Rock / Indie 

“The songs are about eating oranges in the shower…” –  That's what you get when you ask shortwave's lead singer and songwriter Ryan Johnson what his songs are about. Not fond of playing the song interpretation game, Ryan enjoys fictionalizing his fiction. The songs are about everything and nothing at all. "I never know when a song will pop up. Sometimes I'm in the middle of a meltdown and other times I'm just buttering my bagel for breakfast."
Truth be told, the scope is wide. Song inspirations range from Sid Vicious' hard nose tragic life to Sylvia Plath's claustrophobic Bell Jar to being kicked out of a Wilco concert to domestic bliss and the cathartic process of washing dishes while looking out the window.
Although Ryan writes the songs, the rest of the band helps piece them together, layer by layer, blending their frequencies to a sound that is uniquely shortwave.
shortwave is lead by Ryan, who sings and trades guitar duty with his big brother Sager. They've known drummer, Devin, since forming their first band in 4th grade. Devin is sponsored by Peace Drums. Bassist Nic Oliverio and pianist, organist and back up singer Cary Parker rounds out the sound.
shortwave has been building a reputation for intense and electrifying live shows. Regulars at Toronto's Mod Club, The Gladstone Hotel, & The Horseshoe Tavern and favorites on the university circuit, the band's pulse-driving, spirit-lifting performances leave no one wanting. Their dedication to music is palpable, honest, and pure. The songs are refreshing, strikingly familiar and infectious, all at once. Seems like a lot to ask of a song, but shortwave delivers.

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 shortwave has recorded their 2nd album with Grammy Award winning producer, Malcolm Burn.

 Heading into the studio, the band's ethos was to capture the live energy of five musicians recording their parts together. A rarity today. Focusing on the songs and the project's overall feel, shortwave eschewed modern standards where every minutia is over-effected and over-dubbed, rather embracing the sonic philosophies of a bygone era. The product of dedication, hard work, happenstance and alchemical reaction, shortwave's music is passionate and immediate in its theme and intensity.

The influences span an array of iconic artistry – Plath, Neruda, Hemingway, Vonnegut, Hitchcock and Kubrick – that somehow finds its way into the music. Reminiscent of early U2, angular guitar work drives the songs in a way that calls to mind the attitude of bands like The Clash and The Jam. Cinematic organ and piano add cascading countermelodies overtop the solid swagger of the rhythm section. Ryan's vocals liken a harried Springsteen, telling stories of heartbreak and triumph, a narrative leaning that reflects the band's hardworking, visceral, all or nothing live show. Bursting with bombastic energy and loose limbed confidence shortwave is both mesmeric and infectious.

 A digital echo of distinguished ancestors, one listen suggests that shortwave's sound is like no one so much as themselves.

 A rock n'roll band at heart, shortwave makes you dance, think and feel.

 Now turn off your computer and head to the show.

Contact Shortwave:

http://www.myspace.com/shortwavetheband

http://www.shortwavetheband.com 

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Shortwave Upcoming Toronto Shows: 

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