THE SHAKES
Ed - Lead Vocals / Keys / Harmonica
Gaz - Guitar / Backing Vox
Junior – Bass / Keys / Backing Vox
Tim – Drums
In a world where it is easy to be cynical about the hyping power of the internet, hot S.E. London four-piece, The Shakes have played their online calling card to massive advantage. Twice hitting number 1 in the Worldwide Podcast Music Charts - ahead of big acts such as James Brown, Subways, Moloko, Panic at the Disco! Etc. Over 1 million people around the world have downloaded podcasts featuring music by The Shakes.
“We’ve basically always played 3 _ minute pop songs, it’s what we’ve done with them online & in podcasts afterwards that’s got everyone excited now,” says lead singer Ed. “It’s like the music really, we try to mix classic songwriting and catchy choruses with tough modern sounds, synths and electronic drums. It’s all in the mix of old and new.”
While still unsigned, The Shakes sold out The Borderline (3 times), The 100 Club, and The Metro. 1000 fans bought The Shakes’ self-financed single before the band were snapped up by audio/visual production company Tough Cookie (part of Malcolm Gerrie’s Whizz Kid Entertainment), in a unique content and distribution deal.
On how the band got together, Gaz explains, “Me and Ed went to school together, in the same year, I met Junior when he was born – we’re brothers, and we tricked Tim into joining the band, saying we only needed him to fill in for a couple of weeks!” Three years ago, the band bought themselves a hearse (to tour in!) from a funeral parlour in East Ham and recorded their demo in the rock & roll Mecca of Brendan Lynch’s studio (Paul Weller, Primal Scream).
The Raindance Film Festival picked up on The Shakes’ demo of (1st single) Liberty Jones and commissioned a music video (including cartoon killings of all the band – Gaz gets eaten by a shark, Junior gets snared in a bear trap etc…) Soon after this The Shakes began getting fans to film their live shows and started to record radio shows from Ed’s bedroom – starting an extraordinary run of monthly podcast & vidcast shows, after episode 6 they had over 10,000 subscribers. Shakecast: http://feeds.feedburner.com/shakecast
UK website Tiscali noticed the podcast subscriptions The Shakes were receiving and invited them to record a session at The Reading Festival - alongside Jet, Yeah Yeah Yeahs & The Fratellis. These filmed sessions, along with tour diaries, gig movies, a rooftop acoustic sessions and fans’ clips from gigs comprise enough material to make a full feature length film from The Shakes youtube page! http://www.youtube.com/theshakestube
Guitarist Gaz says it best. "It's not about being the next 'internet phenomenon' because everyone knows it's bullshit. It's just about using the things that are there for what they're best for - sharing new stuff with fans and meeting new people."
It’s not just online where The Shakes have picked up devoted fans. Dermot O’leary made 1st single Liberty Jones his “one to go buy Monday”, whilst XFMs Evening Sessions inbox crashed under sheer weight of fan requests…Radio 6 and Indie 101 in LA and over 75 UK regional radio stations lent their support.
Soon after the success of Liberty Jones, The Shakes headed to the studio to record their album (due summer 2007) with James Lewis (The On-Offs, Morning Runner, Dead 60’s, Artic Monkeys). Moving on from the catchy pop-charm of ‘Liberty Jones’ The Shakes have developed to show a rawer and rougher side to their sound.
Great stories are prevalent in The Shakes music – such as tracks like Valentine. “Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to celebrate love. Unfortunately that’s not what The Shakes’ track Valentine is about” says Ed “It’s a love-song-gone-wrong about a girl who gets with you, gets bored of you and leaves you a mess.”
Goodbye New York finds a relationship spinning out of control, commenting “when I left I keyed your car” and new single, ‘I Want A Better Life’ finds the usually chirpy Ed, more like a man on the brink of losing it – “more than these 4 walls and my loving wife – I want a better life”. It’s another great example of The Shakes’ writing songs with great stories and moody twists.
Undoubtedly, The Shakes music stares squarely down the barrel at the mainstream. Any young band, who can turn the microphone on an audience who sing back all the words to all the songs are bound to have huge pop sensibilities. The Shakes catalogue of story-driven tunes, mean the army of loud fans, not only get to sing their heads off, but, go home to their Shakes podcasts having made a few new friends along the way.
www.theshakesmusic.com | www.myspace.com/theshakesmyspace
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