday show following a Razorback game. You never know what to expect hearing a band for the first time, and it’s always a pleasure to discover the group is good.
It’s even better to find yourself not only impressed with their musical ability, but their songwriting craft. Even after hearing their song “Post Its” just once, I found myself haunted by it for weeks afterward:
“Don’t get overwhelmed. It’s just a list of maybes. And panic has a smell. Anxiety is reigning …
“Don’t get overwhelmed. It’s just a list of daydreams. You can never fail. As as you keep breathing.
“Shut off the lights … take off your clothes. Lay in the dark forever. And I remind you to forget.”
“Post Its” is one of the 10 tracks appearing on the Janes’ debut CD “Silence And The Sway,” now available through iTunes and CDBaby. Or better yet, you can wait until Friday night, hear the band live at the Boom Boom Room on Dickson Street and purchase a hard copy. I haven’t had a chance to listen to the album enough myself and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with the repeat listenability of the band’s freshman effort.
- Fayetteville Free Weekly
Discography
Silence and the Sway - 2010
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Bio
Founded in February of 2009, The Shady Janes is a rock band hailing from Fayetteville, Arkansas. The band features two songwriters, Brad Hahn and Jayce Bannister, who share the lead guitar and lead vocal duties while the rhythm section, Jeremy Mock on drums and Damon Dugdale on bass guitar, ably captures the mood of the lyric-driven songs. The Shady Janes music resists easy categorization but comparisons have been drawn to U2, Kings of Leon, and Coldplay. Both frontmen wield sturdy baritone singing voices and harbor a particular fondness for the band, The National.
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