Shilo
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Shilo

Band Country Cover Band

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"Shilo"

Anyone who’s involved in the music business, on any level, gets used to hearing hype about musicians and bands. Most of the time, hype is the result of creative writing from a press agent. Only a few acts live up to their publicity. Fewer still go beyond it.

Shilo, a band whose members all come from north and central Indiana, are one of the few exceptions who are pushing beyond their own publicity.

The band consists of Bryan Brager, lead vocals; Michael Stoner, guitar; Travis Gow, fiddle; Doug Chopson, Jr., drums; and Randy Blankenship, bass.

Formed in 1997, the band started on the usual route of playing small clubs. By 2000, Shilo found themselves getting booked consistently into bigger and better venues. Since then, they have had the opportunity to be the opening act for major country artists such as Diamond Rio.

“Our primary focus is on making good country music and playing it for whover wants to listen,” said guitarist Stoner.
Let’s face it, when most people think of country music, what almost instantly comes to mind is a solo artist (male or female, doesn’t matter), with a group of back-up musicians. And of course, the guys you see on stage with almost any given country artist aren’t the guys who play on the albums. Such is the state of country music.

“I think the reason for this is it’s easier to take a solo artist and mold him to whatever is needed at the time,” said Stoner. “You only have one image to deal with. When you have a band with five different ways of thinking, it’s a lot harder to focus on one direction. As a band, though, we all get along great. We have been together for over ten years.

“Country music has really taken off with the kids in the last few years,” Stoner continued. “Clubs that have been primarily rock oriented seem to be booking more country acts these days. I think the ‘Nashville Sound’ formula changes from year to year with a new crop of performers coming in all the time. We try not to pay attention so much to what the industry wants at a certain time. One of the biggest compliments we get all the time is, ‘I don’t like country music, but you guys are good.’ That tells me that no matter what the formula is in the ‘big time’ this year, we are doing something right, here at home. That equates to more folks giving country music a chance.”

Shilo has also found themselves a hot topic on the popular country music website CMT.com.

“The CMT stuff was totally unexpected,” Stoner continued. “We don’t have a video. One day I was looking around on CMT’s message board and found our name. Fans from all over had been posting about us, and we didn’t even know it. That was cool.”

There’s going to be ample opportunity to see Shilo on their home turf this summer, and Stoner and the rest of Shilo really look forward to the gigs. “Come on out to a show and say ‘hi.’ As long as you keep listening, we will definitely keep playing.”

- By John DeGroff / WhatzUp Magazine


Discography

First Single "Dodgin' A Ford In My Chevrolet" #1 on the Independent Country Music Chart April, 2008

Photos

Bio

Do you think most country bands sound alike? If so, you haven't heard Shilo. The five member band is hotter than coffee fresh out of the pot! They are natural entertainers and will keep you on the edge of your seat or on the dance floor until the last word of every song has been sung! Their energy level is second to none. They drive hard whether they are playing cover songs or originals. They know how to work a crowd like any hit artist or band and the people love them.

They have performed with Toby Keith, Lee Ann Womack, Joe Nichols, Gary Allan and the list goes on and on. They recently played at the Cadillac Ranch in Music City. It was a virtual standing room only crowd and they brought down the house. To say the people loved them is a serious understatement.

Shilo is not a good band; they are a Great Band. All the guys have a good repoire which accounts for their longevity as professional musicians. They recently debuted with their first hit radio single; "DODGIN' A FORD IN MY CHEVROLET". The song was recorded in Hendersonville in the famed Project Room Studio and sent out to country radio. It climbed to the number one spot on the Independent Charts and received critical acclaim from a number of sources. They received major airplay throughout the nation and internationally. Their second single ( A Pick Up In My Pickup ) is out to radio and is apparently climbing the charts faster than their first release!

Shilo fills a void in today's country music scene that has long been empty. They have a unique niche and it is their's Alone. They can be "country to the bone" when belting out a stone cold ballad, and they can "smoke the rubber" with a dance floor rocker! Nobody in today's country music scene does it like Shilo. The industry would do itself and country music fans a grave injustice if Shilo is not given the opportunity to become bigger and better than ever.