Shannon and the Clams bring their diverse blend of rock to Lagunitas Brewery in Petaluma
In many ways, Shannon and the Clams remains a prolonged art project for the duo who helped found the eclectic rock band, and an extension of the decade-plus friendship to see where next they can take their traveling exhibit on its open-ended gallery tour.
And with a fast-rising profile in the indie music scene, tour the Oakland-based foursome certainly has. Since releasing their fifth full-length album last February, they’ve played their usual Bay Area haunts to an adoring cult following, but also seen new doors swing open. The band has watched their catchy title climb higher up on lighted marquees out on the road, including headlining Aug. 26 at the Lagunitas Brewing Co. in Petaluma, in addition to opening for household-name acts at major venues across the country.
The recent warm reception and rapidly growing fan base are hardly what the lo-fi, DIY rockers expected in 2006 when they threw together a garage band as a creative outlet and to play East Bay house parties while attending the California College of the Arts in Oakland. But they’re also not arguing with the results as they turn the corner of recognition on the national stage.
“I’m constantly stunned that I get to do this. I'm really grateful,” said singer and bassist Shannon Shaw, the namesake for the band’s retro moniker. “I don’t know how far or how long this train ride is, but I’m lucky to be on this train. It’s a good one.”
Since even those early days, when the band was self-recording albums and learning on the job as each of the original trio stayed afloat between gigs by working at friends’ companies, the musicians bound themselves to their high-energy, zany-bordering-on-the-absurd origins. Today, it’s this same approach to playing shows and writing songs that they say helps keep them grounded while also maintaining the genuine, authentic experience for which they seek for themselves as well as their audiences.
If Shaw, with her soulful and at times throaty wails of lovers lost, is the heart of the band, then her co-conspirator, guitarist-singer Cody Blanchard, is its brain. He’s the laid-back musical savant compared to the raw emotion she puts on full display — what she called the yin and yang connection that's made the pair “inseparable.”
“I’m so sensitive and emotional and just teeming. I’m like full of creative energy that’s hard to organize and harness,” said Shaw, 36, who was raised as a Mormon in rural Napa. “He’s super organized and super technical, super gifted and really good at taking my wild stallion and helping calm me down and help turn me into a beautiful show pony.”
Vintage look
What began in a video production class as an appreciation for the other’s sense of humor, music tastes and fantastical take on storytelling has built into basically more of the same. Despite gaining renown, the two still put their artistic talents to work in crafting album covers, music videos and wardrobes that have defined the band’s vintage look unlike much else out there.
“I often don’t realize how weird the band is,” said Blanchard, 34. “But when people who don’t know us see us, I think it’s probably a lot weirder than I think it is. We’re always dressed up and want to be sharp. We grew up in the ’90s where the standard was Sonic Youth or Nirvana, where you just wear your jeans on stage and stand there and play, and I think we want to do the opposite of that.”
With their mishmash of genres that spans generations, from 1950s doo-wop and sock hop to ’60s surf rock and gritty ’80s punk, Shannon and the Clams eludes a suitable label. Critics have drawn comparisons to the B-52s, The Zombies and even Etta James — and each is no doubt an influence in the same way someone might reference the Mamas and the Papas — but Blanchard’s precise fingerpicking and twangy, spaghetti western riffs help give the music an echo of psychedelic revival all its own.
The band, with its complexion as a quartet fit for a classic high school prom, is rounded out by drummer Nate Mahan, who replaced the third founding member, Ian Amberson, when he left to pursue other artistic interests six years back, and newest addition Will Sprott as full-time keyboardist. Both have cemented a sound that’s propelled Shannon and the Clams to new heights with the release of their 2018 album “Onion.”
“We listened to a lot of music with some insane keyboards and it was always the sound we’ve wanted,” said Shaw. “And it’s an ultimate bonus for us to have Will, because he’s an amazing singer. I would never go back. I would never do it again with three.”
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: