There is the cliche of the starving artist, and then there is the cliche of the rock star life after making it big, selling out arenas, and living the cliche of the rock star life. However, without the space between, music would be a whole lot less exciting, and that is the space Shiner occupy: four friends who make music together because they want to, not because they have to. Lead singer Allen Epley sees some advantages to the life of a working artist.
“For a lot of people, it’s a combination of a day job and making money with art. It’s a great feeling not to be burdened by having to make music to survive. I can make some money from music, but not fully make a living,” he shares. Some people try to make a living by music alone, trying to write scores, teaching, or other ways, but that can make it so much less enjoyable.”
Shiner are a group of working musicians who all have music careers in addition to playing in the band. Paul Malinowski is a sought-after mixer and recording engineer. Josh Newton is a guitar technician with Kings of Leon and Fall Out Boy, who has also worked with the Breeders and Band of Horses. Additionally, drummer Jason Gerkin also plays in Hum.
Epley just completed a 14-year run with the Blue Man Group live show in Chicago. “As soon as we announced the closing, the remaining shows sold out. We should have dragged it out longer like KISS does,” he jokes. “It was a unicorn gig for a musician. It’s not like we were doing Hamilton. It was a constantly evolving piece, so every show was different. It was a special thing to be a part of, and it was very good for me.”
However, it wasn’t always like that for Epley. “At one point, I told my therapist that I felt like a failure, working on Blue Man. I felt like I should be something else,” he says.
Epley turned this anxiety into something positive, creating the podcast Third Gear Scratch, where he interviews other artists who make a living at their day job so they can pursue their art. Through interviews with guests, he addresses the question many working artists have had to answer: How can I support myself while pursuing my passion? It’s a must-listen for anyone balancing the need to pay the bills with creating art, whether as a musician or not.
“I came up with the idea for the podcast through those conversations with my therapist. So many artists feel like, ‘What the fuck am I doing with my life?’ Everyone feels it sometimes, but talking to all these artists and finding out how they make it work was such a burden lifter. I credit a lot of my rehabilitation to working on the podcast,” Epley beams.
Right now, though, everyone in Shiner is focused on their recently released BELIEVEYOUME, which is another stellar release, sure to please longtime fans and likely to convert some new ones. It is their most direct and accessible collection yet, instantly gratifying, yet also filled with depth. “There are a lot of brilliant bands who stay in a lane, but that’s never been us. If we had written a big hit, I bet we would have hewn a little closer to a playbook, but that’s not me,” he explains.
The title may be an old-fashioned colloquialism, but Epley sees it in a slightly different light. “We stylized the name as we did to give it a fresh spin. It signifies believing in ourselves and believing in each other, whether that is the band or other relationships,” he explains.
The group’s mix of melodic, heavy rock with a touch of shoegaze has won them a devoted following that is a diverse lot. In an environment where algorithms guide listeners to new music, a band like Shiner, which draws from a diverse range of influences, can appeal to a wide variety of music fans. Spartan Records’ reissue of their catalog has helped them reach a whole new audience, too.
“Our crowd is all over the map, and we love that. We went a long way to keep ourselves out of a specific movement, possibly to our detriment, but the people who are into our band are into a wide range of other bands. We like to joke about lining up a group of fans based on their band tees to show the range of taste in the crowd,” Epley jokes.
Living through the major label gold rush of the 1990s without signing turned out to be great for Shiner, despite the expectations that hung heavy for indie bands during that decade. The group have been playing music together on and off for 25 years, and things are better than ever between them.
“Back in the day, we used to fight a lot,” Epley recalls. “There was that sense of the clock ticking, since lots of our friends had signed to major labels. We were surrounded by the idea that it was only a matter of time before we got signed. We were always waiting for that big payday back then. We thought we’d have a big tour, but we never got there.
“But it was a blessing in disguise, though,” they continue. “I am so glad we didn’t go through that experience. If we do have a point of contention now, we handle it more healthily. We are older and wiser, and we are doing this for the purest reasons. Really, it’s just amazing to have a group of men to have close friendships with. Plenty of guys don’t get that opportunity.”
Shiner records are always a team effort, and BELIEVEYOUME was even more collaborative than their other releases. “Even the idea of putting the opening track where it is. I would have put that as track one, side two, but Jason wanted to be more involved in the decision-making, and he insisted that ‘Asleep in the Trunk’ is the opening track,” Epley shares.
Epley credits their methods with the resulting songs. As you might expect, with a band of working musicians, there is a balance of making space for creativity and a regimented commitment to the process that goes into making a Shiner record.
“Everything we do is organic. We go with what we are feeling. I am the seed writer. I plan some writing sessions so we can have things to work on when we are together. I brought my usual Chavez-inspired music. Someone has to do it,” he laughs.
For Shiner, the time spent together in the room working on songs is critical to the process. “Lots of bands are skipping the step of being in the space together. They work remotely, and they all start to sound the same. Most of us live far apart, so it could have made sense to do the record remotely, but we committed to working together. I wrote on my guitar and kept it raw, then digitized and sent it to the band,” he shares.
BELIEVEYOUME was recorded at Malinowski’s studio, and while not every group has that type of luxury, it streamlined the process, allowing them to complete the record even more efficiently than usual. The band held a series of four-day sessions for writing and recording, which were critical to shaping the record.
“Paul and Jason had everything set up and ready to go, so we were able to think about this like we were just making the record, not just making demos. What you hear on the record all happened right there in those sessions,” he says.
His work on a solo album also shifted his approach to lyrics. “On previous Shiner records, I was writing these murky metaphors that didn’t always translate. When I did my solo record, it was a breakthrough for me for writing in a direct style. It really allowed me to focus on how to write lyrics. Usually, those come last. We get the music, and then I try to come up with something that works syllabically. But this one is primed to connect with people, musically and lyrically,” he says.
“Some people have lyric books, but I listen to the song on the drive and I let the song speak to me,” he continues. “The melody line hits, and then the lyric will fall out and present itself. One of the first things I heard was “I keep thinking that we’re still in love”. A lot of my work is historical fiction, using people and places but creating an extension of those. I try not to fight it when the line presents itself.”
Epley typically finds the common threads after writing. “I’m able to psychoanalyze myself after the record,” he jokes. “Some of the themes here are damage and escaping damage, long-term relationships. I’ve been married for 25 years. You’re never coasting, even though I know we aren’t planning on going anywhere. I still take care of myself because I want to do that for her.”
Epley loves that Shiner is now at a point where they have a multigenerational fan base, too. Epley smiles when he finds YouTube videos of younger musicians covering Shiner songs. “It’s important to me to reach younger people with our band. I am also a substitute guitarist for Sunny Day Real Estate, and those rooms are filled with younger people and older people, and kids with their parents. It’s great to see bands having that kind of reach.”
Next up is a tour to support BELIEVEYOUME, and the band is ready to play these exciting, dynamic new songs for their longtime and new fans.
“We have won the battle, making a record we love. We love playing packed-out rooms with people singing the words back to us. We aren’t putting undue expectations on what we do. It would be cool if we got picked to open a big tour, but we are in this to make ourselves happy, and if we are doing it for any other reason, it’s the wrong reason. I am too old to be fucking around with trying to figure out what an audience wants and not thinking about what would make me happy. Now we just want people to get to hear the record and to play it live for them,” he says.
“Anyone who wants to come along for the ride, please do. It’ll be a great time.”