As I walked into the Encyclomedia Building, I got the feeling I was in a Hollywood movie. The sort of place where Andy Worhol and Woody Allen would work and live. Pete Knapp, President and CEO of Shut Eye Records, decided to throw a shindig to celebrate his company's 7th anniversary. For the past 7 years, the good folks at Shut Eye Records have been promoting bands on College Radio, Compilations and just about anything else that will help break an artist into the mainstream.

The first band to take the stage was Elevation. With only three members,  this  trio  has  a  very

uplifting sound. Elevation's drummer, Caleb Spicer (great rocknroll name), can play the hell out of a 4-piece drum set. Behind the green foam and mesh truckers hat, Caleb could still see his way around a drum set better than a lot of drummers out there. Elevation’s talented frontman, Nathan Smith (Guitar/Vocals), has excellent showmanship. Whether he is changing riffs or switching melodies, Nathan manages to keep good eye contact with the audience and do it all while sounding good. Paul Cahill on bass was quite interesting to watch. Equipped with cowboy boots and muscle shirt, this guy has more energy than a bowl of Wheaties drenched in Red Bull. Moving around stage and rocking to the vibe, Paul adds a good low end to the band. Elevation was lucky enough to have one of their songs distributed to millions of people on a CD mailer from BellSouth. Now, if only those people would listen to the free CD they received in the mail, we might see this band elevating themselves to the top of the music charts.
Sounds like: Everclear hanging out with the Foo Fighters.

Next band on the venue was a power pop band by the name of Nillah. Fronted by Elisabeth "Eli" Eickhoff (lead vocals/bass) and backed by guitarists Greg Gentry and Justin Sonfield. Nillah has a unique and bouncy sound. The one thing that stood out about the band was their tone. Dual Rickenbackers on stage is sure to catch the eyes and ears of any musician in attendance. Jeff Dehner on drums had some good beats and Nillah seems to be going places. Several of their songs have been featured on MTV's hit reality show "Sorrority Life". In the past 2 years, Nillah has played Music Midtown and produced a CD entitled "Power of Pop". While working on "Power of Pop", the band worked with producers Armand John Petri (Goo Goo Dolls, 10,000 Maniacs) and Rodney Mills (REM, Stone Temple Pilots). Nillah is reawaking a POPular sound from the mid eighties (Blondie, B'52s, Go-Go's), but does it without the use of cheesy keyboards.

Related links:
www.shuteyerecords.com
www.encyclomedia.net
www.Elevationband.com
www.nillah.net
 

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