Biography

Introduction

Shearwater is an indie rock band formed in Austin, Texas in 1999 by Okkervil River members Jonathan Meiburg and Will Sheff.

History

Jonathan Meiburg and Will Sheff, who began their collaboration as members of the critically lauded Okkervil River, founded Shearwater in 2001 as an outlet for quieter songs on which the two were working.

Shearwater's debut, The Dissolving Room, introduced Meiburg's now ex-wife Kim Burke on upright bass; shortly after, drummer and vibraphonist Thor Harris joined the band.

The addition of multi-instrumentalist Howard Draper plus tours and support dates with The Mountain Goats, Akron/Family and Blonde Redhead brought them exposure. Shearwater developed their music through several initial albums such as Everybody Makes Mistakes and Winged Life, as well as the Thieves EP.

In May 2006, Shearwater released their fourth full-length album, Palo Santo, to much acclaim from critics and fans. On April 10, 2007, Shearwater, now signed on to Matador Records, re-released a 2-disc edition of Palo Santo with bonus and re-recorded tracks from the original album.

Matador Records released the album Rook, on June 3, 2008. The first single, "Rooks", is available for free as an MP3 from their record label. As of August 2009 they are working on a new album, The Golden Archipelago. In an interview with MusosGuide.com, Meiburg revealed that the album "is about islands, especially certain kinds of islands."

More information

Meiburg is a graduate student in ornithology, the study of birds. Shearwater is the name of a type of medium-sized seabird that is also shown on the cover of Winged Life.

Additionally, Shearwater is accompanied in concert by Jordan Geiger (of Hospital Ships) on coronet, synthesizer, and percussion, and Kevin Schneider (of Black Before Red) on keyboard, bass, and guitar