Shellshag is an American two piece
punk rock
Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
band, formed in 1997, that have released records on
Don Giovanni Records
Don Giovanni Records is an independent record label originally specializing in punk rock from the New Brunswick, New Jersey music scene but eventually working with a variety of artists from different genres. Its also operated out of Lansing, Mic ...
, Mauled by Tigers, We Are Busy Bodies, Thrillhouse Records, Plan it X South, Dead Broke Records and their own imprint Starcleaner Records. Their first EP was recorded by
Gary Young. Although they never kept careful track, it is estimated that the duo has played upwards of 1,980 shows since their humble beginnings in San Francisco's Mission District. This was achieved by near constant touring, including a year long tour. Shellshag has shared stages across the world with famous acts such as
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
,
The Cramps
The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2009. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. T ...
,
The Slits
The Slits were a punk/post-punk band based in London, formed there in 1976 by members of the groups the Flowers of Romance and the Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted of Ari Up (Ariane Forster) and Palmolive (a.k.a. Paloma Rom ...
,
Laura Stevenson
Laura Anne Stevenson (born April 25, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter from Long Island, New York, and formerly a keyboard player for the musical collective Bomb the Music Industry!
Life and career Early life
Stevenson was raised in Nas ...
,
Ted Leo
Theodore Francis Leo (born September 11, 1970) is an American singer and musician. He is the frontman and lead guitarist of the rock group Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and in 2013, he and Aimee Mann formed the indie rock duo The Both.
Earl ...
,
Dos
DOS (, ) is a family of disk-based operating systems for IBM PC compatible computers. The DOS family primarily consists of IBM PC DOS and a rebranded version, Microsoft's MS-DOS, both of which were introduced in 1981. Later compatible syste ...
,
Mike Watt + The Missing Men,
The Dicks
Dicks were an American punk rock band from Austin, Texas, formed in 1980 and initially disbanded in 1986. After the first breakup, singer Gary Floyd formed the band Sister Double Happiness, with drummer Lynn Perko, then later fronted a project ...
,
AJJ,
Kimya Dawson
Kimya Dawson (born November 17, 1972) is an American folk singer-songwriter, one half of the anti-folk duo the Moldy Peaches. Dawson's work with the Moldy Peaches earned them a cult following and critical acclaim, with their 2001 song " Anyone ...
,
Screaming Females
Screaming Females were an American rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey comprising Marissa Paternoster on vocals and guitar, Jarrett Dougherty on drums, and Mike Abbate on bass. They released their debut album ''Baby Teeth (Screaming Females a ...
,
Japanther
Japanther was an American punk band established by Matt Reilly and Ian Vanek, then students at Pratt Institute. Japanther was featured in the 2006 Whitney Biennial, the 2007 Performa Biennial, and the 2011 Venice Biennale, and collaborated ...
, and
The Marked Men to name a few.
Pop-culture and media
Shellshag's song "Face to Face" from their 2013 album ''Shellshag Forever'' is used as the theme song to
Chris Gethard
Christopher Paul Gethard (; born May 23, 1980) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He was the host of ''The Chris Gethard Show'', a talk show based in New York City, which aired from 2011 to 2018. He hosts the podcasts ''Beautiful Stories ...
's podcast ''Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People,'' also known as ''Beautiful/Anonymous.''
Shellshag was the executive producer for the film ''Here To Be Heard: The Story of The Slits.'' Jen Shagawat also provided footage for the documentary, which she filmed while road managing a 2008 cross-country USA tour for The Slits. Shellshag toured with the reformed Slits in 2009 as well.
In early 2019, the band released a unique movie/"Visual Album" called ''18 Sycamore'' as an accompaniment to their Double LP of the same name. The movie, filmed and edited by the band, chronicles nearly 25 years of friendship and shows. ''18 Sycamore'' does not run with the pack in terms of past Shellshag albums: it is a stripped down, acoustic version of their sound, with one half of the double LP being Shell solo, while the other half is Shag solo. Furthermore, it is not available on any streaming or music downloading platforms other than purchase via their Starcleaner website. As their bandcamp page states, "The revolution will not be spotifyed."
Personal history
The pair met in San Francisco, California in 1996 at Jennifer Shagawat's DIY venue known as Starcleaners Warehouse.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre played there regularly and The Dandy Warhols were signed there. Shortly thereafter, guitarist John "Shellhead" Driver, percussionist Jennifer Shagawat, and bassist Danny Lovefinger created the band Kung Fu USA.
The duo, who would later come to be known simply as "Shell" and "Shag," also played in a group with Matty Luv
Hickey and Matt Powell aka The Boy called, Me, You and the Boyz. In addition, associated band 50 Million, composed of Wade Driver and Shellhead Driver, played a set with The Naked Cult of Hickey in 1996 infamously known as the Christmas recordings. This formed the temporary group known as Hickey-Million.
Discography
Albums
EPs
References
External links
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 1997
Pop punk groups from New York (state)
Don Giovanni Records artists