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Shadow boxers
By Shannon Yoshida
syoshida@mscd.edu

Just a band and their will to survive. Shadow Work, from left, Matt Smith, Ethan Sahker, Jason Smith, Toby Crisp and Jason Lycan.

Shadow Work may be at the bottom of the heap in the music industry, considering they have no label, no first album and no show manager, but then again, that is where even the biggest bands started: the basement.

Being in a local band in Denver, or any city, is less glamorous than one would imagine. “We’ve had to fire people, we’ve had people quit on us, we have to invest in merchandise, and groupies are few and far between,” said Metro student Ethan Sahker, the band’s bass player.

Musically, Shadow Work strays far from softness and predictability and strides right into the heavy side of things. Toby Crisp’s drums provide the initial pulse, while Sahker rounds the sound out with his intense bass. The band is able to retreat from vigorous, fast-paced riffs into slower breakdowns that are tight and uniform. The most powerful surprises come when the rhythm is broken to make way for a verse or a solo, or the drastic tempo changes in the midst of a perfect pocket of a song. Not to mention that lead singer Jason Smith’s screaming and singing makes seducing the crowd look easy.

One of the most impressive aspects of Shadow Work is that no one member is in the limelight more than any other, because they’re all fluent with every instrument the band uses. The band emphasizes that their music has a message, defying the misconception about heavy metal just being noisy instrumentals and screaming.

Shadow Work’s journey has been all but easy, and they have encountered their fair share of setbacks.

In the past year they’ve had to fire their rhythm guitar player because, Sahker said, “he stifled the song-writing process.” The hunt for a new member followed, and Jason Lycan was discovered on Bandmates.com. After auditions and tryouts, they welcomed him into the group.

The five-piece metal outfit went on to play the Localpalooza show at the Gothic and put on a performance that clearly surpassed those of the other groups playing. Shortly after the impressive show, their lead singer abruptly quit after a bad practice, leaving Sahker, Lycan, drummer Crisp and guitarist Matt Smith to search for yet another singer. In the group’s opinion, singers are the hardest members to find – besides groupies, that is.

Sahker, through mutual friends, found Jason Smith.

“Me and Ethan were actually in our very first band with Jason, back in seventh and eighth grade, so we had some history,” Crisp said.

Jason Smith had just been released from prison and was looking for some inspiration and a new direction.

Now that all the voids were filled, Shadow Work could finally move forward, and within a few months of practicing with their new additions, they began playing local shows again.

However, new bandmates mean new songs and new lyrics.

“Lyrics always come from personal experience. I wish there was a more effective muse than personal pain, but pain is the all-time muse,” Jason Smith said.

Two new songs are “Cast It Down, Tear It Away,” which is about revolution, and “The Hollow Effect,” which is about Jason Smith’s prison experience.

Shadow Work affects the daily lives of its members constantly, more so than any job or hobby.

"Without the music and without my band, my life would be very monotonous and melancholy, but this gives me an outlet,” Crisp said.

“I’m in the best moment of my life right now,” Matt Smith said. “I’ve got my new baby girl, Melody, I’ve got my wife, I’ve got the best band in the world. I’d live and die for this shit. This is what it’s all about.”