Shellshag

The Final Word

2011-12-03T08:05:00.000-08:00

This is the final writing from last years Shellshag Japanther European Adventure:

I'm so tired. Days and nights have collided and formed one long non stop journey through time that seems to stand still. The first day and today are the same long day. Images of movies just released, Mac Donald's signs, white lines and black tar are a collage of normalcy, although there is nothing normal about what I am doing. Traveling with artists, a group of medicine men selling variations of the same potion, have left me feeling like an over worked doctor whose patients get better as he grows sicker. All will return to normal with rest, but although that rest is only a few days away, a few days are an eternity in a world where the clocks have stopped, or perhaps even begun to turn slowly backwards. It's days like this that make it hard to remember what I am doing here and why. Not here in England, but here in this world, in this life. In a week the memories will flood my senses and the days will separate and distinguish themselves in my mind. Then I will tell the stories of my journey and boast of my triumphs and confess my failures. A tired body and mind can tell a confusing story, just know that I am happy, so happy.

Glasgow belated

2011-02-17T15:54:00.000-08:00

Glasgow was fast and furious. Our hosts were awesome, dinner was great, sound was good, and the show was furious. We got there at 630 and were on our way to Manchester, our half way point to London, by 1150. The show was at Captains Rest, a nautical themed pub and restaurant with a show space in the basement. Our friend Allistars band Streets of Rage were killer! They really went off for Japanther there. I'm in Manchester waiting for everyone to wake up and then it's off to London for the final show over here. The entire tour has been amazing! The London show tonight is at Tufnell Park Dome, and then we play in Brooklyn at Williamsburg Music Hall tomorrow.

The Harley and Islington Mill!

2011-02-10T12:45:00.000-08:00

The Harley is rad! We were there early, about 230 pm, and the sound check was smooth and we had a hotel room right upstairs. We took a break after the check and watched the movie Red, it was pretty good. The show started at 7pm, 5 bands. Cusswords were on the bill with us again. Three young guys, really sweet, and their band name comes from the Big Lebowski. "do you have to use so many cusswords dude?". They play trashy garage punk, quite excited and fun. We are gonna have them in NY soon, you guys will dig it the most. The other 2 opening bands were great as well. Shag was hammered drunk for this one, but it was still great, and we destroyed the crap outta the drums at the end. Japanther killed as well. We got good sleep and after hanging at The Harley all morning, we were on our way to Salford, right outside of Manchester. We played the Islington Mill there, and met the other two Carlin brothers Mark and Morris. Paul Carlin hooked up Berlin for us, and Mark and Morris teamed up to take care of us at the Mill. A really cool brick complex with art, a show space and a sweet bed and breakfast! Our set at the Mill was one of our finest, we played really well, and the crowd was all smiles and so friendly. Japanther had a great night, all dancing and smiles. After the show we danced to the killer DJ's, who also did projections all night. We danced with cute friends and later got some nice rest in our room. I'm up now having coffee in the courtyard. Three shows left, Glasgow, London, and Brooklyn!
See you all soon-
Shell

Dial House

2011-02-09T05:24:00.000-08:00

We were only 10 minutes from going through the border patrol and English customs, so before i was completely awake the dogs and French and English cops were done doing there thing, and we were driving onto the train. We pulled the car right onto a train and sat in the car for 30 minutes, and presto, we were in the UK. So I am driving on the left side of the road now, with the steering wheel still on the american side, so I'm way over against the left side. I've been doing a lot of the driving, I've been doing pretty good. Like being in the mirror now, no big deal, I'm driving on the left. Keep left, keep left. We drove up to Epping where we spent an hour trying to find this hard to find farm house, the Dial House, in the countryside where we would meet Japanthers friends Gee and Penny, members of Crass. We finally found it, and it was a really cool old farm. They had tea and soup waiting for us, they were quite nice. So I'm chatting with Tony, bass player for the Buzzcocks, and I'm wishing I had my brothers knowledge of Crass and Buzzcocks. Instead, all I can hear in my head, are the lyrics to the Hickey-Million song 78666. "I don't know dick about the Buzzcocks". I'm looking at Pete Shelleys old guitar case and the Buzzcocks original bass players bass cabinet and Crass amps, talking with Tony about his new recording studio in a little cottage on the farm. These guys were so nice, and it was really cool to be around such old schoolers. I was young again. I was the guy with the shorter history in music. I was the kid. We stayed as long as we could by the fire eating soup, but had to be on our way to Halifax, we were running late. We arrived to a crowded bar and a really loud band was playing called Cusswords. They were quite fun, we are hosting them in NY this spring. We had to load in and get set up really quick, I had a few shots and 3 beers in about 10 minutes and I was ready to rock! We couldn't find the UK adapter for our power transformer, so we had to use Cusswords gear, which they were super cool about, even when I stood on the guitarists really nice amp which he had borrowed from his dad. We were loud and trashy, but the crowd was loving it. While we were playing, an altercation caused the night to end earlier than planned, and after a lot of commotion and a visit from the cops, we left early, and you guessed it, got an Etap hotel. Up next, The Harley in Sheffield-
Shell

Moulin Rouge

2011-02-07T01:12:00.000-08:00

Bordeaux was much different than everywhere else we have been in France. We arrived after dark and there was dinner waiting for us. We played at Le Saint Ex, a punk bar filled with smoke, and there was much less English and way more French. The gang got haircuts from this nice man Vincent, everyone but me. We had great sets, but wore out quickly afterwards, it was so smokey and everyone there was so trashed. A ton of fun. We headed out late, about 230am and drove 1/2 way to Paris and got an Etap hotel- slept 5 hours and then we had to get going to our 3pm load in at La Machine in the Moulin Rouge! We arrived right on time, and this place was really cool- huge! Loading, parking, and sound check- it was a little chaotic, but once we were done we relaxed and hung out. Japanther had a bunch of interviews and photo shoots, and we all played together for a recording. We played this song we wrote together, Red String, inspired by our friend Alex Hiller who is on tour with us. These music blog guys filmed us. We went for a traditional French meal, it was really good! I had duck and a steak. Shag had a tomatoe anchovie salad and fish and veggies. Back at Moulin Rouge we began to drink and socialize. The band, Ninja Wolf 2 played first and they were amazing!! Really cool 2 piece band. It was a wild Saturday night crowd, and shag and I played accordingly- wild! They loved it- we had guest singers and did our AK77's cover in French; kind of. Petan' Societe!
Japanther killed it. So many dancing girls, it was a sight to behold. We stayed and danced and partied til late, it's Moulin Rouge! Our host Sofia had set all this killerness up for us and she was such a fun person! Our friends Alexione and Camille from Lyon trained over for the show and hung out with us. They are the sweetest girls. We had a hotel down the street and I was asleep by 4am- back up at 10 am- load out. Then we went to Kiki's Apartment, he's the drummer of Death Set, and we finished up a recording Japanther had started a few weeks earlier. It is such a killer track, Kiki is a really fun guy, and fast as lightning on the recording work, so we got a lot done. Paris was all it's said to be and we really enjoyed it. We drove to the edge of the English Channel and got a room. I'm sitting here now and soon we will take the fairy, car, gear and all, into the UK. Tonight is at Bar Up in Halifax! Looking forward to English and seeing the Slits gals this week. 5 shows to go, then our Back in the USA show is this Saturday at Williamsburg music hall!! What a phenomenal tour this is, and we are ready to rock the UK all week!! See y'all soon,
Shell

Frito!

2011-02-05T02:39:00.000-08:00

Hell to the muthafukin Yeah!! We smoked tonight at the Apolo! We're playin at Apolos! Like a frigging circus show, traveling around, we killed it! We, knight toilet, shellshag, and japanther, had a really great show! The night before in Toulouse was really fun, our friend Patty had made us an excellent dinner, and we were ready for Spain. We had headed out right after that show to increase our time here in Barcelona. We had arrived early in the day and enjoyed the sunshine and atmosphere. Ian's brother Matt and his band Knight Toilet were here in town, and after a great day we all met up for an even greater night. Knight toilet set the tone with their wicked slide show and noise set thru tiny orange pignose amps.. They conjoured a spirit that carried shellshag and Japanther into a seamless night of good times and memories. We got the guitar up high in the ceiling during our set and Shag was making drum sticks stick in the ceiling right next to it. We danced up a storm. After the show, we were so amped, we slung all the gear on our backs, amp, drums and all, and carted it all on foot the 7 blocks to the hotel! I must of looked insane hauling this big amp down the street, and Shag and Ian renamed me "Frito" because of it. We hung out in the rooms for a while and then headed out to a party. We walked into a sing along acoustic jam session and Japanther quickly took over and were playing songs. I jumped in and played the one Japanther song I know how to play, come back home. We made friends with a fellow Texan, John, who lives here doing underwater sub operating. He came to the party with us. We walked back to the hotel and I crashed. I woke up later and had obviously missed a movie party- there were extra people sleeping in our room, and I learned this morning I missed The Fly, in Spanish. Now it's Friday and I'm sitting in the Magoo, our tour car, chillin in the sunny weather about to drive to Bordeaux France. Spain rules, I wish we could stay longer. Adios-
Shell

Grazi Italy!

2011-02-02T07:15:00.000-08:00

Pescara Italy was really killer. Pauolo was so cool. We arrived after dark and had calamari at a place called Posidens. After a walk we loaded in a met our host Pauolo- we had a great dinner across the street. A home cooked meal! Spaghetti, except it had a cooler name, chicken, salads, and expressos. The show was really great! We all sounded good. We went over to Pauolos house for a while and met his girl. We talked for a while. He's like a brother now. We had a cool little hotel with a balcony. It was a great stop. The next days drive was 6 hours to Trieste, a seaside cliff town that was extremely windy. The venue was hard to find- little narrow streets, hills, and there is no sign at the club. It's called Tetris, and was like a private club. They were fun there- Juan Marie and Max a million. We had a nice band room where we had hashbrowns and Pizza. What I gotta say is, Pepperochini Grappa. Grappa is like a liquor that we had tried the clear version of in Milan. This nights Grappa was made locally, and we were doing shots of it. It was so good! I tried the apple grappa first, but once I had the Pepperochini grappa, that's all I had. I'm going to try to get a bottle sent over to the states! You all would love this stuff. The show was packed and the promoter, Adrea, was really cool. We had a killer set, so fun in fact we made them turn on the house lights so we could see the smiling faces better. We hung around selling records and drinking grappa til late, then went over to the hotel. We awoke to a sunny morning on the water, frigging beautiful! We went back and loaded up before going shopping and for a picnic. This was to be a night off, but we had 12 hours to cover to Toulouse, so we drove 9 and got an Etap (motel 6) near Nimes and slept good before driving the rest of the way today. We drove along the French Riveara and it was really pretty. Now we are in Toulouse at Le Saint De Seins, the place we play tonight. It's pretty cool, like a youth center, game room, show space and bar all in one. We are about to do sound check and then have a look around. Italy was so great, and being back in France is pretty magnificent as well. With 10 days left we still haven't had our fill. We got plenty of juice left to rock these final shows, and although I could stay in the EU longer, I'm excited to get home and play the DG showcase in Brooklyn. That's it for now,
Shell

Pierre's Roma

2011-02-01T03:05:00.000-08:00

Okay, we are still talking about Rome 2 days later. We made such good friends with Pierre and Aubrey in Rome. Pierre gave me this really cool ring, and Jen a killer little coffee maker. We were talking at the show and a few hours the next morning, and we bonded so hard we wanted to stuff these guys in the Kangoo and take them with us! We are hoping to have them in NY asap, as they feel like family already. Come to NY! We have a lot more to write about, as it's been a few days since, but I had forgotten to mention our two new best friends, and they certainly deserve there own blog anyway. I wish I could get a picture to upload from my phone so y'all could see how pretty and sharp these guys look- we love you Pierre and Aubrey!!

Tony's Roma

2011-01-31T02:00:00.000-08:00

I talked to Tony on the phone about 1 hour from the club and it was like I had known him for years. We met in front of the bar, del Verme 8, and his smile was so warm his face looked familiar. We loaded in and went for a walk, beer in hand. Rome, with the reputation and all, was easy to fall in love with. Everywhere we went Tony had friends. Bringing beers out to us on the street, introducing their dogs to us, (Tony has a Spuds McKenzie dog named Fetus), and
it was easy to see Tony was the man. We saw lots of cool tags and graffiti, I've been learning more about the tagging culture from Ian of Japanther, and Im getting super into it. We went to a cool record store and were back at the bar in no time. Killer friend #2, Adrea, arrives after a while with, I shit you not, the very best lasagna I've ever tasted. I don't think I'll even eat lasagna back home anymore. I can't even brag about it enough to explain just how mind blowing this was. We learned later he is a chef in the works, almost done with his culinary training. Later around 2am he tought me about wine and wine tasting- in Italy!
Oh yeah, he also was the sound man and bar tender! The show was so frigging packed!!! You couldn't move through this place. They really got into Shellshag- we had such a good time playing. It's great how close you get to people on a special adventure like this, and we are just loving the Japanther cats and super assistant Hiller. So much fun.
Ian's even been jumping up and jammin drums with us on 1984. These guys had a killer set, great crowd, and we are up to speed and singing along and dancing now. Another new friend, Roberta was a fierce dancer and singer during the Shellshag set, and also seemed like an old friend. Everyone was kissing on one another and the friendship and fun was so thick, I wish so much to introduce you all at home to these guys in Rome that we spent the time here with. Someday soon I hope. We saw an old friend Hollis from Philly who was there with his friend Drew, and it was like a quick "cheeseburger" ( their words) seeing other folks from the states. We stayed out late drinking Grappa and wine and fuckin Russian vodka- so great!
Toni's house was a short walk away from the bar, and we got there around 3am. We went straight to sleep, and after 6 hours, Jen and I got up and went to the Colloseum. It's pretty incredible. Cappachino, expresso, and a mocchiato later we were loading up and heading out. Pescara is just 2 hours away, and along the drive through the mountains we hit some rain. We drove through, not near, not close to, but right through the brightest double rainbow, and we must of plowed right into the pot of gold. Magnificent drive!
Next up, Pescara Italy-
Shell

Lyon to Milan

2011-01-30T04:01:00.000-08:00

Grrrnd (ground) Zero in Lyon France is a really cool place. It's in a warehouse area, in a pretty big building with a ton of rooms. The show space is on the first floor, and upstairs are offices and rooms for bands to sleep. Lots of friends have been here before us, and we saw many posters of bands we know and like- Brilliant Colors were here recently I think. Our hosts, Alexione, Camille, and Guam had cooked up another amazing meal, there was so much food, these guys worked really hard for us; they were awesome. The show was really crowded and the opening band Biner(binary) also had a 2 person mic stand. There's was a T shaped stand for 2 guitarists. They were great! Shellshag had a great set, and we dedicated ourselves to some outstanding gear smashing at the end. Japanther had a roudy crowd at this one and the people at the show were so friendly and fun. We saw Elizabeth from Athens, and did an interview with Julian, who knew quite a bit about us and our friends. We slept upstairs at the show space, and awoke to yet another meal!
Running behind schedule we left asap for Milan. Every single place and host has been amazing, but Lyon was the most like home for me so far. Lots of hugs, smoking and dancing. The drive to Milan took a while, there was some traffic. We arrived at 8 and checked into our hotel, which was pretty swanky. Our host, Gian Lucca, was waiting for us there with the promoter Enrico, and these guys were great. Gian Lucca booked 3 of our Italy shows, and like us, is also good friends with Bjorn from the fabulous ZZZ. They took us to dinner at Stella Marine (Starfish), and I had some killer pasta with cream sauce. FYI, Alfredo isnt a real dish. It's a totally fake thing that's just in America- embarrassing when I tried to order it; The waitress kinda laughed even. The show in Milan was at a great place called Plastic Club, and both Japanther and shellshag played short sets back to back in the middle of a killer DJ dance party at about 2am. It was really fun. We were totally in the dark, with almost no lights, in the middle of a raging dance party.
We loaded out and got back over to the hotel around 4am. 6 hours sleep and we were off to Rome, which is where we are now. There is so much graffitti, and it's such a beautiful place. We are about to sound check and eat- it's going to be a wild show, I can tell-
When in Rome- what is it that someone was doing when this phrase was first uttered I wonder?
Cioa-
Shell

Night off in Lyon France

2011-01-29T01:51:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Lyon around midnight after a long drive day. A little worn out we were happy to see that Alexione's place was big and we could spread out and get some space. They had a killer meal and a small party waiting for us which was so nice. I crashed at around 3am, I was tired and wanted to be alone. I watched some of Serial Mom and then had the weirdest dream- I was half man half tiger, wondering through a jungle full of my friends trying to decide who to eat! I'm awake early and i'm alone in the kitchen having coffee and smoking a French cigarette. Today I will get some gear fixed up and write a new song, probably about that dream!
Avoir
Shell

Rosenhiem Germany

2011-01-27T04:34:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Rosenhiem Germany at around 3pm. It was a bigger city than we expected. All we knew about Rosenhiem was that Jen Shag's mom was born there. It was very pretty, and snow covered. We went to the city center and had a walk through the park and down streets with shops. Jen called her mom and her brother, and mailed postcards. We took some good pictures. It was only 1 hour more to Innsbruck, and the entire drive was through the Alps- Innsbruck is surrounded by mountains, really incredible views of snow covered mountains in all directions. The show was at PMK, a club Screaming Females played a few months ago and that the Pharmacy has played a few times. Our hosts were really sweet; got us everything we asked for, cooked us an amazing dinner and took us out for breakfast. The PMK has great sound, it was a super fun gig! Super host Beate put us up at her house, which was really grand. We had a really nice bed, showers, and she hooked Jen up with some clothes. It was killer-
Today's drive to Lyon France was the first long one of the tour; which we made longer by going around Switzerland, which we did, to avoid paying taxes on merch. We would get them back at the other side, since we have no show there and wouldn't have had any earnings or merch sales for them to tax.
So the added time to the drive was about the same amount we would have spent doing paperwork at the swiss borders anyways. The drive was about 12 hours, but with the night off, it could have been 2 six hour drives over 2 days. Since we went all the way to Lyon France, we don't have to drive tomorrow at all!
Je suis Shellhead,
Avoir

Austria

2011-01-25T11:34:00.000-08:00

Went for a walk in Vienna. Went to a graffiti shop, a drum shop, a shoe store, and I bought new shoes. They are warmer than my old ones. We went to the market and bought falafel and olives. We went to an art gallery and a tattoo shop. I can tell we will see these places again, we are comfortable in Vienna. We went by a museum and then we loaded up and drove to Graz. It was a clear night, a short drive, and we found parking right by the venue in Graz. The place was called HSG10, the address is Hans Sachs Gasse 10, so there you go.
There was an opening band, Gold Soundz, inspired by the Pavement record. We played in a stairwell with people spiraling up around us- we finished early and scored a hotel- watched some of Austria's "cops", same ole thing.
Slept good, good shower. Now we are driving to Innsbruck Austria, and we are going to stop in Rosenhiem Germany where Shag's mom was born- cool.
-Shell

2011-01-24T01:59:00.001-08:00

The Final Club in Praha is a private club. All night, even during the show, you'd have to ring the bell and someone would let you in. It's in an old building, a little bar and chill out area on the 1st floor and an old brick basement with arches and little nooks all over where we played. Brother Jay came, it was great to see him. We drank absinthe and talked all night. I didnt get to meet baby Carla though- The only drag so far. Praha was pretty crazy and surreal; They spoke less English than anywhere else so far, and only a few people seemed to know what the hell I was saying. It was so much fun! We needed a crazy night; the music was over by 1030, but we stayed and made friends til 2am. Shag was a hit with all the fellas, I made a good friend in the downstairs bartender Cevianne, she was nice and helped me chat with everyone. They use Krowns instead of Euros, so I had to bum drinks all night cause I never transfered any Euros. Our friend Rado let us have his flat for the night. Hiller cooked up the rice and veggies, slept like a rock. They snow set in on the way to Vienna the next afternoon. We drove around Praha first to get a daytime look, then about1/2 an hour into the drive it started snowing. It gradually got heavier as time went on, but we rose above, took our time, and we made it to B72 in Vienna safe and on time. I was a little whipped after focusing on driving; snow in the dark, so Riley took over and parked and drove the rest of the night, getting us to our spot to sleep. A good friend of Japanther loaned us his house; it's huge and really nice. That is where I am now. Japanther had just been here a month ago doing an 84 hour show on a round spinning stage at an art gallery here, so we made friends fast and everyone here seems like an old friend already! Our best set and our best sound so far! B72 is a cool bar with great sound. Today we drive to Graz, and the snow is done, the sun is shining, it's a beautiful morning. Euro tip of the day- You need a sticker to drive on the highway in Austria. It's like a toll, but there is no booth, or even an alert. You have to go to a gas station near the border, and buy this vignette (sticker) for 10 euro or less and put it on the windshield. Without it, could be a 500 euro ticket. Thanks Bloomie for the heads up, saved us on that one. That's all for now-
Shell

Twisted Robot

2011-01-23T05:16:00.000-08:00

Killer! The Berlin show was killer! Paul at Twisted Robot puts on a great gig, it was sold out; people had to be turned away. Pablo was there DJing, it was so good to see him and here the awesome sides he was spinning. He played Amy Jahn, which reminds me, 50 million bass player Bloomie came to the show! He trained up from Lipzeig and we were hangin together all through the night til this morning. He came and crashed with us st the 36 rooms hostel, my first hostel experience. It was a big room with bunk beds, like we were in the army- we had to put all the linens on ourselves and return them in the morning- towels were an extra 2 euros- it was different, fun. We just had breakfast and I had French toast- it was good. I guess all the traditional German dishes are in the south, and Berlin doesn't really have anything specific they are known for. Nope, not even the Berliner, which isn't called the Berliner in Berlin- go figure. We are off to Prague,
Shell

Berliner

2011-01-23T05:11:00.000-08:00

The show was packed in Lisbon! The most fierce show so far- lots of energy! We had a great time in Portugal, and now it's back to Berlin. We play at a place called West Germany that is an old doctors office. We played there a few years ago, it will be fun to be back with new songs. I've got a bunch of pictures, but I can't load them with just the phone, so when I get to a computer I will get some up. It's great being here with Japanther, they are a great band, great guys- They had a really good performance last night. The crowd was so into it! The last time we played Berlin we were with ZZZ- I wish we had been able to do a show with them again this time- Im hoping to see Pablo from SF tonight in Berlin- maybe a few other friends. Berlin is a bit like a Brooklyn show, or it was last time. Tomorrow in Prague I will see my brother Jay. He is stationed nearby in Germany, he is a helicopter pilot in the Army.
I've been getting pretty good sleep, and the eating has been good- but Im not getting enough time or I'm not doing a good job of making time to try killer items. A lot of wierd sandwiches, bread and cheese, salads. It seems it's always snacking and not pigging out- the latter is the american way I'm used to- I had pork cutlets in Porto and Sea Bass in Lisbon and those were killer!! Our home cooked meals have been awesome too, guess I just wanna get down on a few more traditional dishes if I can.
Looking to have some Brautwurst for breakfast! Gettin down German style tonight, it's our last Germany show of the trip!!
Chow-
Shell

ZDB

2011-01-20T10:28:00.000-08:00

I am back at the beautiful ZDB after a killer trip north to Porto. We took a great train ride to get there and back. We got to see the countryside and the ocean, it was beautiful. Our Porto host and promoter was waiting for us at the station and we piled into this tiny van like car with no windows and drove to the venue. It was hilarious to see Shag, Ian, Matt and Alex in the back of this thing, I rode up front. We went straight to sound checking, and then we checked into some great hotel rooms right next door. They took us to dinner which was delicious- they take care of everything for us here. The show was incredible! A band called Throes opened, and they were really good- We had a really fun set that Ian was a dancing banner for, holding the shellshag banner and dancing for the entire set. I was inspired to also be a dancing banner when the Japanther banner went done early in the set. The people were great and we had so much fun afterwards, talking and making friends. We trained back to Lisbon, and now back at the ZDB, I realize I actually may have understated how great it is. It is a villa, an entire little village we are inside of, with our own little mansion for hanging out, several floors of art and artists, a music room; it's all in the same big building with patios and galleries. It's pretty impressive. The organization running things here has been active for several years and they are very professional. We are being treated so well, and included in something much greater than rock music. We have always seen ourselves as more of an istallation piece of art than a band, and here it seems they do too. Soon we will be installed for viewing, it's so exciting-
Shell

Smashed Glass

2011-01-19T02:56:00.000-08:00

Where did we leave off? Ah yes, we packed Sunday for Hamburg, turned our back for a second, and someone broke the window and stole a bag- nothing too important was taken, but for 2 days we drove with a duct tape window- very american punk yes? - this made us late to Rote Flora, a famous squat in Hamburg, so we missed a great dinner, but we made it in time to play, and all the fans had stayed and waited, so it was great. These folks danced. I smoked hash from a half an apple while dancing with Shag and Fredricka to Japanther- We slept at our host Marcus' house for 3 hours and awoke to pancakes and mashed meat for breakfast at 8am- Matt and I had already gotten up and tried the 2nd place so far to get the window repaired, but they couldn't do it fast enough, so we went back and got the crew and gear and were off to Berlin to stash the car. Jan, our friend in Berlin stored the gear for us, and he's so cool, he kept the car and is getting it fixed while we are here in Portugal. We trained to the Berlin airport and flew to Lisbon, which is where I sit now in a 18th century building called ZDB. We basically have a little house to ourselves here, in the ZDB, which is where we play tomorrow- today we train to Porto Portugal to play at Cafe Au Lait tonight. It is beautiful here. We were out walking the tiny streets til 4am last night. I navigated my way through a seedy hash purchase that once done was a success- it's crazy on the streets here at night! It's so peaceful this morning, what a wonderful place Lisbon is, and we have hardly begun to explore- We started writing a ShagPanther song last night that will be a gem. I wish we had you all with us on this experience, I will try to keep telling our story- that's all for now- Shell

2011-01-17T03:03:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of Shellshag in Amsterdam, and a pic of the half battlebot we have with us!! Hamburg tonight at a famous squat, Rote Flora- killer!

Killer Cologne

2011-01-16T08:53:00.000-08:00

SOLD OUT! That's what was said to me right before we started playing last night at Aetherblissment in Cologne. There was a lot of cigarette smoking going on, we were loud and smiling a lot- they don't really dance there, at least not last night, not even to Japanther, but they cheered so loudly, I figure they just didn't wanna dance- it was packed! The drive, our first one of tour, was pretty easy- I took the wheel-Amsterdam was hard, hard to tell if you are on the right side of the 2 way, in a bike lane or not, on a sidewalk or not- I hit a curb or two- once we were on the highway it was cake- and Cologne was like driving in America- The gear fit good- we have the top half of the shellshag battlebot with us- we are having a really good time, and we are killin it at shows!! All for now-

Amsterdam!!

2011-01-15T00:20:00.000-08:00

Im sitting in Amsterdam at Backstage Hotel, which is a killer place. Our stay here was so perfect- The show at Paradiso was packed, they took such good care of us- and here at the Hotel we have been fed non stop, laundry, and bomb ass weed! Last night we played on Red Light Radio, in a window just like the ladies use- it was hilarious. Seeing old frinds from ZZZ and Malkovich- Its been really fun. This morning we pack up and head to Cologne Germany to play at Aetherblissment! Hopefully we'll have some pictures and videos up soon- thats all for now, killer-

Japanther Shellshag European Adventure 2011

2011-01-15T00:17:00.001-08:00

Japanther Shellshag European Adventure 2011 -FACEBOOK INVITE WITH ALL TOUR DATES-

January 13 Amsterdam NL at Paradiso
January 15 Cologne DE at Aetherblissment
January 17 Hamburg DE at Rote Flora
January 19 Porto PT at Café Au Lait
January 20 Lisbon PT at Ze dos Bois
January 21 Berlin DE at West Germany
January 22 Prague CZ at Final Club
January 23 Vienna AT at B72
January 24 Graz AT at HSG 10
January 27 Lyon FR at Grrnd Gerland
January 28 Milan IT at Plastic Club
January 29 Rome IT at Bencivenga Squat
January 30 Pescara IT at Mono Club
January 31 Trieste IT at Tetris
February 2 Toulouse FR at Le Saint des Sains
February 3 Barcelona at Sala La [2] De Apolo
February 4 Bordeaux FR at Le Saint Ex
February 5 Paris FR at TBA
February 7 Halifax UK at Bar Up
February 8 Sheffield UK at The Harley
February 9 Manchester UK at Islington Mill
February 10 Glasgow UK at Captains Rest
February 11 London at Tufnell Park Dome
February 12 Brooklyn at Williamsburg Music Hall BUY TICKETS

SHELLSHAG LINKS
shellshag facebook myspace twitter blogspot reverb nation you tube

JAPANTHER LINKS
japanther facebook myspace twitter wikipedia last fm you tube

Shellshag Street Eaters Tour!!

2010-10-29T10:44:00.001-07:00

Shellshag Street Eaters Tour starts November 8th!
The first show starts at 7pm
at Brick Moose Lodge in Brick NJ.
Shellshag/Street Eaters/Night Birds/Black Wine
The Brick Moose Lodge is at 149 Mantoloking Rd.

We have the new Street Eaters 7" picture disc available from Starcleaner Records!!

For all the tour dates go to
Starcleaner Records

9/15-9/20 mini tour with screaming females!

2010-09-14T07:38:00.000-07:00

We are playing and attending killer shows this week in NY and the Midwest!

Wed Sept 15 Knitting Factory Brooklyn w/screaming females/big eyes
Thursday Sept 16 (we don't play but wont miss RVIVR at Lulus in Brooklyn!)
Friday Sept 17 Lunt Basement Haverford College w/ screaming females 370 Lancaster Avenue Haverford, PA 19041
Sat Sept 18 Carabar Columbus Ohio w/new creases/sidekicks/screaming females
Sun Sept 19 Brew not Bombs III Chicago IL w/ this bike is a pipebomb/defiance, OH/screaming females/the arrivals/97-shiki/imperial can/slowdeath at the portage theatre
Mon Sept 20 Helter Shelter Pittsburg PA w/screaming females "near the corner of 50th and Harrison, off Butler St in Lawrenceville." house party

show details are here
http://www.myspace.com/shellshag

and you can always befriend us here..
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Shellshag/144727609428

:)!!- Jen

busy busy busy!

2010-08-27T08:23:00.000-07:00

So much going on. Our trip to San Francisco was killer!!! The new studio by Elton Ridge and crew is coming along nicely, Thrillhouse shows were a blast, and we are planning to be back for New Years Eve with Japanther! It would be one of 2 US shows to launch our RTW [round the world] Tour with Japanther planned for January and February of 2011. Shellshag will start 2011 off with shows in Australia, Japan, Europe, and the UK! and it wont take us 80 days either....just about 65! Keep your eyes peeled for dates and info on this. Also, we are working on a new record and a new video that we hope to have out by the time we come back. Today we are driving up north to play at the Democracy Center in Cambridge and at the Picnic arts and music fest in Portland Maine. we will be back next week for the Starcleaner Stupid Party at Don Pedro in Brooklyn, check it out:
Shellshag
Marvin Berry and the New Sound
TV Buddhas [from Israel]
Nude Beach
Stupid Party
doors 8pm, shellshag at 9pm sharp
see ya there-
shellshag

Next show July 23 at Don Pedros in Brooklyn!

2010-07-15T09:19:00.001-07:00

Wow. So much has happened since our last blog I do not know where to begin! Our return from tour show is July 23rd at Don Pedros with forgetters and Joe Porters newest band called Marvin Berry and the New Sound (this is also they're return from tour show!) also PIGS from SF CA which is Hammy from Fleshies new band and the amazing 97-shiki from Chicago! This show is going to be awesome. We got home about 2 weeks ago...The tour was the best one yet! really. Despite 2 van breakdowns and Nashville. Where I met and unfortunately worked with the worst promoter in the world! The tour was enhanced by 2 sweetheart roadies on 2 different legs of the tour. Greg Rice Harvester from Black Rainbow took care of us all the way from Chattanooga to SF CA after an amazing tour with Black Rainbow. Greg played bass with us, drove, carried stuff, sold stuff, sighed and smiled and even puked once. We fell in love with him! We said our teary goodbyes after a mind blowing show at El Rio in SF CA with Grass Widow, Dirty Marquee, and Street Eaters..We lived in SF for years...God do we love that town! Hooked up with the incredible RVIVR for a few shows in the northwest, oh and the new and improved Taco Cat!, then after a super warm welcome from old friends in Missoula we began the dreaded 16 hour drive to Fargo where we were greeted by the greatest hosts in the world! Leif, Justin and friends. We parked, everyone loaded our gear,set it up, handed us countless drinks, all in about 5 minutes then even drove us to Justin's house. Justin then stayed with us all the way to our DOA show in Cleveland acting as driver, roadie and all around inspiration! In Chicago Shellhead recorded with the fabulous Al Scorch before a great show at Schubas. And Minneapolis blew our minds! Frozen Teens and Jeff the Brotherhood and Natural Helpers, complete with the bartender from our last show there in 1998!- the infamous 50 Million show with Violent Femmes. Long story...I'll explain more another time. Justin and Joey Shithead from DOA were like 2 peas in a pod in Cleveland! Just great seeing those two hang. We put Justin on the greyhound, played a fun show in Wilkes Barre PA then came back to NY. We have great footage and pictures that I will post soon...including the highly anticipated Shagatwat Rainbow from Idapalooza, that for some reason would not upload last time...I will try again now... Bye for now!-Jen

The ShagaTwat Rainbow!!

2010-06-08T13:22:00.000-07:00

Tour so far has been amazing!! Our stint with Black Rainbow and Twat Sauce was an awesome adventure through the woods and the cities, Crabbfest, Idapalooza, Columbus Ohio, and of coarse our 4 days in Chattanooga at Do Ya Hear We fest- the van has broken down and been repaired, we've seen many great bands play, and now we are at the new Sluggos south in Pensacola FL. It is the third sluggos that I have played at, back at the original location of Victor Hugos, the pre Sluggos spot in Pensacola. The place is amazing, huge, great vibe, with a ridiculously large and comfortable porch out front!!
Love it hear so much. We've been to all our favorite stops, Rosettas and Static Age in Asheville, JJ's, Sluggos North and Pickle Barrel in Chattanooga, Sluggos south and the In Line in Pensacola. We are about to go see the progress that BP (Beach Poluters)are having ruining our favorite beach before heading to New Orleans for tonights show. So many stories to tell, videos to share, and bands to brag about (like the new Future Virgins record that is done, is awesome, and is coming soon/Dead Dog recordings that are amazing), way too much info to share in this blog. So we leave you with this glimpse into our world, a video shot at Idapalooza, a fest in Ida TN, of Twat Sauce, Black Rainbow, and Shellshag together on stage performing the AK77's song "Fuck Society"!
Enjoy-

I just found out Shotwell is playing at Crabbfest!!!

2010-05-29T07:52:00.000-07:00

After a really long drive, we arrived in Athens GA at the Hanger with just 30 minutes to say hi before Hidden Spots had to take the stage. They were incredible, playing a patient set of perfectly performed hits. It was nice to catch a set by these guys outside of Chattanooga. The show moved quickly and in no time Black Rainbow was belting out killer jam after killer jam. Tough like Motorhead and crafty like X, these guys are an amazing band!! Its going to be great to play together every night for another week. Shellshag had gotten quite excited seeing all our friends after being stuck in the van all day and night, and we drank quite a bit in a short period of time. We held it together despite this, but it was definitely a first show of tour set for us, but one of our nicest Athens trips for sure. We were sad that Hot New Mexicans were unable to play, as they are an awesome band. So the tour has begun. We crashed with Dead Dog after jamming some acoustic Cure and had breakfast at The Grit with Sarah T, James, and others. Everyone took naps once we got to Asheville, so we were all well rested and ready for the show at Static Age Records! Pox Americana killed it with traditional punk riffage and classic vocal stylings reminiscent of high school punk bands in the 70's and early 80's. They were followed by Front Porch regulars, a stripped down duo with a stand up bass, playing folk punk porch jams, they were really good. They had me thinking of our buddies Thee Headliners, as I feel these two band belong together in a group of band growing in numbers, that give a glimpse at a modern gypsy America centered around music that somehow captures a taste and feel of American history while being auspicious about a future America. Somehow Black Rainbow was even better than the night before, which due to more focus and less drinking, inspired Shellshag to play a really powerful set, which we were able to do and now feel more complete and happy to be alive than before. We are heading out to Cindy and Katy Crabbs place for Crabbfest in an hour. We'll be settin up tents, cooking great food, and watching great bands all weekend; its gonna be so much fun! Sunday Night both Black Rainbow and Shellshag play our Crabbfest sets. While all this is goin on with the Shellshag Black Rainbow tour, The Reaction is preparing to fly out to NY for a week of shows that are a must see! Several decades of playing and performing power these guys and their mod punk sound. Make sure you catch one of their shows- tour dates at Starcleaner.com; you will also find the rest of the SC bands schedules there. Thee Headliners are all over the west coast this summer, Songs for Moms are in Ida TN June 5th, and Hidden Spots, Street Eaters, This Bike is a Pipe Bomb and Ukebox all have shows these next two weeks. Keep checkin in and spread the word about our blog, as we hope to have many great stories for you in the next month-
shellshag

Shellshag Summer Tour 2010

2010-05-12T08:41:00.000-07:00

Killer!!! We are psyched for the Shellshag Summer Tour, which starts with 10 days of shows with the fabulous Black Rainbow, who has a split 7" with Hidden Spots [who we also play with] out on Starcleaner Records. We play at Do Ya Hear We Fest in Chattanooga, a great punk fest with a ton of bands in one of our favorite towns- look out Pickle Barrel here I come!

We continue on across America on our own, playing with great bands like Shanghai River, Dude Jams, The Latest, Shang-A-Lang, Stoned at Heart, Grass Widow, Turbo Fruits, and Jeff the Brotherhood just to name a few. We will be traveling with our new record "Rumors in Disguise" out on Don Giovanni Records, available on vinyl or cd.
Here is the tour poster.

The dates are:
-The Hanger in Athens, GA w/ Black Rainbow, Hidden Spots
-Static Age Records in Asheville, NC w/ Black rainbow
-Crabfest in Athens, OH w/ Black Rainbow, Rag Rage
-Carabar in Columbus, OH w/ Black Rainbow
-House Gone Wylie in Bloomington, IN w/ Black Raibow
-Idafest in Ida, TN w/ Black Rainbow and Songs for Moms
-Discoteca in Chattanooga, TN w/ This Bike is a Pipe Bomb
-The End in Nashville, TN w/ Pujol and Deluxin
-Sluggo's in Pensacola, FL
-Circle Bar in New Orleans, LA w/ Bipoloroid
-The Ten ElevenThe Ten Eleven in San Antonio, TX
-Cavern Ale House in Dallas, TX w/ Woodsman and Tjutjuna
-Beerland in Austin, TX w/ Shanghai River, Dude Jams, The Latest
-Hideaway Lounge in El Paso, TX w/ Buckeye
-Trainyard in Las Cruces, NM w/ Shang-A-Lang
-The Casbah in San Diego, CA w/ Dan Padilla
-Spaceland in Los Angeles, CA w/ Stoned at Heart, Signals
-Uptown Night Club in Oakland, CA w/ Turks, Pocos Pero Locos
-El Rio in SF, CA w/ Grass Widow, Dirty Marquis, Street Eaters
-East End in Portland, OR w/Howie and the Hotknives
-The Northern in Olympia, WA w/ Jeremy Jay
-The Comet Tavern in Seattle, WA
-The PalaceThe Palace in Missoula, MT
-First Avenue in Minneapolis w/ Jeff the Brotherhood, Frozen Teens
-Eagle's Nest in Milwaukee, WI w/ Holy Shit
-Schubas Tavern in Chicago, IL w/ Turbo Fruits
-"Now Thats Class" in Cleveland, OH w/ D.O.A.
-Cafe MetropolisCafe Metropolis in Wilkes Barre, PA

I expect to see you 7 subscribers at every show! haha, we need more subscribers- you guys rule!
love, shellshag

shellshag double header tonight

2010-05-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

We play tonight at 8pm at goodbye blue monday with Antoinette Goroch from San Francisco and Tippy Canoe! Then again at 538 Johnson Street with Pink Houses, hey baby, big soda and Toby Foster! Super excited..

Getting to Know... Shellshag :: Music :: Features :: Paste

2010-05-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

Getting to Know... Shellshag :: Music :: Features :: Paste

Shellshag Spring!

2010-04-27T05:04:00.000-07:00

The show at Mercury was killer!!! Pregnant, Black Wine and Full of Fancy rocked it. It was a power pop extravaganza. Noun was really great. It was different to see Marissa without her Screaming Female co-parts, but the set was excellent and I can't wait to get my copy of the Noun album. Shellshag played a fairly good indie set, but we haven't gotten any pics or videos from the show- so I'm posting a link here to a great video our friend Ian from Revery Media made while we were in Austin at Jaimie's Spanish Village-
Shellshag plays next Monday at Johnson House with Pink Houses, and at 1808 Muliner w/ it good/cheesequake/young dead/genuine imitations on May 7th- see ya there!

Post Tour Days

2010-04-21T07:45:00.000-07:00

We failed to update until now, but the final show of tour was excellent! Dark Rides were amazing, taking turns at vocals while playing some sweet songs. Screaming Females had a great set and it was so much fun to get to hang out together. We made this video for Blank TV out in front of JJ's.
We have been back from tour three weeks now. Resting, sleeping, working. We are excited to come back to life this Sunday April 25th at The Mercury Lounge in NYC. We are playing a show with Pregnant, Black Wine, Full of Fancy, and Noun, Marissa Paternoster of Screaming Females solo project. Buy your tickets in advance!

The Crystal in the Capo

2010-03-26T14:10:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting at Sluggo's North in Chattanooga TN about to drive to Nashville for a show. This week started in Tulsa Oklahoma. After an 11 hour drive in traffic, we arrived at the Crystal Pistol late but in time to play. It was our first time to play on a stage in Tulsa, and after many house parties, record stores, and basements, we were ready for the change. The Crystal Pistol was the perfect place for us and we ripped through an extended set including 50 million and Hickey covers. Sasha helped on guitar with the finale, and we had a pretty good sized sculpture built by the time we were ready to smash both sides of the tom!! Great show followed by a nice after party at Tulsa Timmy's house. We played some Rock band before breakfast, which Shellshag sucked at, and we were treated to Jesse's Juicy Karkass "punch em in the dick" rap video- hilarious!!
The following day we met up with Cinque for a great show in the most killer firehouse. Kansas City was good to us, fish tacos, bloody marys, and tons of kids made our first trip here incredible! The finale was the wildest of the tour with more than a dozen people from the crowd participating at once- smashing drum heads, passin the guitar around sharing duties on noise making, and head stands in the drums!!!! Can't wait to return.
On to Little Rock for a house show. This show was a blast and we had sing a long fans there- which is far out cause Shellshag has never been and its been 6 or so years since any of our other tours brought us through. Friggin' great chaotic drum destruction at this one too!! We saw friends Hermit Thrushes who had an amazing set, as did the local band that we never got the name of. Oh, Neon Blood killed it too, from FL. Glad to have you back around Little Rock!!
It was off to Chattanooga for recording at Revolution Sound Studios above JJ's Bohemia.
We were blessed with overwhelming support for the sessions, which included performances from some of Chattanooga's finest musicians, as we added guitars, accordions, tambourines, vocal tracks, hand claps, and group chants!!! The players will be a surprise, but this is gonna be an epic cover of standards called "Fuck Society Volume 1"!!! We've been splitting the rest of our time between Sluggos North and Pickle Barrel, alternating between Pickle Barrels Rubens and Sluggos Culture Club. Both are fantastic. We have a few days left here in Chattanooga after our show tonight at Little Hamilton House in Nashville, and we will be mixing the recordings one of those days, and playing with our good friends Screaming Females on Sunday at JJ's.
Super psyched to see evrybody out at that one, which also has 40 oz. folklore and new super group Dark Rides on the bill!!! Be home to NY next week- that's all for now.

Shellshag at SXSW

2010-03-21T07:18:00.000-07:00

Well, we played 5 shows and they were all killer!! Snake by Snakepit was the first one we played, on a beautiful sunny Austin day in the I Love Video parking lot. This party was curated by Ben Snakepit, the zine author, and had some great bands. We saw Ptiaradactyl and danced with thier dinosaurs; The Pharmacy and Wild America also rocked. Lisa M. soon arrived and made everything perfect for the following show at House of Commons. Our set here was probably our best, although they were all great, and this one was mostly made better by the enthusiastic crowd!! It was our last night with Street Eaters, and they were great also- we did a good cover of "Runners Legs", a song by John from Street Eaters other band, Fleshies. He sang it for us, as did the crowd on this and many other songs!!! Nice to meet the Pelly sisters after the show, super nice gals. I believe they wrote about the show for there many fans- thanks guys. The last day at SXSW, yesterday, was a triple header for us. We started off with Bloody Marys early in the AM before showing up at the Liberty to find our friends Nathan and Joan ready for a rockin day of bands from Portland Oregon. It was an honor to start off this day for these amazing bands, who were nice enough to have us folk not from Portland on their shin dig. It was quite cold, windy, and wet, but I believe we warmed it up nicely for these guys befor heading over to Spider House for show # 2. We met up with old friends Jonathon Toubin (DJ New York Night Train) and Michelle Cable (Panache Booking), who hosted this event. Bad luck with weather made this outdoor wind tunnel event more challenging than need be, yet still lots of folks braved the cold weather and wind to see some great bands. I especially enjoyed 70's rockers Note Killers set. A wall of noise and riffs unseen since 81', these guys were great. A ton of old friends that I havent seen in forever were at the show, which made it very special. My friend John Stubbe, who lived across the street from me when I was little, but moved to Singapore when I was about 12, came down to see us play and say hi. It was great to see someone I hadnt seen in so long- we havent even gotten a chance to know the grown up versions of each other- so it was really cool to see him and also kinda trippy- 25 years or so, wow! Also, as well planned by my great friend Mary Bruce, the Bench people were there in full force!! What's a bench person you ask? When I first started college at Southwest Texas State University, I found all my like minded, flamboyantly dressed new wave and goth punk cousins at this bench that was dead center of the campus action at the time. We all really stood out in the sea of more conservative folk- and since we were headed into enlightened times in the world, we were for the most part a positively received side show for the students to stare at in confused interest and amazement. We were all once written about in the paper and described as birds with colorful feathers and tails- hilarious. It was so great to see all these folks; You may or may not enjoy facebook, but for me it is great to have these people back in my life, and I guess thats due to facebook. We had a blast and everyone still looked so beautiful, and pretty much the same as before. Also, my best friends Niki and Karen were there too. 3rd show for Niki so she gets the trophy this year along with Bob Taylor who did 3 as well!!! Karen had on the old 50 million shirt that is like a jersey; it just has 50 for the number, and up top on the back where the players name goes, it says million. Probably the coolest rock shirt Ive ever been a part of makin- wish I still had mine!! The final show for us here was our official SXSW showcase, which took place at Jaimies Spanish Village. We learned this is pronounced Himeys spanish village- this place was killer! We were on the showcase of our good friend and Texas music legend Jeff Smith of the Hickoids label, Sauctex records, which houses great Tex Punk bands like Sons of Hercules and of coarse the Hickoids!! We had a great set here, and it was well attended, which suprised us a little because we played at 8, and thats usually a little early for a good crowd, but Sauctex knows there shit and they had people out early! Plus our friends showed up to see us play- so we did our part as well. Ian Meltzer was there filming the band with his partner. It was great to see our pal from Jersey down in Texas, thanks Ian. The highlight was the finale, made extra great with the help of 2 of 3 Vivian Girls, a really good band form back home, and really good friends as well. Cassie was not shy at all, and I was glad I handed her the guitar, because she came runnin on to the stage with it rippin through our gear and really made herself a part of the band; and made the finale really great with her unbridled energy and confident stage presence!!
It tooks us all a few minutes to get the drum tower piled up and get a good Vivian Girl drum head smashing to finish it off!!!! Friggin perfect ending! Im sittin out back at Bob Taylors house letting all the memories slide through my brain- I love being in Texas and already miss being here; although we dont have to start our 8 hour drive to the wild world of Tulsa for 2 more hours, Im already sad to have to leave so soon. Thanks to all my friends and family here for making it a great time this year!! Thanks to Ben Snakepit, Lew, Joan and Nathan from Riot Act, Jonathon Toubin, Michelle Cable, Bob and Cindy for setting up great shows, taking care of us, and being such good friends; see yall in NY!!

TEXAS WHITE FISH

2010-03-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

Houston was a great time. We stayed at my sister Tiffany's new house after the show at Super Happy Funland. Shellshag was interviewed by Channel 39 at the show, but they used a different band in the segment went it aired- Street Eaters killed it in Houston and were the best performance of the night. Tiffany and Freckles took great care of us and we headed on to San Antonio well rested and recouped. San Antonio was rad!! We played with The Sticky Bandits, a This Bike is a Pipe Bomb cover band that was killer fun- we had a great group of people at the party singing along with the songs and dancing- SA was awesome. We were in San Marcos the next day where we spotted the mysterious Texas White Fish, pictured here- swimming in the San Marcos River, Bloody Mary's at Triple Crown, lunch at Cafe on the Square, and a killer outdoor party on a sunny day- a perfect day! John Bellows band was great and we reccomend checking them out. Now we are the fabulous Bob Taylor's house about to head over to Snake by Snakepit, which looks to be better than the entire SXSW festival with just one day and a dozen bands!!!

A Week of Shows

2010-03-16T11:04:00.000-07:00

Its hard to find time to post while touring. I guess we left off in Athens, where we played a great show with the Crab sisters band Snarlas- we ate crazy hotdogs at a cool spot by the show with hotdogs named after burlesque dancers- super cool place with a hotdog museum. Stayed out on the farm where Crabfest will be held, it was really neat. We went to Asheville next and had a great time with Tent City Rollers and Anna Banana and Liz's band. Mr. Stickrod took good care of us and we were off to Georgia. Played Athens GA with Hot New Mexicans and Dead Dog. Both of those bands are so very good- dead Dog is recording with Mike Pak and its going to be bitchin'!
Caledonia owner stiffed us on $ though, so that place sucks and I wouldnt reccommend anyone ever play there. I hate it when douche bags think they are hookin you up just by providing you an opportunity to help them keep there failure of a bar open by draggin all your friends down to pay cover that pays the sound guy, door man, bar tender and rent on there crAPPY placwe and give you an insult of a payout. Caledonia, you arent fooling me, you and I know its an intentional scam, and you suck for it!!! Anyway, lucky for them we all had enough fun to move on with our lives without burnin the place down- We headed off to Harvest of Hope right after the show and drove all night. We arrived at 9am, pitched our tents and slept til the afternoon when we played. It was raining, muddy as hell, a total swamp, which was followed by gear trouble due to moisture and humidity, but we overcame and friggin killed it at HOH!!! We saw many friends, but had to head out the next day to go to Pensacola to play Sluggos. Note: all late night college kid digerdoo ravers should die!! (some dicks played crappy bongo and digerdooo music all night right next to our tent) Dont these guys get sick of going without sex, I mean, Know way they are gettin laid after being so lame!! Sluggos, Crystal, Ryan, the beach and all were great to us, and we were glad to have been to Sluggos before it moves locations. FYI, they set up the coolest show for us and we played in the dining room - classic.
New Orleans late night fun hosted by Luke of Happy Talk Band was as fun as ever- we played the first of what appears to be a new trend of festivals created by the overwhelming amount of bands on the road going to SXSW. The next night, last night, in Houston was the same- Houstons was called Overflow fest, which is hosted by Super Happy Funland- a great place that we had a great time at!!! Hope to go back there soon on a non-monday. An old friend I havent seen in decades came out to the show, and I was pretty excited about this- so right now, facebook is a hero. I hope it stays that way- I hope all the old friends I get to know again are as cool and kind as my friend Eric. If not, you know, todays hero/tomorrows villan.
thats all for now

Pennsylvania to Ohio

2010-03-09T10:15:00.000-08:00

Here we are in Columbus Ohio at the Cornerstone Cafe- Shellshag, Street Eaters, Little Lungs and Ragrage. We have done 4 shows and they were all great!! After our tour kick off in Brooklyn we headed to Philly to play a party at Justin Benders house. It was killer- totally packed. The bands were excellent. Justin's new band Los Chi Chis and It Good had especially good sets. Shellshag had a rager of a set to an enthusiastic crowd!!
The next morning we interviewed Justin about Ukebox and Los Chi Chis, so after tour we will post his interview and many others at our site. The next day was a 3rd Bday party in a row [shells bday weekend] at another packed show in Pittsburgh at Kopec's. Our best Pitt show to date, we really love it there. Josh from Princess Thunderstorm made us dinner, Pork Loin, friggin delicious.....and Zack and friends made us a huge breakfast in the morning. They were such good hosts in Pitt, we may have to move there and buy one of there cheap houses!! The show was a 5 band bill, all good, and Kopec's is awesome for sure. Well rested and feelin good, we headed off to Columbus to pick up Street Eaters at the airport and begin our stint together with a show at Carabar here in Coloumbus. The great band Delay hosted us, along with our new favorite band Ragrage; and what a show they put together for us all. Our friends Little Lungs were with us as well, so these guys took care of 3 touring bands on a Monday and had a ton of folk out late and havin a ball- the best!!! We all got hooked up, sold a ton of records and had agreat nights rest at Chad's house- eatin quasedillas and watching Cacoon. Yes, I said watching Cacoon- with Steve Guttenberg. We all came out for breakfast here, except the Delay gang had to work today- so we took this picture of us all- havin a blast!! A big thank you to Philly, Pitt and Columbus- you guys all rule!!
Psyched for tonight at the Union in Athens playing with Snarlas, new band of Crab siters; its gonna rock. Shellshag's first Athens show. more later......

Infoozion Boozin

2010-03-06T13:54:00.000-08:00

The show last night was incredible. First off, our new guitar player Ben friggin killed it!!! The Shellshag set was amazing, as were both Stupid Party's new wave sounding set and The Measure's power pop assault. It was a birthday party as well, so I got this cake here at the end of our set- thanks to everybody for making the show double as a killer B Day party. Caroline Paquita ran this bar of homemade liquor drinks that was a big hit! The drinks were really tastey and all the fixins were in these jars- pretty cool. You should have her at your party. We are about to drive to Philly to play with our buddies It Good and a few others at Trinity House. Thanks to everyone for comin out to the show last night.
-shellshag

Tour Kick Off!!!

2010-03-05T12:58:00.000-08:00

First day is kickin ass!!! My birthday has begun; I got gifts- Green Day and Gang of Four/Entertainment on Vinyl; sweet. We are packin and makin comps for the drive and stuff-
We took this picture of the T-shirts we are bringing. Ben Snakepit did this killer design a while back and we've been printin it up on stuff- killer!! Few hours from now we'll be rockin with a third person for the 1st time since Wade Driver played with us at SXSW, and the first time anyone's played an entire set with us- its gonna rule! Ben Wildenhaus from Federation X will be slingin guitar for Shellshag at tonights show at Cedar Mansion. We play with The Measure, Stupid Party, and Groucho Marxists. A special hello and thank you to our first 2 followers, you guys are the best-
shellshag

1 day til Tour!!!

2010-03-04T06:39:00.000-08:00

Here we are one day from the first show of the tour, packin up and stuff- The picture here is of the super cool shellshag posters made by Young Monster.
We have a limited amount of these and will have them for sale on tour. We will have our new record "rumors in disguise", that's on Don Giovanni Records, on vinyl and cd. We will have shirts with the Snakepit design on them. We will have our split 7" with This Bike is a Pipe Bomb. We will not have the repress of Destroy Me I'm Yours until the June tour, but we will have cdr's for the impatient. On this tour, while playing with a ton of our favorite bands and buying up great new records, we will be supporting migrant farm workers by performing and hanging at Harvest of Hope Fest in Florida-

We will be in Texas for the SXSW festival, but it does not support any cool agendas like HOH, it is a money makin machine that cant be stopped- we shall have fun there too. We will be playing 5 killer day parties and 1 SXSW showcase in 4 days, you can check out the specifics of this and all our tour at Shellshag's web page

We will also be spending a few days at Revolution Studios in Chatanooga finishing up "Fuck Society" volume 1, a covers record shellshag has been working on with engineer Mike Pak. Before heading home we will meet up with label mates Screaming Females for a show at JJ's Bohemia in Chattanooga, a show that also bills Dark Rides, a new super group of sorts. We've been enjoying the new Screaming Females cd that has all their 7" singles. Songs we already loved, now at the ease of our fingertips; We can rock it in the car, We can rock it in the bar, We can rock it near and far, and we can rock it on vinyl too cause we bought copies early on!!! Not sure the availability of the vinyl now?? The songs rule and we recommend the cd!!!

That's it!! Check out our newly updated website

Shellshag Street Eaters SpringTour 2010

2010-03-02T16:04:00.000-08:00

First Blog

2010-03-01T05:06:00.000-08:00

Well, we dont know what to call this blog spot. Shellshag? Starcleaner Records? Anyone got an opinion. Jen and I seem to feel exactly opposite about this blog stuff. Anyways, here is the first one.
We have been missing everyone's killer shows for two weeks preparing for tour which starts this Friday with a show at Cedar Mansion with The Measure and Stupid Party. It'll be good to come back to life- Here's the poster- see you there.