PRESS KIT

Photo by Shannon Claire/B Side Images. [hi-res jpeg]









Photo by Shannon Claire/B Side Images. [hi-res jpeg]





Photo by Lauren Wiest. [hi-res jpeg]

The Shants’ slow-burning sound originates from the rural backgrounds of its members: from South Louisiana delta pines, to the brusk plains of Minnesota to the rolling hills of the Central California Coast. The Shants now call Oakland, California home.

Beautiful was the Night, the band’s debut full length album, is a haunted love letter to singer Skip Allums’ home state of Louisiana. The album was recorded in Oakland at Rec Center and Tones On Tail Studios by Eliot Curtis, with some vocal harmonies from Brianna Lea Pruett & Quinn Deveaux, violin by Howie Cockrill, and horns by Ralph Carney (Tom Waits, Black Keys) as well as the Blue Bone Express. Beautiful was the Night will be available September 2011. The album was funded by The Shants’ fans, via Kickstarter.  

The Shants continue to play up and down the West Coast, spreading their low, lonesome sound. The Shants have opened for artists like  Basia Bulat, Adam Acuragi, Damien Jurado, Eilen Jewell, Jonathan Richman, Songs Ohia, Barbara Manning, and many more. 

MEMBERS:
Skip Allums  - guitars, harmonica, vocals
Samuel Tokheim - pedal steel
Carver Cordes (of The Dedications) - bass
Adam Burstein - drums

SONGS

VIDEOS

INTERVIEWS


REVIEWS - Beautiful was the Night LP:

“This album is built of many parts, but there’s no question that Skip Allums’ voice pulls it all together. Whether snaking through some dusty, Gram Parsons-ish California desert or hollering over a New Orleans-y brass band (courtesy of Ralph Carney), his smooth croon draws you in and makes you want to stay. Add to that some really solid songs and a tight band that features Sam Tokheim’s pedal steel prominently and you’re in good shape. In fact, Beautiful Was the Night is a great album. It sounds gorgeous, thanks to Eliot Curtis and his analog amusement park, Tones on Tail Studios.” - East Bay Express

“The band adds brass (courtesy of Ralph Carney) to “Brother,” rocks a Velvet Underground rhythm riff on “Evangeline Blues” and strikes a New Orleans groove for the closing “(I’m Not) Gonna Waste Another Song on You,” but it’s their weathered Americana that remains their calling card.” - No Depression 

“The Shants have done something curiously rare these days: created an authentically Southern & categorically enjoyable, stompy blues & folk record in the heart of garage & punk-obsessed Oakland. (Beautiful was the Night) is a lively mix of Americana, twanged vocals, bluesy riffs, bits of piano & violin, and pedal steel guitar, with guest appearances by the likes of multi-instrumentalist/horn player Ralph Carney, Blue Bone Express & vocalist Quinn DeVeaux. I think singer Briana Lea Pruett, who also guests on the record, describes the music best when she says in the short documentary on the making of the album, “Even in the dark parts, there’s a sweet treatment to it.” - SF Bay Guardian

“Stream The Shants new album: Beautiful was the Night…” - The Bay Bridged

“With their full length debut, Beautiful was the Night, set for release September 27, the band is about to garner more praise. The album maintains the haunting, meandering sound from the EP that made me want to root for The Shants, but tracks like “Brother” and the closer “(I’m Not) Gonna Waste Another Song on You” reveal a brass swagger.” - SF Station

“The band calls itself Americana, but it shall not be denied that the Shants are heart and soul. Skip Allums is more of a crooner than just another lead singer and the Shants’ latest release, last year’s “Beautiful Was the Night,” has staying power. It’s one of those few records that can keep even the most jaded of music journalists listening again and again.” - SF Chronicle

“Stompy bayou music!” - CD Baby, Music Discovery Podcast

“Fantastic. A first-rate tribute to the state of Louisiana.” - Rebel Rod, KGSR, Austin

“Sometimes it is just good to get away; away from the city, away from work, away from the hustle and bustle lifestyle, in order to discover things about the world, and yourself, that sometimes just get buried in distractions and stimulation. What better way to assist this journey of isolation and self unearthing than an old style, country blues with a modern rock twist? Well, one not need to tread too far outside of their Bay Area mecca to find such a entity. Skip Allums, Sam Tokheim, Carver Cordes, and Adam Burstein are The Shants, a band of such talents out of Oakland that embodies that discovery in their folksy musical style” - Rabbits Black blog

“Paints a beautiful picture of Louisiana. Beautiful was the Night offers subtle music with a touch of country and folk, in which Sam Tokheim excels at a lonely-sounding pedal steel guitar. Gritty, unconstrained… with a sharp, dark edge & burning guitar riffs, this record is perfect for an Indian summer.” - Alt-Country Forum (Netherlands)


REVIEWS - Russian River Songs demo:

“Hailing from Oakland, California, The Shants specialize in a blend of Southern folk and country, embossed with the sad sounds of the pedal steel guitar” - FILTER Magazine

“…Rustic and subdued, like the scant, heavily muted light that finds its way to the floor of a redwood grove - No Depression / Hyperbolium

“When you’re home from that dysfunctional mess listen to The Shants. They won’t harsh your mellow after you have that extra hit of (insert vice here). Listen and stare at the ceiling and try to figure out what the hell just happened. You might live through Christmas. The Shants combine mellow grooves with a sexy twang.”- SF Chronicle Music Blog - Off The Record

“There’s an odd, echoey, melancholy sound to Russian River Songs. Which isn’t a bad thing —it’s excellent music to mope to. With lovely blues guitar and some fantastic songwriting, The Shants make deceptively simple music, a blues/country/rock hybrid that’s soothing to a troubled mind. Skip Allums’ gentle, pretty vocals and an overall Southern vibe seal the deal.” - East Bay Express: Local Licks

“The folk-infused foursome plays stripped-down tunes that are dripping with honesty and simple convention. And with all the buzz they’ve generated during their short tenure as a band, they must be doing something right… it doesn’t take much to realize The Shants have a strange and sweet affinity for the city. One only has to listen to the lyrics of “Oh, Oakland,” a love-tinged namedropping homage to the town, to understand what it’s all about. And even if they forget to name Bubb Rubb along the likes of the Parkway and Broadway Street, they’ve still encompassed and personalized the spirit of the city, as any resident of Oakland can attest.” - Oakland Examiner

“After wood-shedding in Chico, Davis, Nevada City, and other Northern California not-spots, The Shants bring their down-tempo Americana to a hometown gig at Oakland’s New Parish. Their EP, recorded in a cabin near the Russian River, has the subdued feel of the area’s heavily wooded forests. Their moody combination of vocals, guitar, bass, drums, and dripping pedal steel conjures the permanent dusk of a redwood grove, and vocalist Skip Allums manages to sound both dissipated and agitated at the same time. You can pick up their ragged love letter, “Oh, Oakland,” on iTunes and practice not choking up at the tearful mention of the late, lamented Parkway Theater”- East Bay Express

“Slow burning americana” and I really can’t think of a more apt description than that. Very moody, very lo-fi, very mellow. Some great steel guitar throughout. Fans of Richard Buckner and Richmond Fontaine might want to give them a listen.” - A Truer Sound

“The Shants & my iPod have been carrying on a torrid little dalliance for a few days now. & I’m surprised to find myself getting actually kind of infatuated with these here Shants. Submitted for our consideration is an 8-song EP entitled Russian River Songs, evidently recorded live in a cabin among the redwoods. & it feels like that: kind of languid, kind of sexy. Nobody’s in a hurry to get anywhere. Skip’s singing is, well, pretty. But it’s also delivered with the quiet confidence of somebody who’s strong enough to never need to shout. OK, I guess that’s a lot of words just to say he’s understated. Anyway, I like the singing & I like the songwriting, too. I like the frequent drifting into a minor key, just to keep things interesting. The clear signature here is the aforementioned pedal steel, wielded craftily by Samuel Tokheim. & that’s what really drew me into these songs. Samuel plays with finesse, with wit, & with a poetic sense that makes these good songs kind of great.”- Clatter Music Blog

“I was immediately roped in by the timeless sound of soft acoustic strums, accompanied by lilting pedal steel. Perfect tunes for a calm quiet night when all you have to do is sit on the porch and have a drink or two. ” - Gobbler’s Knob

“Musically, The Shants are the equivalent of dinner with friends rather than dining out. It isn’t flashy and slick but it is almost infinitely more enjoyable. There is very little spectacle to their music, which instead will nest itself quite happily in your head for hours after a few spins, bringing with it a sense of earthy, warm familiarity.” - Wolf Magazine UK

“The resulting sound is earthy yet atmospheric, sweetly rough-hewn and occasionally bitter. “I’m a Ghost” manages to be both ghostly and creaky—like a poltergeist moving chairs around a haunted house. There are some livelier numbers (“Oh, Oakland”), but it’s the quieter, sadder songs such as “Lift Up Your Eyes” that set the band apart. ” - Sacramento News & Review

“Recorded live and in only two sessions adding a nice campfire atmosphere to the tracks. And saying campfire atmosphere, it is just the right word to express all the other aspects of Russian River Songs. That is: the overall dark character of the music with the haunting but very mellow lap steel melodies, the cozy acoustic guitar play accompanied with chilled e-guitar vibes and cradling bass lines together with decent sounds from the rhythm section on drums – I don’t need to say that this is pushed to the limit every time the harmonica kicks in. The lyrics are perfect to forget about your surroundings and to hum or sing along with them with closed eyes thinking of a nice night with your friends hanging out around some crackling campfire with some tasty beers or beverages of your choice.” - Common Folk Meadow

“…weary vocal and hushed harmonica…  a natural organic sound… the pedal steel playing of Samuel Tokheim that weaves through the songs offering a perfect foil for the laid back vocals… This album may not shout out to be noticed but it manages to subtly win over your attention…” - Beat Surrender

“Folks who enjoy the beautiful melodies of Wilco this session from BAMM.tv and its guests The Shants. Natives of Oakland, this North American quartet surprised us with the beautiful and a calm ballad, Under Strange These Days. The melancholy notes that The Shants pull from the pedal steel guitar are the backbones of their songs. With roots in the South of the United States, its only natural that the songs are filtered through the Americana lens.” - Indie Hearts (Argentina)

“Slow-burning americana from Oakland, California”.. I couldn’t think of a better definition for their sound. The 8 song son their demo EP contain honest acoustic music, with prominent pedal steel guitar colouring the majority of the songs in a very pleasant manner. The songs are relaxed and laidback in nature. I expect a full album will appear soon from these guys, and I hope that they are picked up by a quality label” - Rootsville (Belgium)

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