Jill Kossoris (teenage piano player in the seminal band "In A Hot Coma"), decided to join forces with Jim Richardson (legendary drummer with "Death" and other groundbreaking bands) in 1978. Their goal was to start a heavy pop band with a future. Kossoris and Richardson shared an unusually open minded, eccentric and wide range of musical influences. These influences included a reverence for great pop songwriting (Burt Bacharach, ABBA) and similar interests in more eccentric performers like Iggy Pop.
Richardson and Kossoris began auditioning members in Jill's parents basement in Milwaukee. After putting the word out to all their musician friends and placing ads in local papers they finally joined with Mike Pyle, Rich Bush and Jim Eannelli to become "The Shivvers." Combing old L.P's for songs they thought should have been hits - or songs they could give new interpretation- they put together a small set list of Motown/Dave Clark Five/Raspberries/ABBA and Dusty Springfield, while Kossoris began writing her first original songs.
It was the era of Punk Rock and although "The Shivvers" did not consider themselves "punk" per say, they did play with an energy and vengence that could be interpreted as such. Having a female as the main creative member of the band, also gave them an unusual dynamic. Their first gigs were at punk/new wave clubs like "Zaks" and "The Starship" in Milwaukee. Word of "The Shivvers" quickly grew throughout the Midwest as they played in Milwaukee, Chicago, and Madison. They received a great deal of positive press and the crowds and venues grew larger by the month. Scott Krueger ("The Orbits") would soon join on bass guitar, bringing an additional songwriter and singer into the fold, and Breck Burns was later recruited from The Orbits as well.
"The Shivvers" first venture into the recording studio (1979 at Star Studio in Milwaukee) produced the Kossoris penned Powerpop Classic "Teenline." They continued to record more originals as the band fund would allow and eventually sent out demos to a few labels and potential producers. Electra Records passed, but Eric Carmen of The Raspberries was interested. Unfortunately, he was only interested in working with Jill and forming a new band around her with Tom Peterson of Cheap Trick. Although Jill was a HUGE Raspberries fan, she preferred to keep "The Shivvers" together.
"The Shivvers" were generally misunderstood by their conservative midwestern management and became frustrated with the contrast of their ability to draw huge crowds and press - but no visionary manager to take the band to the next level.
Ultimately, this may have been a good thing. As it stands today, "The Shivvers" recordings and performances were untouched by record producers, agents, managers, record executives or other so called "music industry professionals." This may be the secret to the pop purity of their songs and performances, and the reason for their music's resurgence thanks to Hyped2Death Records.
Reviews:
"Teenline is an out and out classic. A Merseybeat rocker that's as sassy and catchy as hell. If you haven't heard it, you should be ashamed" - Bucket Full Of Brains UK 2005
"Teenline, is one of the most magnificent pop singles of it's time" -J.Edward Keyes- Philadelphia Weekly 2004
"The Shivvers played classic power pop for all it was worth and should have been huge. What is so impressive is the high quality of each and every one of their songs, and Kossoris gets each one across with sassiness and verve. Top-drawer." -John M. Borack- Amplifier Magazine 2006
"The best power pop band you never heard in your life. If these songs had been released at the time, The Shivvers album would almost definitely have been one of the classics of the genre along with Dwight Twilley's Sincerely." -Rob Hatch-Miller Dusted Magazine.com
"Paramount early-eighties powerpop act The Shivvers, capture the archetypal pop sound in their recently exhumed collection of songs. Frontwoman, Jill Kossoris' magnetic and acrid voice is the model intonation for the genre, and her raspy and sweet-hearted delivery underscores the raw naivety and unfaded appeal of their songs. This is an essential piece of powerpop history." Brett Cross - Victim Of Time.com
