Down Shift
Dowagiac, Michigan, United States | SELF
Music
Press
While some may think they're a retro rock band, since their sound is influenced by such performers of the '60s as The Beatles and electric guitar pioneer Jimi Hendrix, local musicians of Down Shift, who will present a three-hour concert July 25 at Dowagiac's "Summer in the City" Festival, see themselves as a modern rock band that features some metal, yet offers a pace that's been slowed by the blues.
Vickie Phillipson, program director for the Chamber of Commerce and DDA, said festival organizers are pleased this year to host the Saturday afternoon performance by Down Shift that opens at noon on the front lawn of City Hall.
"It's no secret we were looking for something that would appeal to both a young audience and also local families who know these aspiring musicians, who live right here in Dowagiac," Phillipson said.
"Pre-teens to young adults who like a hip, contemporary sound are sure to enjoy this performance."
Members of Down Shift include 2009 graduates of Dowagiac Union High School Adam Wilson on drums and vocals, Matt Dazell on bass and Joe Ohlenbusch and Jaron Mosier, both on guitar and vocals.
While some of the names and faces have changed, the group was formed during their freshmen year in high school, when Mosier and Ohlenbusch were civics classmates.
Among the performers that have influenced their music are The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Ray and Metallica, whose early releases included fast tempos and instrumentals that placed it among one of the top metal bands.
Among their age group, while heavy metal tends to be more popular, Down Shift's name reflects the music these young musicians prefer, which leans toward a slower pace.
MySpace features some of its original music such as Watching You Watching Me, Where I've Been, On Guard and Vintage, along with cover songs such as In Bloom and Steady as She Goes.
Among its appearances this summer, Phillipson said Down Shift will also play the Niles Riverfest Battle of the Bands on Aug. 7.
- Dowagiac Daily News
Dowagiac band Down Shift, which performed last month at Summer in the City, drops its second compact disk, “Race to the Finish,” this evening at a release party at VFW Post 1855 on E. Division Street.
Down Shift will be performing along with another local band, Chain Saw Blood Sample.
“They’re good friends of ours,” according to guitarist and vocalist Jaron Mosier.
Their first eponymous release, “Down Shift,” came out in May 2008.
There is a $4 cover charge that includes food and drink.
The 11-track CD costs $10.
The celebration starts at 6 p.m. Chain Saw Blood Sample (CSBS), which won the Niles Riverfest battle of the bands and previously played a benefit for Kameron Belew’s scholarship fund, plays beginning at 7.
All four band members graduated from Union High School with the Class of 2009.
Down Shift also includes Matt Dazell on bass guitar, Adam Wilson on drums and vocals and Joe Ohlenbusch on guitar, vocals and keyboard.
“We are known to play a wide variety of original music, mostly rock,” Mosier said.
By the way, Jaron’s middle name is John and Joe’s middle name is Paul.
- Dowagiac Daily News
Discography
Down Shift-2008- 1st album, self produced.
Race To The Finish- 2nd album, self produced and mixed.
Tracks from both albums have recieved considerable amount of radio airplay on 103.9 The Bear, a major South Bend, Indiana, rock station.
Photos
Bio
Down Shift is a rock quartet that formed in early 2005 with Joe Ohlenbusch and Jaron Mosier as the co-founders. Since beginning, Down Shift has produced two full-length albums of music: the contents of which range from straight-forward rock, to blues, to sixties rock, what we might call mild metal, and other genres that are harder to define but which all stem from rock and roll.
The members of Down Shift all participate in the writing of songs, although Mosier tends to be the lead song-writer. The band does not contain a lead guitarist or a lead singer for all of the members of Down Shift do their part. Each member of the band's influences are reflected in Down Shift's music as well. For example, Joe Ohlenbusch's style is influenced by that of Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles while Jaron Mosier's is more Metallica and Nirvana based. On top of that, Adam Wilson's, who style is similarly structured by The Rev of Avenged Sevenfold and Danny Carey of Tool. All of these influences and styles blend together in Down Shift's music to form a natural mixture of differences from and similarity to other rock musicians.
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