It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Shannon & the Clams was formed by accident. Just
outside the invisible borders of Oakland’s warehouse music scene, Shannon Shaw was
absorbed in studying illustration at California College of the Arts, a 100-year-old
institution that draws freaks into the city from across the country. For many, the school
serves as a gateway into the sprawling music underground that agitates beneath the
Bay Area, as a hub for fliers for illegal parties in backyards, basements, and
overpasses.
During a bout of depression, Shannon took up a neglected bass guitar that had been a
gift from an ex-boyfriend years earlier and played it for the first time, writing in a raw and
untrained way. The urge to perform these songs soon took her to open mic nights
around the East Bay, eventually recruiting a band, and Shannon & The Clams was born.
Over the last decade, Shannon and her chief collaborator, guitarist Cody Blanchard,
have released five albums of Bay Area vintage garage-rock, including the remarkable
2018’s Onion, their Dan Auerbach-produced debut on his label Easy Eye Sound.
Shannon & The Clams current incarnation includes Nate Mahan on drums and Will
Sprott on keyboards, and their live show has developed a zealous following that craves
their particular authenticity and innovation on classic sounds.
In 2021 the band returned to the Easy Eye Sound studios and produced their current
release, Year of the Spider, with the GRAMMY® award winning producer of the year.
YOTS finds the band crafting their utterly unique vintage sound that incorporates
wonderfully strange elements of doo-wop, classic R&B, garage psych and surf rock to
produce this timeless gem from these perennial indy favorites.
