The Shadowboxers

The story of the Shadowboxers is a transcontinental tale of hard work and talent. And they only graduated in 2011.

The musical journey began right here at Emory University where Scott Schwartz (‘11BBA), Adam Hoffman (‘11BBA) and Matt Lipkins (‘11C) met during their freshmen year. The boys quickly discovered their respective musical abilities fit together in perfect harmony.

If you’ve never heard of the Shadowboxers, it’s time to get acquainted with a soulful slice of Emory history. Be sure to drop by Eddie’s Attic on Oct. 12 to see these ambitious band mates jam in Atlanta before touring across the country.

Back in 2008 the original trio entered the first-annual Emory Arts Competition on a whim. At the time, they were just three sophomores with a nameless band and a song they had written for a music theory class assignment. They ended up winning the first place prize and subsequently started playing shows all around Atlanta.

Since that fateful talent competition, a lot has happened to the little trio that could. For one, they’ve quit doing gigs as simply “Matt, Scott and Adam” and have come up with a name that they hope evokes “the sentiments of old school rhythm and soul,” Schwartz said.

Beyond the addition of the spiffy penumbral moniker, the band has grown to include five musicians. Jaron Pearlman and Ben Williams joined the founding members during their senior year, playing drums and bass respectively.

The Shadowboxers’ sound is much like a cross-germination experiment in today’s musical genres. They’re pop, but not bubblegum. They’re smooth, but they aren’t exactly easy-listening. And they often dare to combine R&B-worthy vocals with instrumentation that closely resembles rock and roll.

When asked about their musical influences in an interview with the Wheel, the band articulated a particular passion for Motown and 1970’s.

Lauded names of past and present music legends flowed freely from the mouths of the band mates. Everyone from Crosby, Stills and Nash, Stevie Wonder and the Allman Brothers to John Mayer and Dr. Dog got shout outs. From such a revered roster of idols, it’s easy to tell that quality vocals are key to the Shadowboxers’ musical outlook.

“We’re a harmony band because we’re all singers,” said Lipkins, the band’s lead vocalist and keyboardist.

In light of recent events, it seemed germane to discuss the band’s views on Emory’s standing as an artistic community.

The Shadowboxers agreed that they would not have gotten where they are without Emory. They made many core connections through the Emory network.

However, the band didn’t always feel love from their alma mater.

“There wasn’t a lot of support for students to form a rock band. Nothing was built in for that to happen. There was no infrastructure,” Hoffman said. “In a way, we benefitted from being the only band on campus – when someone needed one, we were there.”

The band worked hard to make itself known on a campus that wasn’t the most band-friendly. They view it as “a blessing in disguise” since they might have received less recognition in a more artistically involved environment.

Schwartz asserts that it takes more initiative to find success in a creative field at Emory, but he remains hopeful for the future of Emory musicians.

“I hope we’ve left a legacy encouraging musicians [because we] covered new ground,” Shwartz said. “Ultimately, the work of individuals can trump the work of the school.”

Lipkins suggested that their art may have benefitted more from Emory’s academic resources.

“Adam took a lot of creative writing classes that were very helpful for songwriting, and I try to link music and psychology as much as possible,” Lipkins said. “I think it helped, having an understanding of group dynamics.”

The last time the Wheel featured this homegrown group, the Shadowboxers were bidding Atlanta farewell, ready to embark on a tour of the country with fellow Emory alums and Atlanta natives Amy Ray (‘86C) and Emily Saliers (‘85C) of the Indigo Girls.

Now, they’ll be joining the Indigo Girls for another tour in just a few weeks. So far, their relationship with the folk-rock duo has been a fruitful one.

“Touring with them is awesome for so many reasons. We get to play incredible venues that we wouldn’t be able to get in on our own,” Hoffman said. “They have incredible fans who know all the words so that’s great to be around. Plus, we’re getting our name out there and seeing the country.”

Schwartz likewise appreciates the veteran duo’s influence.

“They’re both a good example of professionalism,” he said.

Lipkins explained that the Shadowboxers’ musical style may not be as different from the Indigo Girls’ as one might think. Both groups value tight harmonies, eloquent songwriting and choruses that pack a melodic punch.

“We revitalize their songs that have been heard for 20 plus years with our soul-pop element,” Schwartz said.

This past spring, the Shadowboxers recor - The Emory Wheel

The story of the Shadowboxers is a transcontinental tale of hard work and talent. And they only graduated in 2011.

The musical journey began right here at Emory University where Scott Schwartz (‘11BBA), Adam Hoffman (‘11BBA) and Matt Lipkins (‘11C) met during their freshmen year. The boys quickly discovered their respective musical abilities fit together in perfect harmony.

If you’ve never heard of the Shadowboxers, it’s time to get acquainted with a soulful slice of Emory history. Be sure to drop by Eddie’s Attic on Oct. 12 to see these ambitious band mates jam in Atlanta before touring across the country.

Back in 2008 the original trio entered the first-annual Emory Arts Competition on a whim. At the time, they were just three sophomores with a nameless band and a song they had written for a music theory class assignment. They ended up winning the first place prize and subsequently started playing shows all around Atlanta.

Since that fateful talent competition, a lot has happened to the little trio that could. For one, they’ve quit doing gigs as simply “Matt, Scott and Adam” and have come up with a name that they hope evokes “the sentiments of old school rhythm and soul,” Schwartz said.

Beyond the addition of the spiffy penumbral moniker, the band has grown to include five musicians. Jaron Pearlman and Ben Williams joined the founding members during their senior year, playing drums and bass respectively.

The Shadowboxers’ sound is much like a cross-germination experiment in today’s musical genres. They’re pop, but not bubblegum. They’re smooth, but they aren’t exactly easy-listening. And they often dare to combine R&B-worthy vocals with instrumentation that closely resembles rock and roll.

When asked about their musical influences in an interview with the Wheel, the band articulated a particular passion for Motown and 1970’s.

Lauded names of past and present music legends flowed freely from the mouths of the band mates. Everyone from Crosby, Stills and Nash, Stevie Wonder and the Allman Brothers to John Mayer and Dr. Dog got shout outs. From such a revered roster of idols, it’s easy to tell that quality vocals are key to the Shadowboxers’ musical outlook.

“We’re a harmony band because we’re all singers,” said Lipkins, the band’s lead vocalist and keyboardist.

In light of recent events, it seemed germane to discuss the band’s views on Emory’s standing as an artistic community.

The Shadowboxers agreed that they would not have gotten where they are without Emory. They made many core connections through the Emory network.

However, the band didn’t always feel love from their alma mater.

“There wasn’t a lot of support for students to form a rock band. Nothing was built in for that to happen. There was no infrastructure,” Hoffman said. “In a way, we benefitted from being the only band on campus – when someone needed one, we were there.”

The band worked hard to make itself known on a campus that wasn’t the most band-friendly. They view it as “a blessing in disguise” since they might have received less recognition in a more artistically involved environment.

Schwartz asserts that it takes more initiative to find success in a creative field at Emory, but he remains hopeful for the future of Emory musicians.

“I hope we’ve left a legacy encouraging musicians [because we] covered new ground,” Shwartz said. “Ultimately, the work of individuals can trump the work of the school.”

Lipkins suggested that their art may have benefitted more from Emory’s academic resources.

“Adam took a lot of creative writing classes that were very helpful for songwriting, and I try to link music and psychology as much as possible,” Lipkins said. “I think it helped, having an understanding of group dynamics.”

The last time the Wheel featured this homegrown group, the Shadowboxers were bidding Atlanta farewell, ready to embark on a tour of the country with fellow Emory alums and Atlanta natives Amy Ray (‘86C) and Emily Saliers (‘85C) of the Indigo Girls.

Now, they’ll be joining the Indigo Girls for another tour in just a few weeks. So far, their relationship with the folk-rock duo has been a fruitful one.

“Touring with them is awesome for so many reasons. We get to play incredible venues that we wouldn’t be able to get in on our own,” Hoffman said. “They have incredible fans who know all the words so that’s great to be around. Plus, we’re getting our name out there and seeing the country.”

Schwartz likewise appreciates the veteran duo’s influence.

“They’re both a good example of professionalism,” he said.

Lipkins explained that the Shadowboxers’ musical style may not be as different from the Indigo Girls’ as one might think. Both groups value tight harmonies, eloquent songwriting and choruses that pack a melodic punch.

“We revitalize their songs that have been heard for 20 plus years with our soul-pop element,” Schwartz said.

This past spring, the Shadowboxers recor - The Emory Wheel

For a young band, it's rare enough honor to secure a spot on a national tour opening for a group that's been in the business for decades.

But pulling double-duty as that act's backing band? That’s an even more unusual arrangement.

Such is the case for the Atlanta-based band The Shadowboxers, who are in the midst of their fall tour of the East Coast, opening for and then backing folk-rock mainstays the Indigo Girls.

That's not a typical arrangement — when original bands do step out of the shadows of their headliners (think The Band, post-Bob Dylan, or Stax Records house band Booker T. & the M.G.'s) the backing gig often precedes the solo career — or is a late-career collaboration for an group that's already hit its stride. The Indigo Girls' invitation, an economical, collaborative product of the band's indie-scene sensibilities, tests the emerging band's musicianship in a way few emerging acts get to enjoy.

"I think playing with that many musicians on stage requires a certain amount of restraint," Matt Lipkins, 23, a Larchmont, N.Y. native and the band's pianist and vocalist, told the New York Daily News. "It allows you to focus as a musician on what the song itself needs, you take the ego out of it, and that's really important."

"As we toured together we just realized how versatile they were," said Indigo Girls guitarist and vocalist Amy Ray. "They were obviously really diverse in their musical palate."

The band said they've had to learn around 30 of the Indigo Girls' songs for this tour, and each night consists of a set by The Shadowboxers followed by 18 of those songs backing the Indigos' two guitars and voices. While that's additional music to learn, The Shadowboxers' own focus on vocal harmonies and technical guitar and rhythm parts helps them accompany their headliners.

"Even though our music differs in a lot of ways from the Indigos’, there are those core similarities," Lipkins said. "The harmonies and the interesting arrangements and chord progressions. That really helps."

"(This band) really prides itself on being polished," added Scott Schwartz, 23, the band's guitarist and vocalist. "So that really lends itself to working with people."

They channeled that polish earlier this year in the studio, for their forthcoming release, “Red Room.” The album comes out Jan. 22, but the band has already made a couple of songs from the album available on the free music-sharing service NoiseTrade. In ballads as well as the band's more energetic numbers, soaring three-part vocal harmonies are a recurring theme, and they often feature challenging independently moving lines that fit well with the demands of the Indigos' music. The two bands — who serendipitously share an alma mater, Atlanta’s Emory University, and some of whose founding members met discussing music at a Passover seder — have recorded on the Indigo Girls' recent release, "Beauty Queen Sister," to which The Shadowboxers lend their vocals.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/hear-shadowboxers-shadow-indigo-girls-article-1.1191293#ixzz2MbKFlElk
- New York Daily News

3. The Shadowboxers “Red Room” Blues-rock can become generic. But on the debut of the Atlanta trio Shadowboxers, Adam Hoffman’s guitar riffs glow, alighting singer Scott Schwartz, who shows an R&B front man’s brio.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/top-10-picks-music-week-feb-3-2013-article-1.1250680#ixzz2MbJpG2UM
- New York Daily News

For years, I felt the best of rock and roll had passed me by forever. I was young back then, and by the time I started to write about music, my favorite songs, hand me down albums you could hold in your hand, put on a turn table, add some ear phones, low light and just listen with your eyes closed in your bedroom much like a scene from the movie Almost Famous had become oldies. BUT, By then The names had changed to Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and The Moody Blues, which is not to say I did not do the same, as the 70's grew to a close, a Joint was normally involved in getting mellow, it was no longer the music that did the work. Today, I still enjoy vocal harmony, but this article is not about me…… and the joint has changed to white or red wine.

Today as the Shadowboxers grow the fan base, one that amazes them with diversity, they still see in the crowd a wave of older hipper beings that use a cell phone as opposed to a lighter to acknowledge the love of the music.

We no longer smoke joints, or sneak wine in to shows in a goat skin bag. Perhaps we are all afraid to get arrested and embarrass our kids, or were afraid to rush the stage for fear we break a hip, but in the end, when the stage lights go down, and the Shadowboxers take the stage we are transported back to the sound of or the time when, vocal harmony ruled, free love was in style, and we all had more hair.

Since opening in 1957, the legendary Troubadour club in West Hollywood has helped launch some of contemporary music’s most talented performers. Greats such as Elton John, James Taylor , Tom Waits, Santana, CSNY, James Taylor performed there early in their careers, and it continues to be a destination for cutting-edge acts from around the world. But in the late 60's most folk t artists stopped producing music the public wanted to buy and listen to and a generation of music fueled by war took over and even the aforementioned club had moved on with it.

The Shadowboxers freely admit however, they love the true musical nature of those vocal groups from this era, and enjoy the comparison to At Garfunkel, or Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young , James Taylor or Bob Dylan to name a few.

Red Room, a work of musical art, by The Shadowboxers’, their first full-length album, released January 22, 2013 and distributed by Vanguard Records, reveals an uncommonly intelligent, remarkably accomplished young band equally adept at taut three-part harmonies, deep gut grooves and sophisticated songcraft.

It was born by the love of there fans who by their very generosity made the project possible. Almost 300 fans donated via kickstarter.com and in return got a personal video posted to YouTube, with their favorite song sang by the band, admittedly one of the most unusual way to record a CD.

On the LP, the Atlanta-based band gleefully skewers stylistic distinctions, sounding equally adept at soul-infused rock (the booty-shaking opener “You Are All I Need,” the power-chord-driven “Bad Guy,” the resolutely funky “When Can I Be” and “Finish What I Start”), hyper-melodic Beatlesque guitar pop (the wicked-clever tandem of “Sidewalk” and “Fixer”) and 21st century-style hookfests (the swinging, harmony-laden “Vienna,” the chugging, poignant “On the Move”), set off by strikingly inventive change-ups (the muted-to-thunderous modern-rock anthem “Love on This Side”). Kenny Wayne Shepherd played guitar on “Bad Guy,” while
Grooveline Horns (Jason Mraz’s horn section) played on “You Are All I Need,” “Like All the Rest” and “Lovers in Rome.” Each of Red Room’s 15 tracks is fully realized—all killer, no filler, to borrow Jerry Lee Lewis’ immortal turn of phrase.

“There are three different songwriters in this band. ‘Love on This Side’ and ‘Bad Guy’ are totally different songs,” singer/guitarist Scott Schwartz acknowledges. “But I like that about us—that each song is unique, and that we offer different styles that summon diverse emotions. And the element that keeps everything cohesive is our voices, especially our vocal harmonies, so that the songs are always going to be delivered in the same vessel. Also, each of us has a knack for writing catchy, singable melodies. That feature threads through the record, so that even if the style of a particular song seems to be on the limits of our sound, the melody will reel it back
towards the herd.” Scott went on to say, “we work well together, we seldom argue, and we all share a love for what we do.”

The Shadowboxers resolve the apparent dichotomy of their eclecticism and the need for a specific sonic identity “by not harping on it—not making it an issue in the first place,” singer/guitarist Adam Hoffman explains. “Since we started, people have been suggesting that we pick a genre or style, and we’ve always been opposed to that—although we always implement elements of soul/R&B into our songs. We’ve never believed that eclecticism and cohesiveness have to be opposed to one another. We feel like our eclecticism adds variet - North Pittsburgh Daily News

For years, I felt the best of rock and roll had passed me by forever. I was young back then, and by the time I started to write about music, my favorite songs, hand me down albums you could hold in your hand, put on a turn table, add some ear phones, low light and just listen with your eyes closed in your bedroom much like a scene from the movie Almost Famous had become oldies. BUT, By then The names had changed to Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and The Moody Blues, which is not to say I did not do the same, as the 70's grew to a close, a Joint was normally involved in getting mellow, it was no longer the music that did the work. Today, I still enjoy vocal harmony, but this article is not about me…… and the joint has changed to white or red wine.

Today as the Shadowboxers grow the fan base, one that amazes them with diversity, they still see in the crowd a wave of older hipper beings that use a cell phone as opposed to a lighter to acknowledge the love of the music.

We no longer smoke joints, or sneak wine in to shows in a goat skin bag. Perhaps we are all afraid to get arrested and embarrass our kids, or were afraid to rush the stage for fear we break a hip, but in the end, when the stage lights go down, and the Shadowboxers take the stage we are transported back to the sound of or the time when, vocal harmony ruled, free love was in style, and we all had more hair.

Since opening in 1957, the legendary Troubadour club in West Hollywood has helped launch some of contemporary music’s most talented performers. Greats such as Elton John, James Taylor , Tom Waits, Santana, CSNY, James Taylor performed there early in their careers, and it continues to be a destination for cutting-edge acts from around the world. But in the late 60's most folk t artists stopped producing music the public wanted to buy and listen to and a generation of music fueled by war took over and even the aforementioned club had moved on with it.

The Shadowboxers freely admit however, they love the true musical nature of those vocal groups from this era, and enjoy the comparison to At Garfunkel, or Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young , James Taylor or Bob Dylan to name a few.

Red Room, a work of musical art, by The Shadowboxers’, their first full-length album, released January 22, 2013 and distributed by Vanguard Records, reveals an uncommonly intelligent, remarkably accomplished young band equally adept at taut three-part harmonies, deep gut grooves and sophisticated songcraft.

It was born by the love of there fans who by their very generosity made the project possible. Almost 300 fans donated via kickstarter.com and in return got a personal video posted to YouTube, with their favorite song sang by the band, admittedly one of the most unusual way to record a CD.

On the LP, the Atlanta-based band gleefully skewers stylistic distinctions, sounding equally adept at soul-infused rock (the booty-shaking opener “You Are All I Need,” the power-chord-driven “Bad Guy,” the resolutely funky “When Can I Be” and “Finish What I Start”), hyper-melodic Beatlesque guitar pop (the wicked-clever tandem of “Sidewalk” and “Fixer”) and 21st century-style hookfests (the swinging, harmony-laden “Vienna,” the chugging, poignant “On the Move”), set off by strikingly inventive change-ups (the muted-to-thunderous modern-rock anthem “Love on This Side”). Kenny Wayne Shepherd played guitar on “Bad Guy,” while
Grooveline Horns (Jason Mraz’s horn section) played on “You Are All I Need,” “Like All the Rest” and “Lovers in Rome.” Each of Red Room’s 15 tracks is fully realized—all killer, no filler, to borrow Jerry Lee Lewis’ immortal turn of phrase.

“There are three different songwriters in this band. ‘Love on This Side’ and ‘Bad Guy’ are totally different songs,” singer/guitarist Scott Schwartz acknowledges. “But I like that about us—that each song is unique, and that we offer different styles that summon diverse emotions. And the element that keeps everything cohesive is our voices, especially our vocal harmonies, so that the songs are always going to be delivered in the same vessel. Also, each of us has a knack for writing catchy, singable melodies. That feature threads through the record, so that even if the style of a particular song seems to be on the limits of our sound, the melody will reel it back
towards the herd.” Scott went on to say, “we work well together, we seldom argue, and we all share a love for what we do.”

The Shadowboxers resolve the apparent dichotomy of their eclecticism and the need for a specific sonic identity “by not harping on it—not making it an issue in the first place,” singer/guitarist Adam Hoffman explains. “Since we started, people have been suggesting that we pick a genre or style, and we’ve always been opposed to that—although we always implement elements of soul/R&B into our songs. We’ve never believed that eclecticism and cohesiveness have to be opposed to one another. We feel like our eclecticism adds variet - North Pittsburgh Daily News