Shiner (band)

The group formed in 1992, and quickly found wide exposure, releasing a vinyl EP in 1993 and touring with acts such as Sunny Day Real Estate, Chore, Jawbox, Season to Risk, The Jesus Lizard, and Girls Against Boys.[1] The group released their first LP, Splay (recorded at Steve Albini's Chicago studio) in 1996,[2] and a second album, Lula Divinia the next year. Sub Pop took notice, and released a 7" single of the group's songs "Sleep it Off" and "Half Empty". Following this the band toured with Hum in 1998.[1] A third full-length, Starless, was released on a label run by members of Descendents, Owned and Operated, in 2000. A fourth LP, The Egg, would follow before the group broke up in 2002.[3] This was recorded and produced at Matt Talbott's recording studio, Great Western Record Recorders in Tolono IL and released by DeSoto Records.

Shiner broke up in 2003 after more than a year of touring behind The Egg. Their story was by no means an unusual one; they simply ran their course, building up a cult fanbase in a decade of releasing music, and reaching the logical endpoint of that arc. The album "The Egg" grew an audience over time "Yet a funny thing tends to happen when an album is left alone for several years. As file-sharing and social media grew in the time after The Egg was released, so did its stature"[4]

Josh Newton is the guitar/synth player/mastermind for Sie Lieben Maschinen with Jason Gerken on drums. Allen Epley is in The Life and Times.

Shiner's newest record, Schadenfreude, was released May 8, 2020.[5] The single "Life as a Mannequin" was released February 28, 2020.[6][7][8]

The subsequent tour was postponed due to COVID-19.[9]

The band also has the song "Third Gear Scratch" included on the soundtrack of the video game Saints Row 2.[10]

After announcing that the band was breaking up, Shiner scheduled a final performance. The final show was held at The Madrid Theater in Kansas City[11] on January 25, 2003. Houston, Dirtnap, and Elevator Division opened.

Nearly ten years after its final show, Shiner announced a quintet of reunion shows in the US to celebrate the reissue of The Egg on vinyl on August 7, 2012. The dates include stops in NYC, LA, Lawrence, Kansas and Chicago:

• 8.11 New York, NY – Gramercy
• 8.18 Los Angeles, CA – Echoplex
• 8.24 Lawrence, KS – The Granada
• 8.25 & 26 Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge

In 2015, the band played a second series of reunion shows in conjunction with a vinyl reissue of Starless:

• 7.15 Austin, TX – Red 7
• 7.17 Kansas City, MO – Record Bar
• 7.18 Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock
• 7.19 Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle

In 2016, they played a few shows:

• 1.14 Pittsburgh, PA – Club Cafe
• 1.15 New York, NY – St. Vitus
• 1.16 New York, NY – St. Vitus

2017 saw a similar short US tour in conjunction with the vinyl re-release of Lula Divinia.

• 2.22 Champaign, IL – Accord
• 2.24 Kansas City, MO – Record Bar
• 2.25 Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall
• 3.03 San Francisco, CA – Bottom Of The Hill
• 3.04 Los Angeles, CA – The Echo
• 3.05 San Diego, CA – The Casbah
• 9.08 Milwaukee, WI – Shank Hall
• 9.09 Chicago, IL – Wurst Fest

2018

• 9.21 Rock Island, IL – RIBCO
• 9.22 Kansas City, MO – Record bar
• 9.23 Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle

• Official Shiner fan site
• Biography from Built on a Weak Spot
• 2001 interview with Allen Epley
• Pitchfork Media review of The Egg
• Pitchfork Media review of Starless