Who. We. Are.
CAMI NYX
Founder & Lead Singer
Phil Stalter
Lead Guitar
Phil was born near the Great Lakes. He and his brother, Ben Kemp, moved to Westerville Ohio, switched instruments (on one occasion during a jam), then Phil went back to guitar and Ben back to drums. They grew up, put a band together, and began playing backyard parties and clubs in the Columbus area. They hooked up with various local musicians and started a band called Glass. It was around this time that Phil began employing a new skill in his guitar playing, the "two-handed tap" technique (which he adopted by mimicking a guitarist from the Netherlands). Almost immediately, Phil was recognized by friends and family as the best new rock guitarist on the scene, and he won numerous polls conducted amongst his band members. Having replaced their vocalist, the brothers changed the band name to 55 Arrows. For three decades memorable performances at venues such as Newport Music Hall, Huntington Park Stadium, Columbus School for Girls, The Summit Music Hall, Park Street, Signatures, and Rumba Café. cemented Phil's reputation as a lead guitarist willing to incorporate soaring leads into a wide range of musical styles. Be it an original song or covers of bands such as Blondie, Van Halen, Police, ABBA, Lady Gaga, Dua Lipa, and Kool & The Gang, Phil's unmistakable style adds an exhilarating dynamic and, at times, gratuitous volume.
Shawn O'Brien
Bass
Shawn began his musical journey at 30 years old. Bought his first bass in 2004 and hasn't looked back. He cut his live performance teeth with The Sofa Kings and played with them until 2018. In 2019 he joined back up with his guitar player Phil and started jamming with Ben. Playing a few gigs here and there while searching for the right singer. Then the stars aligned and the boys were introduced to Cami. The guys' determination and attention to detail have paid off and they will be backing Cami as...
The Shades
Ben Kemp
Percussion
Ben Kemp has played Drums for many Columbus bands including:
The Honey's, Good Company, The Damn Thing (featuring Marcy Mays of Scrawl), Bob City, The
Pleasure (featuring The Fabulous Johnson Brothers), Sophmore, Templeton and currently is the
drummer for Radio Tramps.
Ben began his musical journey at age 12, playing percussion at Blendon Middle School
alongside Trumpeter and future Shades Axeman Philip Stalter.
In the spirit of the Van Halen brothers, the 2 made a pact to Rock! At age 14 a drum kit and
guitar were acquired. They then began cutting their teeth in the suburbs of Westerville, OH on
Motley Crue, AC/DC, The Police and James Brown covers.
Over the next several years various bands came and went.
Eventually it was time for a new project. Phiip introduced Ben to future Shades Bassist Shawn
O'Brien and we twisted his arm to play ABBA covers. He was hesitant at first but, since he
loves the funk.... and ABBA is the best all time band in the world ever..... It worked! We
decided to somehow make this a thing.
Finding a KILLER singer was the hardest part of course.
A perfect match was made when Nashville's Cami Nyx needed a backing Band for Ohio shows.
W
It was Kismet! Both parties already did Dua Lipa covers and all agreed that making CNATS tour
t-shirts was an absolute necessity!
So..... Cami Nyx & The Shades was officially born.... Hewn into the living Rock!
