Trio, theSHIFT all attended Berklee College of Music, in Boston, but now they call New York City their home. Their debut album, ‘7th Direction’, was released in 2015, and the tracks ‘Consecrate’ and ‘Dreams’, from the album, show the ability of these talented musicians to combine their influences, which range from Led Zeppelin and Van Halen, to The Police, Ryan Adams, and John Coltrane.
John Shannon, vocalist and guitarist of theSHIFT, says “our lyrics question the nature of your reality”. It should come as no surprise therefore that the band describe their music as “cosmic rock and roll”. Shannon is joined on drums by MJ Lambert, and by Ben Geis on bass guitar. Shannon has recorded and toured with John Mayer, Lauren Hill, and Ben Harper, as well as composed music for comedian Louis CKs live specials, and his hit FX series, ‘Louie’, while Lambert and Geis have backed names such as Big Daddy Kane, and Slick Rick.
‘7th Direction’ refers to the Native American philosophy – Shannon told CHARGED.fm:
“The first 4 directions are East, South, West, North. The sky is the 5th and the Earth is the 6th. The 7th Direction is the direction within. Though this direction is labeled going ‘within’ it is just the same connecting with the cosmos that are on the outside. Therefore it’s the direction of connecting with all things in an ethereal sense.”
The album was recorded at Mission Sound, Brooklyn, and JRock Studios, Manhattan, and was co-produced by Jamie Siegal, best known for his work with Taking Back Sunday, Mary J Blige, and Santana.
The music video for ‘Consecrate’ was filmed in California’s Mojave desert, and begins with the band members standing in the doorways of a row of identical small houses, in front of which they perform, as well as in the desert. We catch glimpses of a mysterious dancer, whose dress is caught up in the wind. Shannon sings, ““If you want to consecrate, consecrate the ground.” Using geometric and kaleidoscopic imagery, they represent the sun, moon, stars, mountains, and ocean waves – the song aims to show the spiritual connection we can find with nature:
‘Dreams’ keeps the desert theme, but also shows the band journeying through a variety of other landscapes as well, from the city, and the desert, as well as everywhere else in between. The song found its way to the playlist of a mainstream rock radio station in Lima, Peru, where it soon hit the number 1 spot on the charts, and ended up as the fifth highest charting song for the year, making them the only independent band in the top 150:
You can find out more about theSHIFT online on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, as well as their official website. ‘7th Direction’ is available here.
