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BIO In 1990, our drummer (who also happens to be my brother) Dave Hodgson and I envisioned the idea of Shadow of Doubt. Our idea was to play interesting, challenging, and melodic progressive heavy metal. In those days we were heavily influenced by the likes of "Iron Maiden", "Queensryche", "Rush", etc. However, we were also very interested in some of the traditional and contemporary jazz. For myself in particular, I practically wore out my copy of the Romantic Warrior album by "Return to Forever", which featured Chick Corea (keys), Al Dimeola (Guitar), Stanley Clarke (bass), and Lenny White (drums). Dave was very much into such drum monsters as Buddy Rich, Billy Cobham, Joe Morello, and Steve Gadd. We had a difficult time finding musicians who were either into our style of music, or who were competent enough to play it. By 1991 we finally hooked up with bassist, and long-time friend, Gil Nasrallah (who played with us in a high school band called "Prowler"). So, with myself on vocals and guitar, Dave on drums, and Gil on bass, the original Shadow of Doubt lineup was complete. Having a multitude of original songs to choose from, we decided to record our first demo at the now defunct "Ambience Studios" on Rideau Street here in Ottawa. The first song we put down was Take Me Away, which featured local keyboardist Karl Carisse. The following two songs to be recorded were The Escape and The Lie. The tape was ready for release in mid-1992, and was a valiant effort considering our age and limited experience. However, upon listening to the tape today, I feel the production was substandard (especially Take Me Away), and the songs could have benefited from a little reworking (The Escape and The Lie in particular). In an effort to promote the band, I was able to pester some of the local club DJs to play our tape. We also received some local airplay, as well as airplay in Greece of all places! In addition, we had some very enthusiastic response from "Force Magazine" in Holland. Our first official gig as Shadow of Doubt was in September of 1992 at the local heavy metal haven "Roxanne's" (which has long since disappeared), opening for a band called "Cleveland" (from�where else?�.Cleveland!!!). We played regularly on the local club scene, and I continued to write new songs, so by 1994 it was evident that our first demo no longer represented the direction of the band. We headed into "Rock's Wonderland Studio" to record our second demo Another Lie. This demo was recorded quite quickly, and was almost live in the studio. The rhythm tracks were recorded first, practically in one take each. Next, the guitar solos were overdubbed in over the rhythm tracks. The lead vocals were recorded last, also in one take each. The demo was released in the fall of 1994, and was very well taken by most who heard it. I was quite proud of it at the time, feeling it really captured the essence of the band. Again, listening to it now, I find that it was too rushed, thus the playing is not as good as it could have been (not to mention that I cannot stand the production to the point that I cringe every time I listen to it). We were putting on good live shows in those days. I felt that the band was really tight, and that we were really pumping out some serious energy. We had a pretty good mix of covers and originals, and those who saw us back then agreed we were a top-notch progressive-metal band. We had even experimented with keyboards (played by myself and Gil), but our budget at the time was such that we could not afford the technology to pull it off as a three-piece. I also remember one gig at the fore-mentioned "Roxanne's" where I was so sick I could barely talk, let alone sing! Therefore, Dave ended-up singing most of the songs, and the ones I sang were essentially turned into death-metal versions. We also did some out-of-town gigs, most notably one at the notorious "Backstreet" in Montreal. We received more local airplay with the new demo. The Ottawa radio station "106.9 The Bear" used to have a show called "Hard Attack", hosted by John Tenant. Upon receiving our tape, he featured us as "new band of the week" on the show. We also made a few television appearances. We were on the Rogers 22 show "Soundtrack", a show hosted by Janet Eastman, which was dedicated to the local Ottawa music scene. The first time we were on the show was essentially to promote the band, and to let people know who we were. We played Another Lie from our (at the time) forthcoming tape, and a portion of a song called Winter (a song we no longer play). The second time we were on the show we were promoting a Christmas food bank benefit that I had organized. We did not play on that particular episode. The Christmas show was at "The Whipping Post" (now known as "Caf� Dekcuf") on Rideau Street. We also appeared on "The Tom Green Show". That show was broadcast live, and was an absolute blast! We played Tears of Blood and Another Lie in their entirety. We also played portions of Nightmares, The Sleeping Night, Melissa (an old song we no longer play), Time Bomb, The Escape, and Are You Still There (another old song we no longer play) as breaks between segments of the show (a la Letterman style). By 1996-97, I felt the band was starting to lose its direction. We were really piling on the covers, and completely straying from the original purpose of the band. We were playing loads of "Kiss" and other ultra-commercial hard rock-type covers. They were good songs, but hardly representative of the progressive-metal band we had set out to be. It was also evident that Gil was becoming increasingly disinterested in the band. So when he announced he was quitting, as disappointed as I was, it really was no surprise. We played our supposedly last gig as Shadow of Doubt February of 1997 at a band wars competition at "The Glue Pot Pub" on Queen Street. It was, for obvious reasons, a lackluster and uninspired performance. We did regroup in August of 1997 for our apparently "last show ever". Also, we played in December of 1998 at "Perfect Strangers" on Rideau Street. We did a set of mostly "Iron Maiden" and "Kiss" covers. We threw in Nightmares and Take Me Away for good measure. Also playing with us that night was guitarist Dave Ray, formerly of local metal merchants "Dead Calm", and a former "Prowler" band mate. Dave and I spent the years between when the band went on hiatus, to the time we regrouped (1997-2000) in a band called "Revolver". This was a strange band made up of myself on bass (!), Dave on drums, the fore-mentioned Dave Ray on guitar, and Steve Carter on vocals (formerly of local bands "Conspiracy" and "Dead Calm", as well as Toronto-based "Habitual"). "Revolver" also did a stint during the first three quarters of 1992 as a side project from our respective bands. "Revolver" was more of an excuse to party then any kind of serious attempt at music. Crawling out of practice was the norm (if you know what I mean!). The music we played was quite varied, but inevitably ended up sounding like heavy metal. Some of the bands we played were, "The Beatles", "Jimi Hendrix", "The Police", "Guns N Roses" (!), "Metallica" (!!!), "Iron Maiden" (!!!), "Nirvana" (hahahahahhaha), "NEIL DIAMOND"!!! (for God's Sake!!), you get the picture. We did manage about ten gigs together, with the highlights being a gig somewhere in La Peche, Quebec around April or May of 1992, and one at "The In-Between Club" on Rideau Street during the summer of 1998. As all good things must come to an end, "Revolver" was no exception. So late 1999 found Dave and I without a band. I had been working on new material at the time of Revolver's demise that was pretty well in the same vein as Shadow of Doubt. So Dave and I started jamming on these new songs, and lo and behold, we decided to reform Shadow of Doubt! We put an ad in the "Ottawa Xpress" (which sadly no longer has the wonderful Music Xpress advertising section it once had) for a keyboard player and a bass player. We were surprised at the response we received. However, we were not surprised that most of the respondents were not what we were looking for. One of the keyboard players who responded was Rick Barkhouse (formerly of the Nova Scotia-based band "Prozac"). He happened to be exactly what we were looking for, and is now the keyboard player for Shadow of Doubt. Rick is a first-class player who brings a lot of fresh, new ideas to the band. I am not going to get into some of the bass players we tried out, as I would not be able to type this story over my hysterical laughter. I'll just get right to the point, we chose Dave Bergeron. Dave is a talented bass player, whose enthusiasm is second to none, and as a bonus, he also happens to be a hell of a good guy. So the next decision was, do I want to continue as the singer of the band? I was up in the air on that one. But realistically, it was either guitar or vocals, as I felt both suffered in the past due to lack of 100% dedication to either one. I feel I am a guitarist first and foremost, so we decided to look for a singer. The first person we thought of was our old friend Steve Carter from the Revolver days. We jammed for a month or two, but unfortunately that did not pan out, as Steve had too many outside commitments to be able to devote an adequate amount of time to this band. Therefore, we mutually, and with absolutely no hard feelings, decided to part ways. We then placed an ad in the (sorely missed) Music Xpress section of The Ottawa Xpress. The response was adequate, but most of the people who answered were not suitable, except Ren Vettore. Ren is an exceptional vocalist, who brings a lot of energy, and a positive attitude to the band. So there we have it, the band lineup as it stands today. Our first gig together was August 9, 2002 at "Bumper's Roadhouse" on Bank Street. We had the pleasure of playing with local classic-rockers "Forbidden Dream". The show was a huge success. Both bands played great, and a good time was had by all who attended. We have finished recording our third release "Dreaming Of Insanity", at Pebble Studios in Ottawa. This CD is a musical journey laced with intricate compositions, and unforgettable lyrics and melodies. The CD has recieved quite a lot of airplay on the local prog-rock show "La Villa Strangiato", hosted by Gary Lauzon (airs Tuesdays at 6:00pm on CHUO 89.1 FM). If you are interested, you can email us for a copy, or you can purchase a copy at one of our shows. We are looking forward to continue playing to audiences both locally and outside the Ottawa area. So in closing, I would like to say thanks for visiting our web site, and thanks for taking the time to read the history of Shadow of Doubt. I hope to see you at our next show. -- Todd