The Shins

The Shins are an American Indie Rock band founded an by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist James Mercer. They were formed originally in Albuquerque New Mexico, but are now based in Portland Oregon. The Shins began in 1996 as a project for singer/songwriter James Mercer, whose primary band was Flake Music in Albuquerque New Mexico. Mercer formed Flake music in 1992 with Neil Langford on guitar, Phil Higgs and Marty Crandall on bass and Jesse Sandoval on drums. In 1996 Shins produced their first LP.

Crandall joined the band on keyboards and Dave Hernandez played bass. Neal Langford replaced Dave when he moved to New York. Mercer, Sandoval and Crandall came to Oregon to reform the band once again. In 2001 to 2006 they produced a number of albums and shows. In 2008 they played for remembrance of Keith Ledger. The Shins own label was formed on Aural Apothecary label.
In August of 2011, Pitchfork reported that the Shins would release a CD on Mercer’s  label via Columbia Records. They are touring additional tour dates for their North American Tour. The new band includes singer and songwriter Richard Swift, Modest Mouse drummer Joe Plummer, Yuuki Matthews of Crystal Skulls and Jessica Dobson. The new album, Port Of Morrow should be released by March 2012 in time for the concert performance at the Mondavi Performing Arts Center in northern California theater. Hear “Simple Song” off the new LP.