Toledo’s music scene is small, and in order to survive, many musicians appear on the roster of more than one band. Glance at any show flyer or social media announcement and you’ll likely see players listed as “members of…”. Without ties to previously established bands, Shell’s lo-fi surf-rock is a breath of fresh air.
Drake Gerber, Jacob Church, and Sean Payne, comprising the band, met through skateboarding, and have been playing music together for less than a year. Guitar player and vocalist, Gerber, explains their initial haste to get on stage, “We jammed like five times before we played a show. Our first show lasted only 20 minutes.”
In their own lane
“I don’t know how to write a song,” Gerber says earnestly. It’s true that Shell’s music doesn’t follow the verse-chorus-verse template, but that’s an advantage. Gerber draws less from other bands than other mediums entirely. “I’m an art student— I’m a 3D studies major. When I try to write lyrics I think of Art Brut, you know, like Jean Dubuffet and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Really minimalistic.”
Prior to their recent appearances at Toledo house shows and on the back of a truck pulled through the Old West End Festival’s King Wamba Parade, the band had almost no experience with Toledo’s music scene. Payne, the band’s bassist, explains, “I’ve played music for a while, but just did basement recordings… Until we began playing together, I never really went to shows in Toledo.”
Hold on to your genre
Shell’s music defies easy classification. “I literally just tell people we’re ‘indie rock’ because I don’t know what else to say,” says Church. When asked to define their genre, it’s easier to explain what they’re not. “We don’t have any trumpets,” says Church. Payne clarifies further, “No 5-minute long guitar solos, either.”
When Gerber’s reverb-drenched vocals emerge, it’s too easy to draw comparisons to contemporary lo-fi bands like DIIV. Shell’s music is more powerful than languid, though. Punchy, insistent drumming by Church drives the songs forward. Some of their home-recorded tracks, like “Tom Clark”— a frenetic instrumental surf jam that clocks in under 2 minutes, invoke 90s surf revival bands like Satan’s Pilgrims.
The band’s individual influences range from classic rock to 80s favorites like The Cure and Talking Heads. Gerber says, “I’ve been getting a lot into Jesus and Mary Chain. Their song structures are sweet— they’re so simple, and they repeat a lot, and that’s what I feel like some of our songs are.”
Shell plan to record a tentatively self-titled EP with Steven Warstler from Secret Space this summer.
See Shell live as they open for Fat Possum Records’
psych-punks Sunflower Bean
8pm | Wednesday, July 27 | $8 advance/$10 doors
Ottawa Tavern | 1817 Adams St.
innovationconcerts.com
