Worcester’s Shadowbomb Plays Music You Can Hear and Feel
Monday, July 15, 2013
Doug Payne belts out vocals for this hard rockin' band. Photo courtesy of GM Studio Photography.
Worcester's Shadowbomb makes clear they exist for one purpose, and one purpose only: to play earth-shattering rock n' roll you can hear and feel. And these veteran rockers of the local music circuit succeed with an unmatched ferocity.
One glimpse of the band's Facebook page exemplifies their attitude. They combine joy and intensity in a melting pot, place it on the stove, and cook up some good old-fashioned head-bangin' hard rock and metal.
The band consists of Doug Payne, responsible for vocals, keyboards, and "miscellaneous acts of chaos"; the hard-hitting Tony Giustino on drums; Dave Sciammaco and his "ravishing goatee" and Tom Kaliszewski on guitars; and Mario Giamei on bass and all-important band security.
"As Doug says 'music is the soundtrack to our lives.' Each of us has grown up with music in our lives every day and we don’t think we could ever exist without being involved in making music and getting a rush from a live audience," remarks Mario. "There is no synthetic high that could ever match that."
The individual band members have been getting the proverbial "high on music (especially heay metal and hard rock)" since the early 90s. Tony Giustino and Dave Sciammaco were in a band called Roxxi, which actually achieved a good bit of success it would seem. After all, they were featured on WAAF's Headbanger's Ball with Liz Wilde. Doug Payne met them then when he worked with Wilde as a writer. Doug had also been in an AC/DC tribute band called Touch 2 Much with Tom Kaliszewski. The four decided to put a band together, adding Mario, who had been a mainstay at the Lucky Dog Music Hall, on bass to complete the line-up.
The Goals of Shadowbomb
This particular band's style of music, besides simply extremely heavy and energetic, can be described in more specific terms, as Mario does here.
"Our original style currently stems from the early days of grunge but with more of a metal edge." He additionally explains the purpose behind their style. Though it is familiar, it also unique, and they specifically try for this in their music.
"The idea was to go for a sound and format that was unpredictable. Even our list of covers are songs that most bands don’t play but that everybody knows."
Their ultimate goal however, especially when playing live, is the same as most musicians, and this is what ultimately has always given them that high they speak of.
"People work hard all week and want to go out on a weekend and not just listen to songs, but be entertained. They like to hear songs they know so we play a mixture of covers and originals. We like to think it's like being on a carnival ride and they should hold on tight til the ride stops," remarks Mario.
The band in its current has existed for a mere six months, but they are already getting noticed. Of course, this may be largely thanks to the fact that they individually have all been staples on the local music scene for years. Still what they've accomplished so far is no small feat. For instance, they've already been approached about possibly allowing their music to be used in motion pictures and TV shows. They also have cuts on the Star Studded Tribute Music Series with Far Side Records and they recently headlined the Summer Nationals in Thompson, Connecticut. An EP is also currently in the works.
Their humble outlook on it all helps. They continue to have fun and don't take themselves too seriously.
"We are just taking it day by day. Trying to build a solid following and entertain people," says Mario.
You can catch them performing routinely on the local music scene from small theatres to local rock music halls. For more information on Shadowbomb please find them on Facebook.
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