Sho

Sho?

Origin| Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Genres| Rock, alternative, punk, electronica
Years active| June 2009–January 2011
Past members| Zara Quiroga
Rizal Khan
Eric Quay Evano
Fabrizio 'Fab' Benefazio
Justin Blincoe
Karim El Gamal
Branislav 'Bane' Trkulja

Sho? was a short-lived Dubai-based band, whose music could best be classified as a mixture of 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, entitled Crash (April 2010) and one EP, entitled I Don't Wanna Go (August 2010).[1] 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.[2]

## Biography[edit]

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),[3] Fabrizio 'Fab' Benefazio, Justin Blincoe (who went on to join Colorado-based band Left Foot Green),[4] Karim El Gamal[5] and Branislav 'Bane' Trkulja[6] also served brief stints in the band.[7]

### Principle band members[edit]

#### Zara Quiroga[edit]

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.[8]

#### Rizal Khan[edit]

Khan, born in Malaysia, was the lead guitarist in Sho?. Prior to joining Sho?, Khan performed with the Malaysian bands Dust Components (1995–1997), Burial Ground (1997–1999) and Morphed Assembly[9] (2000).

## Musical performances[edit]

Sho? performed regularly at various rock music events in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, such as Metal Asylum,[10] Black Sheep,[11] Rock Nation[12] and Yasalam Beats on the Beach.[13]

### Diesel U-Music Tour[edit]

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.[14]

## Press coverage[edit]

Articles about Sho? appeared in various UAE newspapers and magazines, such as the Khaleej Times, The National,[15] 7 Days,[16] Gulf News[17] and Rolling Stone Middle East.[18] 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.[19] On 5 April 2010, Sho? were featured on the Dubai One TV show Twenty Something.[20] The band broke up less than a year later.[21]

## Discography[edit]

* Crash – Single (Download only, April 2010)

\- This track also appeared on the compilation CD UAE Metal Asylum (July 2010)[22]

* I Don't Wanna Go – EP (Download and CD, August 2010)

\- Contains four tracks: Sho?, Crash, P(h)ride and Winter[23]

* Acoustic Session (#1) – Recorded for Saturday Extra with John Deykin on Dubai Eye 103.8 (6 March 2010)[24]
* Acoustic Session (#2) – Recorded for Open Mic with Zahra Soar on Dubai Eye 103.8 (17 April 2010)[25]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Sho? - I Don't Wanna Go! [EP]". Archived from the original on 2010-10-25. Retrieved 2010-10-26. EP review at www.triplew.me, 5 August 2010
2. ^ http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?col=&section=citytimes&xfile=data/citytimes/2011/January/citytimes_January38.xml Khaleej Times news article, 4 January 2011
3. ^ http://gulfnews.com/business/features/quay-evano-let-the-music-flow-1.532350 Gulf News article about Eric Quay Evano, 26 November 2009
4. ^ http://www.leftfootgreen.com Left Foot Green – official website, 11 January 2006
5. ^ http://gulfnews.com/arts-entertainment/music/metal-detector-1.595384/sho-nuff-1.606447 Gulf News article, 1 April 2010
6. ^ http://www.metalityuae.com/?p=184 News article at www.metalityuae.com, 23 June 2010
7. ^ http://www.reverbnation.com/page_object/page_object_bio/artist_604670 Band biography at www.reverbnation.com, 2010
8. ^ "ProgRock Records :: Products". Archived from the original on 2011-02-08. Retrieved 2011-01-25. Project Creation – Dawn On Pyther album details at www.progrockrecords.com, 2006
9. ^ http://www.myspace.com/morphedassembly Morphed Assembly's Myspace page, 21 July 2005
10. ^ http://www.metalityuae.com/?p=368 UAE Metal Asylum CD launch – event details, 6 August 2010
11. ^ "The Blacksheep - the Blacksheep presents: Strong South TUNOG KALYE Gig @ Ratsky 3 Club. Dec 17, 2010". Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2011-01-27. Black Sheep concert details, 17 Dec 2010
12. ^ https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=19278713927 Dubai Rock Nation on Facebook, 2008–2011[user-generated source]
13. ^ "Yasalam". Archived from the original on 2010-11-14. Retrieved 2011-01-27. Details of Sho?'s performance at Yasalam Beats on the Beach – 7:15pm, 11 Nov 2010
14. ^ http://gighive.com/gig-artists/archives/tag/shoband Sho? at www.gighive.com, 2010
15. ^ http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/new-website-is-music-to-the-ears-of-up-and-coming-groups The National newspaper article, 24 May 2010
16. ^ http://www.7days.ae/storydetails.php?id=87457[permanent dead link] 7 Days news article, 2 Dec 2009
17. ^ http://gulfnews.com/about-gulf-news/al-nisr-portfolio/tabloid/articles/sho-set-to-rock-for-sure-1.33021 Gulf News article, 17 June 2009
18. ^ 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[user-generated source]
19. ^ "Sho? - nominated by Time Out Magazine in Dubai under "Best Local Band" category :: JorZine News". Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2011-01-25. News article at www.jorzine.com, 2 December 2010
20. ^ "Ep 46: Ep 46: Pop Culture - شباب العشرينات, Twenty Something - - Dubai Media". Archived from the original on 2011-05-17. Retrieved 2011-01-27. Dubai One, 'Twenty Something' (Episode #46), archived TV recording
21. ^ http://www.metalityuae.com/?p=655 News article at www.metalityuae.com, 3 January 2011
22. ^ 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
23. ^ http://www.metalityuae.com/?p=160 Sho? EP details at www.metalityuae.com, 21 June 2010
24. ^ https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B-ZUBT0_XeLgYzUyMGY5MjAtMDJjYS00NDg2LWFlNDMtYzY1ZDU1NGI1N2Zm&hl=en Dubai Eye 103.8, archived radio recording
25. ^ https://soundcloud.com/sho-2 Dubai Eye 103.8, archived radio recording

## External links[edit]

* Sho? on Youtube