Shellshag

Shellshag is a spastic, minimal, two-piece, rock band spewing the sound and tradition of old punk with the feeling and noise of no wave; their music and live shows are very unpredictable. These minimalists have a thunderous sound and an innovative approach. It seems that after more than ten years of shredding instruments they have mastered their tools and song writing techniques. Their noisy, pop hooks have catchy phrasing, tune and melody; their noise infiltrates these hooks and words, creating a very ambiguous sound that enhances their image. Throughout this decade they have always had their fingers on the pulse of the times. These old-schoolers have played with some of their earlier peer influences such as, Iggy Pop, The Cramps, J. Mascis, Evan Dando and have been recorded by Pavement drummer Gary Young. Recently, during their one year long tour, they shared the stage and floor with such acts as Le Savy Fav, Coachwhips, Lightning Bolt, Jucifer and Ruins. Shellshag's live act is very unusual. They created their own mic stand...the flying V. It is two stands combined, creating a V and leaving them face-to-face. During their slower pop ballads it seems like these two lovebirds are on their way to the bedroom after a romantic stroll through the park; during their angst driven tunes it seems like they are about to throw their instruments at each other (which they sometimes do) and violently thrash each other. Shell is an animated, elongated, caricature of himself. His uniqueness drives his guitar squeals and riffs deep into the ear canal, bouncing down the spine and blasting out the anal orifice. His performance is very distinctive, using the room as his stage. He might start the show in the middle of the audience and end it exhausted on the floor behind the stage. Shag stands up actively playing and wearing body percussion. This percussion princess plays a floor tom, rack tom, and snare, all high on their stands; she wears body percussion made of shells, bells and broken tambourine parts. As she plays she dances on the stage hopped up on a mixture of adrenaline, whiskey and soul. Although they are often compared to X, The Desendents and the Raveonettes these two zany performers create a sound and image equivalent to none and second to only themselves. ShellShag has blasted minds and changed lives...see and hear for yourselves, that is, if you have the nerve.