Band: Shoot Da 5
From: New York City, New York
Their formation story:
(Zach, guitars): "Shay (vocals) and I actually met over Craigslist. Back in 2019, I was playing in a pop-punk band and was looking for something heavier, and came across a post from someone looking to start a beatdown band. At the time, I lived in Brooklyn (now in the Hudson Valley) and Shay and a drummer she knew were based out of Freeport on Long Island. I made the trip out there one night and we basically wrote our first song in a couple hours, which would eventually become Drivin' While Black. Shay and I kept in touch throughout the early stages of the pandemic and started going to shows together once things got better.
"We finally got the ball rolling and started having some jam sessions. During that time we found Jasmine, our bassist. After a few months of trying to connect musically, we ended up parting ways with the original drummer but quickly found Matt, who actually produced the original interlude on our demo that came out in March 2023. He was interested in jumping behind the kit so we set up a jam. I could tell right away we had found our drummer."
Their sound in their own words:
"We all love the sound of New York, whether it's hardcore, hip-hop, or even death metal and slam, so we try to embrace a little bit of everything. Jasmine's favorite band is AFI, and while we don't sound anything like them, their ability to change up the sound from record to record and still sound like AFI is something we admire and strive for.
"Shay and I also initially connected over our interest in some of the heavier stuff out of Western PA like The Projects, Enemy Mind, and Unit 731, so that became a big influence as well."
Latest release info:
"Our latest release is the product of essentially four years of work. The pandemic derailed our plans when Shay and I initially met, but having kept in touch we continued working on the song we wrote that first night and passing new ideas back and forth. We had been jamming 'DWB' and 'Soul Searching,' the first two songs we wrote, for a while without making any real progress.
"After linking up with Matt and Jasmine we finally had the energy (and lineup) to finish writing our debut EP. We ended up traveling to Philly to record with Wyatt Oberholzer, who plays in a bunch of bands from Philly, including Chemical Fix. The music is an exploration of things that were too heavy to fit the other projects we had all been working on.
"The lyrics cover a wide range of topics from social justice to mental health to persevering in the face of adversity, and Shay's bouncy delivery is a fierce but welcoming vibe that we don't see very often in hardcore."
Future plans:
"We just released the debut EP, but we've already begun writing new songs and are hoping to get back into the studio before the end of the year."
What other bands from your region should we check out?
"Vendetta and Dog Breath from NYC are doing their thing. Matt and Jasmine both play drums in other bands - Aka Mana and T.O.Y.S. respectively, both located on Long Island. I play guitar in a band called Grave Heist based out of the Hudson Valley.
"We also want to shout out Maafa. Flora (vocalist) is doing incredible things in our scene. Their album, Because We Are, is on constant rotation."
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Shoot Da 5 on social media: Instagram
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Tagged: shoot da 5
