{{Short description|American indie garage punk band}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Shannon and the Clams | image = The Black Keys 22-Nov-2019 05.jpg | image_size = | landscape = yes | alt = | alias = | caption = Shannon and the Clams live at Portland, Oregon (Moda Center) 22-Nov-2019. From left to right: Will Sprott, Nate Mahan, Cody Blanchard and Shannon Shaw. | origin = Oakland, California, United States | genre = {{hlist|Garage punk|rockabilly|doo-wop}} | current_members = {{Plainlist| * Shannon Shaw * Cody Blanchard * Nate Mahan * Will Sprott }} | years_active = {{Start date|2007}}–present | label = 1-2-3-4 Go! Records, Hardly Art, Easy Eye Sound | website = {{URL|shannonandtheclams.com}} }}
'''Shannon and the Clams''' is an indie garage punk quartet based in Oakland, California. Known for a vintage sound that incorporates elements of doo-wop, classic R&B, garage psych, and surf, Shannon and the Clams has drawn comparisons to both Buddy Holly and 1960s girl groups.<ref>{{cite web|last=Leggett|first=Steve|title=Shannon and the Clams - Biography|website=AllMusic|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/shannon-and-the-clams-mn00023website=AllMusic|accessdate=26 June 2013}}{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> They are also said to love "music from '50s oldies to '80s punk".<ref name="stillinrock1">{{cite web |url=http://www.stillinrock.com/2014/02/interview-shannon-and-clams.html |title=Interview: Shannon and the Clams |website=StillInRock |date=February 27, 2014 |accessdate=October 21, 2018 |archive-date=October 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022033641/http://www.stillinrock.com/2014/02/interview-shannon-and-clams.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
== History == The band includes vocals from bassist Shannon Shaw, guitarist Cody Blanchard, and keyboardist Will Sprott, along with drums by Nate Mahan. Shaw and Blanchard met at the California College of the Arts, where they began performing together.<ref>{{cite news|last=Huston|first=Johnny Ray|title=SCENE: Shannon and the Clams open up|url=http://www.sfbg.com/noise/2010/06/23/scene-shannon-and-clams-open|newspaper=San Francisco Bay Guardian|date=June 23, 2010|archive-date=July 27, 2013|access-date=June 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727174440/http://www.sfbg.com/noise/2010/06/23/scene-shannon-and-clams-open|url-status=live}}</ref>
Shaw has released a solo album with Easy Eye Sound and is also a member of queercore punk outfit Hunx and His Punx.<ref name="Hopper">{{cite news|author=Hopper, Jessica|title=Hunx & His Punx, Shannon & the Clams, Mickey|url=http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/hunx-and-his-punx-shannon-and-the-clams-mickey/Event?oid=3137114|newspaper=Chicago Reader|date=April 2011|archive-date=2011-05-05|access-date=2013-06-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505043816/http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/hunx-and-his-punx-shannon-and-the-clams-mickey/Event?oid=3137114|url-status=live}}</ref> Sprott is very active outside the band releasing solo records and touring with Shana Cleveland.
Shannon and the Clams' debut album, ''I Wanna Go Home'', was released in 2009. In 2011, the group followed up with their sophomore effort, ''Sleep Talk''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Douglas|first=Martin|title=Shannon and the Clams: Sleep Talk|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15336-sleep-talk/|website=Pitchfork|date=April 20, 2011|access-date=June 26, 2013|archive-date=June 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627005903/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15336-sleep-talk/|url-status=live}}</ref> Their third album, ''Dreams in the Rat House'', was released in May 2013.<ref>{{cite web|last=Douglas|first=Martin|title=Shannon and the Clams: Dreams in the Rat House|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18078-shannon-and-the-clams-dreams-in-the-rat-house/|website=Pitchfork|date=May 21, 2013}}</ref>
Their album ''Gone by the Dawn'' is described by Still in Rock as "the most beautiful manifestation in recent years of what I would call the 'Elvis Presley culture'".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stillinrock.com/2015/09/album-review-shannon-and-clams-gone-by.html#en|title=Album Review: Shannon and the Clams – Gone by the Dawn |author=|date=September 2015 |website=StillInRock |accessdate=October 21, 2018 }}</ref>
Released in 2018, ''Onion'' was Shannon and the Clams' first release on Dan Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound label.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.easyeyesound.com/artist/shannon-clams |title=Easy Eye Sound: Shannon & the Clams |author= |date=2018 |website=Easy Eye Sound |accessdate=October 21, 2018 |archive-date=December 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181218164340/http://www.easyeyesound.com/artist/shannon-clams |url-status=dead }}</ref> Auerbach also produced the album.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ontaponline.com/2018/07/20/shannon-and-the-clams-triumph-over-tragedy-on-new-album/ |title=Shannon and The Clams Triumph Over Tragedy on New Album |author= |date=July 20, 2018 |website=OnTapOnline |publisher=On Tap Magazine |accessdate=October 21, 2018 |archive-date=July 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731093150/https://ontaponline.com/2018/07/20/shannon-and-the-clams-triumph-over-tragedy-on-new-album/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Their sixth album, ''Year of the Spider,'' was released in 2021.
Their seventh album, ''The Moon is in the Wrong Place,'' was released in 2024. All of the songs were heavily inspired by the death of Shaw's fiancé Joe Haener, who died in a car accident in 2022 just weeks before the pair's wedding.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bio |url=https://www.shannonandtheclams.com/bio |access-date=2025-06-20 |website=Shannon & The Clams |language=en-US}}</ref> The name of the album came from something that Haener had said to Shaw shortly before his death during a conversation about astrology.
==Reception== A reviewer at Still in Rock stated that their "shows are among the best in the world, with an inexhaustible spirit and a musical style with no equivalent. Its influence on the independent scene is one of the greatest, together with Ty Segall and very few others."<ref name="stillinrock1"/>
A reviewer at Punknews.org wrote that Shannon and the Clams has the "sound of a prom band in 1964 getting dosed with acid and having the sweetest lovelorn freak out. Imagine a brawling Etta James, backed up by the 13th Floor Elevators singing Shangri La's tunes."<ref>{{cite web|title=Shannon and the Clams|url=http://www.punknews.org/bands/shannonandtheclams|website=Punknews.org|accessdate=26 June 2013}}</ref> The ''Chicago Reader'''s Jessica Hopper described Shannon and the Clams as "something from a John Waters lucid dream... complete with horny teenage anthems that walk the line between greasy, frantic 50s rock 'n' roll and innocent, hip-swinging 60s pop."<ref name="Hopper"/>
In an effusive review of ''Onion'', Allison Wolfe wrote: "Reminiscent of the Collins Kids, both Shannon and Cody's voices mingle and soar, and I often can't tell their beautiful articulations apart. No matter – this is a gorgeously sincere and infectious body of work that I can't put down."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.talkhouse.com/allison-wolfe-on-shannon-and-the-clams/ |title=Peeling Back the Layers of Shannon and the Clams' ''Onion'' |author=Wolfe, Allison |authorlink=Allison Wolfe |date=February 28, 2018 |website=Talkhouse |accessdate=October 21, 2018 |archive-date=October 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020180148/http://www.talkhouse.com/allison-wolfe-on-shannon-and-the-clams/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Band members== * Shannon Shaw – (vocals, bass) * Cody Blanchard – (vocals, guitar) * Nate Mahan – (drums) * Will Sprott – (vocals, keyboards)
''Guest Members'' * Eric Moore - (drums - Australian Tour 2022) * Chris Icasiano - (drums) * Garett Goddard - (drums)
==Discography== ===Studio albums=== {| class="wikitable" !Album !Year |- |''I Wanna Go Home'' |2009 |- |''Sleep Talk'' |2011 |- |''Dreams in the Rat House'' |2013 |- |''Gone by the Dawn'' |2015 |- |''Onion'' |2018 |- |''Year of the Spider'' |2021 |- |''The Moon is in the Wrong Place'' |2024 |}
=== Singles and EPs === {| class="wikitable" !EPs !Year |- |''Hunk Hunt'' |2010 |- |''Paddy's Birthday'' |2010 |- |''...Ruin Christmas'' |2010 |} {| class="wikitable" !Singles !Year |- |"Gremlins Crawl" / "White Rabbit" |2012 |- |"Ozma / Angel Baby" |2012 |- |"Ozma / Muppet Babies" |2012 |- |"Mama" |2014 |- |"Mines of lo" |2017 |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Shannon and the Clams}} *[http://shannonandtheclams.com/ Official website] *[https://myspace.com/shannonandtheclams Shannon and the Clams] on MySpace *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaCkuogTL6c Shannon and the Clams Documentary]
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Category:American garage punk groups Category:Indie rock musical groups from California Category:Musical groups established in 2009 Category:Musical groups from Oakland, California Category:2009 establishments in California Category:Hardly Art artists