One of the Midwest’s fastest growing and most unique bands, The Shantee makes its return to the Brickyard in the Arena District tomorrow night.
The Shantee, formed at Granville’s Denison University in 1995, has been a popular mainstay in the Columbus area for the last several years. Named after a backwoods hang-out that the original band members constructed while they were in college, The Shantee’s music is as inimitable as its name. The band’s eclectic and good-natured mix of folk and blues, mixed with a keen pop sensibility, amount to what guitarist/lead singer, Mike Perkins, refers to as “musical Prozac.”
“People have come up to us a lot of times after a show, and told us how good our music made them feel, or that we made them happy. In more than seven years at The Shantee shows, there’s never been one fight, and I think that the type of music we play and the people that we play to are a testament to that term,” Perkins said.
The Shantee has garnered rave reviews from local and regional music critics, as well as from popular radio “best of” lists. The group is currently showcasing material from its first two albums, “Lands Unknown,” and 2001’s critically acclaimed “Hydration,” but will also include new material in the mix as well.
The new material will stem from a yet untitled, self-released E.P. that will feature Grammy-winning producer David Z overseeing the project.
“David has co-produced Prince’s ‘Purple Rain,’ and also worked with Johnny Lang, and of course, he won the Grammy with Fine Young Cannibals. The project that really put him in the spotlight was when he co-wrote and produced ‘Funkytown’ for Lipps, Inc. years ago. The guy’s a legend in the business, and when we saw an opportunity to get to work with him, we went for it. David heard the band’s album, ‘Hydration,’ and loved it. So he came down and checked out the guys at a show in Louisville, Ky., we met, and that’s when we decided we wanted to work together,” said Mike Kempton, the bands manager.
The Shantee has also worked out a distribution deal with Red Distribution, which is part of the Sony family. The deal will enable the group to reach out to audiences on a much larger scale, even though any releases will still be put out independently through Overtone Records.
“It’s just a matter of getting a product to them, and once we do, it will come out through our own outlet; on our own label. The Shantee will be the first group put out on the new label,” he said.
The Shantee’s albums have gotten into generous radio rotation in many different markets, and it is enjoying a booming Internet community created by the band’s fans for the fans. Before now, even without the backing of a major label, the band has seen its merchandise and album sales on the increase as well. Its most recent effort has sold more than 6,000 copies, with many more expected to sell, and The Shantee’s first effort, “Lands Unknown,” has sold more than 5,000 copies.
The band credits its high-energy live show for bringing in new fans, and keeping the ones that it already had coming back for more. Tomorrow night, the band will try to harness the power that its music has in the live setting by recording the first of three Brickyard shows for an upcoming live album to be released in the fall.
“A few of our older songs that have kind of evolved over the years might definitely be considered for the album, or reworked versions of those songs that we do live may be included. Basically, at the end of the summer we’re going to go back over the three shows and mesh together whatever sounds the best, so we can put out the best album that we can,” he said.
In addition to already having its plate full with recording the live Brickyard shows, and diligently working on new material for their upcoming E.P., The Shantee has just recently been booked as part of the MTV “You Saw it First” fall tour. The tour is scheduled to make rounds at more than 30 colleges in six weeks after school comes back into session.
“It’s going to be huge exposure for us, and it’s really going to help us that we have two pre-existing CDs going into the tour,” said lead guitarist/vocalist Matt Morton.
“This is going to be a perfect opportunity to get in front of college-age people who are open to a lot of new music. This will be the biggest thing that we’ve been a part of, and we’re all really psyched up about it,” he said.
The Shantee will take to the stage at 10 p.m. tomorrow at The Brickyard. The age limit has been lowered to 18 and over for The Shantee’s show.
