The Shins Break Up? Well, Kinda…
We’ve heard rumors of this for almost a year now (cough—Baumgarten—cough), and today the official announcement came from Pitchfork: the Shins are breaking up. Okay, just kidding! Sorta…the Shins as we’ve known them for, oh, the past eight years, are now an entirely different beast.
According to an interview with Amy Phillips, two of the band’s key players and founding members—keyboardist Marty Crandall and drummer Jesse Sandoval—are out of the group and have been replaced by Ron Lewis (Grand Archives) and Modest Mouse auxillary drummer Joe Plummer (no, not that one). So when the Shins take the stage tonight and tomorrow at the Crystal Ballroom, both will be absent. And that’s going for the immediate future—and the next Shins record. Which is interesting, because our understanding is that Mercer was already well into recording an album with his old squad (something not mentioned in the Pitchfork interview).
Now, I’ve never met Mercer before, but this all seems a little weird to me. Didn’t he just essentially fire half of his band? And keep the old name for what now amounts to his solo project? It’s not like Crandall and Sandoval were hired hands; both have played with Mercer since at least 1997, when all three were living in New Mexico and playing in the band Flake (and, according to Wikipedia, since possibly 1992). In the interview Mercer never says the word “fire,” but that seems to be really what’s happening here—you just don’t quit the Shins. Here’s Mercer’s explanation from the interview:
I started to have production ideas that I wanted to do that basically required some other people. It’s mainly about that. It’s an aesthetic decision. It’s kind of hard to talk abut stuff like that, isn’t it? Because I don’t want to bum anybody out. I’m on good terms with those guys, I hope to maintain that.
Bands change members all the time, so this is nothing new. But all this going down without much notice makes it seem like the Shins (or Shin, anyway) are trying to sweep it under the rug. After all, most fans found out about the lineup change after the Seattle show on Monday. Though ex-WW Music Editor and current Sound Magazine Editor Mark Baumgarten investigated the story a year ago, when Crandall denied the rumor.
Mercer is currently working on quite a few other projects, including a big still-unconfirmed collaboration with a big name producer in Los Angeles and a local indie film with former Sleater-Kinney guitarist Carrie Brownstein.
Conspiracy theories, out with you! Let’s go!
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MARK BAUMGARTEN
says:So … I heard this rumor at last year’s Sasquatch Festival from a Portlander in the know (the exact wording was that “Mercer dismissed the band”). I sought out comment, but decided not to report when Marty Crandall denied that the band had “broken up.” He did, though, say the band was on “indefinite hiatus” since December.
Sub Pop, the band’s label at the time, didn’t know anything about anything at the time.
There you have it.
Posted @ May 6th, 2009 at 10:20 pm (May 6th, 2009) | Flag this Comment | permalinkAaron
says:Mark, you should comment on here more often so we can see your making the “sexy face” pic.
Posted @ May 7th, 2009 at 2:33 pm (May 6th, 2009) | Flag this Comment | permalinkPortlandposterpole
says:I think this news was definitely downplayed.
Posted @ May 12th, 2009 at 11:49 am (May 6th, 2009) | Flag this Comment | permalinkJack Saturn
says:Michael, just now came across this piece, and want to thank you for being the first to call this band reshuffling into question.
I’m sure there’s a lot going on behind the scenes, but I read “the production ideas” line as a euphemism to dismiss that he didn’t feel Crandall and Sandoval were strong enough musicians. And to my mind, if that was his worry, why not tell the guys that during their year’s hiatus, they should practice their instruments like crazy? It’s not as if they have part-time jobs keeping them from being able to work on their chops…
Ultimately, who caused their departures, but I agree with you: though James is obviously the creative force behind the band, I doubt any of their fans ever viewed them as a James Mercer solo project. I know I certainly didn’t.
Posted @ May 12th, 2009 at 4:32 pm (May 6th, 2009) | Flag this Comment | permalinkJack
says:No mention of Marty’s bang up?
Posted @ May 19th, 2009 at 3:40 pm (May 6th, 2009) | Flag this Comment | permalink(not that it’s an excuse, but perhaps.)
eric m
says:I really cant believe this. Not from a band like the Shins. What did he(Mercer)want to play that the other two couldn’t pull off? Maybe the Shins are now a jazz improvisational group or perhaps a fusion band like dream theater. I don’t get it! It’s indie rock folks, not rock musical brain science. I think it’s a very cold move. I think the fans of this band deserve to know what the fuck is going on. You can’t just play musical chairs with us then be vague about the reasons. I for one am tuning out this “Shins” group until I get some answers!!!
Posted @ June 4th, 2009 at 9:59 pm (May 6th, 2009) | Flag this Comment | permalinkben
says:I know I’m responding to old news, but it’s astonishing that no one has stated the obvious. Crandall and Sandoval were downsized because they weren’t sharp enough. They lent a doughiness to the group “aesthetic” (read “sexiness”), that had been tacked on them since Garden State. Sharper looking guys = better appeal. Why do you think the Weezer guys toned up a touch?
Posted @ December 27th, 2009 at 12:23 pm (May 6th, 2009) | Flag this Comment | permalink