The Shins are an American indie rock band comprising singer, songwriter, and guitarist James Russell Mercer, guitarist/bassist Dave Hernandez, Eric Johnson of the Fruit Bats, drummer Joe Plummer and bassist Ron Lewis, . Their sound draws on several musical genres, including pop, alternative rock, alternative country, and folk. The Shins were formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but are now based in Portland, Oregon.
The Shins began in 1997 in Albuq...
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The Shins are an American indie rock band comprising singer, songwriter, and guitarist James Russell Mercer, guitarist/bassist Dave Hernandez, Eric Johnson of the Fruit Bats, drummer Joe Plummer and bassist Ron Lewis, . Their sound draws on several musical genres, including pop, alternative rock, alternative country, and folk. The Shins were formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but are now based in Portland, Oregon.
The Shins began in 1997 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as a side project of Mercer (previously of Blue Roof Dinner) and Neal Langford, both members of the lo-fi musical group Flake (formed in 1992). By 1999, Flake (now Flake Music) had disbanded and its former members became The Shins. (The name was based on a fictional family in the Broadway show The Music Man, a favorite of Mercer's father.) The band released two 7" singles, "Nature Bears A Vacuum" (1998) and "When I Goosestep" (2000) — and embarked on a tour with Modest Mouse. During the tour, they were met in San Francisco...
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