Shame Club interview

Shame Club hail from St. Louis and recently released an album called "Come on". I recently got to interview them to find out more.

Hello, please introduce the members of you band and tell what instruments you play.
Andy White - guitars
Eric Eyster - bass/ backup vox
Jon Lumley - Gtrrzz/Voxx
Ken McCray isn't here, but he's our drummist.

Tell us a little about the history of your band.
Jon: A couple of guys and I started Shame Club in May of 2000 on the premise of letting the sound develop very organically, without pushing ourselves in any one direction. No rules. It didn't take long to figure out that the simplest ideas, the most reflexive moves we could make were the only ones that sounded any good for us. We swapped out a number of players along the way. As a matter of fact I'm the last original guy. We sort of developed in a vacuum here in the Midwest that wouldn't have been possible on the coasts or in a larger city, but it certainly gave us time to hone our craft.

Who are some of your musical influences?
Andy: Deep Purple, James Gang, Aerosmith, Van Halen, Free.
Jon: Sly and the Family Stone, Guided by Voices, Zeppelin, Springsteen, Sloan, Thin Lizzy

Who came up with the band name and does it have any special meaning to you?

Jon: We stole it. It's a long, boring, plagiaristic story. Now there's some garage rock band in California using the same name. Serves us right. They're a garage band, though, which means they'll be breaking up any second now. If there's any meaning it's that shame is the great equalizer. We all have it. We should all own it.



What was the writing and recording process like for your most recent album “Come on”?
Andy: the recording took place over the course of a year during 3 trips to the lavish Mousetrap Studios, run by their chief engineer Carl Amburn. The tracking was pretty relaxed, Carl is really good at recording and creating a good environment. Most of the writing took place at Jon's house and was painful,arguments occurred etc. but the end product is pretty killer.
Eric: Had a great time recording in Oklahoma at Carl's, totally different recording experience because of the isolation-- and really chilled out. BBQ and Frisbee throwing during downtime.....ya can't beat it. We could get a lot accomplished in a day, plus we slept in the studio.
Jon: Lots of yelling. Writing for this one was a long process, but since we really don't have any money, time is our best asset when it comes to writing. Some of the tunes happened very quickly. The music for "Transamerica" was written in real time; I literally wrote that music and recorded the first track of the demo in the time it takes to play the song. One take. That was cool and instantaneous. "Don't Feel Like Making Love" and " I just Want You To Be Free" were very quick as well. In both cases I was demonstrating the main riffs to the guys and came up with the rest of the arrangement on the spot. Other tunes were much more difficult. "Light Shines" is the product of two days of Andy and I yelling at each other. "Lurch" went through a number of rewrites before we went back to the very first version of the tune. I do most of the songwriting, but we operate under the rule that we will try any idea anyone in the band has. It takes longer, but it's always worth the extra time.

What has been the reaction to your new album so far?
Jon: Cool. Pretty gratifying. Seems like folks are pleasantly surprised by the return of rock and roll.
Andy: We're still trying to find out, reviews have been good, like, all of them. I don't know if enough people have really heard us yet to say.
Eric: Seems like some people want to pigeonhole the sound, and can't and ultimately are glad they can't (as are we). The best are the ones that say "don't call it stoner-rock, it's just rock-n-roll"

What are some of your favorite tracks on the album and why?
Andy: "How Far" - because it's awesome."Transamerica" - because it's really just these big flapping chords slapping the shit out of you, really effective and really simple. Short, sweet, just always feels good when we do it.
Eric: I like "I ain't Surprised" cuz it just gets up and goes! I also like "Transamerica" because of the dynamics and simplicity. For some reason when we play live i really enjoy playing "I don't feel like Making Love" cuz it has a stomping headbanging sort of verse riff........and "I just Want You To Be Free" because its just really layered and dynamic.
Jon: Transamerica is a blast to play. It's so quick with a ton of tight little changes and no real repeats. It surprises people I think.

You have some dates set up over the next few months. Are you playing in areas that you have never been to before? Has the price of gas limited your touring plans any?
Andy: We actually have a van that runs on tears and cigarette butts, look into it on Planet Green. com, it's saving us a bundle. For your health!
Jon: Oh you're asking about gas money now? Yeah we're fucked. What are you gonna do though? Not play? With any luck the gas prices will weed out a lot of touring bands that just really aren't that good.
Eric: Yeah we'll be hitting Denver for the first time in a few weeks.........there are people there who've listened to us since 2003/2004 and we've never met them. Gas prices suck but if we don't make our guarantees at a rock show we usually just rob the venue and booking agent, that seems to break us even. We carry buck knives.



Didn’t you release “Come on” yourselves at first and then Small Stone Picked you up and re-issued it? How did you come to get signed by Small Stone and how has that relationship gone so far?
Andy: I sent it to Scott Hamilton, he dug it and called back immediately. We signed on within the week.
Eric: Scott and Small Stone have really been supportive, we finally played SXSW.

What were some of the first albums that you really got into and why?
Andy: The Meters double disc "funky miracle" , a collection released by Charly records that cuts right to the good shit of their early days . Fucking killer, literally my favorite recordings ever recorded. Axis Bold as Love Jimi Hendrix Experience was why I started playing guitar though, age 17.
Eric: I was a die-hard KISS fan as a kid......bought Alive II in 2nd grade, and saw 'em LIVE in 1979- and a lot of that showmanship is why I started playing and love playing live today. I got into all kinds of genres growing up from the Beatles to Black Flag to Bauhaus to Boogie Down Productions and never stayed confined to any in particular, I think that's helped me be open minded creatively.

What is the music scene like in St. Louis these days?
Andy: it's pretty fuckin' sweet. There are some cool things happening right now, I live here so it's hard to compare to say, all the time spent never living in other cities.

What do you think the music scene in general these days? Is it any better or worse than it was say ten years ago?
Andy: it's fine I guess
Eric: It's changed a whole bunch in the last 10 years with the Internet and what not........15 years ago bands weren't able to make their music so readily available, let alone burn a CD of it. It might be a tad harder today because before the internet, the hard working/touring bands used to rise to the surface- and now anyone with an MP3 can setup a myspace page and start trolling for "Friends". Youtube puts anyone in the spotlight. I sound like grampa here.



Pick the band from the following pair that you prefer and tell why.

The Who or Rolling Stones
Andy: the who, because rent "The Kids Are Alright" then rent "Gimmie Shelter", I enjoy the anger more than the lips. I love both of these bands.
Eric: Thats really hard. I think i like the "fuck you" attitude of the WHO and that gives them a slight edge in my opinion.
Jon: Gotta say the Stones. The songs are unbelievable. No that the Who isn't amazing, but the Stones speak to me a little more clearly.

AC/DC or Aerosmith
Andy: AC/DC. I just fucking like them better if you're gonna make me pick
Eric: Me too. The solid riffing and back beat you just cant fuck with. Makes chicks want to get fucked up and wiggle too.
Jon: They're both incorrect ......... The correct answer is Aerosmith. At least the first five or six records. They were great once.

Mountain or Thin Lizzy
Andy: Thin Lizzy, again hard but actually , our friend Gary just passed me and Jon every Thin Lizzy album , there is so much broad hippied out weird funky shit in there, particularly on their early albums, the songs "Call the Police" off Shades of a Blue Orphanage, and "Look What the Wind Blew in " and "Return of the Farmers Son" off their first record. Totally Amazing, I find them to be a way more interesting band than Mountain. Also, Phil Lynott is the Chester Cheetah of 70s rock, and lately yes, I am really really into all the double leads but I think they do way more than people credit them for as a band and Phil Lynott as a truly genuine writer. Gary Moore's Waiting for An Alibi solo destroys me , it's soo fucking rad. That being said, Leslie West's solo on "For Yasgur's Farm "off Woodstock gets an A.
Eric: I'm going with Thin Lizzy for the sleazy Phil Lynott vocal stylings, not to mention the wicked song hooks and guitar stylings. But to be honest I'll take FREE over both of them. Call me koo koo. I'll also take Van Halen (DLR only).
Jon: .... (i) Love Leslie West's tone, and there's some killer shit on "Climbing" (Theme For an Imaginary Western in particular aside from the hits), but Andy's right. Thin Lizzy on sheer volume of work alone. More tunes = better. Also, "Sugar Blues" by Thin Lizzy is pretty righteous.

Jimi Hendrix Experience or Led Zeppelin
Andy: If one has to exist and the other not at all, Jimi Hendrix.
Eric: Again......that's really tough. I heard Led Zep before I could even speak, when my Dad used to blast "IV". My Dad also blasted Hendrix. I think I took to Hendrix first, but as I grew up I learned to appreciate the ferocious and huge Led Zep sound and insane catalog of great songs over the wicked guitar playing of Hendrix. It sorta depends on the day of the week anymore.
Jon: How dare you ask me that question?

Is there anything else that you would like to say about your band or your music?
Andy: no
Eric: Keep buying and listening to it.
Jon: Listen to it. Have a good time.

http://www.myspace.com/shameclub