SONGWRITER, MUSICIAN, actor, comedienne, and all-around artist Shonali Bhowmik has been making her way in the independent scene for decades, whether it was her 90’s band Ultrababyfat, the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy troupe Variety SHAC alongside Chelsea Peretti, or more recently her band Tigers and Monkeys.
Throughout that time, Savannah has been a stop along the way. The current tour around her new solo album is no exception.
“Wes, who owns El-Rocko Lounge, has been a great friend. A diamond in the rough—someone who really supported my art in all forms and fashion. Which is literally what this tour is about,” Shonali tells The Savannahian.
“[I’m] trying to celebrate all of these people who’ve shown me love and vice versa. Savannah is definitely one of the big parts of my story.”
Shonali has been coming to Savannah for years with various bands and projects, but August 29th at El-Rocko will be the first time she’s playing here under her own name—Shonali.
Shonali
Her solo album, One Machine At a Time, is a record she made following the passing of her father. It was made as a means of processing grief, rather than an on-the-nose response to losing her dad.
One Machine has the undeniability of indie rock at its loosest and most irreverent, while also boasting the production and sensibility of jangly powerpop at its most original and relevant. There are huge hooks, big drums, and lots of guitars and keyboards surrounding Shonali’s singular vocal style and honest lyricism.
What stands out the most about the record is that it feels like it was made with friends in a room somewhere—which the Nashville-based says was absolutely the case, born out of a heavy time that called for camaraderie.
“It just all came to me so quickly. Losing dad, losing a cousin, losing a brother-in-law. The pandemic, Trump—I just remember thinking, ‘I can’t make art. This is weird.’ And then in April 2023, something happened,” she says.
“There was this wave that hit me and I realized, ‘You know what? My dad is a part of me and my expression is a part of his expression. What am I doing? Let’s get back in there.’”
The passing of her dad, she says, “lit the fire.” There is one song on the album, “Fireflight,” that’s a direct tribute to him. But ultimately, his passing was the “fuel” for her to continue doing what she loves and expressing herself through art.
That revelation led her to calling her friend, producer Dan Dixon, and linking up with other musical friends including Darren Dodd, K. Michelle DuBois, Shannon Wright, and Jeff
Holt—all people who’d been part of her journey in the years prior. The result is One Machine At a Time.
“I just wanted everyone to put their fingers into the mix,” she says. “I very intentionally put these people into the mix, and I’d never done that. I’d always gone in with a band I already had. There’s something about knowing that we’re great friends, but we’re also so aware of what we’re doing.”
Once Machine displays a certain vigor and vitality that you often get from an artist’s early work, but is more rare for a veteran like Shonali.
Because of the motivating factors around it, and the spirit and energy she cultivated with her friends as collaborators, the album sounds like the beginning of something. And she’s not stopping any time soon, either.
“I love where I’m at now. We’re living life and we’re creating stuff, and it’s all valuable and important,” she says.
“I will not stop. I will be on that stage at 90 years old, if I’m alive.”