Biography

After spending years together in the studio working in a producer / artist capacity with musical duo Ninja Sex Party, Jim Roach and Dan Avidan realized they had a shared affinity for many older bands that all shared themes of big music, big guitars, and even bigger songs. During the early months of COVID-19, Jim started sending Dan new music to work on mainly to pass some time, and in turn, Dan would work on lyrics and melodies that were primarily inspired by the classic books he was spending his downtime reading. From Dracula to Moby Dick, many of the song themes were inspired by these classics, as seen with the debut single “White Whale.” “After writing our first song, “White Whale,” together we knew we were onto something special” recalls Jim - and thus Shadow Academy was born. Dan and Jim both have established careers in the music industry. Dan is the lead singer of the Billboard chart-topping band Ninja Sex Party and co-host of the YouTube channel Game Grumps, which has amassed over 5.3 million subscribers. Jim is an Emmy Award winning record producer and songwriter who is now venturing out from behind the scenes. Their joint passion for older alternative music as well as their affinity for the great rock bands of the 1970s is clearly heard in their sound. Shadow Academy reminds the listener of the likes of Rush, Smashing Pumpkins, My Bloody Valentine, M83, Alice In Chains, Queens Of The Stone Age, Placebo, MUSE, and many more.