Quirky bay area band comes to St. Augustine

By Angela Biggs | gargoyle@flagler.edu

Shannon and the Clams is not a ‘run-of-the-mill’ band. They are out of this world, distinctive and gifted characters. Shannon Shaw works her magic on bass and vocals, Cody Blanchard gives us his all on guitar and vocals and Ian Amberson keeps the beat going on drums and back-up vocals.

This band from Oakland, Calif. wants their fans to be inspired to let go of trying to be cool and, as Blanchard said, “have as much stupid, wild and embarrassing fun as we do.”

Blanchard considers their genre to be mutant mummy oldies, while Shannon sees it as weird oldies and mischief music. Either way, this band rocks the house all over the country.

They are currently on their 2011 tour, which started in the middle of September and goes until Nov. 8.

Both Blanchard and Shaw agree that Florida is their best tour stop yet. St. Augustine was graced with their distinctive flair at Café 11, on Oct. 23.

They had the crowd jumping up and down to their tunes like little jelly beans.

“I’m just a guy in funny pants and shoes. Red socks are my favorite. I wish I could visit the inside of a cartoon once in a while, just for vacation,” said Blanchard.

With two albums out, both Shaw and Blanchard agree that their new album is their best yet. They were under pressure, so they scurried to get it finished for their April tour. They acquired little pieces of songs that they had written and evolved them into a pleasing finished product called, “Sleep Talk.” They cited wilder and weirder influences such as Ennio Morricone–cartoon music Disney songs from the 1940s.

What makes Shannon and the Clams mesh is a combination from each of the members.

“When none of us gets what is the other is trying to do musically, we all do something different and it accidently sounds surprisingly good. It’s like nothing else we could have come up with on our own,” said Blanchard.

Shaw agrees.

“Cody is my twin star. When we write songs together we fill each other’s gaps like twins finishing each other’s sentences. We have similar taste and complimentary musical palates,” she said.