Mt Laurel band readies for the road

Mount Laurel rock band Shadowplay is poised to take off on its first tour this summer.

[caption id=”attachment_24612" align=”alignleft” width=”186" caption=”Flyer for band’s show at the Trocadero.”]

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The first leg will be from Boston to Baltimore, while the second will be from Savannah to Indianapolis. Each leg will be a week and a half long and will happen sometime in July or August.

Shadowplay has been on indie label Romulus X Records for about a year and the label is putting the tour together.

Andrew Corkery, 19, sings for the band. He and Dan Holden started Shadowplay in 2006.

Corkery, who attends Rider University, said he likes bringing people together with music and expressing his feelings through art.

Shadowplay plays out at least once a month and in the summer, can do as many as seven shows.

“I just kind of want to rock the world with my music, just like any other musician,” Corkery said, noting he and his bandmates are influenced by things outside of music.

He said they listen to a mixture of ’70s, ’90s and modern-alternative rock and combine sounds to create a unique style.

“There’s not one specific thing that we try to stay confined to,” Corkery said.

Getting the word out about their shows is the hardest part of being in a band, he said, while playing a satisfying show and getting his emotion out on stage is the best part.

“I like to see people enjoy the music and be moved by it,” Corkery said.

Holden, 20, is looking for work. The lead guitarist has known Corkery since 2006.

Holden likes classic rock bands such as Guns ‘N Roses, Led Zeppelin the Beatles and Aerosmith. But he also likes classical musicians such Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky.

“We have a new sound,” Holden said. “We don’t really sound like a lot of other bands.”

He said the songwriting is pretty much divided among him, Andrew and Johnathan Sellers.

Holden said he is very excited about the upcoming tours.

He said he is occasionally discouraged because turnout at Shadowplay’s shows is not what they hope for since the band is still relatively unknown.

“It’s a lot easier for us to perform when we have more people there at a show; even if they’re not there to see us, we just feed off of bigger crowds,” Holden said. “I’m not saying it’s hard — I’m saying it’s not as much fun.”

One of the best feelings he gets is listening in the car to a song they just recorded.

“It’s good to hear that we’ve done something with our creativity,” Holden said.

Sellers, who plays bass, piano and guitar has been with the band for four years.

“I have this constant feeling of necessity to be purposeful in life,” the 20-year-old said. “My only outlet as a human being is to play music.”

Sellers said he would probably return to Rutgers in the fall.

“It’s a constant battle between, are other people going to like this, and also what does it mean to me,” he said, noting the band has a lot of different elements to its music and will change over time.

“Music is all about changing,” Sellers said.

Tim Bear has been the Shadowplay drummer for two years.

The 19-year-old Burlington County College student said he has to practice a lot to keep up with his potential.

While it’s difficult to put into words, Bear said hearing the crowd applaud a song that they rehearsed over and over again is a great experience.

“It’s a really good feeling,” he said.

Shadowplay’s website is www.shadowplayrocknroll.com.

The site includes links to Facebook and YouTube, as well as live performances and interviews.