Coyote Shivers

With catchy power punk/pop songs that are packed with self-effacing humor, intelligence and overt sexuality, COYOTE SHIVERS invokes the spirit and intensity of a young Johnny Thunders (of the legendary glam-rock band New York Dolls). The New York Press raves: “Shivers is like Lou Reed without the dark pose, Elvis Costello without the thesaurus, the Rolling Stones with a sense of humor, and Richard Hell without the chip on his shoulder.” In other words, there is more to Shivers than his brief appearance performing “Sugarhigh” on the rooftop with Renee Zellweger in the cult favorite flick Empire Records would lead you to believe.

The self-produced two disc set COYOTE SHIVERS GIVES IT TO YA. TWICE. presents two ends of the rock ‘n’ roll spectrum. The songs on One Sick Pup (the first disc) evoke the electrified power and intensity of COYOTE SHIVERS’ acclaimed self-titled debut and his enthralling live shows in all their sweaty, swaggering glory. From My Bedroom, To Yours (the second disc) presents Shivers alone with an acoustic guitar, giving his songs a somber tone as he strips them bare. “I like balls-to-the wall rock ’n’ roll, yet I appreciate the delicacy of an acoustic guitar. I need both," explains Shivers. "Like raw animal lust, and spiritual love. To have both is to have it all.”

With its driving old-school punk energy, “Plus One,” the first song on One Sick Pup, is a potent love song both to New York’s decadent Coney Island High days (“when New York City was alive”) and to the Ramones. “In that first absolute moment that I heard the Ramones, and realized there was music out there that wasn’t on the radio, my life changed.”

Even in his darkest moments, Shivers manages to bring a smile to one’s face. “Secretly Jealous,” with its sweetly nihilistic sentiment and humorously blatant musical nod to Lou Reed, references the pop culture image of Kurt Cobain. “The song is just about a feeling,” explains Shivers, “and has nothing to do with the actual man himself.”

Living up to the moniker One Sick Pup, Shivers looks at love and life with a pointed wit, a piercing perspective and a somewhat deranged sense of humor that blurs the lines between overt fantasy and outrageous reality: “Just Be Friends” (“a blatantly sexual song, where a relationship is hell except for the sex”), “You’re Mine” (“my stalking my current wife after meeting her”), “Lust Never Sleeps” (“sometimes one night stands are the best”) and “Veronica” (“a Hollywood love story about a stripper working at Cheetahs). As for the title track, “One Sick Pup” is a self-deprecating view of his own cult status.

In the Kurt Voss film Down & Out With The Dolls (also featuring Motorhead’s Lemmy), Shivers stars as Levi, the lead singer of a popular up and coming band, and performs a semi-acoustic version of “I Wanna Remember Tonite,” which appears as an electric version on One Sick Pup. “This is about a one night stand you don’t want to forget, hence: ‘Hold me tight / Don’t you dare turn out the light / I wanna remember tonite.’” says Shivers.

An acoustic version of “Sugarhigh,” which Shivers performed as Berko in the cult film Empire Records (with the aforementioned Zellweger and Liv Tyler), appears as the opening track on From My Bedroom, To Yours. The song, a fan favorite, seems even more overtly ostentatious in the intimate acoustic setting. “It’s a love song . . . about oral sex,” he smiles. “I did the movie as a laugh, and it was, but I don’t take it seriously. I’m just glad people enjoy it.”

Shivers opted to record From My Bedroom, To Yours with only an acoustic guitar in his bedroom, instead of his usual loose but slamming trio. You can hear every word, which is a must given lyrics like his. With themes that include a longing to leave the glamorous lifestyle for the simple life (all jokes aside) “In The Middle of Nowhere” and an ode to the debauchery capitol of the world, “Amsterdam,” Shivers never minces his demented and often tongue-in-cheek words.

The only song that makes it to both the electric and acoustic discs, “Live To Regret It,” also deals with a relationship breaking up and can best be described as “Bitter. Bitter. Bitter,” Shivers reveals. “It is about wishing an ex the best of health, so she can live long enough to regret losing you.” This track’s lyrics come off as bittersweet acoustically, compared to the angry tone showcased on One Sick Pup.

On COYOTE SHIVERS GIVES IT TO YA. TWICE. Shivers serves up 21 songs that harken back to a more glamorous, less innocent era in rock when people wanted stars and wanted to be stars. It celebrates New York City glitter-punk in all its trashy glory and wryly satirizes the eternal girl-boy conflict with humor, a string of catchy choruses and the occasional off-kilter insight. “Imagine a Johnny Thunders who mainlined bubblegum instead of heroin,” observes MOJO magazine. Perhaps famed record producer Daniel Lanois (Bob Dylan, U2) said it best when