Okanagan musicians join forces to create supergroup

A medley of well-known Okanagan musicians has come together to offer something a little different.

Together, Dylan ‘DL’ Ranney, Andrew Judah, Nathanael Sherman and Caleb McAlpine make up the band ‘nightshades’.

“Having four distinct, practiced developed songwriters in one space just means we can do everything so much faster where we solve each other’s problems intuitively,” said McAlpine,  who plays the guitar, bass, keys, drums and sings in the band.

What sets them apart is each musician has carved out their own niche in the music world. Combined, they have toured and played for decades but now they have joined forces to create a kind of supergroup.

“It’s very collaborative all of us bring songs to the table that we help each other form them to their final form,” said Judah who plays the guitar, keys, bass and sings.

“Everybody sings, everybody plays every instrument, so we are constantly trading around on stage which makes it a lot of fun.”

In their music videos, you can see how unique the band is, as they create space for each other as notes float around the room and watch each musician as they perform intently.

“‘Leave Space’ is a song that I think really showcases nightshades collaborative abilities,” said Ranney who plays the drums, guitar and also sings in the band.

“It really shows off our musicianship as this band.”

Because they are four songwriters they each have a song library to reach into that can be finessed and given a unique treatment.

“It is fun to write songs together and we try to do that a lot more often, but being able to just have such a big catalogue of our own personal music to work on as a band makes it have this other sound and this other life,” said Sherman who plays the guitar, keys, bass as well as sings.

So far,  nightshades has released two EPs and now they are ready to release their debut album called ‘Reducer’ on May 31 that’s been paired with an album release show at Red Bird Brewing on June 1 and tickets are available online. Tickets are $20 in advance and $30 at the door.

For more information, visit  www.redbirdbrewing.com