With what began as a childhood project that combined brothers Sean and Jimmy Galloway’s first names, The Shimmies has now created a self-appointed genre for itself, lovingly referred to as “home school rock.” Much the way a home schooled child’s take on a book may have less to do with the collective opinion of their peers, The Shimmies’ take on pop music stands apart from the collective pretense of the so-called “indie” generation. Sean and Jimmy started out in the late 90’s as an acoustic two piece, and before that, as kids trying to perfect difficult harmonies by panning Simon and Garfunkel’s Wednesday Morning 3AM on their small cassette deck boom box. They’ve since plugged in and added younger brother Stephen on bass and long time friend Jack Gingerich on drums.
The Shimmies – Friendly Fire by fanaticpro
Chico, California’s The Shimmiesis have been gearing up to release a new EP, “GrowingUp Roanoke: Beloved B-Sides,” a companion to their last album To All Beloved Enemies recording sessions, featuring four of the 15 songs feverishly recorded duringthat withering 100+ degree Northern California summer of 2009.
Comprised of three original songs and one cover (of The Shimmies’best friend-band The Delta Mirror’s“And The Radio Played On”),the tracks on “Growing Up Roanoke”evoke the same thread of emotional chaos and vulnerability that has seen the band compared to The Avett Brothers,Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses, Jeff Buckley, and Sigur Ros.
The Shimmies sound and style that was established on To All Beloved Enemies was best exemplified in the band’s emotionally haunting song “Judas” and it’s accompanying video directed by Brandon Vedder, helmerof clips by Pearl Jam and Sleater-Kinney.
The Shimmies have a couple of California dates coming up including a couple with The Delta Mirror:
07/01 Sebastopol, CA @ Aubergine’s w/ Samvega, Little Lost Boys
07/14 Los Angeles, CA @ The Satellite w/ The Delta Mirror
07/16 San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar w/ The Delta Mirror
“GrowingUp Roanoke: Beloved B-Sides” was released yesterday. It gets the Indie Band Guru seal of approval and should be heard by all.
Visit The Shimmies site to get a taste and find out more info at http://www.theshimmies.com