The Shivers

The Shivers

Think of a tiny club. Smoky, sleazy, sweat dripping off the walls. Kids dancing in tight suits, sta prests and John Smedleys. There’s a band on stage, playing some top notch beat tunes, sharp guitar refrains, with strong vocals. Think of the groove you get from this lot.

One of a growing number of modernist groovemeisters coming out of the US, The Shivers know how to cook it up loud and hard.

Coming from Indianapolis, they’re three quarters American and one quarter British. Royston Lloyd is the one Brit, a songwriter, singer, guitarist and lover of good music (and, legend has it, a pint of Bass). Ubermod Mike Shimmercore plays guitar and adds some vocals, while Mike Theodore plays drums. Dave Lawlis has played bass.

Influences? Bands such as The Kinks, Small Faces, The Buzzcocks, The Pretty Things, Brian Jonestown Massacre, MC5, The Stooges, Question Mark and the Mysterians, Northern Soul, Tony Jackson and the Vibrations, The Beatles, The Action, The Creation, The Jabs, The Slurs, The Illusion, The Shaprells, T-Rex, John's Children, Link Wray, Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders from Mars, The Hard Lessons, The Sorrows. Is that enough to give you a flavour?

On record they don’t disappoint. “Move All You Wanna” is my favourite of the three tracks on their ep from last year. It just rocks from the very beginning. A celebration of the night, of the dancefloor, of the modernist ideal. “Move all you wanna, you’ve just gonna move your feet”. And “Yeah - lets watch the sun come up”.

“Ice Cream Van“ has a straight ahead rawk and roll vibe in Stooges and Ramones style - “Ice Cream Van - any wanna get some”. There’s a definite mid sixties feel about these songs. Its pure garage rock. With very strong, incessant guitar.

“She’s My DJ” continues the mood. Its got one of those great introductions. Just starts cooking and hooks you into the mix. Rhythm and blues, stripped down, with the soul feel. And that brilliant guitar.

So it’s the end of a perfect, hot Summer night. What now? Grab some beers, chill out, and tune in to hear these tunes at http://www.myspace.com/theshiversmusic.

YEAH - LETS WATCH THE SUN COME UP.

Rob Massey - Sohostrut.co.uk

The Shivers – Move All You Wanna (Modnight)
Blimey! The Shivers are MODS! And they’re pretty damn good too. ‘Move All You Wanna’ has more in common with the All Girl Summer Fun Band or The Icicles than it does the blooooooody Jam or something equally as shite. ‘Tiramisu’, for example, is full of the stop/start, ramshackle garage pop that often comes out of the US.

On other occasions, such as the racey ‘Pixydust and Voodo’ The Shivers make me want to dance that funny jerky dance that you can only do after about ten pints of lager, and this is very good thing indeed.

I’m not sure that I’m ready to convert to the Sta-prest cause just yet – I don’t really have the arse for it, but if The Shivers are what passed for Mod these days I might stop laughing at people on scooters. It’s a start, isn’t it?

Sam Metcalf
- Tasty Fanzine (www.tastyfanzine.org.uk)

Nee, The Shivers maken inderdaad geen opzienbarende muziek en velen zullen het afdoen als overbodig. Het bandje uit Indianapolis maakt rammelende gitaarpop in de traditie van The Who, The Kinks en de latere Britpop-generatie, wat waarschijnlijk voor een deel te danken is aan gitarist en zanger Royston Lloyd, die oorspronkelijks Brits is. De band heeft er duidelijk plezier in op dit, in eigen beheer opgenomen album. De negen opgewekt klinkende liedjes zijn geen hoogvliegers, maar weten onopgemerkt toch de juiste snaar te raken. De simpele popliedjes worden versierd met speelse gitaarmelodieën en lijken op het eerste gehoor weinig van elkaar te verschillen, maar nestelen zich toch snel in je hoofd. Misschien dat het overbodige muziek is en zeer waarschijnlijk zal niemand The Shivers meer herinneren over een maand, maar op dit moment houd ik er wel van. - Kinda Muzik (www.kindamuzik.net)

2004, Top 10 favorite live shows
Angela Smith-Johnson
NUVO music freelancer

10) Obedient Defiance Bubba’s Bowling Club
9) Crypto-Kats at Battle of the Bands Finals
8) Here Come the Mummies the Patio, Halloween
7) Annie Steele the Vogue, opening act for the Bo Deans
6) Sondre Lerche Birdy’s
5) TheBo Deans the Vogue
4) The Neville Brothers the Vogue
3) The Common the Melody Inn Christmas Party
2) The Shivers opening for BlackBerry Jam the Patio
1) The Fuglees anywhere

- NUVO Magazine (www.nuvo.net)

The Shivers - Move all you Wanna


Brilliant new band from the states performing some mighty fine 60s Pop, Mod & Freak Beat. Just listen to their ace version of THE AFEX "shes got the time"! On this CD only you get 9 tracks of pure mod 2000 sound! "Pixydust and voodoo", what a storming track, will stick directly in your head! Ubermod coverart, go! Get it!



- Soundflat (www.soundflat.de)

The Singles, The Shivers, Hard Lessons

9 p.m., Jan. 7, $5, Melody Inn, (317) 923-4707

The Shivers, with their mixture of '60s beat music and garage soul, seem to win new fans with every show they play. This week they're hoping to expose some of those fans to a couple of like-minded acts from Detroit. The Singles recreate the Merseybeat sound of the early '60s while the Hard Lessons blast a Motown-influenced soul sound anchored by a must-see drummer simply known as "The Anvil."

- Intake Weekly (www.intakeweekly.com)

August 26, 2004


"Shivers make audiences shake"

Mod Brit-poppers create a danceable beat to get the crowd hopping on its feet.

By Jessica Halverson
jessica.halverson@intakeweekly.com



More about The Shivers:

You can see the band twice this weekend:
• Aug. 27: With Hypnotic Velvet Propellers, 9 p.m. at Radio Radio, 1119 E. Prospect St. $5

• Aug. 28: The Shotgun Reviews 5th Anniversary Party with Loretta, Lunar Event, The Common, Samsell and The Frank Booth Project. 9 p.m. at Birdy's, 2131 E. 71st St.


Learn more
•Website:
www.theshiversmusic.com

• Recent album: "Move All You Wanna," available at www.cdbaby.com

Royston Lloyd's top three albums of the moment:
• Iggy Pop and the Stooges -- "Raw Power"
• Fela-Ransome Kuti and The Africa 70 with Ginger Baker -- "Live"
• The Sorrows -- "Take a Heart"


Playing in a band can get mundane. Practicing and performing the same songs over and over can take most of the fun out of playing.

Then, add on the frustration of completing 28 takes of one song in the studio so it sounds perfect while dealing with sound engineers, broken equipment and stolen gear. And now your rock-star fantasy has gone stale.

Now, ice the dream cake with the fact that most independent and regional bands have to keep their day jobs.

The Shivers, Indy's formerly mod Brit-poppers, are fighting stagnation head-on, reinventing their sound and focusing on live show energy for inspiration.

While the white suit pants and button-down shirts may do little to demonstrate the band's move from mod, vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Royston Lloyd said that the band is moving on to rock 'n' roll.

"I don't want to be one of those bands that always writes the same albums," Lloyd said. "It's not really something I think about; it's more of an unconscious thing."

The band still has much of the poppier side of the rock mentality, keeping songs under three minutes and gradually infusing more aggression, which may draw from its love of '60s garage rock from both sides of the pond.

Even though drummer Mike Theodore may love The Darkness while Lloyd is jamming to some Fela Kuti, The Shivers can generally agree on '80s new wave, British punk, '70s American rock and '60s rock, Lloyd said. He said what the band listens to influences his and guitarist /songwriter Mike Shimmercore's writing style.

"I write songs that are personal to me," Lloyd said. "Usually, I like to change the pertinent facts so that it's harder for people. Then with Mike's songs, a lot of his songs are positive."

But is the music of yesterday relevant for today's show-hoppers?

Lloyd said he doesn't care, but calls on the recent success of The Hives and The Shins as a watermark.

With the danceable tunes and quick song changes, Lloyd said The Shivers are successful in an area lacking from much of today's hard-rocking world -- getting the crowd to dance.

While Lloyd said the band discussed goals of regional notoriety, which may be on the way since the band played shows this year in Detroit, Cincinnati and at Little Steven's Underground Garage battle of the bands in Cleveland, he still maintains a firm grasp on his "day life."

While his co-workers know he is in a band, he said he tries to keep it low-key.

"It's like two separate worlds," Lloyd said.

So, why put up with the hidden life, repetitive practice sessions and less-than-desirable hours? Lloyd has a simple answer.

"My number-one reason for doing this is its fun. I want to have fun."More about The Shivers

- Intake Weekly

The Shivers - Move All You Wanna (self-released): Ultra-fun mod rock from...Indianapolis? Indeed, The Shivers are full of bouncy pep and lay down nine tracks that will get the scooter kids frugging and doing the Mashed Potato. Things get grooving right away with the head-shaking "Ice Cream Van". The song is essentially a build and release special, with the verses just ratcheting up some tension, as the guitars go up the scale, and then releasing on a bopping chorus. Faux drama and real fun mix well. The band can lay down tracks that add a bit Merseybeat pop giddiness to the proceedings -- "Pixydust and Voodoo" is a compelling example. The band rolls out a reliable neo-mod staple on "She's Got the Thyme" -- a back-and-forth rhythm in the vein of "Taxman" and The Jam's "Start", and the band pulls it off with enough verve to make it work. These guys remind me a bit of the Dining Room Set in their light touch with this style of music. Okay, that's an obscure reference, but if you get it, you might get this. . - WWW.FUFKIN.COM

Over the past year The Shivers have remodeled their sound from mid-60’s mod to a more rocking garage soul approach. The change has paid off, as they’ve become one of the city’s most respected rock acts. This Friday they return to the friendly confines of the Melody Inn for a show debuting their new bassist, Chris Foster (ex-Paging Raymond, Love Dragon). They’re joined by frequent Indy visitors Maxtone 4 and first-time visitors from Oxford, England, The Thieves. - Intake Magazine