Shoeshine Blue profile picture

Shoeshine Blue

About Me

Shoeshine Blue began years ago as a lo-fi literary blues act. Songwriter, Michael Apinyakul's uncanny abilities with a cassette 4-track earned him critical praise from both the press and studio engineers with the album, "Talk Real Slow". Since then Shoeshine Blue has evolved into something else entirely. Falling somewhere between classical and blues, folk and gospel, old time and indie. Alone, Apinyakul displays a fast, dark, and emotive finger picking style as if Mississippi John Hurt listened to Dead Moon, but more often Shoeshine Blue consists of a larger lineup of violinist Shawn Mclain (Blind Pilot), bassist William Joersz (Nick Jaina, Run On Sentence), singer Ali Wesley (Super XX Man), and drummer John Vecchiarelli of more bands than I can count, plus his own wonderful songs. This bare bones, tonally complex combo, produces wistful backdrops for lyrics full of political fervor, high romance, and heartland poetics. Shoeshine Blue is about to release their new full length album,"HOWL AT THE WOODEN MOON" {} ..
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ABOUT HOWL AT THE WOODEN MOON:"Howl At The Wooden Moon" is an album written and recorded during a period of war, broken love, sketchy loans, and automated joy. All a songwriter needed to do was build a good mirror, hold it up, and let the world writhe in the ecstasy of its own truth. But it's not easy. In the high stakes game of writing good songs, there's no room for lies or lazy observations. "Howl At The Wooden Moon" is Shoeshine Blue's best and most honest contribution. It is a love letter to the natural world, a love story between two people, and a keen eye on the moment. In other words, a monument to all things doomed and beautiful.Songwriter, Michael Apinyakul, made a departure from the last Shoeshine Blue album, "Talk Real Slow", where he produced, recorded, and played most of the instruments. Howl at the Wooden Moon draws from a larger pool of Portland's talented musicians. Recorded to half inch 8-track at Telltale Studios in Portland Oregon, and engineered by Antreo Pukay, the album has a honey-glow sound, reminiscent of the great folk and psychedelic albums of the 60's and 70's. Lyrically sharp, simply layered, and accidentally gospel.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 12/5/2005
Band Website: shoeshineblue.com
Band Members: MICHAEL APINYAKUL: songs, guitars, harmonica, vocalsSHAWN MCLAIN (Blind Pilot): violin, vocals, drumsWILLIAM JOERSZ (Nick Jaina and Run on Sentence): Double Bass.JOHN VECCHIARELLI: drumsALI WESLEY (Super XX Man): vocalsOTHER GUESTS include Leonard Mynx, Audie Darling, Nate Clark, Dustin Hamman .
Influences: Mississippi Fred McDowell, Mazzy Star, John Steinbeck, The Latin Playboys, Muddy Waters, Flannery O'Connor, George Jones, Wilco, Andrew Bird, Bob Dylan, The White Stripes, John Lennon, Bukka White, Run On Sentence, Beethoven, Rachels, Perlman, John Wayne Samurais, etc. etc.....
Sounds Like:
Record Label: The best pies are homeade, but we'd try yours
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

New California tour diary

Yo again suckas! New tour diary up on the Local Cut website. Chickity-check-it.http://localcut.wweek.com/2009/02/03/shoes hine-blue-follow-the-path-of-the-sun-bay-area/
Posted by on Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:49:00 GMT

Tour Diary

Yo, I wrote a tour diary that the fine folks at Local Cut were kind enough to post. Check it!http://localcut.wweek.com/category/tour-diary/shoeshine-b lue-tour-diary/
Posted by on Wed, 16 Jul 2008 01:02:00 GMT

Slipping On A Banana Peel In A Bad Neighborhood

The world spun around me, my arms flew wildly, but somehow I kept my footing. What the fuck was that?! I looked two steps behind me and saw a banana peel. If a banana peel could laugh, this one was...
Posted by on Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:09:00 GMT

Battlestar Galactimustache

I blame it on faulty intelligence. I showed up at the Battlestar Galactica party sporting a ridiculous mustache. I wore it to celebrate the return of Edward James Olmos' mustache, which upon the sea...
Posted by on Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:52:00 GMT

Driving The Spaceship

Those of you that have caught me staring off into space have probably heard me say, "That spaceship ain't gonna drive itself." It's one of my favorite things to say and I often smirk and congratulate...
Posted by on Tue, 04 Mar 2008 09:44:00 GMT

Interview with Invasive Thoughts Online Magazine

This is from an online interview with Brooke Palmer of Invasive Thoughts Magazine. It ended up being more of a guided essay, because I tend to ramble. You can see the full interview with photos and ...
Posted by on Wed, 07 Nov 2007 13:35:00 GMT

Cosmic Mustache

Cosmic MustacheThere is a man on the bus who walks with a cane and expresses himself entirely with his mustache. His face and body are, in fact, an afterthought. The mustache calls the shots. It is...
Posted by on Wed, 19 Sep 2007 02:14:00 GMT

Screen printing is like making pizza, it's more fun when you're drunk

"If that lazy bastard can do it, I can do it." This is how my initial motivation to learn something new usually comes about, with misguided feelings of self importance. Whatever works, I suppose. I...
Posted by on Tue, 20 Mar 2007 23:30:00 GMT

thoughts on radio static

It's three a.m. and I've been recording radio static for over an hour now. You would think it would be easy; just stick a microphone in the face of an old radio, ease back, and wait for the magic to ...
Posted by on Tue, 02 Jan 2007 13:56:00 GMT