Shohei (pronounced Show-hey) Kobayashi is an 18-going-on-19, singing and songwriting college student with no relation to the Kobayashi of hot dog eating fame.
For several years as a kid, Shohei listened to his father play classical guitar around the house, eventually influencing him to pick up his first guitar in late 2004 and begin teaching himself how to play.
Fast forward about five years. Shohei has released two original full-length CDs, "Hopefully..." (2007) and "Waterways" (2009). He focuses a lot of his songwriting energy on his chord progressions as he works hard to make sure his guitar is speaking as much as his words. His attention to the more musical details of his songs is something he partly attributes to his involvement as a rhythm guitarist and background singer for a hip-hop jazz rock group while in high school. Meanwhile on the lyrical front, he finds it difficult sometimes to string together pretty words in a poetic fashion - a creative deficiency that he hopes translates to being simply honest. His growth in high school as a member of a school songwriters club, his experience on stage with the band, and his studies of both Jeff Buckley's and Glen Hansard's very expressive performances all come together when he walks on stage and tries his best to sing his heart out. The sound that comes through can be closely described as soulful folk/pop/soft rock with traces of Buckley, heart-driven falsetto bridges, and playful whistling.
Strumming the same guitar he has had since he started, he is beginning to collect songs for his next release. Although he still listens to Jeff Buckley from time to time, his influences have broadened a bit more since then; he currently listens to a combination of Dave Smallen, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Bob Dylan, The Swell Season, John Mayer, Leonard Cohen, and John Prine.
For more information (or to leave comments about this silly self-written biography), email him at ShoheiMusic@gmail.com
Editor's note: We think it's a great biography and we can't wait to hear Shohei play again!
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