Shannon Tower Band

Shannon

singer songwriter guitar

Shannon is a singer, songwriter musician and activist from Portland, OR. As one reviewer put it: “She surveys similar socio-political minefields and aggro-folk textures as Ani DiFranco and Michelle Shocked. Tower injects the Pacific Northwest coffeehouse circuit with jagged edges, giving a punky spin on leftist protest music as well as finding a bluesy heart in unplugged confessionals.”

As a young girl Shannon always knew she wanted to play guitar but being from a poor family they couldn’t afford one, so she would get a shoe box and put different size rubber bands on it. Once she finally bought a real guitar she spent hours everyday working on her craft. It wasn’t long before that guitar became a vessel for expressing herself through her words. When Shannon isn’t playing or writing music, she can often be found in nature hiking and spending time with her favorite pup Dakota.

Shannon on Instagram

Jeff

electric violin

Jeff was born in San Fernando, CA at the dawn of the 60's and raised in the Los Angeles area. He began playing the violin in the 3rd grade using his brother's hand-me-down instrument. In 1985 Jeff formed a band called Sex and Violins, but their success was cut short by a horrific car wreck that nearly ended his life. But he recovered and went on to dazzle the LA Music scene for years before relocating to Portland in 2002. He met Shannon in 2004 and the rest, as they say, is history. They have been best friends and playing together ever since.

A long time fan of progressive rock and political satire, Jeff fills his days with music and loves to take his dog Delilah, and Shannon’s dog Dakota, out for long walks on the beach with Charlie.

Evan

songwriter Bass vocals

Evan began playing the bass at age 12, inspired by the music of Led Zeppelin and a love of the early hits of Motown. Two years at Berklee College of Music in Boston (majoring in Bass and Composition & Arranging) added polish and diversity to his growing arsenal of musical tools. Evan plays fretted and fretless 4, 5 and 6 string basses, The Chapman Stick, percussion, keyboards and loves to sing.

Based for many years in the San Francisco Bay Area, Evan relocated to Portland in 2004. In addition to being a band rat, Evan works as a Dance DJ and spends his free time bicycling, cooking, gardening and reading Science Fiction.

Derek

Drums

Raised in Indiana near tough fields of corn and Lake Michigan, Derek reportedly first played a beat to mimic his father’s bass drum at a gig while in utero. Later, he took influence from the likes of The Meters, The Jazz Messengers, Led Zeppelin, John Lee Hooker, and his father Grant’s vintage drum collection and shuffle grooves.

His current focus is the Trap Set. He has had former dalliances with the snare drum in a drum corp. and the percussion of concert bands. He funks with an emphasis on blues and rock drum styles, with a forte of tasty treats.

Derek on Instagram

Charlie

Songwriter Guitar

Charlie is the epitome of a renaissance man. Born in Alaska, relocating to Oregon in 1984, he began playing the guitar in 1996, inspired by hard rock, prog and metal. He fuses elements of the styles of many of his guitar heroes into his own unique approach to the guitar, blending melody, harmony and rhythm into sick and infectious grooves.

Off stage, Charlie is a rad dad and devoted husband. A master tattooist with a wicked sense of humor, Charlie also enjoys long walks on the beach and eating Chicken Tikka Masala.

Charlie on Facebook

About The Band