Audio clips are edited highlights from DARKER SIDE OF FUN. For photos of the band & more information, please visit our website @ www.theshades.net. Enjoy! "These spectacular vocalists and instrumentalists brings their considerable talents together to rock your world. Fronted by the dynamic Nicole Hart, they are Rhythm & Blues at its finest!" ~ BARRELHOUSE BLUES, USA Today's coveted "Hot Site" award for Blues on the Web. Livin'Blues Gold Award for Virtual Excellence on the Web. Http://barrelhouseblues.com "Great show…the crowd’s favorite!" ~ Bob Putignano, WFDU FM RADIO, Keeping The Blues Alive award recipient, contributing writer for Goldmine Magazine, & Blues Music Association Communications Committee, www.BluesMusicAssociation.org "Great keyboard work by Lance Ong & strong vocals from Julius Dilligard & Nicole Hart"~ BLUES REVUE "With horns, back-up singers and multiple lead singers, the group is one hard workin', soulfunkin', blues jumpin' R&B review."~ RHYTHM & NEWS MAGAZINE "Wrote the book on putting on a perfect show. They exemplified how the blues doesn't have to be just a simple twelve-bar phrase." ~ GOOD TIMES MAGAZINE, March 2005 Artist Information Instrumentation Julius Dilligard Jr. ~ Lead Vocals Nicole Hart ~ Lead Vocals Lance Ong - Keyboards, BG Vocal Tony Pagano - Guitar, BG Vocal Mike Carbone - Saxes, Midi Wind Sax, BG Vocal Tommy Sochor - Drums GET SHADIFIED!** (see the definition of "shadification" further below...)** Diverse experience (interpret that as you will!) & musical backgrounds of each of THE SHADES merge into their mutual love of MODERN ELECTRIC BLUES** ~ Vocalists Julius Dilligard, Jr. (Crown Heights Affair) & Nicole Hart (Billy Joel) blend their magic chemistry to take you on a sonic road trip through the "Darker Side of Fun!" THE SHADES are currently touring the Notheast Festival circuit & can be heard on Radio Stations throughout the Northeast, Worldwide on Internet radio stations,& were recently nominated by United Jersey Blues Network to represent Heritage Blues in the Garden State & placed within the Top Ten Internationally for the new category, "BEST SELF-PRODUCED CD", at the 2005 International Blues Challenge sponsored by the Blues Foundation (www.blues.org) in Memphis, TN. JULIUS DILLIGARD, JR. ~ Julius was formerly lead vocalist with the RCA recording group, "Crown Heights Affair" on the group's first single to go gold, "Dreamin' a Dream". Julius has also appeared at the Apollo Theatre with such acts as The Commodores, Stylistics, The Main Ingredient, Maxine Nightingale, & has performed w/George Duke at Westbury Music Fair. NICOLE HART ~ Effortlessly integrating Blues, Jazz, Soul & Rock, Nicole's timeless, intoxicating voice is beautifully soul-sweet, powerful & gritty ~ classic, yet absolutely contemporary. She has sung back-up for Billy Joel & is featured on-camera in his "All About Soul" video from the River of Dreams CD, as well as on recordings for many other artists & television commercials. LANCE ONG ~ Master B-3 organist, multi-keyboardist & Musical Director, his record credits include David Sanborn, an album by Andre Crouch, which won a Grammy Award, Eryka Badu, The Pointer Sisters, Grand Funk Railroad, Frankie Beverly & Maze, Johnny Halliday, Sylvie Vartan (French), Trini Lopez, & many others. MIKE CARBONE ~ (Tenor Sax, Alto Sax, Soprano Sax, Midi Sax, Flute, BG Vocals): Mike's heart & soul penetrates each note he plays, fusing classical training, old school Jazz, Blues & Funk to bring a visceral interpretation to the music of THE SHADES. Mike holds a Masters Degree in Music from William Paterson University. TONY PAGANO ~ (Guitars, BG vocals): Born in Brooklyn, New York, Tony began playing guitar at age 11 & was performing in clubs by age 14 using his brothers' ID. Like many other guitarists, Tony is most influenced by Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Pass & Wes Montgomery. He brings this depth of eclecticism to the Modern Electric Blues of THE SHADES. TOMMY SOCHOR - As a self-taught musician, his musical range is eclectic. He played and recorded with progressive rock group Thunder Zone, featuring bassist extraordinaire Percy Jones (of Phil Collins' jazz/rock group Brand X) and Bronx guitarist Alan Tynes. During his tenure with THE SHADES, Tommy's thundering, "bad boy" beat is the backbone of THE SHADES' sound. **THE SHADES are often asked to define our sound. The definition below gives a very accurate explanation of "SHADIFICATION": According to The Blues Foundation in Memphis, Tennessee, the keeper of the official Blues flame, "Modern Electric Blues is an eclectic mixture, a sub genre embracing both the old, the new and something that falls between the two...It also is a genre that pays homage to those vintage styles of playing while simultaneously recasting them in contemporary fashion. It can also be - by turns - the most forward looking of all blues styles, embracing rock beats and pyrotechnics and enlivening the form with funk rhythms and chord progressions that expand beyond the standard three that that usually comprises most blues forms."