John Shipe

Artist Information

Biography

Shipe's latest 2 CD's "Yellow House" (2008) & "Villain" (2011) charted F.A.R. in America, Europe, and New Zealand. Critics gushed. (No. 1 on Radio Marabu Hot Rotation)
Twice reviewed favorably by Performing Songwriter Magazine. (“…remarkable vocalist and songsmith…breaks away from the mold.) Fans contort themselves guessing what the influences are--King Crimson & The Beatles? Portishead & Jeff Buckley? (But Shipe is long past thinking about them.) 36 songs have gotten airplay over a dozen years. Triple A radio finds a song or two from each album for airplay. College radio may also finds a cool indie-rock opus. But Shipe's body of work is always off-genre. (Like sophisticated garage pop, or garagified-Artrock, Shipe-music is described as "cinematic.") Once opened for Bob Dylan. Shared the bill with Taj Mahal, Keb Mo, Cake, Tower of Power, Jerry Joseph, Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Jimmy Cliff, Derek Trucks, Los Lobos, Hootie & the Blowfish. The synthesis of seasoned songwriting and sonic intrigue pumps on both the brain and the gut.
“John Shipe threatened to kill me once in one of his songs. But his vocal production and melodies were so bad-ass I didn’t even bother getting a restraining order. HE IS THAT GOOD!”--
Shane Michael Cook, KLRR 101.7, Bend, Or

Instrumentation

John Shipe - Solo Acoustic Guitar & Voice.

Discography

Villain (2011)
"Hands down among the best." (Northwest Indie Music News)

Yellow House (2008)
"4 out of 5 stars." (Maverick)
"...more than what you get from the majors these days." (Missoula Independent)
"...lyrical ingenuity...his greatest recording ever...should put to rest any doubts..." (Eugene Weekly)

John Shipe & The Blue Rebekahs (2005)
Collaborative release with Eugene Indie-Rock musicians.
“…smart, well-crafted, and sonically interesting.” (The Register Guard, Eugene)
“Shipe has the perfect voice… Refreshing topics seduce your ears”(Performing Songwriter)

The John Shipe Song Clearance (2004)
Retrospective of acoustic tunes from Shipe’s un-released vault.
“I love the Song Clearance… My favorite male vocalist…” (Dori Donoho KLRR fm Bend, OR)

Pollyanna Loves Cassandra (2003)
31- song double CD
“An explosion of creativity.” (The Register Guard)

A Stealthy Portion (2000)
Live “unplugged” album continued to chart as high as #2 in the Oregonian (Portland, OR) for several years.
“…a unique take on modern folk-rock…breaks away from the mold long enough to indulge in almost early-prog moments…” (Performing Songwriter)
“…vocal confidence with thick intensity that never falters.” (Willamette Week)
“…powerful songwriting…stunning acoustic trio…nothing short of mesmerizing.” (Salem Statesman Journal)
“…always observant with a keen eye for honesty, melody, and relevance.” (Eugene Weekly)

Sudden And Merciless Joy (1998)
Diverse rock album remained on Oregonian chart for nearly three years (hovering at #2). Several songs rotated on fifty-plus radio stations, charting (Gavin, CMJ).
“…besides having a fine voice and guitar skills, he can write an album this versatile without being schizophrenic… a solid package.” (Register Guard)
“…catchy, punchy, and it rocks…” (The Rocket, Portland)

Fear of the Sky (1994)
With previous band The Renegade Saints. Independently sold 5,000 copies throughout NW, SF Bay area, Northern Great Plains, and Deep South. All six Shipe tunes received radio airplay.

Official Website

http://www.johnshipe.com/

Links

• Facebook
• Last.fm
• Twitter
• MySpace
• Reverb Nation
• You Tube

Audio

• Love Belongs to Everyone
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• Some Hidden Things
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• Lion
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• Yellow House
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• Hours Go By
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• Little Bird
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• Hard To Believe
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Lyrics

• Hard To Believe
• When I Am King
• Some Hidden Things
• Love Belongs to Everyone

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• John Shipe - Yellow House - 4 out of 5 Stars
  

  "4 out of 5 stars"

• Shipe Shape [+ Show ]
  

  John Shipe never really left; he just morphs from one recording project to another. Eugene’s Shipe h...John Shipe never really left; he just morphs from one recording project to another. Eugene’s Shipe has made a career of creating music that straddles the line between rock and pop, from his earliest days with Nine Days Wonder and Renegade Saints to his many other manifestations. Shipe’s strength has always been his lyrical ingenuity and his genre-straddling ability. On his new solo CD,Yellow House, he continues to show his strength as a fiercely independent songwriter while also collaborating with some of his dear friends.
  Yellow House was recorded in his home studio and features performances by several of Shipe’s friends and his wife. It’s fitting that Shipe will debut this collaborative effort with a show that includes lots of help from friends and past bandmates.
  At Friday’s CD release show Portland indie rockers The Dimes will warm up the crowd along with reunions of Shipe’s old bands The Blue Rebekahs and The Scapegoats (featuring members of Salt Lick, Dan Jones and the Squids and Eleven Eyes). Shipe himself will be joined onstage by friends Ehren Ebbage and Jerry “Groove” Abelin.
  Shipe finds beauty in the mundane and sings lilting melodies with a lovelorn voice. He can sing about real-life angels taking flight, casually reference pop culture and sing about being “an elegant failure” in a way that creates a totally endearing portrait of the artist as a young man with a sturdy heart that exists just outside of the boundaries. Yellow House includes touches of country, baroque-sounding glockenspiel, backwoods-y soul, horns and wry observations, all of which combine to make Yellow House perhaps his greatest recording ever. Why Shipe hasn’t received more mainstream attention I don’t know, but this album should put to rest any doubts about his talents. John Shipe, The Dimes, The Blue Rebekahs and The Scapegoats play at 9:30 pm Friday, May 30, at Sam Bond’s Garage. 21+ show. $5. — Vanessa Salvia
  

• John Shipe - Yellow House [+ Show ]
  

  "Yellow House is a solid example of what heartfelt, DIY indie rock can be. Good songs competently re..."Yellow House is a solid example of what heartfelt, DIY indie rock can be. Good songs competently recorded—it's more than you get from most majors these days."
  
  "...engaging, interesting and urgent. Despite some stylistic meandering, the 16-song collection holds together well, primarily on the strength of Shipe's songwriting."
  
  ....The record saunters through rock, pop and storytelling. When not part of various bands, Shipe is primarily a solo singer/acoustic guitarist. For Yellow House, though, he throws everything but the kitchen sink into the mix. In addition to no less than 6 instruments he plays himself, his friends provide vocals, drums, bass, trumpet, glockenspiel and various other noisemakers. While one may expect that to muddy the listen, it has the opposite effect.

• Superior quirky pop with an oddball assortment of tales [+ Show ]
  

  "...a multitude of delights to be found here." "...a tapestry of music that sounds both complex and..."...a multitude of delights to be found here." "...a tapestry of music that sounds both complex and simple referencing the Beatles, California harmonies, Nilsson melodies..."

• DIY Top 12 Picks: May 2006 [+ Show ]
  

  On his latest record, John Shipe sings of kings and volcanoes, spaceships and a place called “Disney...On his latest record, John Shipe sings of kings and volcanoes, spaceships and a place called “Disneyville.” With a nod to Aretha Franklin, he spells out the title on his song “Self-Respect,” adding the lyrical twist of “find out what I mean to me.” In “Underground Debutante,” Shipe describes a girl with tattoos and piercings all over her skin. In “Coffee House Gig,” he offers encouragement to a budding young singer-songwriter who “keeps it simple so you can’t really tell / She can’t handle the guitar very well.”
  Shipe has the perfect voice for the sensitive rock he delivers, backed by his five-piece band. Strong enough to compete with the driving drumbeats of the record, but perceptive enough to convincingly deliver lyrics like “If she can’t paint her masterpiece, she’ll be one.” His refreshing topics seduce your ears, while trumpets and lap steels add variety to the traditional guitar, bass and drum arrangements.

• I Gushed Like a Hot and Bothered Groupie [+ Show ]
  

  ...The song that ripped me so mercilessly out of my daydream, the song that I love so much I've list......The song that ripped me so mercilessly out of my daydream, the song that I love so much I've listened to over and over again, is "If You Were Me," the fifth track on the first album, Pollyanna, of John Shipe & the Scapegoats' new double CD, "Pollyanna Loves Cassandra."
  This isn't a time when I've listened to yet another band's unoriginal crap and before I say what I really think, I'm desperately trying to find just one good thing to talk about. Nope. This song has made it to my favorites list. And a few others are close runners up.
  It's totally unique, completely original. It's kind of Latin, kind of funk, kind of reggae, kind of Santana. The guitar riff weaves in and out of the bass lines and rhythm section, and the lyrics have a bitter sharp edge...
  ...Overall, Pollyanna Loves Cassandra is good, better than most. Throughout the moody, intense 31-song journey you can hear Shipe and his crew brushing up against an original sound, teasing you with the potential of something really unique. Over and over again, they break the chains of average rock that hold them down and keep them sounding jsut like everyone else, and soar into moments of sheer brilliance.
  It's those surprises, those twists that go right when you expect the song to go left, melodies that pop up our of nowhere and suck you in, lyrics that suddenly grip and make you reweind and turn up the volume, that make Pollyanna Loves Cassandra worth your hard-earned cash...
  

• 5 Stars
  

  compelling...timeless... chills to the bone.

Setlist

Shipe can play solo for 4 to 5 hours. Almost all original. Half the repertoire can get rowdy-ish for a solo acoustic show. The other half can go mellow and relaxing. He can throw in a couple of covers per set: (Modern idiosyncratic versions of a few old tunes from The Pretenders, Crowded House, Jimi Hendrix, Lennon, Aimee Mann, and some personal takes on a few recent acts like Green Day.)

Basic Requirements

Calendar