Shawn Fogel
Encyclopedia
Life
Shawn Matthew Fogel was born on December 12, 1981 in New York State. He began learning how to play music as a young child, picking up the piano in third grade. He continued to learn various other instruments through middle and high school, after which he enrolled in Hampshire CollegeHampshire College
Hampshire College is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1965 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges in the Pioneer Valley: Amherst College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and the University of Massachusetts...
in Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 37,819, making it the largest community in Hampshire County . The town is home to Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts...
, where he studied songwriting, performance, audio engineering & studio recording, and music business. During his senior year at Hampshire, Fogel used the campus facilities to record, edit, and mix his first full-length album, Millions of Miles Away, all on his own. The album was released commercially in 2004. Fogel's next effort, One Day In The Desert - EP, was recorded with the record label The Sleepy West and released in late 2007. An accomplished multi-instrumentalist, Fogel sang all of the vocals and played all of the instruments on both albums; his talents cover a wide range of instruments, including the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, and drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
.
Fogel also performs with The LeeVees
The LeeVees
The LeeVees is a rock band from New York City featuring Adam Gardner of Guster and Dave Schneider of the Zambonis. The band was formed when the two bands went on tour together. The latter band only writes songs about hockey...
, a New York City rock band that plays contemporary Hannukah songs for whom Fogel plays bass guitar. Like the rest of the band members, Fogel maintains a strong Jewish identity, as he is also a songleader for the Garden Empire Region (GER) of the North American Federation of Temple Youths (NFTY).
Fogel is also a member of the world's only all hockey rock band The Zambonis
The Zambonis
The Zambonis are a Connecticut-based indie rock band formed in 1991 by musicians Dave Schneider , Peter Katis, Jon Aley, and Tarquin Katis. The Zambonis write songs exclusively about hockey...
. The Zambonis formed in 1991. Fogel joined in 2006.
Fogel claims his influences to be his mother's old Beatles LP's and Stevie Wonder, the latter of whom was specifically his inspiration to record his music in a one-man-band fashion.
Discography
Fogel has recorded four albums, the first two of which are out of print.Millions Of Miles Away
- "Maybe Tonight" - 1:11
- "Millions Of Miles Away" - 4:38
- "Oh Yeah (How I Miss You)" - 3:09
- "I'd Be Lyin'" - 2:47
- "Walk It Off (Part I)" - 0:49
- "Walk It Off (Part II)" - 1:58
- "Everyone's Got Me Down" - 4:15
- "It's You, My Love" - 3:37
- "Days Go By" - 5:03
- "Maybe Tonight Reprise" - 2:51
One Day In The Desert - EP
- "The Season I Love Best" - 2:52
- "Leaves, Corners, Stones" - 3:19
- "What's Mine Is Mine" - 2:31
- "Dead Petals" - 3:30
- "Athens" - 6:01