Shaimus has been thinking a lot lately about our artistic evolution, our overall look and image.  With these thoughts, there are discussions of what’s happening in the music industry today, specifically in the world of bands.  I think Pop will be around forever.  With every decade, there will be someone who will push some kind of envelope.  There was Bowie, Michael Jackson, and Whitney Houston…then Madonna and Britney…now Beyonce and Lady Gaga.  Oh yeah, and Rick Springfield…possibly the biggest and best Pop star in the history of histories.  I think there will always be Country music too…Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, George Strait, Garth Brooks, Shania Twain.  Oh yeah, and Taylor Swift…possibly the biggest and be-….sorry Taylor, can’t really finish that sentence, even as a joke.  You’re still adorable though.  BUT, Rock music changes every freaking second.  See?  It just changed again!  So we, as a band, have been branching out, listening to new music, music that college people are listening to and that young people are going to see live.  The truth of it is, Rock is dead.  But is that such a bad thing?  And what does that even mean anyway?  Maybe Rock is just not quite the Rock it was 20 or 30 or 40 years ago.  Maybe we shouldn’t even really call it Rock…maybe Stone, or Seed.  The genre is different now.  The guitars are clearer while sounding more ambiguous, the vocals are stronger while sounding meek and out of tune, and the drums are sloppier, while sounding powerful and tight.  This amalgamation of mind-fuck music is called Indie Rock.  Indie seems to be the way things are right now…Grizzly Bear, Vampire Weekend, The Dirty Projectors, Fleet Foxes.  Heck, I’m fine with it, and a lot of this music is actually quite good, inspiring even.  So does that define Shaimus?  Well, not exactly…we’re a more mystifying, multi-faceted mistress than most of these bands.  Hmm….is that why we can’t quit our day jobs yet?  Either way, I very much enjoy these discussions with the band.  It makes me ‘excite’ for what we can and will eventually shape ourselves into.  Music is cool…any thoughts?

Also, enjoy this picture of a guy dressed in Indie-style fashion.  I call him….Indie Douche:

Last week, we were “on the road again”.  This time it was much more of a driving trip.  We took two days to drive up to Seattle to play one balls-rockin’ show, then drove back down to L.A a couple days later.  It was a blast, Seattle is way awesome, but the one-show “tour” was not executed without our fair share of problems.  Our van was junky and for most of the first day of travel, we were bouncing on a front left tire that was about to pop due to a rubber tumor.  It felt like an uncomfortable S&M massage chair.  Secondly, on the day of our show, the rear right tire blew out as we went 75 on the highway.  Scary, but we were able to fix the hunk o’ junk in Tacoma, then make it to the venue in Seattle with time (and a tire) to spare.  Rock and roll.  Here are some pictures to give y’all a taste of how awesome the whole excursion was.  Enjoy!

Last night I had a dream that I was being interviewed by Katie Couric about Shaimus. I was slightly older, and Shaimus had become a household name…that part’s good. Here’s the odd part, not quite sure if this is the right approach to responding to interview questions:

Q: Was the writing on your 4th album a collaborative effort?
A: Yesterday I wrote a song about tigers. Not sure why exactly, but I suppose I was feeling inspired by claws.
Q: I see, and what was it like playing in the Coliseum?
A: Our vibe was a little drowned out by the sounds of battle cries and clanking metal. Also I must’ve accidently swallowed like a gallon of blood.
Q: There have been rumors that Shaimus will take a several-year hiatus, possible indefinitely. Is this true?
A: Rumors rhymes with tumors, so I have no idea what you’re talking about.
Q: Why is it that your brother Phil dyed his hair blonde? Are you guys changing your image?
A: Well that all depends on what you mean by blonde. I mean, people are being blonde all over the world, man. You and I, we’re being changed right now…our image that is.
Q: Could you be more specific?
A: I just forgot how to explain myself, sorry.
Q: Last question, how do you see the future panning out? Where do you see Shaimus in 10 years?
A: There is an old story about a serpent and a pair of jeans. The serpent tried for years to make this pair of jeans his home. The two would go back and forth bickering about which one was real or imaginary, until finally one day, the serpent turned into a pair of legs. Unfortunately, the pants didn’t fit and the legs turned into one large shoe. One large shoe for the rest of its days…

That was my dream, my un-shoveled thoughts briefly unearthed from some bizarre existence. I should email Katie about this one. Anyone care to interpret?

It’s 3:32 PM.  I seem to have lost all feeling in everything but my head and chest.  My fingers appear to be typing but my chest is pounding out each word.  My legs are a rigid still life bent at 90 degrees and my feet have now completely fused with the drab gray carpet beneath them.  My head feels like a car battery that randomly twitches positive charges, my hair is dry, cracked and frozen, and my eyes feel like fever-stricken testicles rolling aimlessly around in the expressionless crotch that is my face.  My mouth is dry, my nose is stuffy, and my ears are clogged with the clacking of computer keyboards and muffled dull conversation.

‘Oh what’s that?  I have to attend a 3 hour meeting on Google Analytics?  Can’t wait.  Oh, yeah?  You want me to document all the existing functionalities for version 1.1.8?  Totally.  I definitely know what that means.  You want it by tomorrow?  Awesome.  What?  You want me to come in on Saturday?  Really?  My boss slept with my girlfriend?  Yes, I did get the memo.’

It appears as though my life has taken a turn.  I have a job.  I have superiors.  And I gave them a smile, spread wide my butt cheeks, and graciously accepted the giant, throbbing responsibility.  I suppose it’s not so bad, once you get used to it.  Hey in this economy?  I should be screaming with delight.  Well, I finally did it.  My days now belong to an office.  Monday to Friday, 9-5.  I am a normal person.  I am a valuable member of society.  I am an American employee.

Hello everyone!  Do you like fast food?  We certainly do…not to say we’re all obese.  Quite the contrary, we’re all obesely sexy, but I digress.  Recently we took a survey within the band to find out who likes what fast food joints in order from best to worst.  The choices were (in no particular order): McDonalds, Wendy’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC, Jack In The Box, In-N-Out, Popeyes, Del Taco, Carl’s Jr., White Castle, and Arby’s.  The results were staggering, so we decided to turn this into a small Shaimus pet project of epic, multi-faceted proportions.  Stay tuned to see how heroes will rise and fall in the world of Shaimus as this monumental debate unfolds.

Yesterday was my birthday.  I decided to go on a nice long walk and a write a reflective passage.  Here it is:

January 12th, 2010.  I am 22 years old to the day, and fuck.  I have done some things, seen some things, learned some things.  I have shared love, taken love, given love, forgiven love, and threw away love…off to a good start I guess.  I’ve fallen in love with girls on the street, girls in dreams, girls in magazines, friends, lovers, bitches, sweethearts, and the most fun of them all: girls who are emotionally, spiritually, and logistically unavailable.  I have also fallen in love with music.  Fuck music…sometimes.  I imagine my life without music: I wouldn’t be me, which wouldn’t be such a bad thing sometimes.  But I suppose it’s not such a bad thing after all.  Music keeps me sane and insane, it’s never balancing.  That’s a job reserved for yours truly.  I’ve been doing ok so far, but recently a series of unpleasant realizations have reared their fugly, mocking heads at me.  I hope I can make peace with all of them in time.  I’m sure that I will someday.  Maybe in one year from now I’ll read this and laugh at what a sad bastard I was a year ago.  Happy Birthday.  Yours truly, Me

I know…it’s true.

Y’all would be happy to know that Shaimus is back on the creative wagon.  Through all the busting chops and booking gigs, we’ve been able to maintain our musical sanity by writing several new songs.  Thrice a week we’ve been rehearsing and working new material that is slowly becoming part of the new Shaimus set list.  Still keeping the Shaimus vibe, the new songs are beautiful, bouncy, cerebral, and rockin’.  It feels so good to create.

Here’s how it works:  An inspired Phil brings his songs to the table.  An enthusiastic Cam locks down the vibe of the songs with his hands and feet.  A focused Johannes will play a creative bass part to match what Cam’s playing.  I will write a rhythm part to give the sound some chunk.  And Evan will figure out a sweet guitar line to complement the tune.  It’s a good time.

We hope to get into the studio and record these songs whenever we get the chance, and as always, we’ll keep you posted.

By the way, a special thanks to all of you who came out to the Lighthouse and Cinespace last week.  Both nights were a lot of fun, thanks guys!

I am Lou, and here is my story:

It was the seventh day of the eighth month of the ninth year of the second millennium, only fifteen thousand, thirty-two years and three hundred thirty-eight days since the fall of the Roman Empire.  It was a fine August evening in Los Angeles, California.  The blood orange sun was setting, the palm trees were snoozing in the breeze, and the sweet sound of sirens could faintly be heard screaming in the distance…but I was dead inside.  The meeting with Shaimus left a bad taste in my mouth, nay; it shattered my every perception of the world around me.  I still had not been officially accepted into the band.  What more could I do?  How long could I wait?  Was it all worth it?

It was now the eighth day of the eighth month of the ninth year of the second millennium, on the one hundred and forty-sixth anniversary of the resignation of Robert E. Lee from the Confederate cause shortly after the Battle of Gettysburg.  It was a fine August morning in Los Angeles, California.  The smog was cleared, the squirrels were reading on the sidewalk, and the cockroaches were out and about in the kitchen as if to greet everyone with a smile and a stink.  I was still dead inside, but rehearsal with Shaimus was scheduled at noon.  A little music always does the trick.

Johannes and Evan left for rehearsal early, both stuttering and talking a mile a minute as they did so.  I thought nothing of it at the time, only that they must have really tied one on the previous night.  My brother, Phil, and I start going to the rehearsal space, when he exclaims in horror that he forgot to pick up his microphones from a friend.  After fifteen minutes of anxiety, profanity, and tears, I told my big brother that it wasn’t his fault…that sometimes these things just happen.  Little did I know it was a brilliant Hollywood performance.

We soon arrived to a quaint little pub in El Segundo at around 12:30 in the afternoon.  Apparently, my brother’s seemingly alcoholic friend was meeting another friend for drinks and happened to bring the microphones with him.  I don’t know how I didn’t see any holes in this story. We then walked in the pub and I saw Shaimus sitting at a table.  ‘Why weren’t they at rehearsal?’ I wondered.  What a bunch of slackers.  It was at that moment, when every shard of my shattered world awakened and reformed before my eyes.  That was the biggest ‘oh’ moment of my life.

So now, I am a brother Shaimus.  That is my story.  Thank you guys, I love you all.  Shaimus is new and revamped.  This world survived the fall of Rome.  This world survived the American Civil War.  But live in fear, my friends, because this world may not survive The Return Of Shaimus!