The group ShiSho (pronounced “Shy Show”) defines “precocious” in every sense of the word. The two sisters, Vivian and Midge Ramone (otherwise known as Sydnie and Kreigh Barnette), are the local face of the Youth Wave movement, which refers to any musical act that contains one or more members below the age of 18. Midge, who sings backing vocals, is all of 10 years old and Vivian, the lead singer and guitar player, is at 14 the elder stateswoman of the duo.
ShiSho is the result of a lazy afternoon. “I was jumping on a trampoline, and I told my dad that when I grew up, I wanted to be in a rock band. And he asked me, ‘Why not start one now?’ So I did,” recalled Vivian. Midge’s explanation was much simpler; “She [Vivian] asked me if I wanted to join, and I said ‘Yeah.’”
The family went from owning a pair of bongos and a didgeridoo as their only musical instruments to having a studio in their basement. The transformation didn’t stop there. “It’s brought the entire family closer,” explained Kris, the girls’ father. During the songwriting process, Vivian said, “the entire family would collaborate.” They spent long car trips singing and writing songs together.
The group has been very successful, culminating in last year’s busy schedule and accolades. In September, following a full summer of playing concerts, ShiSho was voted one of Akron’s top 5 local bands in the Beacon Journal. They even have a European following, thanks to their former label, Filthy Little Angels, which was based in England. Since Filthy Little Angels closed its doors, ShiSho has been looking for a new label closer to home, in time to release a new album. “We are two to three songs away from having enough for a new CD,” said Vivian.
Currently the girls are calling upon their fellow Youth Wave musicians to write and submit songs to join them on a CD, being produced by the family. The girls are planning on taking submissions from other bands to create a fundraising compilation for Akron’s Soap Box Derby, titled “Rock the Tradition”. All the proceeds will go to the floundering iconic race organization.
The girls and their father have revived their record label, Magnetic Bunny, to produce “Rock the Tradition”. “We want the label to be there to provide support for kids and give them an outlet for their creativity,” said Vivian. “It’s a good match because the goals of the Soap Box Derby, giving kids a chance to see a project through, are the same as ours,” said Kris, who’s also the band and label manager.
This will be the second compilation that Magnetic Bunny has released. The first, “Seaside Summer Compilation”, came out in 2007 and featured such adolescent acts as Forestry Fighters and Jonas Murdock. ShiSho plans on asking several of their former collaborators to submit songs for “Rock the Tradition”.
To submit a song, aspiring bands can send a recording to the group through one of two websites, www.magneticbunny.com or www.rockthetradition.com. There’s a $25 fee for every song entered, to help cover the cost of production. As a Youth Wave album, at least one member of every band needs to be under 18. As the album is raising cash for the Soap Box Derby, bands who wish to have their songs considered should stick to a theme of either the Derby itself or summer fun in general. The deadline for songs to be entered is June 21. The CD is planned for release in early July, just in time for the Soap Box Derby and Corbin Bernsen’s movie on the Derby, “25 Hill”.
Incidentally, Vivian, Midge and Kris can all be seen in “25 Hill” as extras, and there’s a possibility that they may play at the movie’s premiere in Akron. ShiSho submitted a few songs to Bernsen for use in the movie, though they didn’t make the final cut. “He really liked them,” explained Vivian, “but they were looking for instrumentals. He gave us a ‘definite maybe’ to play at the premiere.”
When Vivian and Midge aren’t writing songs, performing concerts, acting in films, helping run a record label or raising money to save an iconic Akron institution, they’re probably in school, where they also excel. Just don’t let the secret slip that they are also rock stars. “I try to keep school and the band separated,” Vivian said. Why? “Performing in front of hundreds of strangers is fine, but singing in front of all my friends would make me nervous.”
That’s ShiSho. They remain firmly grounded, as Midge demonstrated: “For a choir concert at school, I took a demo and played it,” she said. “Everyone kept coming up to me and I said ‘It’s just a demo. It’s not a big deal.’” They may not be a big deal yet, but give ShiSho time. After all, they’re not even in high school yet.
Written By Richie Koch
