SHILOH, THE BAND

Where can you buy the CD of this super-talented group of dashing young men with incredibly rich harmonies, energetic stage performances, charismatic personalities and who have amassed a legion of fans all over the United States, from the left coast to the right? Well, you definitely cannot find them at your local record store. And you can't find them on any of your mail-order CD retailers either. Why, you may ask? Because Shiloh might be the only group to have sold over 30,000 CDs in the past year (since May 2003) and had a #1 hit on the KZLA Country Charts but are yet unsigned by any record label!


I will be the first one to tell you that I do not really care that much for male voices (my favourites being that of Sara Evans, Christina Aguilera, Sarah Brightman, Martina McBride…you get the picture). I will also tell you that I have religiously stayed away from music of "boy bands". So how did it come about that I like Shiloh's music and have gone to three of their SoCal performances?

My introduction to the music of Shiloh

Late last year, right before Christmas, I was fiddling with the radio
and came upon the #1 Country Station, KZLA 93.9FM with radio host Larry Santiago. He was talking to a group of young men and for some reason, I decided to stop station-surfing and listen in to the interview. The boys were persuaded by Santiago to do an acoustic rendition of "O Holy Night". What can I say? I was totally blown away by their harmonies and their voices…this coming from a guy who does not really like male vocals AND "boy bands". In an instant, I was a fan.


I was informed that Shiloh would be back in SoCal soon (they are based in Nashville, TN) and made arrangements to attend their performance. After an amazing show, their manager Kelley Barrett introduced me to The Band as well as Kenny Rogers Jr., the Executive Producer and creative force behind Shiloh.

Their recent SoCal performance

That was earlier this year. Just this weekend, Shiloh The Band was back in town playing 2 gigs in Orange County and being the now-faithful fan that I am, I headed down to "The OC" on both days and needless to say, I was not to be disappointed by their performance. Among the things that I loved about their performances is that they get the crowd involved and besides backing each other up with their trademark soaring vocals, they take turns with the lead-vocals, often within the same song. Fitz on fiddle and Brian on the harmonica with guitar-work by Carson add depth to their melodies. I got to spend some time with the band, getting to know them better. The guys were approachable, down-to-Earth, friendly and very easy-going, taking time to chat and mingle with all their fans, sign autographs and pose for pictures. Of course, besides the usual snapshots and autographs, many of their female fans also wanted hugs, which the boys politely obliged.

With "You're The Reason" being a number one hit for three straight weeks and the most requested song on the KZLA charts, these boys have just started their journey into music super-stardom. My personal favourites on their CD are "She Can't Fly", "After All" and "God Made Me". Kenny Rogers Jr. and his team of song-writers have done a stand-up job of writing catchy tunes that touch the heart.

So where can you buy their CD? Only from their web-site. Better yet, attend one of their concerts, buy the CD and have the band-members autograph them for you. So has this experience made a fan out of me of male-voices and boy-bands? Not at all…not unless they are Minor, Carson, Fitz, Brian and Joe.

Info


Shiloh is Jason Minor, Jason Carson, Jason Fitz, Brian White and Joe Zampelli. For more information, to listen to their songs or to buy a CD (or two, or three), visit www.shilohtheband.com. Their next SoCal performance will be at the Queen Mary in Long Beach on September 11th with Blue County, the Backstreet Boys and Jessica Simpson. Tickets are on sale now at www.fortheloveofchildren.org.