The Shaxe (pronounced SHAKES) are a central New Jersey based alt-southern rock/funk party band which was formed in the fall of 1992 by guitarist Mike Liskowitz and Doug Drake, bassist/guitarist Dan Coffey and drummer Brian Impellizeri. This core unit would also platoon some recurring local musicians to broaden their sound including Sam Simmons, Peter Borg and Tom Stange on percussion, harp and sax respectively.
Over the course of the following decade, the band honed their signature sound borrowing from (and covering) grass roots rock of jam bands most notably The Allman Brothers and Grateful Dead. The Shaxe are also well-known for the vast variety of their live covers as well, which in addition have included everything from Pink Floyd, Neil Young, Springsteen, The Beatles, Stones, Elvin Bishop, The Outlaws, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Johnny Cash, James Brown. and Marshall Tucker, to more contemporary artists such as Phish, Cracker, Wilco, Stone Temple Pilots, Jayhawks, and Nirvana among many others.
The Shaxe have since played in the high hundreds of shows in the tri-state area drawing a good fan base at ski resorts in NY state and Vermont such as Lake Placid and Sugarbush. The band also just celebrated their 25th performance at Princeton Communiversity (now Porchfest) this past April.
The band has released 2 studio records; "Walkin Out My Soul", featuring Dave Dreiwitz (JRAD/Ween), Greg DiGesu (Wooden Soldiers) and Chris Harford among others, and the sophomore follow-up called “Lowdown Overload", as well as a 3-disc live release entitled “Live At Northwoods" which was recorded in Lake Placid where the band has been a local favorite for years.
In the Fall of 2015 Singer/Guitarist Brian Quinn joined the band and is still to this day, who also has added some musical diversity with his abilities on lap steel, mandolin, and harmonica as well.
Shaxe music has also been featured on WDRE Morristown, WXPN Philly, the Pipeline Show out of Trenton NJ as well as several other college stations including WXAC Reading and WPRB, Princeton where they have performed live on air several times.