Dayton Band, ThunderTaker, is The Complete Package! | Rock – Dayton, OH

by Mike Emmons

ThunderTaker is (from left to right): Ryan Palcic (guitar), Craig Bishop (drums), Parisa Samavati (vocals), Kainan Shank (bass).

Dayton, Ohio has a long list of “must see” bands.  A relatively new arrival to that list is ThunderTaker.  Though formed just a little over a year ago, they have already made their mark on the Dayton music scene and have a long and promising career ahead!
This band is the complete package!

From the first guitar chord to the last cymbal crash, it’s 110% pure adrenaline!  Perfectly blending aspects of arena rock with high energy post grunge, they own any stage they step on to.  Whether rocking out on one of their original songs, faithfully representing Led Zeppelin, Heart or Audioslave, or redefining a pop cover into a hard rocking onslaught, they never fail to deliver.

With stage presence to spare, this 4 piece is always in motion, with an energy and excitement that pulls the entire crowd along for the ride.

The band has perfect balance in their live performance.  The powerful vocals of Parisa Samavati are perfectly complimented by guitarist Ryan Palcic, whose guitar work is a sweet blend of funk, shred and soul. Add to this the thundering basslines and acrobatic antics of bassist Kainan Shank and you have a front line that is second to none. Behind it all is Craig Bishop, whose tight and powerful drums provide the perfect launching pad for the rest of the band.

What strikes me most about a ThunderTaker show is how each of these virtuoso musicians share their space; unselfishly yielding to the others throughout the show.  The bass never walks over the guitar parts. The drums always perfectly punctuate the vocals. Guitar and vocal melody always perfectly entwine.  They serve the song, not themselves, and it’s a level of musical maturity that belies their young ages. There are bands that have played together for 40 years that haven’t developed this type of synergy.  It’s a chemistry that results in a show that always gets the crowd going.

A review of ThunderTaker wouldn’t be complete without time spent on the quality of the songs.  Songs like “Smoke & Mirrors” and their eponymous “ThunderTaker” showcase the band’s ability to mix instantly catchy riffs with deep themes and serious lyrical content.  All of the energy and fun of their live performance is built on the rock solid foundation of great songs with excellent arrangements.

 ThunderTaker is a band you definitely do not want to miss, and you can catch them this Saturday at Oregon Express as they release their brand new EP, ‘Protostar‘ along with guest performances by McGuff and the Dumpster Fires & DipSpit!