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South Jersey native Shannon Cole is quickly waking the Philadelphia music scene from slumber with her original tunes and powerful rock vocals. But she’s not doing it alone; Joe Caliva (background vocals and acoustic/electric guitar), Keith Elliott (lead guitar), Curt Elliott (bass) and Jon Williams (drums) are shining up the stage alongside Cole and offering the rich, complete sound that only a full band can bring.
So far, Shannon Cole and the boys have been keeping pretty busy with the music. They’ve done many local shows in venues such as Grape Street, Whiskey Dix and Abilene, and plenty of other concerts in New York City, where they frequent clubs like Kenny’s Castaways, The Back Fence and The Lion’s Den. Cole also recorded her first cd, which is self-titled and can be purchased at her live shows or downloaded on her MySpace page. Cole has also been working with Grammy Award-winning producer David Ivory, and she intends to release another CD in late 2007.
You can find Shannon Cole on the Web at www.shannoncolerocks.com or www.myspace.com/shannoncole.
- PlayPhilly.com
By S.J. Dibai / Published 04/25/2008
Imagine a teenaged or post-teenaged female who writes and sings songs featuring the following lyrical themes:
1. You suck for not accepting me the way I am—but someday you’ll be sorry for picking on me!
2. I’ve been hurt by the umpteenth guy. Here’s a song about it.
3. Damn, baby, you’re so fine! I want you right now. No, right now.
You’ve seen and heard this many, many times before, so why should you bother with another artist of this type? Well, if that artist is Shannon Cole, I’ll give you three reasons…other than her being a Jersey girl.
For one thing, there’s her voice, sounding as if a mad scientist spliced the genes of Joan Jett and Avril Lavigne and then threw in a top-secret ingredient whose identity he’d die to protect. Is her voice nasal and snotty or robust and full-bodied? Smooth or rough? Delicate or powerful? Why, yes it is!
Secondly, she has the most endearingly peculiar sense of phrasing and pronunciation: “You and me are in a meh-ee-yay-ee-yayess, we’ll never be the saaa-eee-aaaaaame/And now, you’re gone, you see I moved aw-eee-on, you’re just another love saaah-ah-aaahng gone wrong.”
Finally and most importantly, Shannon Cole simply ROCKS, as a visit to one of her shows proves amply.
I first met and saw Shannon at Dr. Watson’s Pub in Center City Philadelphia, a laid-back, down-to-earth venue which has recently established itself as the place to be for local rock. Having been impressed by a show of hers in March, I knew it would be a pleasure to cover one of the sets in her April, 2008 residency at Doc’s. April 17th was the night I chose, and Shannon proudly took to the stage with her band: Shawn Rody on bass, Jon Williams on drums, and her right-hand man/jack-of-all-trades Joe Caliva on guitar and backup vocals.
It was easy to forget that there were only three instrumentalists and two singers on stage, for the sound this foursome produced filled every corner of the room and got plenty of people dancing.
The band’s tight musicianship served to frame Shannon’s confident vocals, her long notes controlled and elegant and her wild screams pulsating with raw rock ‘n’ roll angst.
Shannon knew how to work the stage and the room. She strutted, ran, jumped, and danced all over the stage, accompanying her singing with animated gestures and facial expressions. She ventured into the crowd to rock out with her lively spectators. She incorporated an inspired bit of audience participation into “Let’s Do It,” her ode to, well, doin’ it.
Seeing her in action, I could not help making the following observation: Shannon Cole is sexy without being what we typically think of as sexy. In “Does It Bother You,” she rattles off a series of inquiries such as, “Does it bother you that I’m not a Barbie doll? Does it bother you that I’m not Jessica? Does it bother you that a zero doesn’t fit? Does it bother you that I’m barely a B?”
No, it doesn’t bother me at all. Shannon looks and acts like a real girl. With her baby face, her ever-changing hair color and style, and her sometimes flamboyant wardrobe, she comes off as the quirky, cool neighborhood chick who just has fun with who and what she is—and you can either take her or leave her. Now, that’s sexy.
Musically, the set was of course full of her own angry tunes: “Stupid Boys,” about all the guys who’ve done her wrong; “Expired,” about a record company that wanted to change everything about her; “I Am Me,” whose title should be self-explanatory; and so on. While the whole set was enjoyable, some of the songs she performed didn’t really offer anything new lyrically or musically.
There were, however, some flashes of true brilliance. “Love Song Gone Wrong” really moved with that classic chunky guitar-rock sound, and as always, Shannon’s downright unorthodox phrasing put it in a league of its own. Fittingly, “What A Joke” was a humorous divergence, while “I Hate That I Love You” featured killer hooks which came off particularly well in a live setting.
Shannon’s interpretive skills were on display in the two covers; her amazing rendition of Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)” proved that there was a hard rock song lurking beneath that synth-pop veneer all along! Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle” was an odd choice, but Shannon did well by it and it allowed her to pass the mike to various intoxicated patrons who thought they knew the lyrics. Still, I saw her do “Helter Skelter” in March and she really tore the place up with it; a drunken sing-a-long on a pleasant pop-punk ditty just can’t hold a candle to that.
In all, the show demonstrated that Shannon Cole is a nascent talent with a lot of room to grow and a lot of development ahead of her, but with the chops, the drive, and the charisma to live up to her full potential. That she is already an immensely entertaining and satisfying live act puts her ahead of much of the competition and I look forward to seeing her get better and - crunkbox.com
South Jersey native Shannon Cole takes over Abilene, 429 South Street., Phila., tonight.
Haven't heard of her? You will. Take the contemporary, acoustic-infused rock of Michelle Branch, throw in the old-school, power vocals of Pat Benatar, mix in the assertiveness and high-energy guitars of The Donnas, then add a pinch of Saray McLachlan's vulnerability and depth and you'll start to have a pretty good idea of Cole's music.
The show starts at 9:30 p.m. and $5 gets you in the door for the 21 and over show. For more info, call Abilene at (215) 922-2583 or visit www.shannoncolerocks.com
-Mike Fiore - The Courier Post (Southern New Jersey)
South Jersey native Shannon Cole takes over Abilene, 429 South Street., Phila., tonight.
Haven't heard of her? You will. Take the contemporary, acoustic-infused rock of Michelle Branch, throw in the old-school, power vocals of Pat Benatar, mix in the assertiveness and high-energy guitars of The Donnas, then add a pinch of Saray McLachlan's vulnerability and depth and you'll start to have a pretty good idea of Cole's music.
The show starts at 9:30 p.m. and $5 gets you in the door for the 21 and over show. For more info, call Abilene at (215) 922-2583 or visit www.shannoncolerocks.com
-Mike Fiore - The Courier Post (Southern New Jersey)
Discography
Independently released debut entitled "Shannon Cole" - available for purchase at live shows or for download on her websites - www.shannoncolerocks.com or www.myspace.com/shannoncole
Photos
Bio
Shannon Cole is a South Jersey native who has been rocking the Philadelphia area original music scene for the past two years with her infectious rock hooks and her raw, dynamic energy. Her "take-no-prisoners" style of writing, along with her power vocals and her "in-your-face" guitars have audiences rocking wherever she performs. Compared most frequently to chick-rockers Joan Jett and Pat Benatar, Cole has put a fresh, young, contemporary new face on the classic "guitar-rock" sound that has endured for so long.
In the Spring of 2004 at the age of 16, Cole met producer/songwriter Joe Caliva while he was filling in at her high school for a choral teacher who was out on Maternity Leave. Having dabbled a little in writing lyrics and music from what she taught herself, Cole shared some of her songs with Caliva. It was immediately evident to him that Cole had a gift – a voice that was filled with expressive emotion and an uncanny ability to write. A few months later, Caliva began co-writing with Cole and producing recordings of their work as well as performing with her at open mics, local bars, street corners and any other venue that would allow her to sing her music. The two spent much of the next year writing, recording and honing Cole’s skills. In May of 2005, a band was formed and Cole burst onto the Philly Original Music Scene and has been rocking audiences there ever since.
Anyone seeing Cole's live performance for the first time can immediately tell that the stage is where she is most comfortable and where she is most in "her element." Unlike the glossy, sugar-coated female pop that saturates the radio waves today, Cole's straightforward, "no-holds-barred" rock-and-roll jumps off the stage like a juggernaut of raw emotion and energy. Shannon Cole is the “full package” - a sexy, talented, driven young woman who has come a long way in the short time she has been pursuing her career as a rock artist, and her determination doesn't show any signs of diminishing.
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