Shame Club

Music:

Member Since: 12/23/2004
Band Website: shameclub.com
Band Members: Andy - guitar
Ken - drums
Eric - bass/vox
Jon - vox/guitar

Influences:
Sounds Like: at SXSW (2008)

at the Bluebird (2008)
(dir. Josh Wiese)

@ an art gallery (2007)

Shame Club - 'Come On' @ AllMusic.com July 22nd, 2008
With no record label waiting in the wings, ready to release it, Shame Club's third album, Come On, was recorded at a leisurely pace between 2006 and '07, and even though the long-running St. Louis hard rockers would probably choose a slightly less positive adjective than ‘leisurely' (‘tortuous,' perhaps), their patience certainly paid off when Detroit's Small Stone picked up the record for a mid-2008 release. By then, the quartet had relinquished some of the disproportionate Thin Lizzy influence that had characterized their early work, and opened up their sound to a broader palette of classic rock cornerstones like Aerosmith and ZZ Top -- all evident to differing degrees in songs like "Transamerica," "Light Shines" and "Chasm." There's also a discernible Southern rock aesthetic filtering into the twangy licks of "How Far," the bombastic boogie of "I Ain't Surprised," and the melancholy melodies of "Sweet Mercy's Gate"; an early ‘70s blues-rock simplicity (think Bad Company, Foghat and BTO) keeping others like "Don't Feel Like Making Love" and "Can You Feel It" honest and straightforward; and an even more retro, post-flower-power vibe permeating the otherwise thumpin' "I Just Want You to Be Free." Finally, the band takes it down a notch for the acoustic instrumental, "Alicia Circles," which is reminiscent of Zeppelin's "Bron-Yr-Aur," only with a hillbilly instead of Welsh folk flavor, and then closes the album with an extended, tipsy blues jam called "Lurch." With all of these recognizable influences flowing through its gears, one might expect Come On to live out the image on its cover and sink to the bottom of the murky Mississippi, in abject anonymity. But, if anything, Shame Club's wholesale reshuffling of all these elements renders the whole pretty natural in its own way. Its overall sense of restraint may all still prove pretty boring and sedate for new millennium listeners, tweaked on impatience and adrenalin, but classic rock lovers will likely get a huge kick out of sifting through these songs' familiar sonic hallmarks.- Eduardo Rivadavia www.allmusic.com

Shame Club - 'Come On' @ SLUG Magazine July, 2008
Shame Club = Kyuss + KISS + Kick Ass
I was totally expecting this cd to suck on it big time in a lame ass stoner garage rock way. Boy oh boy was I surprised. This damn shit is bad ass. May the Shame Club live on in glory? This business comes out you non-stop and beats your face in while you scream for joy. Shame Club does play a fuzzed out thick bunch of noise but it’s dynamic. It’s like if Stone Temple Pilots hated being weird artsy drug addicts and decided to listen to some good home-style blues and smoke all the weed they could find while hoped up on Pixie Stix and decided to serenade all the dandelions into head banging their yellow heads off. There is no shame in pimpin’ out the Shame Club because they are just too pimp!!– Jon Robertson www.slugmag.com

Shame Club - 'Come On' @ The Ripple Effect July 7th, 2008
Playing an amped up, fired-up brand of southern-fried, classic seventies rock, Shame Club start off their new disc like a racehorse chomping on the bit, kicking at the starting gate, just waiting for it's chance to stretch it's legs and run. "Transamerica," rumbles out of the speakers, all stuttering, chugging riffs and circling bass. You've heard this song before, not really, but you've always wanted to. Somewhere in the back of your brain, if you knew how to write music, you'd want to write this song. And damn, you'd love to play it live."I Just Want You to be Free," follows, emphasizing one of the many things that separates Shame Club from their contemporaries. This isn't stoner rock, it's a fresh take on the classic vibes of the seventies. Heavy and thundering, yet melodic and sweeping, this is Lenny Kravitz with extra muscle. Aerosmith before the movie soundtracks and insipid ballads, beefed up and roughed up with a modern touch. It's seventies rock dropping down into the south on a touch of speed, filtered through a six-pack of Red Bull. It's surprisingly melodic and soulful vocals, harmonizing over riffs the size of Mt. Rushmore. It's actually lots of things, and they're all good. - Racer www.ripplemusic.blogspot.com
see also: http://ripplemusic.blogspot.com/2008/07/its-small-stone-worl d-after-all-episode.html

Shame Club - 'Come On' @ Jersey Beat June 29th, 2008
Shame Club are a music reviewer’s dream come true! You always hope to find that one-in-a-million band that grabs you my the throat, pulls your brain out, turns it upside down, and puts it back in. By the end of the disc you can't tell up from down, but you know you that you just had a hell of a good time! And damn if Shame Club doesn't sound like the second coming of Vanilla Fudge! Pure Rock 'N' Roll! Period! On songs like "Transamerica," "I Just Want You to be Free," or "How Far," for starters, Shame Club goes right to the root of rock, punk, and alternative, aggressively capturing those genres’ power-chord-driven, angst-filled anthems with a thunderous crack. Together, this quartet from St. Louis Missoui is well on its way (they started in 2000). The band consists of Jon Lumley on guitar and lead vocals, Andy White on guitar, Eric Eyster on bass and vocals, and Ken McCray on drums and backing vocals. Part of what makes Shame Club so powerful is the fact that each of its members can stand alone on their own musical talent. Each adds to the character of each song. "Come On" pays tribute to a lot of the great traditions in rock music. These are rock journeyman that talk the talk and walk the walk. It's just the sort of music that you'd expect from a full-blooded rock 'n' roll soul band! - Phil Rainone www.jerseybeat.com

Shame Club - 'Come On' @ Pivotal Rage June 30th, 2008 -
St. Louis based Shame Club seem to approach their music like the last 33 years or so never happened. Being on the label they are on and due to popular trends this band might get the stoner rock label slapped on them, but that wouldn't really be fair. This is pure late 60's-early 70's hard hitting rock that never stops. The influences are plenty including The Who, Mountain, Hendrix, Thin Lizzy, early Aerosmith and ZZtop. Yet despite the numerous influences the songs themselves still seem remarkably fresh and vibrant. My best guess is that they just this style so much that they passionately rip and tear into every little nook and cranny of their material. There are a number of bands playing early 70's influenced hard rock or metal yet most them seem more like tributes because they follow one or two bands so closely without leaving a trace of themselves. Shame Club mix and stir the styles and their almost frantic approach to the pace and the stellar jams sets them apart. The way they attack their music reminds me of of a live show in the 70's where there's a bit of an over the top, impromptu jam powered performance. After absorbing "Come on" I felt like I had finished a feast that was full of a great of variety, yet instead of feeling stuffed I felt the desire for more. This is a splendid and completely satisfying display of real early style hard rock. - Metal Mark webzine.pivotalalliance.com

Shame Club - 'Come On' @ The Cutting Edge June, 2008 issue 65 by: Todd K Smith
Shame Club is unequivocally '70s hard rock with a mix of punk attitude and Neanderthal rhythms. They pay attention to the deeper cuts of classic vinyl. Within their music are bits and pieces of Ten Years After, Grand Funk and Mountain with melodies that aren't immediately catchy but pack a punch. They worship the almighty riff and use the nimble fingers of Andy White and Jon Lumley to build a wall of sound that not only rocks, but also maintains sonic texture. Lumley also sings and uses his soulful voice, which occasionally sounds like Lenny Kravitz, to proclaim his lust for fast women "How Far," his forlorn "Sweet Mercy?s Gate" and his ode to the break up in "Lurch" with the sympathetic line, "You think your heart's been broken girl / Well, I think it's only been bruised.? Bassist Eric Eyster and drummer Ken McCray give the Saint Louis quartet a serious kick whether it's in the chugging engine of "Transamerica" or the more subdued "Light Solace." There's also the Southern / Blues element that keeps the whole thing honest, heart felt and well crafted. Listen for the musical chemistry in the acoustic front porch jammer "Alicia Circles" and the thundering "Jonestown." And you might get a chuckle as they spin the whole retro vibe with songs like "Don't Feel Like Making Love," "I Ain't Surprised" and "Can You Feel It" all packaged up in the killer artwork of Bryan "The Butcher" Cox. -- Todd K Smith www.cuttingedgerocks.com

Shame Club - 'Come On' @ Pine Bluff Commercial Entertainment section June 9, 2008 by: Kristofer Upjohn
Shame Club “Come On”Small Stone records has two main focuses — both of which in today’s musical culture tend to find themselves intertwined. Those are stoner/psychedelic rock and puredee, riff-heavy rock. Shame Club falls into that latter category though not without influences from the former. The band leans most heavily on classic rock grooves. The vocals, the melodies, the guitar solos — all of it — would be right at home on some classic blues/Southern rock album. I bet these guys listen to Mountain — though I like Shame Club much more than I really dig what little I’ve heard of Mountain. There’s a mix of grit and melody that is balanced just the way it ought to be. The sweet, thick melodies come pouring out of the vocal and instrumental departments, both sides of the fence joining their talent and resources into the creation of an album that does, indeed, make you want to “Come On” and join up with the musical fun. - Kristofer Upjohn

Shame Club - 'Come On' from Nail Distribution May. 19, 2008
Hard hitting, honest American rock and roll that purrs like a lovingly restored muscle car and kicks as much ass as a fleet of 'em. Any better and it would come with an ice cold six pack. -Nail Distribution

Shame Club - 'Come On' review @ SonicRuin.com May. 17, 2008 by: Michael Toland
Shame Club - Come On Let’s face it: most 70s-inspired rock bands reek of nostalgia. That’s not to say they don’t have moments of inspiration, but usually your average long-haired, blue-jeaned, Les Pauls ‘n’ Marshall stacks-wielding gang of roughnecks is content to ply their trade by pretending punk and Ronald Reagan never happened. Not so Shame Club. On Come On, the St. Louis quartet draws from the usual sources – Aerosmith, Thin Lizzy, ZZ Top, the dozens of one-album wonders from the early 70s. But they make it all sound fresh, as if they’re inventing the vocabulary of Me-Decade hard rock before your very ears. I give credit not only to the band’s firm command of the idiom, spot-on vocal harmonies and Jon Lumley’s soulful keen, but to the uniformly strong songwriting. Lumley and crew aren’t just hammering a basic riff to unimaginative 4/4 pounding, but penning real tunes with strong melodies, intelligent (and often casually funny) lyrics and real conviction. Gems like “Don’t Feel Like Making Love,” “Can You Feel It,” “I Just Want You to Be Free” and “I Ain’t Surprised” bear the marks of hard work in the craftsmanship department, even as they keep the loose spirit and passionate rock & roll flame burning bright. Come On is good shit. http://www.shameclub.com http://www.smallstone.com

Shame Club - 'Come On' review @ StonerRock.com Nov. 26, 2007 by John Pegoraro
Never mind the bad - there is a shit ton of good music out there, and unless you sleep no more than 15 minutes a night and have no responsibilities outside of turning up the speakers and getting your rock on, there's no possible way you're going to catch it all. Case in point - apparently Shame Club has been around long enough to release two other albums, but Come On is the first thing I've heard by the Saint Louis four-piece.
It's the sort of introduction makes you slap your forehead and wonder what the hell you were thinking, letting something this fantastic slip past the radar. How good is it? Know how I've been prone to bitching about rock albums that stretch past ten tracks? The 12-song Come On not only doesn't have any weak moments, but I wouldn't have minded had it gone on even longer.
It's an honest, hard working album that draws from a long list of classic rockers and fits in comfortably against contemporaries like The Brought Low, Mule, Roadsaw, The Rubes, and RPG. There's a southern undercurrent to Come On, accented by some soulful vocal harmonies and strengthened by hooks sharp enough to cut the skin. The band rarely plays it fast (“How Far” and “I Ain't Surprised” are the exceptions), instead opting to hit grooves that are just above the speed limit and fill the songs with some beautiful melodies. Songs like “Transamerica,” “I Just Want You To Be Free,” “Don't Feel Like Making Love” (dig the Bad Company reference), and “Jonestown” are best described as sounding big (or maybe just “awesome”). In another era, “Can You Feel It” would be a hit, heard on every half decent radio station across the nation. And closer “Lurch” is perfectly named – it's a drunken stumble of bluesy rock that tears up the eyes like that last shot of bourbon that you probably shouldn't have had.
It's been a good year for rock 'n' roll and Shame Club's Come On makes it even better. A modern day classic? Too early to tell. But goddamn this is one hell of an album. Highly recommended.

Record Label: Small Stone Records (http://www.smallstone.com)
Type of Label: Indie