Night Shift



Genre: Hard Rock/Grunge, Alternative Rock
Location: Willow Reed
Label: Moonlight Records


Night Shift is a rock band from Willow Reed. The band formed in early 1998 when musicians Bane Lockhart, Connor Morvant and Mike Reed joined with singer Kaya Villalobos. Previously, Kaya, Connor and Mike were members of a local band known as“The Mark” (1994) and “Moonstruck” (1990) before that. Since their creation, they have sold over 14 million albums worldwide, making them one of the highest grossing grunge/rock bands in recent years. The band has released three “underground” albums and four studio albums, three of which have consecutively debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200 and a fifth due out October 2011.

Night Shift first gained popularity from local gigs in their hometown and small tours with bands such as Lyon’s Den, Red Wing, and Wrath. Their self-titled debut album hit stores on May 8, 1999, but sold mostly in the underground circuits. In the midst of a media blitz that sparked from a controversial dispute while on tour, Night Shift made headlines and became an overnight sensation quickly making a name for themselves as one of Rock’s premiere bands. They started headlining their own tours 3 years after their first album reached number 8 on the Billboard 200.


Midnight, the band’s second album, was released on April 1, 2003. The album debuted at number one on the top 200 as well as selling 315,000 copies in its first week of release. The album was certified platinum, shipping 1,000,000 units around the country and another two overseas. The band toured with Death Match and Sanguine for a year before hitting the studios again for their third album Hell with the fourth Cry Wolf following three years later both, debuted at number one.

Their fifth studio album, Black Moon, is set to be released October 31, 2011. In an interview with KZXR 93.7FM  and Willow Reed Broadcasting Networks, lead singer Kaya Villalobos stated that twenty songs were recorded for the album but only 13 made it to the final track listing. When asked the reason behind that particular number she said, “It seemed to fit with the release date the best with the full moon only five days before. We expect this album to be a major success!”


The remaining songs included “Trouble”, which was released with the single “Full Moon.” “Rare” with the “Animal” single and “The Hunt”, “Monsters” and “Affliction” as part of the iTunes pre-order bonus for Black Moon.

Black Moon will be the first Night Shift album to not include bassist Mike Reed. He was recently replaced with ex-Phase 2 guitarist/bassist Rafe Hemming. Reed’s many altercations with drummer Bane Lockhart were well known and publicized often even while on tour. Reed left the band over “creative differences” before completely disappearing under much mystery and speculation from the eyes of the media.


The band’s latest album, Edge of Chaos, was released May 10, 2015. It features 13 new songs all written and co-written by each member of the band including new members Caleb Trent (replacing Rafe Hemming) and Eli Frazier (replacing Bane Lockhart). It also includes 2 previously unreleased tracks written exclusively by former bass guitarist Rafe Hemming. Spokesperson and manager for Night Shift, Ulrick Pacheco, said in a recent interview that the band included the tracks in memory of their lost members.


Armageddon, the band’s 7th and final album, features never-before-released music from throughout Night Shift’s checkered past. The musical timeline starts from their creation with, original bassist Mike Reed, and following through with their current bassist Caleb Trent and drummer Eli Frazier. The album contains six songs from the cutting room floor as well as three originals written by Trent, one by keyboardist Connor Morvant, a duo written by Trent and Morvant and two collaborations with Linkin Park.

In an interview with X97.9FM, Kaya had this to say about Night Shift’s latest contribution: “We wanted to go out on a high but, also give the fans something they’ve never experienced with us before. In collaborating with Mike Shinoda and Linkin Park, I think we did just that. Our fans will be pleasantly surprised with those songs.”

In recent reports, we’ve learned that lead singer Kaya Villalobos and bassist Caleb Trent were wed leading many to speculate this as the cause for the band’s dissolution. As to the rumors of certain members pursuing solo careers, Connor Morvant had this to say:

“I don’t believe anyone is interested in going solo at this point but if they were, they’d have all of our undying support. There is no bad blood with any member of Night Shift. We’re friends but, we’re family first and foremost and no bond is stronger than family. Kaya, Caleb, and Eli are my family and it will always be that way. Whether we’re releasing music or just hanging out, we’ll always be together.”


Birth name: Kaya Danielle Villalobos
Born: February 6, Willow Reed
Sign: Aquarius
Eye Color: Baby Blue
Height: 5’8
Nickname(s): K, Ky, Baby K, Peaches
Notable feature(s): Several piercings as well as a tattoo on her lower back of a flower and one on her left shoulder of paw prints to match her Dad's. Fluent in Italian and French.
Instrument(s): Vocalist, Guitar, keyboards
Favorite music: Evanescence, Disturbed, Avenged Sevenfold, Three Days Grace
Personal interests/hobbies: when she’s not writing or doing general band duties, Kaya enjoys relaxing poolside at her family’s manor. Fond of nature, she gardens to find peace as well as rides and trains horses.


Birth name: Caleb Joseph Trent (Savage)
Born: October 22, Shadowvale
Sign: Libra
Eye Color: Light Gray
Height: 6’2”
Nickname(s): N/A
Notable feature(s): Multiple piercings in each ear, snakebites, nose and left eyebrow. Caleb always wears a pair of dog-tags given to him by his father Vaughn on the day of his first transition. Caleb also has a large, elaborate dragon tattoo on the left side of his body, courtesy of his brother Charlie.
Instrument(s): Bass guitar, piano, vocals
Favorite music: Queen, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Eagles, AC/DC, System of a Down, Shinedown
Personal interests/hobbies: Caleb enjoys writing: poetry, sonnets, songs and haikus. When he’s not writing, he is enjoying nature and hanging with family.


Birth name: Connor Morvant
Born: July 6, Paris, France
Sign: Cancer
Eye Color: Light Green
Height: 6’1”
Nickname(s): Con, Red, Frogger, CocoBear
Notable feature(s): Multiple piercings, cross laced with ribbon on his lower back, tribal wings on each upper arm (his family's crest). A naked woman flying upright on his right arm that he regards as his guardian angel, Kaya. “I will find a way or make one” in Simlish on his left arm and a tribal dragon on his stomach. Fluent in English and French.
Instrument(s): Anything with keys: keyboard, organ, piano, guitar
Favorite music: Night Shift, Deftones, Alice in Chains, Flyleaf
Personal interests/hobbies: Drinking. Connor is also the practical joker of the band, Connor enjoys pranking his band mates and catching it on video which he creates home spoof videos from and the self-professed “Ladies Man” is never without a girl on his arm.


Birth name: Eli Frazier
Born: April 18, Mystic Springs
Sign: Aries
Eye Color: Aqua Blue
Height: 5’11”
Nickname(s): E
Notable feature(s): Bright blue eyes and ghost white hair. Eli has several piercings including right eyebrow, nose and snakebites.
Instrument(s): Drum, guitar
Favorite music: Breaking Benjamin, 30 Seconds to Mars, Dry Cell, Ill NiƱo, The Flobots
Personal interests/hobbies: Eli enjoys extreme sports. Skateboarding, snowboarding, water skiing, motocross, skydiving, rafting, jet skiing, and para-sailing. Anything that involves water or death defying acts, he’s there.