Sho? was a Dubai-based band whose music combined rock, alternative, punk and electronica. Made up of expatriates, they were active in the Dubai rock music scene for about eighteen months. They released one Internet-only single, "Crash" (April 2010) and one EP, I Don't Wanna Go (August 2010). EP review at www.triplew.me, 5 August 2010 Their name was a version of the Arabic word "Sho", which roughly translates into English as "What". The band officially announced their dissolution in January 2011.http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?col=§ion=citytimes&xfile=data/citytimes/2011/January/citytimes_January38.xml Khaleej Times news article, 4 January 2011
Biography Sho? was formed in June 2009 by Zara Quiroga and Rizal Khan, who met via an online music forum. Eric Quay Evano (who later joined Borrison Ivy, then Moonshine),http://gulfnews.com/business/features/quay-evano-let-the-music-flow-1.532350 Gulf News article about Eric Quay Evano, 26 November 2009 Fabrizio 'Fab' Benefazio, Justin Blincoe (who went on to join Colorado-based band Left Foot Green),http://www.leftfootgreen.com Left Foot Green – official website, 11 January 2006 Karim El Gamalhttp://gulfnews.com/arts-entertainment/music/metal-detector-1.595384/sho-nuff-1.606447 Gulf News article, 1 April 2010 and Branislav 'Bane' Trkuljahttp://www.metalityuae.com/?p=184 News article at www.metalityuae.com, 23 June 2010 also served brief stints in the band.http://www.reverbnation.com/page_object/page_object_bio/artist_604670 Band biography at www.reverbnation.com, 2010
Principle band members
Zara Quiroga Zara Quiroga was the lead vocalist and only female member of the band. Of Portuguese and Spanish descent, she undertook several years of vocal training prior to performing with Sho?. She had also previously appeared as a vocalist on the 2006 album release Project Creation – Dawn On Pyther by Portuguese multi-instrumentalist Hugo Flores. Project Creation – Dawn On Pyther album details at www.progrockrecords.com, 2006
Rizal Khan Khan, born in Malaysia, was the lead guitarist in Sho?. Previously, Khan had performed with the Malaysian bands Dust Components (1995–1997), Burial Ground (1997–1999) and Morphed Assemblyhttp://www.myspace.com/morphedassembly Morphed Assembly's Myspace page, 21 July 2005 (2000).
Musical performances Sho? performed regularly at various rock music events in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, such as Metal Asylum,http://www.metalityuae.com/?p=368 UAE Metal Asylum CD launch – event details, 6 August 2010 Black Sheep, Black Sheep concert details, 17 Dec 2010 Rock Nationhttps://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=19278713927 Dubai Rock Nation on Facebook, 2008–2011 and Yasalam Beats on the Beach. Details of Sho?'s performance at Yasalam Beats on the Beach – 7:15pm, 11 Nov 2010
Diesel U-Music Tour In 2009 Sho? won the Road to Sound City competition, which was judged by Gary Dourdan and Kim Thompson alongside representatives from Diesel, Sennheiser and EMI Arabia. This allowed Sho? to perform on the main stage for the Dubai Sound City festival and to be part of the Diesel U-Music World Tour, which took them to Vienna, Austria in November 2009.http://gighive.com/gig-artists/archives/tag/shoband Sho? at www.gighive.com, 2010
Press coverage Articles about Sho? appeared in various UAE newspapers and magazines, including the Khaleej Times, The National, The National newspaper article, 24 May 2010 7 Days,http://www.7days.ae/storydetails.php?id=87457 7 Days news article, 2 Dec 2009 Gulf Newshttp://gulfnews.com/about-gulf-news/al-nisr-portfolio/tabloid/articles/sho-set-to-rock-for-sure-1.33021 Gulf News article, 17 June 2009 and Rolling Stone Middle East.https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rolling-Stone-Middle-East/157367167611088#!/pages/Rolling-Stone-Middle-East/157367167611088?v=wall Rolling Stone Middle East's Facebook page – see post from 2 January 2010 at 22:05 In February 2010 the band was shortlisted by Dubai's Time Out magazine in the "Best Local Band" category for 2010, and the band members attended the awards ceremony at the Atlantis Hotel. News article at www.jorzine.com, 2 December 2010 On 5 April 2010, Sho? were featured on the Dubai One TV show Twenty Something. Dubai One, 'Twenty Something' (Episode #46), archived TV recording The band broke up less than a year later.http://www.metalityuae.com/?p=655 News article at www.metalityuae.com, 3 January 2011
Discography "Crash" – single (download only, April 2010) - This track also appeared on the compilation CD UAE Metal Asylum (July 2010)http://gulfnews.com/arts-entertainment/music/sound-of-music-metal-meltdown-1.660749 UAE Metal Asylum CD review in Gulf News Xpress newspaper, 29 July 2010 I Don't Wanna Go – EP (download and CD, August 2010) - Contains four tracks: "Sho?", "Crash", "P(h)ride" and "Winter"http://www.metalityuae.com/?p=160 Sho? EP details at www.metalityuae.com, 21 June 2010 Acoustic Session (#1) – Recorded for Saturday Extra with John Deykin on Dubai Eye 103.8 (6 March 2010)https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B-ZUBT0_XeLgYzUyMGY5MjAtMDJjYS00NDg2LWFlNDMtYzY1ZDU1NGI1N2Zm&hl=en Dubai Eye 103.8, archived radio recording Acoustic Session (#2) – Recorded for Open Mic with Zahra Soar on Dubai Eye 103.8 (17 April 2010)https://soundcloud.com/sho-2 Dubai Eye 103.8, archived radio recording
References
External links Sho? on Youtube