Deep Cuts: Indie

California's Shaun Fleming, the alter-ego for Dianne Coffee, has spent some important moments of his life in entertainment. At 15, he starred in the opening sequence of Jeepers Creepers II (2003) where he is quickly mauled by the title monster. In 2004, he worked as a voice actor on two animated films from Disney including The Lion King 1 1/2 (2004).

Moving to NYC in 2005, Shaun became a founding member of the 60's psychedelia and avant-garde band Foxygen with friends Sam France, Jonathan Rado and Justin Nijssen. The band gradually became a hit in clubs and college radio culminating with their album "We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic" released in January of 2013. However, the group's raucous, highly active performances contributed to singer Sam France breaking his leg at a gig at First Avenue in Minneapolis on July 29th 2013.

This freed up Dianne Coffee who was on the back burner for Fleming since December of 2012. Fleming's "My Friend Fish" was released by Western Viynl in October in 2013. It's a stand-out album, featured at SXSW, that blends elements from soul, Motown, classic R&B with 1960's acts like Donovan and The Beatles.



References:

• Wikipedia, Dianne Coffee
• IMDB, Shaun Fleming
• Facebook, Dianne Coffee

Deep Cuts: Rock

Oakland, California based retro rock Shannon and The Clams are a three piece band that combines elements from garage, punk, classic R&B and Motown into their own brand of rock 'n roll. This group, made up of Shannon Shaw, Cody Blanchard
and Ian Amberson on drums, stand out due to the raw clarity of the band's influences and edgy subject matter.

For example, the first track from 2011 Sleep Talk, Baby Don't Do It, features a character running through the darkness with a machete that "glints by the light of the moon" that is sung with shades of The Ronettes with a sharp set of measured guitar chords ringing out with the tight precision of a rhythm section - or maybe a lovelorn serial killer.

In an interview with the blog Still In Rock from 2014, the group says they met in 2009 while attending the California College of the Arts.

"We had a class together and thought one another was lame until we saw each others videos in class. We realized we were the only cool freaks in the class and have basically been best friends ever since."

The group has three studio albums to date including: I Wanna Go Home (2009), Sleep Talk (2011) and Dreams in the Rat House (2013).

Shannon And The Clams - You Will Always Bring Me Flowers

References:

• Official Site, Shannon And The Clams
• Facebook, Shannon And The Clams
• Still In Rock, Band Interview

Deep Cuts: Alt-Rock

There many descriptions of southern California's The Growlers. They enjoy a large audience on national college radio which, God bless it, calls the group everything from folk to psyche rock. The truth seems to be that they incorporate everything in between these two musical polar opposites and make these influences into their own sound.

The Growlers formed in 2006 and are based Orange County, California. The band consists of Brooks Nielsen (vocals), Matt Taylor (lead guitar), Scott Montoya (drums, formerly bass) Anthony Braun Perry (bass) and Kyle Straka (keyboards, guitar). Since playing SXSW in 2010 the group has steadily been growing in popularity.

The band's third album, Hung at Heart, was released on January 22nd 2013.

The Growlers - One Million Lovers
References:

• The Growlers, Official Site
• Wikipedia, The Growlers
• Facebook, The Growlers