Shannon Wakefield & The Departments

Shannon Wakefield didn’t pick up a guitar till he was 19 due to the shear boredom of being on the dole after failing an accounting degree. Shannon at the time was living in a room at his parents house in the rural Victorian town of Carag Carag (Pop 50). Teaching himself guitar to Nirvana’s “Nevermind” Shannon caught the songwriting bug. Shannon moved to Bendigo in 1997 and formed underground power pop band Ruteger. Ruteger played over 200+ shows across Australia (including various festivals, and supported noted bands like You Am I, Motor Ace & Wolfmother). Ruteger released two albums on indie labels worldwide, which were well received by various media sources around the globe. Ruteger after eight years called it a day in April 2005 as Shannon wanted to take the band down a road the rest of members did not want to travel upon. This road is now the forthcoming Shannon Wakefield solo album, which was recorded over a sporadic three weeks in late 2005. Shannon co-produced this 11 track opus with gun UK producer Woody Annison (Rocket Science, Airbourne) at 001 in sunny Melbourne. In the studio Shannon played most of the instruments, like guitars, keyboards, synths, percussion and took he care of all the vocals. In the live scene Shannon looks forward to showcasing his new tunes with his 4 piece backing band "The Departments" starting as of March 2006. So be on the lookout as this future star is sure to rise!