Shaimus

LOS ANGELES – March 12, 2006 – Last night, Shaimus stole the show as fans gathered around the stage to jam out to their soulful tunes. They performed as part of a deep lineup, which also included The Fat Daniel´s, Gravy, and Brooke White.

At the show, Shaimus announced that they will perform at E3 (Los Angeles, Los Angeles Convention Center) to help promote their hit track, "All of This," that was featured on the hit video game Guitar Hero. Please stay tuned for more details regarding their appearance. - SHM

Universal Studios, CA - September 11, 2006 - Los Angeles-based band Shaimus was voted the Best Band at BB Kings Battle of the Bands at Universal Citywalk. They advanced to the third and final round to compete with half a dozen other talented bands.

Shaimus was the last band to perform leaving their fans chanting for an encore as the votes were tallied up to determine the winner. The outcome was decided by credible judges with familiar faces in the music industry: Interscope Records, CAA, GRAMMY´s and Link Music Supervising.

Shaimus and R & B band, Boyd, were named winners of the contest taking home a check, trophy and fame. "They had it all. They had great lyrics, sound and stage presence," said Andrea Bari of Link Music Supervising. - SHM

LOS ANGELES – March 12, 2006 – Last night, Shaimus stole the show as fans gathered around the stage to jam out to their soulful tunes. They performed as part of a deep lineup, which also included The Fat Daniel´s, Gravy, and Brooke White.

At the show, Shaimus announced that they will perform at E3 (Los Angeles, Los Angeles Convention Center) to help promote their hit track, "All of This," that was featured on the hit video game Guitar Hero. Please stay tuned for more details regarding their appearance. - SHM

Aside from physics, I'm not real good with the sciences - trust me on this one. I'm pretty sure I set a chemistry department record in high school by having 100% error in three of my labs. It ultimately didn't matter in the end because the teacher cared more about if the calculations were accurate than the results, and since I'm good at math, chemistry was a cakewalk for yours truly. I've taken manifold science courses throughout my schooling career, from geology to botany to chemistry, but no matter what type of science course you take, one of the first things you learn is how to write a good hypothesis statement.

My guess is that 99% of my readers who have heard of Shaimus have only heard of the Los Angeles-based quintet via the exemplary Guitar Hero video game series, in which one of their songs, All of This, is an unlockable track that's insanely catchy and sports a rockin' solo. So, a very simple hypothesis statement here could be: If you, the reader, have played the first Guitar Hero video game and unlocked all of the bonus tracks, then you have heard a fraction of Shaimus' material. Completely ignoring the rest of the scientific method and operationally defining variables, one might hypothesize that Paper Sun is comprised of ten songs in a similar vein to All of This; however, this is not entirely the case. Instead, Paper Sun delivers extremely mellow, soulful tracks akin to Guster, Phantom Planet, and Rooney, while still distancing itself from these artists to a fascinating degree.

Take for instance the gorgeous album opener Left to Dry, which best exemplifies the sensational Shaimus sound. Beginning with a swift drum fill from Cameron Brousseau, followed by an exquisite main riff that's complemented by a steady rhythm section, the instruments drop off in silence. In their place, frontman Phil Beaudreau - who serves double duty as the band's vocalist and ivory-key-tickler - enters with a delicate piano progression and an opening line of "She was left alone to dry to contemplate the things that her other half denied." As the verse continues, the aforementioned splendid clean guitar riff returns, and the other instruments filter in to provide an incredibly rich sound, continuing for the duration of the track. One of the most haunting and beautiful lines on the track is "All's fair in love and war, but it's an ugly price to pay." Wonderful album opener.

This sauntering, mellow vibe that percolates throughout the track is one of Shaimus' numerous strengths on Paper Sun as a whole. This is attributed to the mixing and production of the album, which is surprisingly near-flawless. To illustrate, bassist Johannes Raassina's warm, fervent bass lines are never drowned out, as is an unfortunate norm in some pop-rock outfits, but instead bolsters the band's soothing sound. Guitarists Evan Brown and Dave Middleton, who are the vital crux to the harder-hitting Shaimus tracks, never tyrannize, and even Beaudreau's piano and vocals - as well as Brown's back-up vocals - are mixed with impeccable clarity. Ultimately, the mixing and production of the album serves as one of the major reasons why Paper Sun has a phenomenally high rate of playback longevity.

However, the biggest reason why Paper Sun has loads of playback value is in Shaimus' ability to consistently write catchy pop-rock tracks laden with addictive instrumental and vocal hooks. Two representative examples include the sensational piano-driven Run My Spirit Down and the dainty Slow Down. The opening piano progression in the former track, while sounding relatively simple, serves as a stellar introduction while the rhythm section filters in with ease. "The Earth went spinning 'round the sun today a little faster than it did yesterday," sings Beaudreau, accompanied by his delicate piano and graceful guitars. In the latter track, a moderately-paced, strolling number, whose seemingly-apropos title is perfect tunes for an aimless road trip with no set destination. Beaudreau particularly shines on Slow Down, arguably offering his best vocal performance on the album, singing, "You live a thousand miles away, it doesn't really seem so long since we've been eager to be where we are now, and now we're here, and now we want to slow down, slow down..." The chorus is the song's, and possibly Paper Sun's, biggest highlight, and the mollifying guitar solo adds to the beauty of the track.

Of course, I wouldn't feel justified in discussing Paper Sun without mentioning the chipper All of This, which is a bit different on the album than the version heard in Guitar Hero. Beginning with a slick chord progression complemented by drumstick clicks, the song's opening verse builds a subtle crescendo before Brosseau's snare shots are a straightforward segue into a hard rockin' chorus. Beaudreau's "Hey, hoo, you should know - all of this makes me love you more" precedes Brown's astounding guitar solo, which probably yielded a few "Song Failed!" messages for many wanna-b - sputnikmusic.com

Aside from physics, I'm not real good with the sciences - trust me on this one. I'm pretty sure I set a chemistry department record in high school by having 100% error in three of my labs. It ultimately didn't matter in the end because the teacher cared more about if the calculations were accurate than the results, and since I'm good at math, chemistry was a cakewalk for yours truly. I've taken manifold science courses throughout my schooling career, from geology to botany to chemistry, but no matter what type of science course you take, one of the first things you learn is how to write a good hypothesis statement.

My guess is that 99% of my readers who have heard of Shaimus have only heard of the Los Angeles-based quintet via the exemplary Guitar Hero video game series, in which one of their songs, All of This, is an unlockable track that's insanely catchy and sports a rockin' solo. So, a very simple hypothesis statement here could be: If you, the reader, have played the first Guitar Hero video game and unlocked all of the bonus tracks, then you have heard a fraction of Shaimus' material. Completely ignoring the rest of the scientific method and operationally defining variables, one might hypothesize that Paper Sun is comprised of ten songs in a similar vein to All of This; however, this is not entirely the case. Instead, Paper Sun delivers extremely mellow, soulful tracks akin to Guster, Phantom Planet, and Rooney, while still distancing itself from these artists to a fascinating degree.

Take for instance the gorgeous album opener Left to Dry, which best exemplifies the sensational Shaimus sound. Beginning with a swift drum fill from Cameron Brousseau, followed by an exquisite main riff that's complemented by a steady rhythm section, the instruments drop off in silence. In their place, frontman Phil Beaudreau - who serves double duty as the band's vocalist and ivory-key-tickler - enters with a delicate piano progression and an opening line of "She was left alone to dry to contemplate the things that her other half denied." As the verse continues, the aforementioned splendid clean guitar riff returns, and the other instruments filter in to provide an incredibly rich sound, continuing for the duration of the track. One of the most haunting and beautiful lines on the track is "All's fair in love and war, but it's an ugly price to pay." Wonderful album opener.

This sauntering, mellow vibe that percolates throughout the track is one of Shaimus' numerous strengths on Paper Sun as a whole. This is attributed to the mixing and production of the album, which is surprisingly near-flawless. To illustrate, bassist Johannes Raassina's warm, fervent bass lines are never drowned out, as is an unfortunate norm in some pop-rock outfits, but instead bolsters the band's soothing sound. Guitarists Evan Brown and Dave Middleton, who are the vital crux to the harder-hitting Shaimus tracks, never tyrannize, and even Beaudreau's piano and vocals - as well as Brown's back-up vocals - are mixed with impeccable clarity. Ultimately, the mixing and production of the album serves as one of the major reasons why Paper Sun has a phenomenally high rate of playback longevity.

However, the biggest reason why Paper Sun has loads of playback value is in Shaimus' ability to consistently write catchy pop-rock tracks laden with addictive instrumental and vocal hooks. Two representative examples include the sensational piano-driven Run My Spirit Down and the dainty Slow Down. The opening piano progression in the former track, while sounding relatively simple, serves as a stellar introduction while the rhythm section filters in with ease. "The Earth went spinning 'round the sun today a little faster than it did yesterday," sings Beaudreau, accompanied by his delicate piano and graceful guitars. In the latter track, a moderately-paced, strolling number, whose seemingly-apropos title is perfect tunes for an aimless road trip with no set destination. Beaudreau particularly shines on Slow Down, arguably offering his best vocal performance on the album, singing, "You live a thousand miles away, it doesn't really seem so long since we've been eager to be where we are now, and now we're here, and now we want to slow down, slow down..." The chorus is the song's, and possibly Paper Sun's, biggest highlight, and the mollifying guitar solo adds to the beauty of the track.

Of course, I wouldn't feel justified in discussing Paper Sun without mentioning the chipper All of This, which is a bit different on the album than the version heard in Guitar Hero. Beginning with a slick chord progression complemented by drumstick clicks, the song's opening verse builds a subtle crescendo before Brosseau's snare shots are a straightforward segue into a hard rockin' chorus. Beaudreau's "Hey, hoo, you should know - all of this makes me love you more" precedes Brown's astounding guitar solo, which probably yielded a few "Song Failed!" messages for many wanna-b - sputnikmusic.com