The Shins is an interactive Fan site aiming to provide interesting and up to date information for both the casual as the die hard fan. Featuring members blogs, videos, audio samples, tour data, lyrics and much, much. It's a MUST READ for any The Shins Fan.
The Shins' story begins in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996. Brought together by a genuine love of pop music – singer/guitarist James Mercer, drummer Jesse Sandoval, keyboardist Marty Crandall and bassist Dave Hernandez formed The Shins. James Mercer had taught himself to play the guitar as a teenager, while listening to bands like Echo & The Bunnymen and My Bloody Valentine. With time, he developed a more pronounced interest in ‘60s pop and the art of well-crafted songwriting. Mercer’s aesthetic, paired with the like-minded sensibilities of his bandmates, gave rise to this most friendly troupe of disbelieving pop heroes. The Shins began in 1997 as the side project of James Mercer's primary band Flake. James formed Flake in 1992, they eventually changed their name to Flake Music, releasing several singles and a well-received album, When You Land Here, It's Time to Return They toured for awhile with friends like Modest Mouse and Califone.
Soon after the release of When You Land Here, James Mercer and Martin Sandoval formed the Shins as a change of pace. Now with James Mercer as the Shins' primary songwriter, the group developed a more focused and better structured sound than Flake Music's charming, but less well structured style. The Shins' sound is commonly described as Indie rock, drawing on several musical genres including pop, alternative and folk.
Soon after the release of When You Land Here, James Mercer and Martin Sandoval formed the Shins as a change of pace. Now with James Mercer as the Shins' primary songwriter, the group developed a more focused and better structured sound than Flake Music's charming, but less well structured style. The Shins' sound is commonly described as Indie rock, drawing on several musical genres including pop, alternative and folk.
The sound is usually described as Indie rock. Indie Music is used to refer specifically to various genres or sounds of music that runs parallel to more commercial music. During the 1980s, Indie Music was synonymous in Great Britain with jangly guitar pop of the C-86 movement. During the 1990s Indie music became more expansive and established as a growing number of musicians and fans began seeking alternatives to the mainstream music establishment. The Shins are an example of an Indie Music Band that is not (currently) with one of the Big 4 record labels, but is under contract with Sub Pop. There they can shine as the champions of uncertainty and understatement. Unlike many of their successful Indie peers, The Shins don't want to change your life, the band's biggest strength is the gift for creating a deep sense of the familiar. Many of The Shins' best songs evoke a feeling of comfort and closeness that's immediately recognizable but rarely experienced.
