Indie Rock Artist Shane T Discusses ‘Night Drive’ EP, Going All The Way

God knows the mileage on Shane T’s GMC Yukon SUV. A full-time singer-songwriter, the Nashville native hits many gigs around his new New York stomping grounds — often with a drum set in the back and Broncho screaming through the speakers.

Shane T, the stage name used by Shane Toriscelli, spoke to The Daily Californian in an interview taken from his new tour van he shares with indie-pop singer Ritt Momney. Toriscelli’s statically inflected tone contained nostalgia as he thought back to his Yukon, parked (hopefully unquoted) in New York.

“(The tour) is already going fast,” Toriscelli said, calling in from the endless tarmac traversing the Washington countryside toward Seattle, between back-to-back shows. “Honestly, I think it was more daunting when I committed to 45 days on the road than it actually is.”

Toriscelli joins Jack Rutter, the artist behind Ritt Momney, and their backing bands, for a 27-show tour that spans just over a month. Departing from Rutter’s homeport of Salt Lake City, the van weaves its way along the west coast to arrive at the San Francisco rickshaw stop on March 8.

For the second time playing in California, Toriscelli traded sunnier skies for the harsh New York winter, as well as the chance to try out tracks from his recently released EP, night driving. With its airbrushed grainy graphic coverage, night driving hits hard with a grand production and an upcoming music video to raise the bar even higher.

” I worked on (night driving) for probably too long if we’re being honest,” Toriscelli said. “I’m thrilled to have momentum that I can keep riding with more frequent releases on the road.”

The title track of the album happens to be the introduction to Toriscelli’s new project. This intentional placement signifies Toriscelli’s pursuit of pushing his own musical boundaries, inspired by a former professor at his alma mater, the University of Georgia.

“The goal is to start with the best song,” Toriscelli said. “It’s gonna work because it’s the best song and then try to match all the others. And that’s kind of what I did with this record too, starting with ‘Night Drive’, which in my spirit is definitely the best song at least in terms of production and then working on all the others to make sure they all live up to the hype.

Stills from the upcoming “Night Drive” video (which even Toriscelli admits he doesn’t know the release date of) communicate a curated narrative that could be part of Miami Vice’s car chase, mixed with Mulholland Drive in a type framing Lynch. Although the project seems intricately orchestrated, the video grew out of Toriscelli’s antics a year ago with his friends.

“(We were just) running around New York filming random funny things,” Toriscelli said. “We were basically making a sort of neo-noir film.”

Working with Bradley Virshup who worked for free – Toriscelli firmly states that he will reimburse him eventually – the goal was to center the aesthetic, but not leave the humor by the wayside. Sometimes, Toriscelli shared, green screens and her mom’s tennis sunglasses make an appearance that’s clipped between shoes that “look like they belong in a real movie.”

The friendship between Toriscelli and Rutter began when the latter’s manager hooked them up, but their bond solidified during the first few shows the two played together in 2019.

“The routing (of the tour) was a bit suspect at times. We spent four days in Iowa,” Toriscelli said. “When you spend four days in Iowa with someone and there are 15 people at each show, you develop a pretty strong bond.”

As Toriscelli, Rutter and their motley crew cruised around the West Coast, Toriscelli gladly handed over the auxiliaries to Rutter and Ritt Momney’s drummer Rick West, who were more into “trendy music”. With the tour van flipping the gang’s favorite pick, PinkPantheress, through Oregon, this type of overnight ride differs from Toriscelli’s late-night cruises.

“I work on the music so much that the car is such a nice place to be quiet for a while,” Toriscelli said.

Toriscelli’s nighttime walks may be the inspiration for some of his tracks, but he admits the only drawback of having car access.

“I have to move it twice a week so it doesn’t get towed,” Toriscelli said. “Parking is potentially one of the biggest stresses of my life. Right now it’s just moving my car twice a week and trying to find another spot.

Although it will be some time before Toriscelli returns to his Yukon (and his potential tow trucks), he looks forward to the hours spent traveling long distances on tour, preparing to be received by the bustling crowds who welcome to the West Coast and beyond.

Contact Francesca Hodges at [email protected]. Tweet it on @fh0dges.