Shed – Unashamed – Interview

Shed

Unashamed
An interview with David Lysic (vocalist), Mario Fantasia (bassist), Ricci Fantasia (drummer), Dino Paolantonio (guitarist), and Fred Pearson (guitar)
by Kendra J. Loring

Shed is fast becoming the hottest entity in Providence. In a relatively short time, they’ve managed to gain dominance in a market starving for fresh talent. Shed appeal to younger listeners, angry teenagers, school-aged kids who turn to music as an outlet. At the same time, their music has such a strong feeling of maturity and inner-strength. Each word is pounded home by “Providence’s most intense and powerful frontmen,” and music provided by some of “the most dedicated and talented musicians in the state.”

Shed will be releasing their second independent CD next month, entitled Unashamed. It contains seven new songs and two re-mastered versions of older songs. Throughout Unashamed you hear the definite style that Shed has found for themselves, an unmistakable sound.

Let’s talk about the Providence scene.
David: It’s coming into its own now. There’re tons of kids coming from local high schools. In the next year and a half, there’s gonna be a big resurgence in the scene. The younger kids don’t want to go to the bigger shows that have that whole gang mentality. Providence doesn’t have that. [Local] bands have to start realizing that those kids are the people who are gonna make the scene and be the bands in the future. That was me back then.

Mario: That was all of us!

David: Bands can’t forget that. They need to understand that. Those are the kids who need special attention. And when they come up to you and ask you for something crazy like an autograph, he or she’s looking up to you. When you’re in that weird local spotlight, you become a role model.

Ricci: We’ve become friends with most of the people who come to our shows. The kids are pretty consistent.

David: And every new school year, they bring new friends. The younger the better. It keeps the scene alive.

Dino: And the bigger bands that come through usually say that we have one of the best scenes they’ve seen.

David: Because (in Providence) there’s not that mentality that bigger is better.

What about your live shows? David, what are you thinking as you pace back and forth across the stage?
David: I guess it really depends on the song. With the new stuff, there are things in the words and the music that touch me that are still happening in my life. When you’re really serious about singing and getting the point across, it really comes through. And there’s other times when the song just doesn’t latch on inside you and you still have to go with it. Take a song like “A-1,” our first song ever written. When I wrote it the words meant so much. After six or eight months, it lost a little of its feel. But now, recently, I can really look back on it. But everything changes with each song, every time.

And the rest of you?
Ricci: Pretty much just hoping no one is jumping on stage, stepping on Dino’s foot pedals or knocking over Dave.

Dino: To a point, you’ve gotta be conscious to take care of your equipment and then still have fun.

Ricci: We try to put our all into every song. Because for as many times as we play “A-1” or “Learn” or “For What It’s Worth,” it’s still someone’s first time hearing it.

Fred: Just like Dave with his lyrics, we all wrote the music together, each riff means something to each one of us.

How’s the new material?
David: I think the songs are just getting better and better. And now we’re just getting into our flow where something can happen. “Separated” (from Unashamed) is massive. And some of the new stuff is really heavy, but it’s still our style.

Together since July of 1993, Shed released one demo in May of 1994. In 1996, the band will release their second demo, Unashamed. The sheer power of this new release will be enough to rattle the foundations of quite a few record companies. And bring Shed the attention they deserve.