Shallow Side

Rock is dead, they say? Hogwash. Dont even bring up such an idea with the four-pieceCullman, Alabama-bred rockers Shallow Side, who have taken it to be their personal holymission to spread the glory of modern rock & roll as far and as wide as they can to anyonewho will listen. The energy and excitement of rock & roll is missing nowadays, and we needit now more than ever, believes Shallow Sides frontman, vocalist Eric Boatright. Our goalis that we want to revitalize that entire genre and remind the world how rock & roll can besuch a strong force in everyones lives.The proof of Shallow Sides pure rocking prowess can be found within the deep grooves oftheir new EP titled ONE, which is being released by Thermal Entertainment on January 13,2017. ONE is one tight, ass-kicking affair from the get-go, from the wham-bam all-out jam ofthe opening track We Roll to the fist-waving defiance of Rebel to the put-up-or-shut-upmanifesto of Fight or Flight to their all-guns-a-blazing modern-day take on a well-lovedrock classic, Styxs Renegade. (Oh, mama!)Shallow Side garnered an immediate lifetime fan in Tommy Shaw, the Styx vocalist/guitaristwhos also the songwriter of Renegade, the instant he heard the bands rabble-rousingcover of their signature song. Im impressed by these guys. Good arrangement, goodperformance, good video, Shaw says of Shallow Sides Renegade cover. Not only that,but Shaw, a native of Montgomery, Alabama, feels an additional kinship with the band fromCullman, a town just up north a ways from where he spent his own formative years. MyDad grew up in that part of the state and so did Hank Williams, the Styxman observes.They have a great pedigree.Theres no doubt Renegade helped open the door for Shallow Side to make new fans.We needed that handshake with listeners who already love rock music, Boatright says ofRenegade, which became both a rock-radio staple and a YouTube sensation when it wasreleased as a single in late 2016. Now that were adults, we can appreciate a lot more ofthe songs meaning, and the depth that comes with it. But we also wanted to make it ourown and add a newer vibe to it. I feel its the start of a new era of where rock & roll shouldbe going. We need to be reminded that there are still renegades on the run!Ultimately, Shallow Side is creating new music that fuses the best intentions of classic rockwith modern crunch by planting their flag at the intersection of where Shinedown meetsStyx. Not only do I respect bands like Journey and the Eagles, but I also look to currentartists like Daughtry, Boatright says of his songwriting influences. Its the people who havethe rhythm, the rhyme, and the harmony. You put those things together, and youre notgoing to miss reaching any rock-music fan out there. Theyre going to be a fan of what wedo immediately. As soon as the rhythm, rhyme, and harmony all kick in, theyre going toenjoy it.Dig deeper into the sound of ONE, and youll also find a soul influence in Boatrights vocals,especially when the man sings certain lines in falsetto. Stylistically, I think that stems fromall those Motown guys Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Lionel Richie,Boatright reports. When I think of the singers who drove me as a child it wasnt mewanting to be a singer, it was just that when these guys were singing, it made me want tosing with them. I was obligated, you know? When they started singing, I had to be there withthem. I had to hit those same notes, because it felt so good.Another key inspiration for Boatright comes from having grown up in a church-goingenvironment, something that fueled his knack for writing instantly sing-able hooks andmelodies. That was a big thing for me, he agrees. A hymnal was created to have thecongregation sing the entire way through it, whether you knew the words or not. Thosesongs were specifically designed for us to be able to sing them within the first 30 seconds.Growing up in church like that helped me to write songs and naturally create hooks,because thats all Ive ever known. It all comes back to that for me. The way I like to createa song is that by the second time through, youre stomping your feet and clapping yourhands right along with it. Youre a part of the choir before you even know it! (Consideringthe automatic accessibility of the six tracks on ONE, we predict more people will betestifying at the church of Shallow Side sooner rather than later.)One song Shallow Side fans will be grooving along with right from the start is the currentsingle from ONE, Fight or Flight, which unifies the ideas set forth with the one-two punchof the EPs initial radio hits Rebel and Renegade, songs that set the table for the bandsnext phase. Thats the heaviest song on this EP, Boatright clarifies. It tips the hat to therock & roll market that exists today and also says, If you guys want to run heavy, well runheavy with you. We can do that and were not scared of it, either. Were very good at it.The songs message is quite clear, too: Everyone in the world has a chance to achievesomething great but you have to work for it. If you have the brainpower to create wordsand the motivation to move, then you have a chance, Boatright theorizes. You can fight, oryou can just run away. Thats the message to this song: Are you going to stand up, or areyou going to run away? Because right now is your moment.Taking charge of ones destiny is a crucial step. Our particular war is our particular war,the vocalist continues. We all fight many battles on many battlefronts on a day-to-daybasis, whether its something in our personal lives or something in our industry that were upagainst or fighting with to create a larger world. This is our call to arms to say, Its eithertime for fight, or for flight.With such a well-recorded template now in hand, Shallow Side still has to deliver where itcounts in front of a live audience. If you think about it, a live show is like a sermon,Boatright observes. Onstage, we talk about real things not just the hamburger I had forlunch, but about what were going through in our lives as part of the youth of America andthe youth of the world. There are parts in the show where we get the people to move, toclap, and to sing. There are joyful moments where we can tell the story of who we really areand where we really came from. And there are also the inspirational moments that comefrom the hardest times we have had. We make the crowd look around and understand thatwere not there anymore. We busted our ass, and we worked really hard to get here.Boatright wants every fan to emerge from a Shallow Side performance with a renewedsense of purpose. People leave our show with an inspiration, he believes. Its not just themusic thats inspired them its the story behind the music and the people who are telling itthrough the music. They find in that music that they might have walked through those sametrials before themselves, once upon a time. For others, its a new world. Maybe they thoughtit was an unwanted world, but when they get there, theyre like, Oh! This is really eye-opening!At its core, the Shallow Side saga is a very relatable story. People feel like they want tobelong to something, especially when it comes to music and thats part of the beautyrepresented to a T with ONE. That was the idea when we named it, Boatright concurs.There were a lot of different genres and atmospheres to put into the EP, but then again, ifyou know the band and you know the story and dig a little deeper into whats going on, youunderstand a bit more about who we are. So when you show up to our show, you get thetestimony that comes with it, and now you know. You go, Wow. I love this band. Theyrejust like me.Shallow Sides main message is one of unity. When we first started, rock & roll wasnt forus, Boatright concludes. We wanted to go to a concert, enjoy the music, sing along, andbe a part of the overall song and dance. Were now looking to bridge that gap to bring thefamily together to where rock & roll was at one point. The mission since we began was totake the wheel and steer it back into a direction where everyone from all walks of life couldenjoy a good rock show.Considering the bands all-in philosophy, it appears that ONE is most definitely the bestname for this raucous EP. Lets all join together and revel in having Shallow Side show us theONE true way to the future of great rock & roll.