Karl Shuman Band

CULTIVATED IN THE FOOTHILLS OF WEST VIRGINIA AND NURTURED AT WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY.THE KARL SHUMAN BAND IS A CAPTIVATING BLEND OF ACCOMPLISHED MUSICAL STYLES AND SUPERIOR SONGWRITING. KARL SHUMAN (11 STRING ACOUSTIC GUITAR & VOCALS) KURT PAPENHAUSEN (ELECTRIC GUITAR, VOCALS), JEFF NARKIEWICZ (BASS GUITAR, VOCALS), AND MARK DINALDO (DRUMS) COMBINE THEIR TALENTS TO CREATE AND PERFORM MUSIC WHICH IS INSTANTLY ADMIRED; DISTINCTLY ORIGINAL AND TREMENDOUSLY POPULAR.

IN 1996 THE BAND BEGAN TOURING FULL-TIME, AND SINCE THEN HAS BEEN PUSHING IT'S TRAVEL DISTANCES FURTHER AND FURTHER. THE FAN BASE IS EXPANDING RAPIDLY AND THE BAND HAS BEEN ENTHUSIASTICALLY INVITED BACK TO ALL VENUES PLAYED. KARL SHUMAN BAND ALSO HAS PLAYED WITH SUCH CHART- TOPPING ACTS AS THE LEMONHEADS, JULIANA HATFIELD, RUSTED ROOT, THE SPIN DOCTORS, AND THE DAVE MATHEWS BAND.

IN 1998 KARL SHUMAN BAND WILL BE RETURNING TO ALL FAMILIAR VENUES AND WILL BE ADDING MANY NEW LOCATIONS TO PROMOTE THEIR BRAND OF UPLIFTING ORIGINAL MUSIC .

THE SUCCESS OF THE NEW CD, 'CUE THE RAIN', HAS BEEN PHENOMENAL, WITH NEW RELEASES "HIGHER GROUND" AND "MAKE IT TOMORROW" TO NAME A FEW, KARL SHUMAN AND NEW DAY SHINE HAS MADE IT'S IMPACT TO THOSE WHO HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADMIRE IT'S ENTIRETY.

WITH GREAT EXPECTATIONS, THE KARL SHUMAN BAND HAVE PROGRESSED TO THE SOUTH, DELIVERING THEIR UNIQUE SOUND FROM THEIR NEW HOME OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA.

An Interview with

Karl Shuman & New Day Shine

Kurt Papenhausen, Mark Dinaldo Jeff Narkiewicz and Karl Shuman

by Michael Baugh

Imagine being about the biggest band In the burg playing for packed houses up and down the East Coast. Yep... free beer at the gigs... a few places that always want to book you which results in no day jobs and 20 solid months on the road.... groupies with pierced tongues..... and basically an entire scene where you have achieved celebrity status... Geez. just add Pamela Lee to the scenario and there's your basic rock and roll fantasy life.

Now. imagine giving it all up to travel more than 500 miles to the place where you are as anonymous as a piece of cheese on an hors d'oeuvre tray - a place you passed through on tour once where every member of the band has to find - yikes - day jobs doing things like bus-boying and carpet cleaning. Just to be at peace with the music. Well you can quit imagining it because like David Byrne told me, true story, one that Karl Shuman and New Day Shine are now living.

Originally two separate units... duh, the Karl Shuman Band and the three-piece New Day Shine - at the University of West Virginia in Morgantown West Virginia, singer/songwriter Shuman and bass player Jeff Narikiewicz, drummer Mark Dinaldo and guitarist Kurt Papenhausen yes the band does need ta get some names that rock and roll a little more the band melded together In 1996 and found that success that led to opening for acts like Kansas, the Lemonheads, Juliana Hatfield, Rusted Root the Spin Doctors and the Dave Matthews Band. King hell, they even played at CBGB's in New York City and at the 1997 Philadelphia Music Conference.

They were on the verge of breaking it, It seemed. but, like my grandfather used to say, "the top of the crop ain't all there is to see."

Beyond all of that. the band was caught in a bad manager and booking agent situation. Drummer Dinaldo said he even felt that their booking agent was keeping them from getting some gigs. So, after much group discussion, the band began to migrate here to Charleston between June and August, while Shuman took a six week sabbatical in Sweden to calm nerves that were jangled from dealing with the stress of the management snafu. Still, to give up all of that, were they a band on the run from something?

''No. no," said a laughing Dinaldo ."It's funny, because I've had some second thoughts about this, but so far, It's worked out really well."

During a cigarette break while appearing on "Locals Only" at the radio station 96 Wave the other early morning. Papenhausen agreed with the same sentiment. "Charleston just had such a good vibe when we played here last year at Cumberland's" he said "It was like we were the two big kids on the block in Morgantown but we needed something new. So here we are."

So far it seems, Charleston seems to be taking a shining to Shuman and New Day Shine. They've played at the Windjammer just last weekend as the opening act for Live Bait and have hit places Iike Coconut Joe's and the Brew Haus while trying to get word out about their sound which some reviewers have compared to the Dave Matthews Band and a new CD on Blumpy Records, Cue The Rain. On Thursday. October 15th, they will appear at Marker 24 on Folly Beach as a part of a 98 Rock radio promotion. Dinaldo thinks things are going well.

Our first gig when we got down here in Charleston was actually up in Greenville." he said. But the people here seem to be receptive to what we're trying to do with Karl's songs and the band.

Indeed they do. For the record, the band's driven by a busy drummer who seems to fill every empty space while not over-powering Shuman's earnest singing and 11-stnng guitar strumming or Papenhausen's tasteful guitar work or Narkieweicz's solid bottom. In fact it says a lot about the sound of the band when Papenhausen cites Heartbreaker Mike Campbell as one of his favorite guitarists. That is, the songs are served by the band and not vice versa.

Still, as the band grind out their day jobs and try to make in-roads into their sometimes confusing Charleston rock and roll market, Dinaldo said a lot of the second guessing has gone down the drain, as they find the crowds as receptive, although not as large, as they were in the first glory days of Morgantown and the upper East Coast. After all, it would have been just as easy to end the band as it was to move en masse into foreign territory.

"I think people understand what we're doing here," he said. "We came here to get a grip back on the band, to make it about the music and not about the business. I think we've started out well, since we've only been gigging about two months now."

Whether or not Charleston agrees remains to be seen to some degree, but when a good up-and-coming group like Karl Shuman and New Day Shine decide to make Charleston their base of operations, it makes one think our scene isn't as dead as it appears to be.

Absolutely the finest live show on the road today.

early seventies folk-rock, Beatles, America, Loggins & Messina, Simon & Garfunkle - Dave Matthews

Born on February 22, 1970, Karl grew up in Lincoln, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. As a student at West Virginia University, Karl began to hone his guitar playing abilities as well as compose some original material. Being a fan of the early seventies folk-rock movement, he exercised his vocal strength by covering songs by the Beatles, America, Loggins & Messina, Simon & Garfunkle, and countless other songwriting legends. As his confidence and playing ability increased so to did his writing, and the young Mr. Shuman began to spread his wings in the talented Morgantown music scene. Open mics at Gibbies, Maxwells, the Nyabhinghi, and other downtown clubs introduced Karl to the public as well as to many other area musicians. One of these musicians was a young guitarists/vocalist named Kurt Papenhausen. The duo rehearsed about two hours worth of classic and contemporary material and began performing under the name "Acoustical Outlet". At the same time Papenhausen was working on his band with high-school mate Jeff Narkiewicz, who had begun playing the electric bass. In 1992, Karl produced his first cassette of original material at Frozen Sound Studios (Morgantown) with Kim Monday running the board, Daryl Williams contributing some drum work, and Hardy Scragg (of the legendary Glory Journal) on bass. Entitled 'Reticular Formation', the release helped to build Karl a budding local fan base, and showcased his tremendous songwriting and vocal skills. He began performing regularly with bassist Orville Weale in 1993, as well as further developing his writing. In 1994, with the help of Carnival Whig's Zach Overking on drums, Karl formed The Karl Shuman Band and released a self-titled CD. The two bands performed together often, and the five individuals (Karl, Orville, Zach - Karl Shuman Band / Kurt, Jeff, Zach - Carnival Whig) were close friends. Zach committed full time to KSB, and Mark Dinaldo was recruited to join the Whig. As the KSB was enjoying massive local success, Carnival Whig was receiving local and national critical praise, and the need to expand the music outward was becoming more and more apparent. In order to establish a full-time touring band as well as merge the acoustic and electric sounds of the two different bands, a change needed to be made. In the summer of 1996, Karl, Kurt, Jeff, and Mark formed Karl Shuman & New Day Shine and began touring in support of their original music. They have traveled many miles to spread the music and are looking forward to a great '98. Their brand new release "Cue the Rain" is the first album to include all four members, and is poised to expose them to an even greater audience.

Karl Shuman and Kurt Papenhausen love what they do. Whether playing to a crowded floor or to three regulars at the bar, it doesn't matter. They just want to connect with their audience.

Karl Shuman and New Day Shine have been living out their rock star fantasies for about nine years now. Starting out in West Virginia in the early '9Os, they remained true to their upbeat pop-rock sound despite being surrounded by grunge.

"Karl plays acoustic and I play electric, so it kind of has that Counting Crowes vibe," says

Papenhausen.

Their main interest is fun. They're not trying to change the world or make any cultural statements. They just want to kick back with a beer and crank out some tunes.

But not other people's tunes. Heavy on the original material, their shows occasionally feature some old U2 or Beatles songs.

Shuman, a Massachusetts native, discovered Charleston while finishing up a grueling two year tour in '98. "We came down and played a show with SKWZBXX, and we were like, 'What

the he'll are we doing in West Virginia?"'

Papenhausen's reasons for the move can be summed up in one short sentence, "Let's move to the beach!"

In the if near-decade of existence, the band has adhered to the DIY standards of small, independent bands. 'We've logged a lot of miles in our van," says Papenhausen. "We really drove ourselves into the poorhouse." Shuman agrees as they swig their beers in unison, "It's nice to be able to get back to earth."

The boys agree that the Charleston music community has made them feel wanted and welcome. "Bobby Ross at The Windjammer has really taken us under his wing and helped us out a lot," says Papenhausen. "He's very supportive of us"

Shuman is quick to add, "As well as the other club owners, like here at Art's, the Warehouse, etcetera. Charleston lets us reach a lot of different audiences."

The beach might be too much of a good thing for the band. Right now they are just playing Charleston and its plethora of venues. Their out-of-town trips are few and far between. And when they do venture out, it's usually within the state.

'We've been doing a lot of traveling up to Myrtle, down to Hilton Head, just doing the whole South Carolina coast thing," says Papenhausen."

But Karl Shuman and New Day Shine's music has traveled the country in spi