| The Shivers | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Portland, OR, USA Minneapolis, MN, USA |
| Genres | Alternative country |
| Years active | 1988—1998 |
| Labels | Restless Records (US) Glitterhouse (Europe) |
| Past members | |
| Carey Kemper Kelly Bell Barry Haney Christopher Wolff Diesel Tucker |
|
The Shivers were formed in 1989 in Austin, TX by founding members Carey Kemper and Kelly Bell, and released two albums internationally on Restless Records (US) and Glitterhouse Records (Europe) in 1994 and 1996. Though originally from Austin, they were primarily based alternately out of Portland, OR and Minneapolis, MN. The Shivers were very favorably reviewed for their work in Rolling Stone (February 22, 1996) in both the United States and in [1] Europe. Their first record, eponymously titled "The Shivers", was released in 1994 to widespread indie acclaim both in the US and the UK, and their second record, "The Buried Life" (Restless 72915-2) was released in 1996, where it was lauded in the alternative country movement (e.g., top-10 best albums of 1996 by Country Guitar magazine, New Country, Mojo, Alternative Press,[2][3][4] and others) both in the US and Europe. Both albums were recorded by Tom Herbers (Low, The Church, Martin Zellar, Bash-n-Pop, Slim Dunlap) at his studio in Minneapolis (Third Ear Studios) and at Dead Aunt Thelma's Studio in Portland, OR. At the time of this writing, both albums are out of print and almost impossible to find. This band holds the copyright to the name "The Shivers" with the Library of Congress in the U.S.A. (est. 1993).
The band was an early alt-country groundbreaker, touring widely and continuously in the US for several years, including SXSW Music Conference 3 years running (1994–1996, the New Music Seminar (1995), the Northwest Independent Music Conference (1996) and NXNW (1997).
The founding members of the band were Carey Kemper (guitars,songwriter, vocals), Kelly Bell (bass, songwriter, vocals, acoustic guitar) and Barry Haney (drums), and this lineup produced the two above-mentioned records, as well as two earlier recordings, a self-released, self-titled cassette, and a 7" single "Almost Gone" b/w"Love Other Gone", both in 1992.
In early 1997, Restless Records released all their rock artists from contract and changed format, signing primarily hip-hop and rap artists. The Shivers broke up shortly after playing NXNW in October, 1997, ending their career by releasing an independent CD titled "v3.5", recorded by Joash Gallagher in Portland, Oregon.
Contents |
Recording Information about The Shivers eponymous CD (Restless UPC:018777277723 )
The Shivers: Carey Kemper (vocals, guitar, violin), Kelly Bell (vocals, bass, acoustic guitar), Christopher Wolff (drums, percussion).
Additional personnel: Barry Haney, Diesel Tucker (drums).
Recordists: Tom Herbers (tracks 1-2, 4, 6-12); Jason Orris (tracks 3, 5).
All songs written by members of The Shivers except "Never Leave Nevada" and "Gentle" (E. Ann Powell).