Payam Bavafa - vocals, guitar
Jonathon Bafus - drums
Eric Ruud - bass, vocals
with Greg Hagel - keyboards, percussion
Influences
The Beatles, The Flying Luttenbachers, Googoosh, Legubitron, Four Tet, Syd Barrett, Broken Social Scene, The Bad Plus, Frank O'hara, The Pixies, Leonard Cohen, Sonic Youth, Hemingway, Broadcast, The Smiths, Mohammad Reza Shajarian, The Cure, Unwound, Dirty Three, David Byrne, Bob Ostertag, Almodovar, Kiarostami, Beck, Jesus and Mary Chain, Bob Dylan, Kraftwerk, Bjork, Art Spiegelman, Deerhoof
"With one album, Sholi have done what a lot of bands take a whole discography to do" - POPMATTERS
"Sholi is a testament to the human experience as seen through the eyes of musical perfectionists" - CRAWDADDY
"The drumming on this record stands out the most upon the first listen, courtesy of Jonathon Bafus. Then upon the second listen, it’s become more of a prog-rock record, courtesy of Payam Bavafa’s churning guitars finely interwoven into Eric Ruud’s bass. Upon third listen the acoustic and stripped-down sections jump out to me; this is really just an electric folk record. Fourth listen; the lyrics grab hold of my attention, there’s a struggle, suffering and rejoicing. Fifth listen; this is one of the best albums of the year" -THE MUSICOLOGISTS
"gets better with every listen ... somehow set me thinking of opportunities so sadly missed by Coldplay in their recent Brian Eno collaboration" - IRISH TIMES
"On the one hand, the Californians' music is psychedelic, eclectic, eccentric and experimental; on the other it's melodic, graceful and catchy. The combination makes for a superb debut, packed with a vintage sound dripping with the best titbits from every decade in the last 50 years ... it's like a freak show you can't tear your eyes away from." - MUSICOMH
"a graceful, ever-growing, and seamless-seeming full-length debut" - SF GUARDIAN
"evokes everything from raindrops against a window to whirring machinations, and is reminiscent of the schizophrenic creations legendary stickmen such as Sunny Murray and Jack DeJohnette once channeled through their fingers." - PASTE
"gives a sense of place and timelessness that's been sucked out of most modern records ... every tune teems with ideas and moments of brilliance" - EXCLAIM
"There’s this sense of dualism, as if Sholi like lifting up sun-kissed rocks to see what weirdness lives in the moist ground beneath, faithfully documenting both sides like some OCD Victorian naturalist" - THE DREADED PRESS
"With robust guitar sweeps and graceful vocals, Sholi's music can be as viscerally sweet or raggedly disharmonious as dreams" - THE FADER
"a musically complex album that never loses its sense of songwriting ... Bafus has probably written more beats for this album than most drummers do in a lifetime" - CLEVELAND SCENE
"you pinch yourself occasionally, a little overwhelmed at just how original the output of this record is ... it’s beyond remarkable how easily you move through each of these lengthy tracks. Each adds a different shade to the whole picture, combining colours like you’ve never seen before. Equally remarkable is the record’s ability to keep you hooked, almost fearful of what awaits"
- MUSICFANSMIC
"impressionistic, emotive, and hypnotic with being taut, invigorating, and intelligently composed. Rarely do you get a band that strips indie of its bombast and production gimmicks and replaces that with instrumental interplay and musicianship ... Their self-titled LP is diaphanous and elusive, but leaves the listener deeply moved nonetheless" - SPUTNIKMUSIC
"even the album's least obvious moments are well worth deciphering, and the emotional connection Sholi make on almost every track raises the band from merely impressive to very promising."
- ALLMUSIC
"clever, intricate and complex without being pretentious, overdone and unforgiving. This record is brimming with ideas and skill and, no less, the ability to follow each idea through to completion. Sholi, with this record, seem to be doing what so many bands try to achieve yet fail – individuality without alienation." - SUBBA-CULTCHA
"Sholi aren’t afraid to go from quiet, neo-folk-infused indie to atmo-noise from one track to the next—and somehow, it’s not jarring. That the lyrics sound honest and introspective without turning obtuse, overt or twee is refreshing" - UNDER THE RADAR
"nestled on the outskirts of postmodern chamber pop, Sholi comes at you in waves: forging and merging melodies to the brink of noise, then back down ... Sholi is psychedelia for neuroscientists, love ballads to your illusory memory and a damn fine debut." - LOUISVILLE WEEKLY
Flight 33 picks up a peculiar tailwind and is blown off course. After apparently correcting the problem, the flight arrives at its destination -
A billion years ahead of schedule.
Just an update to let you know we're heading into the home studio for a solid week! We don't usually have the luxury of more than a few days to work together so this is exciting for us. We hope to come out with the demo finished and an EP if we're lucky. Stay tuned for new tracks to be released by the end of July. x - A Bit Cagey
the summer is coming and la pampa has completed its lineup. listen up, pampanauts:
The
Notwist, Portugal. The Man, Bonaparte, Plus/Minus, Clara Luzia,
ClickClickDecker, Der Tante Renate, Exits to Freeways, Garda, Ja,
Panik, Me Succeeds, A Heart Is An Airport, Pavilon M2, Pitchtuner,
Popular Damage, The Audience, The Friendliness Is Going Happy,
Vierkanttretlager, Zebu
The Moonlight Orchestra would like to invite you to come celebrate our independence and two of our band members' birthdays at The Great American Music Hall (San Francisco) on Friday July 3rd!
We need people to RSVP as soon as they can since tickets are only
available through pre sale. This is huge step for our band and we would
love for everyone to come out and celebrate two birthdays and see us
perform! Check out the GAMH website for the full line up.
This is an ALL AGES SHOW!!!! If you know anyone visiting the
bay area for the July 4th weekend, please give them our invitation.
"The past three decades at the Great American Music Hall have been full
of music, with artists ranging from Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan and
Count Basie to Van Morrison, the Grateful Dead and Bobby McFerrin. "
If you are buying a ticket please include your full name and whoever
else's name if you are buying a ticket for someone else. also, please
include a contact phone number. tickets can be picked up at will call.
Whats up, Just wanted you to know that we are having an event on June 19th. For all my friends that would like to purchase tickets before hand, I can give you VIP entrance and a discount. Text me with your full name and I will text you back. 503. 974.1559
EGADZ IS DEAD. One last album, one last tour. "EGADZ IS DEAD" is available now on my profile. My new project will be called NAVA. My next show will be on:
June 19th
@ Thee Parkside
W/ The Present
1600 17th St, SAN FRANCISCO
Cost: $8
LUKAS ROSSI is so MUCH MORE than just the winner of the ROCKSTAR TV show.
We are announcing a special engagement at the historic MINT in Los Angeles.
LUKAS and his band STARS DOWN will be playing an ALL AGES SHOW, so if you're here in California, come on out and enjoy an evening of killer music this Saturday, JUNE 6th!
Come party with LUKAS and his band as he rocks the MINT like never before! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
