Live music series are burgeoning in Lower Manhattan. This past Sunday Victoria! introduced “Sunday Sessions,” a series of live acoustic sets organized by Michael Ian Cummings. Its first evening of performances included secret guest Conor Oberst. Oberst performed alongside Alex Orange Drink on Sunday. The unannounced acoustic show followed Bright Eye’s Forest Hills Stadium concert the night before.
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Every Tuesday night for over a year Baker Falls has hosted “Torture Tuesdays”. If you still have yet to bare witness to the imitable Anna “Torture” Kunz and her phenomenal ability to collect talent and build a stellar bill weekly, well… You now have plans this upcoming Tuesday. The night will speak for itself. Anna’s voice and songwriting will blow your mind.
Every other Monday, Rock Nite is held at Night Club 101. The past Rock Nite is where I had the pleasure of checking out Shellshaker. This is Shellshaker’s second New York show. The visiting LA-based five-piece performed at a secret rooftop location three nights prior. The rooftop show was booked and produced by the band’s manager Allison McWhite with the assistance of 1-800-girlfriend (aka Marissa Whitaker). A lot of hype has followed the band from their Brooklyn rooftop debut to the East Village.
Immediately, Shellshaker is a presence to behold. The band is drenched in swagger from the clothes to the movement to the sound. Every member is dressed head to toe in black, each garnished with a suit jacket. The fashion: impeccable. The music: far cooler. Their show was an experience I imagine is comparable to watching The Libertines, White Stripes, or The Strokes take the stage for the first time – an unexpected, welcomed joy. Their sound is tough, punk but cool-toned and articulate. It’s indubitably rock and everything Rock Nite’s crowd is craving.
“Shellshaker had such a great energy and vibe. Everything about them is giving off ‘rock star’, from their look to their sound. Truly awesome talent. I was happy I got to experience it.” Allie Fitzgerald, Concert Attendee
“The atmosphere was super fun… Shellshaker had a great stage presence… (They) sounded super well-rounded especially when covering the Velvet Underground. The frontman had the right energy and level of interactiveness with the crowd… A ‘worth it’ experience.” Olivia Kustera, Concert Attendee
Shellshaker’s performance is energetic, engaging, and beautifully coordinated. This is a band that is talented, but even more importantly, is evidently putting in the effort. The attention to performance guarantees that a Shellshaker concert makes a show-goer’s experience worthwhile. Identical to the feelings of photographer Tori McGraw pre-show, I am beside myself as to how Shellshaker has not gotten a taste of fame yet. While the world has yet to recognize Shellshaker, (I’m proud to say) New York does.
I followed up with the band to answer a few questions:
Who are the members of Shellshaker?
Keiven Anderson on vocals. Brothers Matt and Jacob Weiss on guitar. Tom Milkowski on bass. Connor Finn on drums.
I loved the “I Wanna Be Adored” bass intro while the other members were tuning/setting up. Do you guys turn to The Stone Roses for inspiration? What are some bands that inspired the sound of Shellshaker?
That was just our “nervous tic”… We turn into a Stone Roses cover band.
Yes and no, but The Stone Roses are definitely a big one for us. I mean, our music taste and the inspiration we draw from varies for each member for sure. We will go from The Stooges to Lee Hazelwood or like Sonic Youth to Elvis on any given day. Not just music (is inspiration) though. A lot of it, especially as of late, has come from literature and films we are into. It’s all encompassing though. We do what we like to do and sound how we would like to sound.
My favorite part of your show at Night Club 101 was how balanced and coordinated you all were. Every member seemingly had a chance to have the spotlight on them. Was that intentional? When it comes to songwriting, do you all approach it equally?
I don’t think it’s very intentional, or at-least we aren’t thinking about any one thing when we are up there. How we are comes out naturally when we are doing our thing. We are having fun – this is something that we think is a “gateway” to complete originality. From a viewer’s perspective, that’s what we like to watch and be a part of. (We enjoy) people being themselves. “Never play to the gallery.”
What can we expect from Shellshaker in the near future? Do you have plans to return to New York soon?
We can tell you what we want: bigger audiences, festivals, albums, more life, the world, we want it all. Aside from wanting “it all”, we don’t really know what the future holds, to be honest, but that’s kind of the beautiful part about being where we are right now as a group. In all seriousness, we have a few more shows out of town and will be focusing on recording when we are back (in LA). So for now, definitely expect new music. We would love to come back to NY, especially if we get to sleep on actual beds this time.
What was the best part of your New York trip? Embarrassing and wild anecdotes are welcome and appreciated.
I mean every moment was incredible… The lack of sleep, the chaos, the people, the streets, the fucking rats, this bar called “Victoria!”. New York City is the best.
