Ninja enthusiasts surprise attack Brillobox

It started off as a classic ‘wouldn’t-it-be-funny-if *insert foolish idea here*’ joke.

But… It started off as a classic ‘wouldn’t-it-be-funny-if *insert foolish idea here*’ joke.

But unlike most absurd ideas, starting a band called Ninja Academy actually became a reality.

In keeping with its secret assassins motif, the drums and bass duo go by stage names Indo Ninja (Joey Maramba) and Outdo Ninja (Robert Shaffer).

‘The idea of being Ninja Academy fits what we were trying to do,’ said Maramba. ‘We’re all about the community, playing with other people and sharing ideas.’

The ninjas describe their music as ‘bass and drums instrumental fury’ and ‘pummeling your ear drums … in a good way.’

‘Our band features the rhythm section as the band. Stylistically it’s kind of hard to say what we play because we tend to go pretty much everywhere, which is what I kind of really like about it, we can play anything,’ said Maramba.

‘ ‘When people ask what genre we play, I say instrumental rock, even though we play everything from punk rock to jazz,’ said Shaffer.

‘As far as the ninja thing goes it’s pretty much just the outfits. We hit a gong before and after we play, but that’s not really ninja, just Asian-ish,’ said Maramba.

The duo hopes for a late summer release for its new album, which is finished but awaiting mastering and an autumn promotional tour. Despite being its third studio album, the band chose to self title it.

‘I think the reason [for the eponymous title] is I feel like this is our first real album in some ways. There’s something about this one that I feel really, really represents us, so that’s why I like the idea of having that self-titled,’ Maramba.

In addition to boasting five or six guest performances, Maramba said the new album ‘is a bit more epic, more elaborate. Our last album was a little more in your face and stripped down. The new album has more to it, a lot more layers.’

The ninjas have been playing music together since they were in high school and as the band Ninja Academy for six years. They are not yet signed to a record label, agent or any of the traditional music industry contacts.

‘Everything we do is independent — the recording, this tour, everything,’ said Shaffer.

Having total control of everything from booking to recording can be nice but, as Maramba pointed out, ‘We get 100 percent of the profits, but 100 percent of nothing is still nothing. I would give up some control to get bigger gigs. Doing it all ourselves is a lot of work, it’s very difficult.’

No two Ninja Academy performances are quite the same.

‘We have what we call guest ninjas. Basically we’ve built up a roster of different people that come and jam with us,’ said Maramba.

These guests are anything from violinists to vocalists to martial artists who perform onstage.

The ninjas jokingly listed Madonna as a crucial influence, but upon further contemplation Maramba said, ‘Our influences become bigger and bigger the older we get, I think a lot of it has to do with people and relationships. Things make you feel a certain way and you write accordingly.’

Ninja Academy’s composition process varies. Maramba said, ‘Sometimes the song is done even before we play it. It’s hard to explain. Other times a song might take months to finish, it really depends.’

The Los-Angeles-based duo will be coming to Pittsburgh in May as part of its first national tour.

‘ ‘Since this is our first tour, I’m just looking forward to playing, seeing the country, meeting a lot of cool people, forming relationships with bookers and fans, let people hear our music. That’s gonna be the most fun part for me, seeing people’s reactions to what we do,’ said Shaffer.

‘They see the ninja thing and they go what the hell is this and then they hear us play and they’re blown away … not to sound cocky or anything,’ said Maramba.