Biography
With members that have opened for No Doubt, Jewel, SimplePlan, and Shine Down; worked with the likes of Billy Gibbons, Silverleaf, and Lee Alexander; toured the former USSR and Europe; played for Embassies and international associations; been sponsored by Budweiser and Heineken; and come in just 1 round from appearing on American Idol, the band, Shea-Van Winkle, is no stranger to the hard work it takes to get to the stage.
To say Shea-Van Winkle burst onto the scene would not only be cliché, but also a lie. After a 2 year hiatus from the music scene Wil Van Winkle began performing as a solo artist. Knowing the power behind Brit Shea’s voice, Wil began working her into his gigs 1 song per set. After about a year of this Brit began working on percussion & vocals to accent Wil’s solo act, a few months later the acoustic duo was officially formed.
Wil & Brit, longing for more, began putting together a band, due to a new attitude in the Houston music scene since Wil’s initial departure to the former USSR & Europe, they found it difficult to find like minded individuals willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead in the industry so Shea-Van Winkle set out with the Insomniacs, a backing band composed of “hired guns”, to play full band shows. The reaction to this set-up was strong, but this also limited the band’s ability to play out & write material, so the acoustic duo was kept around to compensate for scheduling conflicts among the hired musicians.
After almost a year of playing live in this manner the Insomniacs part was dropped & Brit's name added to the official band name to outline her importance in the group. After months of searching, Chad Pleasant was added on drums and, with a background in Texas Country, Jazz, Blues, Rock, and Funk, brought a new dimension to material the group was working on. The approach Chad, dubbed the loudest drummer in Texas by former band mates, has to drums is more like a songwriter than a drummer, which made his integration into the group seamless.
Today Shea-Van Winkle can be seen all over Texas, in various parts of the US, and Europe. Refusing to give up, Shea-Van Winkle keep moving along as they have been building their fanbase base 1 CD and 1 e-mail address at a time.
“There may be a long road ahead, but we’re not out of gas yet.”
Instrumentation
Wil Van Winkle-Vocals, Guitars, Bass
Brit Shea-Vocals, Percussion
Chad Pleasant-Drums
Edie Monahan-Bass
Additional songs can be heard at: reverbnation.com/sheavanwinkle
Discography
2009-with 1 eye open -- the band's first full legnth CD together
2008-Sketch Pad -- Acoustic live and Demo tracks performed by Brit Shea & Wil Van Winkle
Links
| http://www.sheavanwinkle.pieraidrecords.com |