The Vancouver School of Arts and Academics offers intensive programs in areas such as music, theater, visual arts, literary arts and many others, with the music program offering high school students the opportunity to become well-rounded instrumentally and in music theory.
What many may not have expected was for a successful rock band to develop from this kind of educational environment. Vancouver group The Shivas has a story, which is untraditional, yet an important reason that it stands out in a community with a high number of local bands.
Led by vocalist and guitarist Jared Wait-Molyneux, The Shivas has broken into the local scene by playing at local venues and house shows. The band started playing during the members’ sophomore year at VSAA and hasn’t stopped since.
With its musical and general artistic training in hand, The Shivas brings what some may see as pop melodies to a new depth and complexity.
“We all went to an arts school together…for high school in Vancouver and we all just met there,” Wait-Molyneux said. “We had known each other for like six years or something and we just one summer started playing music together.”
Wait-Molyneux is joined by Eric Shanafelt on bass and vocals, Rob Mannering on guitar and Kristin Leonard on drums and vocals. The band has released two albums, titled Where Have You Gone To? and Freezing To Death. The band’s writing style has changed, as the members have put in more of a full-band effort on each track.
“On the first one it was more like I’d just write the songs,” Wait-Molyneux said. “But on the second one and how it works now is more…we’ll sort of work it out as a whole.”
One aspect of performing that The Shivas has enjoyed has been house shows. These shows, according to Wait-Molyneux, create some of the “most fun” live environments.
“The house-shows scene…[is] great because I mean that’s by far the most fun for musicians to play,” Wait-Molyneux said. “Kids can’t go see a lot of shows at the actual venues because they’re too young and…while it is not necessarily the best thing, kids can go there and they can drink and they can basically do whatever they want. Which is good in the sense that it’s how music is meant to be enjoyed.”
Other than house shows, The Shivas has enjoyed shows at many local venues including Backspace in northwest Portland. Tonight the band plays at Ella Street Social Club, which has graced the Portland community with many solid lineups of late. The show is 21-and-over, but for those Portland State students under 21 who hope to catch The Shivas in action, you can find the band on Thursday as well as at The Artistery in southeast Portland off of Division Street.
The Shivas sound is sometimes light, but the band can’t be classified due to its constant changes within tracks both rhythmically and dynamically. Whether it is at Ella Street Social Club or the Artistery, don’t miss the chance to see a band whose music is melodically pleasing yet still musically stimulating—a combination not always grasped by local and national performers alike.