Shinobi Ninja: A Band on the Rise

A few doors from the everyday bustles of the Gramercy Theater and the intense aroma of burritos from the Chipotle next to it beholds a slim, gray apartment building at 125 East 23rd Street.

You can’t tell from outside, but behind sound proof walls on the third floor, a band’s hard at work.

This is where the magic happens. Everything has been left here. It’s all or nothing. This is Shinobi Ninja’s current recording studio.

The group consists of lead vocalists Dave Aaron (aka D.A./Duke Sims) and Edara Johnson (aka Baby G), Bassist Alex Confurius (aka Alien Lex), DJ Markus Hrdina (aka Axis Powers), Guitarist Mike Machinist (aka Maniac Mike) and Drummer Dave Machinist (aka Terminator Dave).

They formed in 2008 when they met in Hell’s Kitchen at a recording studio named Progressive Music, where Aaron, Mike Machinist and Jonathan Nunes Simone (Jonny On The Rocks, original SN Bassist) worked and Johnson took vocal lessons.

Johnson started her career as a background dancer for artists like P. Diddy, Rihanna, Jason Derulo, Nelly and Daddy Yankee.

“It was people I grew up watching on MTV and I’m dancing backup for them,” said Johnson. “It was something I wanted to pursue and the fact that I accomplished it was amazing.”

Hrdina and the Machinist twins were in a band called Stalley and The Wax Machine. Artistic differences led to their demise, but it ultimately led to Shinobi Ninja’s genesis.

Their early days were hustle-filled. Just to get their name out there to people would make all the difference. They played gigs whenever, wherever. In the process, they tried to figure out their sound, which fuses together several styles – metal, punk, hip-hop and rap- a complete musical smorgasbord.

They toured and recorded in a studio in the Machinist twins’ house where they grew up, which inspired half their name.

“It had a real Japanese-like design, our Mom designed it, she’s an architect,” said Mike Machinist. “It was funny because when the band came over, they were like, ‘It looks like a ninja house!’”

The “Shinobi” half came from the Sega Genesis game, which Aaron always played at a friend’s house back in the day.

“That always stuck with me,” said Aaron. “Once I met these dudes and we went to that house and on the drive back, we became Shinobi Ninja.”

In 2009, they released a 9-song EP named “Brooklyn To Babylon.”

In February 2010, to keep in theme with their love of video games, they released a Nintendo-styled video game app named “Shinobi Ninja Attacks!”

The idea came from a trip to South by Southwest in 2008 and was an innovative way to put the band’s music over to potential fans.

“At the time, it was such a perfect idea because the iPhone one was out,” said Aaron. “It was like, ‘Nobody’s doing that! An iPhone app for a band? An unsigned one at the very least?’ They did it and it was dope.”

Every time the user beat a level on the reward-based interactive app, they unlocked a Shinobi Ninja song or music video.

“Our music plays in the background,” said Aaron. “If you bring the game to our show, the GPS sees when you check in and unlocks it for you right there.”

The app, featured in Apple’s “Hot New Games,” was downloaded over 10,000 times. The band still feels people didn’t know about the app because nobody expected it.

“When we put it out, nobody was doing anything like that, so it probably went under the radar,” said Confurius.

Other bands began to emulate Shinobi Ninja. A year afterwards, Linkin Park came out with a game.

The group then released the “Blunts and Nunchucks” Mix-Tape and Jonathan Nunes Simone left the band and Confurius (also Aaron’s cousin) replaced him.

Things were great in 2010. 2011 wouldn’t be any different.

In February, Shinobi Ninja placed second in “Artist on the Verge” in Los Angeles’ New Music Seminar.

On April 5th, they put out their first full-length, “Rock Hood.” The album, three years in the making, included songs re-recorded from earlier demos. They shot a video for their first single, “Brooklyn to Babylon,” but things took off with the second single, the lead title track, “Rock Hood” and it started with a music video that almost never happened.

Several attempts at shoots for the video failed. They were about to give up, but were then given the opportunity to work with director Dave Dutton, who had a certain vision and pulled it off in a day.

“That was from the great wisdom of our management, not to put out a half-assed video,” said Hrdina. “There was definitely a sense of relief on that part.”

In August, they did the 311 Pow Wow Festival and played with acts like Sublime With Rome, Deftones, Mix Master Mike and G Love.

The last week of September, the video for “Rock Hood” made its way to MTVU’s “The Freshman Five.” On the episode, things seemed full of promise, but things quickly turned, as one of the artists blew out a huge percentage ahead of them.

“Every member of the band busted every single social media outlet- Facebook, Twitter, E-mail and we watched the numbers blow up,” said Hrdina. “We passed the guy the day before voting finished.”

While MTVU provided great exposure for the song, they did one better. It was then featured on NBA 2K12. Now people all across the world had a Shinobi Ninja song and fittingly enough, it was through a video game.

“When’s the next time we can get our song in the hands of three million people?” said Mike Machinist.

The band toured for a month earlier this year. On the way to South by Southwest, they found a couple of fun surprises. They played a fashion show in Nashville, Tennessee and also in Panama City Beach, Florida during Spring Break.

Once finally at South by Southwest, their first year as official SXSW artists, they rocked out, partied afterwards and met new people. All in all, South by Southwest was an incredible experience.

“If you haven’t been there before, it’s difficult to understand the scope of it, you have to hear the sounds and smell the smells,” said Confurius. “There are 500,000 people in a very small area, bands are playing everywhere and the bars are all lined up down the street.”

On the road, the band keeps occupied in the way of thrift stores.

“You can find a lot of random, really cool clothes in a thrift store,” said Confurius. “By hitting them from town to town, you find that one shirt, that one jacket, after being on tour for like two weeks, you have a whole wardrobe that you paid nothing for.”

Even if they look the part, there are still plenty of hardships dealt with on tour.

“Lack of sleep,” said Confurius. “A lot of times you try to get a full night’s sleep and you’re sleeping on a bench in a van. After a few nights of that, it’s not really sleeping.”

Back in NYC now, they’re in the studio every day, as they prepare for their next album. This studio fits them perfectly: colorful record covers pop out like an Andy Warhol piece in a hallway that leads to a room with a brown leather couch and a Mac computer.

This room is tattooed with band paraphernalia. A poster depicts the six members as video game characters, complete with a “Nintendo”-like seal that’s replaced with “Shinobi Ninja.”

They also plan to make more videos for songs with footage from tour. They are positive while in the studio, which is a home away from home. However, they truly feel like natural road warriors.

“We’ll focus on whatever we can do in the time that we’re back but at the same time, the focus is still like, ‘Get out. Get back on tour,’” said Aaron. “It’s the only way you’ll meet new fans.”

Only around for less than four years, the band has gone far and with a new album to come, there are no plans to stop now.

“It’s not like you can sit back and enjoy this ride. You have to sit up. You have to put in to get out. We’re reminded of that every day,” said Mike Machinist. “We’ve made great progress, but there’s so many things to do- songs to write, places to be, it’s a never-ending thing, but this is our lifestyle, this is what we yearn for every day.”