The Shake

Press for WELL, OH WELL
"Classics and labels be damned The Shake are taking over the indie rock scene with a perfect blend of elements as diverse as 60s/70s Britpop and NYC indie rock. Despite that description the coolest thing about The Shake is that they defy labels completely... They are young, they are diverse and most importantly they have the energy to kick the sometimes stale music scene in the you know what! The Shake manage to bring all of their individual taste to the table and provide us with some of the best tunes we’ve heard in a long time."
~~FREE Magazine
Garage rock at its finest, The Shake hammer it home with “Well, Oh Well,” a 10-song disc that takes the Rolling Stones and adds a lot of distortion. The fancy guitar work is by far the best part of the album, as these particular indie rockers have brought talent back to the mix in an ever-bland era of music.
~~ChicksWithGunsMag.com
"New York based The Shake, are probably one of the best-kept secrets of the indie music scene..."Well, Oh Well" is going to draw you in because of their catchy guitars and vocals all backed by their rock and pop sensibilities...The Shake is easily a band that has a chance to find their way into an overcrowded music scene and blow anyone and everyone away that is willing to give them a listen."

~~GuestListMagazine.net
"Rambunctious garage rock...with a rhythmic force...their songs wouldn't sound too out of place on alternative radio. They have hooks to compliment their melodic guitars and choruses..."

~~YRB Magazine
“The Shake mix rock 'n roll excess with riffs o' plenty to create songs that are fast, songs that are slow, songs that are funky, & songs that make you wanna move! “ (6 out of 6 Stars)

~~Rock N Roll Experience; http://www.angelfire.com/rock/e4/march2008.html
Press for KICK IT
“Kick It plays it straight, with plenty of immediately likeable garage rock…As “Devil’s Side” attests, the group isn’t at all afraid to throw in wailing electric guitar whenever the mood suits them. Eliad Shapiro even adds soulful organ to “Devil’s Side,” which only increases the fun factor. Witty song titles like “Dyin’ Ain’t the End of the World” shows that the group also has an overt sense of humor. So with all they’ve got going for them, who wouldn’t want to kick it with The Shake?”

~~www.popmatters.com
“The start/stop rhythms and speed-blues riffs of ‘Princes and Kings’ and ‘Outcast’ also recall early Kinks…the most inspired track [is] the pining ‘Let Me Take You Far Away.’”

~~Magnet Magazine
“Kick It…has been highly praised, boosting the band from just another generic indie band to a breakout act compared to the Kinks and other bands of the so called British invasion…This original flavor has hints of things we’ve heard before, like Oasis and the White Stripes, but it’s altogether new and different than most indie rock bands.”

~~Skope Magazine
“The Shake are a throwback not only to the great early punk new wave bands of the late 70’s (Television, The New Dolls,) but they also have a debt and connection to the great garage rock of the turn of the century (The Strokes, The Mooney Suzuki)… The energy is so high throughout that the album practically begs to be played more than once in a row.”

~~Cashbox Magazine
“Kick It is a stellar debut album, taking a genre (indie rock) that has a penchant for going stale and making it fresh by dumping out the baggage of thirty or so years. The Shake gets back to basics, combining modern garage rock with its earliest predecessor, 60’s British Invasion, but they do so with an endearing bit of unselfconsciousness that will have you eagerly coming along for the ride. Hopefully this record will see a major label release with some extra tracks, but even with the nine the band has given us, they’ve set expectations high.”

~~411mania.com
“Possibly the best unsigned band to be part of the indie NYC fabric for far too long unnoticed…full of rock n’ roll and enough belting punk thrown in to make you sit up and listen... All I have left to ask is, with guitar playing and vocals like this, why haven't these guys been signed to a major label yet?”

~~www.lucidforge.com
“For all the Shake's stylistic intricacies, in the end it's their melodies that are paramount, each one catchier than the next. “Princes" and "Devil's Side" truly do kick it, "Outcast" is absolutely incendiary, "8 O'clock" and "Let Me" sparkling pop fare, "Stop Fighting” is lethal, and "Manic Boogie” is enough to drive one right over the edge. This is the Sixties, and although not quite how some may remember it, true to the spirit and talent of the time.”

~~www.allmusic.com
“They play late-60s British-style garage rock a la the aforementioned bands, the Kinks, etc., adding some Strokesy fuzz…. pitch-perfect garage vox and bluesy guitars.”

~~www.skapunkandotherjunk.com
“The Shake have managed to take their rock and roll influences and produce a satisfying and rocking record that, more importantly, gets better with every listen…Influenced by the classic rock and roll of the Kinks, Yardbirds and Animals with a wink and nod to bands like Oasis and Jet, The Shake have managed to put out the type of album that builds on familiar influences yet rocks with a swagger that is all 2007…an amazingly diverse yet 100% rock and roll listening experience. A great listen and certainly a band to look to for big things ahead”

~~www.rockandrollreport.com
“The Shake’s Kick It is the soundtrack for a good old fashioned scenester strut”

~~www.pencapshewzine.com
“These guys manage to keep the quality up during the course of these nine tracks. This music sounds sincere and genuine…a far cry from a lot of the overproduced digital crap that we get slammed with. We can hear traces of The Kinks in some of these tunes. Neat stuff, fulfilling.”

~~www.babysue.com
“There’s something in this mélange that says to me: “I am the missing link between your fond nostalgia and your obsessive downloading of everything ‘Pitchfork’ fawns over”

~~www.deadairnightmares.com
“The Shake's combination of rollicking guitar, harmonized vocals, and boisterous attitude is nothing if not fun. They have a refreshing earnestness that allows lead singer Jon Merkin to belt lines like "Let the rhythmic music set you free / Stand tall for the revolution" without the slightest hint of irony.

~~Kevchino Indie Music Reviews
“Sunny stuff for the impending summer……riffols bashed out with as much power as attitude.”

~~Aiding & Abetting, issue 284: April 2007
“The Shake revitalize the raw and fervent sounds of the 70’s British post-punk rock scene with their debut album Kick It. One can only imagine the energy that is delivered with live performance of this material.”

~~www.rock-is-life.com
“The Shake has definitely done its homework on early classic rock and British Invasion rock groups…If this band boarded a time machine and went back to the years of 1965-68, The Shake would have a No.1 hit song, just like they will have hits in the present day…The Shake has molded its own sound by understanding that rock bands of the past have laid down elements of sound that creates the foundation for music of the future. All the songs I’ve reviewed are potential hit songs.”

~~Metro Spirit (Augusta, GA)
“Creative maturity beyond their years…… The audience’s loud screams signified a job well done for this particularily musical formulation, putting together a seamless stretch of quality numbers.”

~~ Columbia Spectator 2/27/20007
The essence of the raw Rock & Roll spirit, The Shake’s music is hook-laden, riff-driven, and loud. Just like their hometown of New York City, their music is self-aware, but never pretentious or uninviting.
In just three short years, the Shake has released two critically-acclaimed albums. Their debut disc, Kick It, propelled the band through the ranks of the New York City indie rock scene. Their second album, Well, Oh Well, revealed a more mature facet of the band. With more introspective subject matter, a more deliberate and radio-friendly sonic palette, and darker arrangements, Well, Oh Well was viewed by many as the next step forward for the band and the older brother to the Shake’s freshman effort.
2009 brings with it the release of the band's new single, “Galleries,” a first look at the Shake's newest material. The next step in the band's musical evolution, "Galleries" gives a voice to all those frustrated with the phony and self-delusional aspects of the artistic world, pleading for honesty with a group that prides itself on its exaggerated sense of self- importance.
Jon Merkin and Eliad Shapiro, former high school band mates, formed The Shake in the summer of 2005. “The first few times we sat down, we churned out a lot of songs,” explains Merkin. Shapiro recalls, “We were impressed with how well we meshed together. We really compliment each other nicely in terms of writing melodies, chords and lyrics and the first few times we played together, there was a real energy.”
In their search for a bassist, Merkin and Shapiro recruited Stein, who Merkin met while traveling abroad during his summer before starting college. Their search for a drummer led them to Vishal Kumar, a fellow student at Columbia University and a seasoned session drummer and performer. In his short career, Kumar has performed in numerous venues including Madison Square Garden and recorded for dozens of prominent artists and producers. Together, Stein and Kumar make up the mighty rhythm section that drives the music of the Shake.
Unlike other groups, each member of The Shake is schooled in a different style of music, and draws from a wide pool of influences including rock, blues, jazz, punk, and electronic music. The result is what they call “a constantly evolving, more musically diverse style of rock that utilizes distinct melodies and harmonies in order to maintain a straightforward and familiar feel that still sounds fresh. In their short time as a band, the Shake has already been featured in a major motion picture, shared the stage with internationally acclaimed acts such as Richard Lloyd (of Television), the Mooney Suzuki and the Living End. They’re just getting started and show no signs of slowing down.