In 1997, James Russell Mercer and Neal Langford, both members of Flake, had collaborated on a side project they called The Shins.  When Flake disbanded, the orphaned members formed The Shins.  They released two singles and launched a tour with indie rock band, Modest Mouse.

The Shins

There's a lot of this that I don't understand when I think about it, like why we're going to be playing larger venues and why we're getting radio play. What are the Shins going to be, how are we going to be perceived if and when we're at a level of My Chemical Romance or Coldplay?

Coming Together

In 1997, James Russell Mercer and Neal Langford, both members of Flake, had collaborated on a side project they called The Shins.  When Flake disbanded, the orphaned members formed The Shins.  They released two singles and launched a tour with indie rock band, Modest Mouse.  While on the road, they met a representative from Sub Pop, who ultimately offered to release their first album.

Their first album, Oh, Inverted World, was released in 2001.  It was well received and critically acclaimed.  In 2003, the single, One by One All Day was featured in Jason Lee's movie, A Guy Thing.  Two other singles, Caring is Creepy and New Slang, were featured in Zach Braff's movie, Garden State.  Their second album, Chutes Too Narrow, was released in 2003, and again, was warmly received.

The Road to Success

The Shins' third album, Wincing the Night Away, was released in 2007 and it debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 Chart.  118,000 copies sold in the first week, which was a success Sub Pop Records had never seen.  The Shins were no longer a side project.  This third album solidified them as a serious band.  

A number of changes took place in the roster of the band. When the dust cleared, the band was made up of James Russell Mercer, Dave Hernandez, Eric Johnson of the Fruit Bats, Joe Plummer of Modest Mouse, and Ron Lewis from Grand Archives.  This combination gives the band a number of different musical backgrounds from which to draw.

An Uncertain Future

In June of 2008, The Shins announced that they were leaving Sub Pop and would be releasing music under Mercer's label, Aural Apothecary.  Unfortunately, this change has led to a great deal of unrest.  Former drummer Jesse Sandoval publicly declared that he had been fired from The Shins, and that he had due to aesthetic differences as had been implied.  James Mercer, too, announced that he is taking a break from The Shins to work on a side project.  

Mercer states that he will not be able to consider returning to The Shins until 2011.  His side project has recently released its first album.  The future is uncertain for this band, which is ironic given the success they had been enjoying.  However, each member had come from other projects and most likely had other projects wanting their attention as well.  

Did you know . . .

1. The Shins took their name from a family in The Music Man, which is a favorite of Mercer's father.

2. The Shins' music was featured in Spongebob Squarepants: The Movie.

3. The Shins' single, Past and Pending, was played at Heath Ledger's funeral.

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