From Southern California, the pop-rock and reggae-funk band Shytown release their easy-breezy single, "Peace," just in time for summer.
Comprised of Eric "EJ" Johnson, Danny Jay, Dan Reynolds, Joe Kashul, and Dave Blanco, Shytown recently scored a residency at the Chicago House of Blues and hope to pick up where they left off when venues are up and running. As of now, Shytown is excited to take their stylings down to Southern Florida this June for their "Beach Hop Party" mini-tour.
Bringing us upbeat tunes when we need it most, Shytown's latest single, "Peace," serves all the summer vibes we've been craving as we head into the upcoming season. With help from a smooth and catchy reggae beat alongside scorching alt-rock instrumentals, Shytown brings us deep into the picturesque nights of summer.
Jumping into "Peace," Shytown graces our speakers with an upbeat reggae guitar and smooth beats alongside EJ's bright vocal portrayal. Jumping into Danny's lush and lively bars, he expands on scenes of being over all the games and taking time to smell the roses. We must mention the brilliant instrumental transitions that Shytown offers, as they take on a groovy reggae-inspired verse while hitting our speakers with a punk-rock approach on the heated hook.
We adore the percussive transitions that Dan Reynolds pierces our speakers with, especially while accompanied by Dave Blanco's thick bassline and Joe Kashul's beaming electric guitar. As the song begins to end, Shytown leaves us with nothing but passion and excitement to bask in all of summer's glory.
Find "Peace" of mind with Shytown's latest upbeat single, now available to bump all summer long on all digital streaming platforms.
We're feeling lifted and excited for the summer season with help from your latest single, "Peace." What inspired you to create a single that gears us up for the forthcoming season?
We actually wrote the song late last year when all the political arguments and pandemic debates were at their peak. It was getting to be too much and we wanted to make something that was totally unrelated and fun. That's what Shytown is about. We needed to "find our peace" and get away from it all.
Did EJ and Danny handle the songwriting aspect of your single, "Peace?" Or was this a collective process?
The two of us wrote the lyrics for "Peace" but our guitarist, Joe, actually came up with the chords for the song. They were initially different before but once we got to the studio, they were changed and everyone agreed that made it better.
Being that there are five members within your group, how did you tackle the creative/recording process for the instrumentals within "Peace?" How did you navigate this process?
Everyone had some input on the song involving their instruments. Usually, EJ and I have an idea of how we want something to sound but within that realm, the guys can have fun and experiment. That's what Joe did to come up with the new chords. We already had a bass line arranged for the song but when Dave [our bass player] got there, he switched some notes around and created a new one that worked even better. Finally, for drums, we like to mix programmed drums with live ones and for this, it was no different. Dan [drummer] came in and really listened to the loop we made for the drum sounds and added to it live. Drums are the hardest to record but Matt at the studio made them sound clean and crispy and Dan did a great job adding some texture and flavor to the track. We call that "sauce".
Should listeners expect to hear "Peace" during your forthcoming mini-tour this June? What should your audience expect from this tour?
The tour is gonna be hella fun. "Peace" will definitely be played -- albeit more acoustically. Three of us are heading down to South Florida on June 5th and will be there the rest of the month. We have a handful of shows in the books already in a few different cities and working on more dates. We'll also be recording for our upcoming EP/album "Forever Land," which is a follow-up to last summer's "Never Land." If all goes as planned, our video guy will be flown there shooting content. During downtime, we'll be live streaming on Facebook so fans can see what we're up to. We just want to get there and play by the beach, make some new friends and have fun. That's the Shytown way!
