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Neighbors | Submitted.Members of the band Spy Convention, from left, Dr. Asif Khan and Dr. Zafar Sheik, recorded their debut full length album, "TIDAL." They donated portions of proceeds for the album from its release through September to the Mahoning Valley Second Harvest Food Bank.
by ZACK SHIVELY
Two Canfield doctors recorded a new album and a portion of the proceeds are going directly to the Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley through September.
Doctors Zafar Sheik and Asif Khan make up the band Spy Convention. The two met at their children’s school function in 2014. Two years after starting this project, they wrote and recorded their first full length album, “Tidal.“
The band teamed up with the Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley to donate some of the proceeds of their album sales to the food bank until the end of September. They chose to conclude in September because that month is Hunger Action Month. Khan said they “hope to help as many families as we can.“
The two doctors bring their own influences to the project. Sheik, an ophthalmologist, enjoys indie music like The National, and Khan, an allergist-immunologist, listens to mostly rock music, such as Rush. However, the two have a musical overlap that they used to define their sound: 80s music. The band creates pop music with a definite taste of 80s pop, mixed with their own influences, as evidenced by Sheik’s singing style that is reminiscent of The National’s Matt Berninger.
Both doctors have brought their own musical histories to the band. Sheik comes from a musical family and his sister was in the music scene as well. He sings and plays keyboards for Spy Convention. Khan has played in a couple bands in New York City. He drums and plays guitar on the album.
The Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley is, as stated on their website, a member of Feeding America and distributes food to a number of organizations throughout the tri-county area, including “church pantries, homeless shelters and soup kitchens, shelters for battered women and after-school programs.” According to their research, one in six people in the Mahoning Valley struggle with hunger.
Spy Convention’s “Tidal“ can be purchased on Bandcamp at spyconvention.bandcamp.com for $7 or more, on CD Baby at store.cdbaby.com/cd/spyconvention2 for $9 or on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/album/tidal/id1249608292 for $9.90.