Shards
Bio
Band members:
Darren James-Thomas: vocals/guitar
Kevin King: drums
Mat Skidmore: guitar/vocals
Jon Gray: bass
Band history:
Shards formed during the winter of 2001 in Cambridge – a place that offered them space to breathe. Up until this point the band members where writing and practicing as separate duos. In Cambridge a drummer and guitarist were disturbing the normal peace of a city terrace house, while the M11 (from Cambridge to Essex) provided the link for another guitarist and a bass player to continue to explore the music they had been left with, since the demise of their last band. As with so many relationships it all started one drunken Friday night at the local student union bar. The only difference being that the chat up line went something like, ‘I’ve been practicing with a young guitarist/singer and I think our mix of styles might be interesting’. Practices were arranged, amps where fixed, cymbals recovered from a local theme pub, the initial band name ‘dealer’ thankfully scrapped and March 2001 offered up ‘shards’.
A very shaky first demo and the promise of fifty paying punters brought a passable first gig supporting Medal. As the band’s sound has developed the song writing has become equally shared between Kevin, Mat and Darren. Nearly all of the songs are born out of extended jams during practices, which are recorded and listened to later. Kevin: “the best way to think about how our songs develop is by imagining them as a day. Although you can plan to do something on a particular day, you are never really sure how it will turn out and the people you might meet. If you try to write the story of your day first thing in the morning and get it right, you probably had a really fucking dull day. So our songs start out with an idea of what we might plan to do, but we are never quite sure what will happen”.
Following support slots with The Electric Soft Parade, Athlete, Mull Historical Society and several dates on the last Haven tour, the band have now taken time out to write new material. They are currently working towards arranging new dates for the autumn and the very strange prospect of attempting to capture one of their days in a recording studio.
In their own words:
‘we don’t have a clue what we running towards, but we sure as hell know what we are running from’.
In other people's words:
‘probably the most exciting new band in Cambridge’ (the apex)
‘hooks to die for, and enough leftfield edginess to keep you on your toes’ (greenmind).
‘songs that grind their way into your brain like a dentists drill, a nice line in sharp lyrics’ (repeat fanzine).
For more info contact:
info@shards.uk.com
Darren James-Thomas: vocals/guitar
Kevin King: drums
Mat Skidmore: guitar/vocals
Jon Gray: bass
Band history:
Shards formed during the winter of 2001 in Cambridge – a place that offered them space to breathe. Up until this point the band members where writing and practicing as separate duos. In Cambridge a drummer and guitarist were disturbing the normal peace of a city terrace house, while the M11 (from Cambridge to Essex) provided the link for another guitarist and a bass player to continue to explore the music they had been left with, since the demise of their last band. As with so many relationships it all started one drunken Friday night at the local student union bar. The only difference being that the chat up line went something like, ‘I’ve been practicing with a young guitarist/singer and I think our mix of styles might be interesting’. Practices were arranged, amps where fixed, cymbals recovered from a local theme pub, the initial band name ‘dealer’ thankfully scrapped and March 2001 offered up ‘shards’.
A very shaky first demo and the promise of fifty paying punters brought a passable first gig supporting Medal. As the band’s sound has developed the song writing has become equally shared between Kevin, Mat and Darren. Nearly all of the songs are born out of extended jams during practices, which are recorded and listened to later. Kevin: “the best way to think about how our songs develop is by imagining them as a day. Although you can plan to do something on a particular day, you are never really sure how it will turn out and the people you might meet. If you try to write the story of your day first thing in the morning and get it right, you probably had a really fucking dull day. So our songs start out with an idea of what we might plan to do, but we are never quite sure what will happen”.
Following support slots with The Electric Soft Parade, Athlete, Mull Historical Society and several dates on the last Haven tour, the band have now taken time out to write new material. They are currently working towards arranging new dates for the autumn and the very strange prospect of attempting to capture one of their days in a recording studio.
In their own words:
‘we don’t have a clue what we running towards, but we sure as hell know what we are running from’.
In other people's words:
‘probably the most exciting new band in Cambridge’ (the apex)
‘hooks to die for, and enough leftfield edginess to keep you on your toes’ (greenmind).
‘songs that grind their way into your brain like a dentists drill, a nice line in sharp lyrics’ (repeat fanzine).
For more info contact:
info@shards.uk.com
Sons Of Stereo EP