Ilya Shatov

Grossmont College student Ilya (pronounced “ill-ya”) Shatov can’t decide what he wants to pursue more – a career in medicine or a future in music.

So for now, he’s chasing both.

The Russian-born singer/songwriter--one of six acts taking the stage Friday at Cuyamaca College’s Winter Wonder Jam--is a former guitarist and vocalist for the pop punk band, A Dull Science, which toured the western and Midwestern United States and put on about 400 shows during its seven-year existence. Winning numerous Battle of the Bands awards and songwriting competitions, A Dull Science captured “Best Punk Artist” honors at the Hollywood Music Awards in 2008, and played with the likes of P.O.D., A Flock of Seagulls, Lou Gramm of Foreigner, and the Ataris.


The Santee-based group formed in late 2006 was young, but talented enough to have a full-time manager not long after its genesis and began performing at Los Angeles venues including the Roxy, the Viper Room, and the Knitting Factory.

George Varga, pop music critic for the San Diego Union-Tribune, described the band’s 2008 debut album, “What Were We Thinking?,” as an “unusually polished work for a debut,” adding that “if A Dull Science’s members are even half as accomplished on stage as on this album, their future should be bright.”

But music is a fickle business and the band didn’t last, so Shatov went off to nursing school, where he discovered his knack for the sciences and started on the road of pursuing medicine as a profession. At Grossmont College, where he is a first-semester student, Shatov is majoring in biology.

“But I can’t stay away from music for too long,” he said.

Russian roots

Born in Moscow, Shatov immigrated with his family to New York City at age 8, where his father, a former professional boxer who was the No. 2-ranked middleweight in all of the Soviet Union, started working as a diamond merchant.

As a third-grader in elementary school, Shatov was introduced to music through the humble kazoo.

“I really wanted to play the alto sax – Clinton was president back then – but the school started all the kids with the kazoo because they didn’t want to invest in a bunch of expensive instruments unless students were really serious about wanting to play,” Shatov said.

By the time he reached the ninth grade, his parents had split up and his mother took him to relocate to San Diego. It was at Serra High School that he began hanging out with other music-minded teens and after graduating in the spring of 2006, he and a trio of friends launched A Dull Science.

These days, the Russian expatriate is carrying 15 units of classes and working fulltime as a general contractor with a close family friend. Within the past couple of years, he began feeling the pull of music again and has been performing as a solo vocalist in the pop/alternative rock genre in local venues like House of Blues and Tin Roof in the Gaslamp district.

“I don’t sleep much,” he responds when asked how he finds time for music.

The 27-year-old former Junior Olympic swimmer who’s even dabbled in modeling for the Wilshire-based Daniel Hoff talent agency has led a life interesting enough to be featured in the best-selling “Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul” book series.

At Cuyamaca College’s Winter Wonder Jam, Shatov will be joining five other bands and artists performing original music, along with their version of a Christmas song.

The homegrown music fest is set for 7-10 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4, in the performing arts theater.

Open to the public, the sixth annual music fest is put on by students in the Music Industry Studies program as a term project to learn the intricacies of concert promotion and production. Admission is $5 or a donation of three canned goods to the San Diego Food Bank. Ample free parking will be available at the college at 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway in Rancho San Diego. - Della Elliott

Ilya – Today

So, tonight, I am going to attempt to write a song review. Tonight I chose Ilya with his song Today.
THey say to ask yourself if an album is worth $15, the answer is for this artist yes, so I guess that means is the song worth a ,99 cents download. The answer is yes. Would this song make my grandmother turn off her hearing aid? Actually no. I think she may in fact like it if she were still alive. Ilya is a Pop/ Adult Alternative Rock Artist among the unsigned. After listening to him I can hear some John Mayer and Jason Mraz in him, but I am not so sure.

As far as The lyrics – you can definitely hear them, you can understand them, and it’s definitely a sing along, vs something that your not able to understand.
I didn’t see a video on his you tube account for this but i was able to watch another one of his songs called “Be Home Tonight live” - the indieauthority

Ilya Shatov


Ilya Shatov is a singer/songwriter out of San Diego, CA. who is a little more than meets the eye. Starting in music at a young age, Ilya excelled at the alto saxaphone but, his love for music kept growing. He began to dabble in guitar, bass, drums and even piano. Realizing that he had something to say, Ilya picked up a mic and hit the road with his first band, A Dull Science. Winning numerous battle of the bands, songwriting competitions, "best punk artist" at the Hollywood Music Awards, nationally touring and playing over 400 shows, Ilya has a lot of experience under his belt. Getting support from his sponsors, fans, friends and family, Ilya has always persevered through every challenge and kept his head up in optimistic hopes that one day he will be able to be the person that inspires someone to turn to music in times of hardship, as he did when he needed something to hold on to. Playing with the likes of P.O.D., Unwritten Law, No FX, Reel Big Fish, When in Rome, A Flock Of Seagulls, Missing Persons, Lou Gramm of Foreigner, The Ataris, Family Force Five, The Main, This Providence, and The Vans Warped Tour just to start the list.

"Some of the proudest moments for me would have to be with my last band. I was the singer of a pop punk band, and we won a music award, played warped tour, shot music videos, got on a label, all the good stuff."

GG: You've been making moves in San Diego, how'd you get into music? Ilya Shatov: I actually remember the exact day. ( this is a real story, i kid you not ) I was 14 years old and my music teacher sat me down after a lesson and said that he wasn't going to teach me anymore. when i asked why, he simply responded with, "if you want to be stuck in a rut, teaching kids like you for a living when you're 40 years old, then ill teach you everything i know. But if you want to make something of yourself, then go do something." I never forgot it. I know I've gotten a lot of support through the years, but this was the moment when i knew i was meant for music.

GG: Congrats on your growth, who are some of your influences?
Ilya Shatov: I probably have the oddest influences you can imaging. Everything from The Beatles and Queen to Blink 182 and John Mayer. Im a big fan of the classics but i also pull a lot of my interest from current artists. I have a long list but to top it i have eminem, lit, kid kudu, third eye blind, jason mraz, b-tribe, bon iver, and avicii.

GG: What are some of your proudest moments in music?
Ilya Shatov: Some of the proudest moments for me would have to be with my last band. I was the singer of a pop punk band, and we won a music award, played warped tour, shot music videos, got on a label, all the good stuff. My favorite moment would have to be the first time i was stopped in public because someone recognized me as ilya from a dull science ( a 14 year old girl ). Oh, and when i was written about in "chicken noodle for the soul, tough times for teens". i was actually in an nationally published book for how much i cared about my fans ( who i consider them my friends, because anyone who supports me is a friend in my eyes ).

GG: What cool stuff is on the horizon for you?
Ilya Shatov: What do i have coming up? I'm about to go back into the studio to record my second solo ep. I'm playing the county Fair down in San Diego ( which is always fun ), I just got my pandora station up so I'm going to promote my channel and hope for the best, and I'm going back to nursing school. i figure ill try to be a smart musician. only way i can write something new is to broaden myself so i might as well keep growing as a person. - Gentleman Genius

EARTHLY MUSICAL MUSINGS BY GEORGE VARGA
Who made you God?

January 3, 2008

Young bands looking for a novel way to build an audience and connect directly with their fans might want to emulate the approach of A Dull Science, the San Diego pop-punk trio that co-headlines Saturday night's seven-band “The Big Show” concert at the all-ages SOMA.

When local residents order a copy of the band's just-released debut album, “What Were We Thinking?”, the band's members hop in their cars to deliver them personally. “If they live in San Francisco, we mail it,” notes Ilya Shatov, 19, A Dull Science's expatriate Russian guitarist and singer.

The Santee-based group, which is led by singer-bassist Hutton Baird, 20, and also features swift-handed drum dynamo Kevin Pintado, 18, has an unusual work ethic for a band this young. “We practice every day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.,” says Baird. “The rest of the time we spend driving around town to deliver copies of our album and working on furthering our career.”

That career is still in its infancy – A Dull Science was formed in late 2006 – but the group has already performed at the Knitting Factory, the Roxy and the Viper Room in Los Angeles. It has also played SOMA's side stage three times; the band's Saturday gig will mark its debut on SOMA's main stage.

Also unusual for a group this young, A Dull Science has a full-time manager, Ronda Frisbie, whose support has enabled the band's members to focus solely on their music. Her devotion is well-founded, at least judging by “What Were We Thinking?” (available at the band's shows and online: myspace.com/adullscience).

Clocking in at just over 37 minutes, the 12-song album is an unusually polished work for a debut by an unsigned act. A Dull Science's musical influences are readily apparent, notably blink-182 and the blink-offshoot bands Boxcar Racer and (+44).

But greater originality should come with more time to develop a distinctive style. And if A Dull Science's members are even half as accomplished on stage as on this album, their future should be bright. In terms of musicianship, the trio's debut album is superior to blink's first few efforts (back when blink was a local band that regularly filled SOMA).

Baird and Shatov both play and sing with a degree of skill and confidence that belies their ages, even if their vocal styles suggest they need to spend less time emulating blink alums Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus and more time forging their own sound. Then again, as Baird sings on “Perfect”: Don't care if they like me, so long as I'm happy / Nobody's perfect, but whatever.

A veteran of the Serra High School drum corps and marching band, Pintado recently won the San Diego Guitar Center's annual drum-off competition. He is easily one of the most promising young sticks men in town, as evidenced by his explosive yet precise playing on such winning A Dull Science songs as “Love Scares Me,” “Calm Down” and “It's Christmas.” (To hear how good he was when he was just 16, check out his drum showcase at: uniontrib.com/more/dullscience.)
Spontaneous combustion

Speaking of dazzling drum videos, one of the most impressive and enjoyable I've witnessed lately features the masterful playing of Joey Baron on “Beeroth,” a song by saxophonist John Zorn's genre-leaping band Masada. (You can watch two versions, the first from last year's Vienne Jazz Festival in France uniontrib.com/more/viennejazz), the second from the 1999 Warsaw Jazz Days festival in Poland (youtube.com/watch?v=fWYWEaDpUNc).

Baron, who performs here with ace guitarist Bill Frisell Tuesday and Wednesday at Anthology in Little Italy, is one of the most eclectic percussion masters of the past 30 years. He is probably the only drummer around whose resumé includes work with Dizzy Gillespie and David Bowie, Laurie Anderson and Tony Bennett, Philip Glass and David Sanborn, Jay McShann and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Baron plays a lot of drums for someone who uses so few (a small four-piece kit, two cymbals and a hi-hat). He draws from a broad array of styles to create a rich palette that is full of adventure and surprise, but never obtrusive. As such, he is especially well suited to helping realize Frisell's freewheeling approach to live performances and spontaneous composition. - Union Tribune

STEVE CLAYTON BLOG
A Dull Science - (Ilya Shatov, Singer/Guitarist)

We just recently endorsed the band A Dull Science out of California. They have a good blend of a punk/pop sound to them. With some really great adslyrics, that everyone can relate to, like their song “Cheaters never prosper”. This song has some killer lyrics to it, with a catchy chorus that I couldn’t help singing along to while looking over their press kit. Even better these guys seem to have a sense of humor which is refreshing to see since some bands can be so serious as they get more famous :).

You can check A Dull Science out at the following links: - Steve Clayton Picks