Shiner (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Shiner | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Origin | Kansas City, Missouri, USA | |
| Genre(s) | Indie Rock Post Hardcore |
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| Years active | 1992-2003 | |
| Label(s) | Desoto, HitIt! | |
| Associated acts |
The Life and Times, Year of the Rabbit, Season to Risk, | |
| Members | ||
| Allen Epley Josh Newton Jason Gerken Paul Malinowski |
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| Former members | ||
| Shawn Sherrill Jeff Brown Tim Dow |
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Shiner began in October of 1992 in Kansas City, Missouri. Allen Epley and his long time friend, drummer Jeff Brown, began writing songs with musical upstart, Shawn Sherrill. Epley played bass in his previous band with Brown, but switched to guitar for this incarnation, and chose to use a friend to play bass instead of trying to find a "seasoned" musician. With an initial lineup set, soon they were playing shows with local stalwarts such as Season to Risk and Molly McGuire.
After just three shows, Shiner had caught the ear of the recently available drumming legend, Tim Dow. Dow approached the band first by letting his ex-bandmates in Season to Risk know that he was interested in playing with Shiner. Jeff Brown had a side project that was taking precedence over Shiner, so Epley debated the pros and cons of each scenario and decided that it may be in everyone's best interest to take Mr. Dow up on his offer. He and Epley rocked one windy March afternoon in 1993, and it was done.
Soon the band began playing many shows, often getting the prime spot, with the likes of Shudder to Think, Sunny Day Real Estate, Girls Against Boys, The Jesus Lizard, and Jawbox came to town. Indeed, it was Jawbox who first "discovered" the prodigious talent of this trio. Kim Coletta at Desoto Records was the first to call the band after hearing the demo tape that was forced upon them by the band. DeSoto offered the band the chance to record a 7" on their esteemed label, and the band was happy to accept. Meanwhile the band continued to book small tours and local shows to further develop a fanbase.
The 7" on DeSoto went very well, so well in fact that Kim & Bill (Barbot) gave them the opportunity to do a full length album on their label. This was special to Kim & Bill also because it was DeSoto's first full length release. Bob Weston was recruited to record the band at Steve Albini's home studio in Chicago. The album was recorded the first five days of January 1995, and was subsequently dubbed Splay.
All was well with Shiner for much of 1995. When Epley began writing songs with Sherrill and Dow, it became more and more apparent that Shiner was going to need a larger presence at the low end of the band. Shawn had filled the void like a professional for all his years in the band, but the new songs in Epley's head would require more than Shawn could fulfill. And so, they made the difficult decision to move on and find a new bass player.
While on tour with Mike Harbin as temporary bassist, Epley and Dow conspired to bring in Paul Malinowski as the rhythm section's missing half. Though the decision was difficult, recent disenchantment with his current band, Season to Risk, helped Malinowski accept the offer. Finally at this point, Shiner began to collaborate as a band, and within four months they had written twelve songs.
Long time friend and record mogul Ken Waagner, offered the band the chance to do a full length on HitIt! Recordings, who had put out two 7"s earlier in their career. Shiner went into the Chicago Recording Company in June of 1996, and recorded 11 tracks that they dubbed Lula Divinia. After Paul's arrival, the band's tours continued to be increasingly successful and the gospel of Shiner seemed to be spreading like a virus. Malinowski also mixed Lula Divinia after the first mix was scrapped. The production is mentioned by fans almost as much as the music itself.
Lula Divinia reached the hands of Subpop guru, Jonathan Poneman, who then asked the band to do a two-song 7". Shiner pumped out Sleep it Off and Half Empty, which was released December of 1997. The band went on to tour with HUM, Molly McGuire (now re-formed as Gunfighter), and many others.
At some point Josh Newton joined the band on second guitar and Jason Gerken took over duties on percussion. The band released a couple singles and an EP called "Making Love".
At the end of February 2000 a third album "Starless", was released on Owned & Operated Records. The label is run and owned by Bill Stephen from the Descendants and ALL. This is the first album with the four-piece line up.
After a lot of successful touring throughout 2000 and 2001, Shiner went back into the studio with J. Robbins of Jawbox to record their fourth full length album, entitled "The Egg". Released by Desoto Records on October 23, 2001, the album proved to be the finest representation of Shiner's ability to sculpt a concept from start to finish, utilizing complx polyrhthms and flawlessly shifting dynamics. Shortly after The Egg's release in October, the band made plans to embark on their first European tour.
After a year of touring for The Egg the band parted ways. They played their last show in January of 2003.
Allen Epley now plays in The Life and Times with Eric Abert (of Ring, Cicada) and Chris Metcalf (of Stella Link). Josh Newton is now in From Autumn To Ashes & The Great Fire of Sixteen Sixty Six.
