Music
Press
“IF YOU LIKE THE DEAD BOYS, YOU'LL LIKE THE SHANKS
Chart-blasting two-piece rocknroll grenades for animal husbandry enthusiasts... do you really know where meat and potatoes come from?”
- New Music Canada / CBC3
“The Shanks? It’s like… rock and roll high school!”
- Dave Bookman
“A vibrant and vicious new foray into music”
- Lindsay Daily Post
"The vocals are really aggressive and unpolished, reminiscent of late 80's underground punk... bass lines are often more than impressive.
It finally dawned on me; DFA 1979, although the Shanks can be more lyrical... with this duo's talent, it seems to work.
- The Silhouette (McMaster U.)
“Spitting out distorted, occasionally aloof vocals a la Julian Casablancas, in front of thick basslines and driving beats, the Shanks create some memorable hooks… this is only the band’s second limited release EP – bigger things are bound to follow.” - The Nerve (Vancouver)
“The creators may butcher sheep in a small town near Toronto, but they don’t butcher music… the resulting feel is deep, hard-driving rock that carries the listener along with a dark but captivating style. Intriguing lyrics, addictive basslines and spot-on drumming make this a short but sweet friggin’ underdog of a disc… their more than capable execution and catchy riffs, however are what make this album absolutely worth listening to. Just too bad it doesn’t last long!
- The Gauntlet (U. Calgary)
“dyed-in-the-wool indie rock”
3 cheap little stars.... - EYE Weekly
Discography
EP - Here Come the Shanks
EP - The Valley of the Shadow of the Shanks
LP - Welcome to the Camp of the Dark Meat Fantasy
LP - The Dark Richard Show
Photos
Bio
Founded in 2005, the SHANKS are the rocknroll brainchild of songwriter/vocalist/bassist Ian Donald Starkey (Pistolwhip von Shankenstein). Riding 2010’s wave of heretofore unknown success, The SHANKS CV includes distribution on Fading Ways (UK), an EXCLAIM! Magazine “Album of the Year” nomination, showcase bookings at Canadian Music Week and NXNE, support slots with the Arkells, college radio support and arena performances for pro boxing events and the Tri-City Roller Girls. The SHANKS incendiary live show has headlined many of the top Toronto music venues including The Horseshoe Tavern and their upcoming release event at Lee’s Palace.
‘On a farm in the middle of nowhere the SHANKS fine-tuned their bass/drum assault. Despite the lack of members, SHANKS manage to create some big-sounding music, stacking the haunting vocals of Pistolwhip von Shankenstein over pounding and deceptively simple drumming” EXCLAIM!
Choosing to focus more on stripped-down arrangements that emphasized his fresh chordal approach to busting out steep jams on the electric bass guitar, Starkey tapped drummer Andrew Tyson McNenly to play on the latest SHANKS release “The Dark Richard Show” (produced by Kirk Starkey), in the process resurrecting some songs that were locked away since Starkey’s days as bassist and songwriter in the Toronto art rock outfit Nancy, Despot. The SHANKS have performed in a variety of surreal situations, including in the midst of professional fireworks exhibitions, inside sheep pens, roller derby arenas and boxing rings. In Falstaffian Pistolwhip’s macabre and delusional theatre of the absurd, dramatic suspense, the chilling danger of raw firepower and fine quality cakes served in ethnic community halls are always major ingredients in putting on a powerful and emotional rock show.
With the official public Feb. 11, 2011 self-release of “The Dark Richard Show” which is the fourth SHANKS record (and second full-length) to date, the SHANKS are currently plotting more drastic tour stops to bring the rock to their Canadian homeland with Europe and the US to follow.
“Alice Cooper eat your heart out, Ian Starkey has found an interesting way to take leave of the everyday… a musical wizard who brings an epic quality to each tune” In The Hills
“If you like the Dead Boys, you’ll like the SHANKS… Chart-blasting two-piece rocknroll grenades for animal husbandry enthusiasts… do you really know where meat and potatoes come from?” New Music Canada / CBC3
“Deep, hard-driving rock that carries the listener along with a dark but captivating style” The Gauntlet
“The SHANKS? It’s like…. rock and roll high school!” Dave Bookman THE EDGE 102.1
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