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NEWS

October 2003

"Stop Stop!" I Sharko's featured hit is on the "One kind Radio" CD compilation! (www.onekindradio.com) Recent Press: Illinois Entertainer, September '03: I, Sharko's three-song, self-titled CD is for people who embraced The Lyres' raw 1960s revivalism long before "garage" became a buzz word. "Stop Stop" is a playful rocker about boredom and frustration that opens with lead vocalist/guitarist Derek See singing, "You can't use your stupidity as a prop." "Insatiable" is even more reckless, as Lee and fellow lead guitarist Sam Carlson cut loose on their instruments. Sandwiched between these two cuts is the more melodic "Slow Down," which features Lee and Carlson on some nice harmony vocals. "One Kind Radio" September '03: I, Sharko "Lives In Gray" I, Sharko's sound might have changed... but the attitude still remains the same. Keeping with it a sound like if the White Stripes had found out how to play true indie rock!!! This is one great raw recording... might need a bit of work in the studio before I would call it a radio collection, but who has the money these day to afford a stronger monkey behind the boards. If you like a raw, garage sound from a band that has put out hits that no one has heard... pick this one up for your earger listening garage indie-rock ears. op / Insatiable / Slow Down / Weightlessly Effortlessly / Nothing Good To Say / Can't Wait Another Day / You Are / Your City / Take Your Time / DRM

All there is mixing and pressing and it will soon be out to YOU!

*Check out Derek See's guitar collection featured in March 2003 issue of VINTAGE GUITAR magazine

REVIEWS

Alternative Press, September '96:

Like a more concise My Bloody Valentine or Spiritualized, or an Americanized, more garage-band Ride, Chicago's I, Sharko play atmospheric songs with a hard-edged rock base. On the six-year-old groups self-titled effort, they merge spacey psychedelia with a structured rock style that works nicely on the fuzzy but focused "Water", which combines attitude with atmosphere (along with song weird synth effects), and on the reverbed, vibrato, melodic guitars and chorused vocals of the poppy "Sun Comes Early."

The Big Take Over, September '96:

They cite Ride and Spaceman 3 as influences, but these guys sound like they just strode in from the last volume of Nuggets. Derek Cullimore's voice (sonic) booms over the swells of sound. He doesn't swathe himself in the psychedelic stir, and he doesn't have to. The songs are all sturdy--guitars and lots of keyboards swimming gracefully, with Paul Grafton's controlled bass lines towing everything along nicely. The shorter tracks ("Soul So True", "Fallen Hope") are gentle and balmy, while longer pieces ("Untitled", "Eyes") tend to develop into full-on firestorm jams. More inclined towards whetted riffage than drone, I, Sharko are a refreshing antidote to the lazy hordes of electric mainliners.

Chaotic, Critiques, September '96:

This interestingly-titled band plays some dreamy pop that reverberates around in the your head like Jell-O in a mild earthquake, and closes the gap between retro and modern rock with out falling entirely into a single category. Relaxing and hypnotic. I, Sharko navigates its daze with confidence, dripping unobtrusive psychedelics into your consciousness and sweetening your mind like thick honey. Opener "Sun Comes Early " is the most direct song, leaving the remainder of the album a dreamy, smoke-filled playground drenched in discursive, effects-laden solos and wavering vocals that drift like a mirage on the desert horizon. On occasion, the band will break the spell and launch demeanor. Well-meaning and contemplative, I, Sharko put forth a very convincing platter of psychedelic that is experienced as much as it is heard.

Magnet #24:

I, Sharko opens its album with "Sun Comes Early"' a romping sprint that's popped along by dashing chink-a-chink guitars, with typical but tolerable sinbg-a-linging by guitarist Derek Cullimore. The nest track, "Eyes" reveals Sharko to not be some indie rock, Slumber land-like outfit, but a psychedelic hound who's no doubt memorized Smashing Orange's recordings circa 1991. The third track, "Flowers For You " jumps up and down with more chinking guitars of the strummy, flowery sort; it's followed by the drifting-on-water "For Anybody", where the guitar evokes images of an empty bottle floating in the ocean.

New City, April '96:

There are quite a few sharp turns on the self-titled debut from Chicago's I, Sharko. While it starts out sounding like common distorted jangle fuzz, the Kramer-produced CD gently veers off into ethereal shoe gazing. On the Expansive "Eyes", a song that highlights the crack production, layers of echo-laden guitars, crisp drum and bass and keyboard doodles inconspicuously weave in and out of the mostly instrumental jam. While the acoustic songs bring to mind a more psychedelic Aztec Camera, the extended electric workouts summon a modern-day blend of Youngian guitar mixed with a twisted rock language of My Bloody Valentine and a less Manchester-beat influenced Verve.

Bucketfull of Brains, August '96:

Given the tenuous advance information I had, I was expecting the sound of their debut album to fall somewhere between that of Spiritualized and Bongwater. Actually though, only the shimmeringly translucent euphony of the second track, "Eyes" and the complex dynamics of the closing "Untitled" live up to expectations. For the most part, this Indiana band's sound is unassuming, harmony laden, 12-string pop which reaches a head on the Sundial-ish "For Anybody", with its rousing guitar/keyboard close. More of the same next time would be a real treat.

*Phil McMullen

Astro-Zombie:

A youthful quartet who play drug-induced indie pop, which is not a particular favorite genre but nevertheless they do it well. Imagine the Wonderstuff and Pop Will Eat Itself vacating to the US for six years, having a huge identity crisis because nobody there wants their over-inflated ego shaw and so to gain any attention they must remove their inflated heads with poser hair-extensions from their very loose backsides and come to grips with reality and you have I, Sharko who are far more musically superior. There are many free-form, tangential spiralizations where incredibly well performed, the bass wraps around you spine while the keyboards shuttle up inside the spinal column towards the back-brain. I'm describing the last three minutes of "Eyes". The vocals are acidic folk similar to REM, Thee Morning Glories and the Petals, made distant by tons of reverb and giving that essential psychedelic quality to an otherwise nineties Indie pop band.

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©2003 I SHAR CO.

Alternative Press, September '96:	Like a more concise My Bloody Valentine or Spiritualized, or an Americanized, more garage-band Ride, Chicago's I, Sharko play atmospheric songs with a hard-edged rock base. On the six-year-old groups self-titled effort, they merge spacey psychedelia with a structured rock style that works nicely on the fuzzy but focused "Water", which combines attitude with atmosphere (along with song weird synth effects), and on the reverbed, vibrato, melodic guitars and chorused vocals of the poppy "Sun Comes Early."
The Big Take Over, September '96:	They cite Ride and Spaceman 3 as influences, but these guys sound like they just strode in from the last volume of Nuggets. Derek Cullimore's voice (sonic) booms over the swells of sound. He doesn't swathe himself in the psychedelic stir, and he doesn't have to. The songs are all sturdy--guitars and lots of keyboards swimming gracefully, with Paul Grafton's controlled bass lines towing everything along nicely. The shorter tracks ("Soul So True", "Fallen Hope") are gentle and balmy, while longer pieces ("Untitled", "Eyes") tend to develop into full-on firestorm jams. More inclined towards whetted riffage than drone, I, Sharko are a refreshing antidote to the lazy hordes of electric mainliners.
Chaotic, Critiques, September '96:	This interestingly-titled band plays some dreamy pop that reverberates around in the your head like Jell-O in a mild earthquake, and closes the gap between retro and modern rock with out falling entirely into a single category. Relaxing and hypnotic. I, Sharko navigates its daze with confidence, dripping unobtrusive psychedelics into your consciousness and sweetening your mind like thick honey. Opener "Sun Comes Early " is the most direct song, leaving the remainder of the album a dreamy, smoke-filled playground drenched in discursive, effects-laden solos and wavering vocals that drift like a mirage on the desert horizon. On occasion, the band will break the spell and launch demeanor. Well-meaning and contemplative, I, Sharko put forth a very convincing platter of psychedelic that is experienced as much as it is heard.
Magnet #24:	I, Sharko opens its album with "Sun Comes Early"' a romping sprint that's popped along by dashing chink-a-chink guitars, with typical but tolerable sinbg-a-linging by guitarist Derek Cullimore. The nest track, "Eyes" reveals Sharko to not be some indie rock, Slumber land-like outfit, but a psychedelic hound who's no doubt memorized Smashing Orange's recordings circa 1991. The third track, "Flowers For You " jumps up and down with more chinking guitars of the strummy, flowery sort; it's followed by the drifting-on-water "For Anybody", where the guitar evokes images of an empty bottle floating in the ocean.
New City, April '96:	There are quite a few sharp turns on the self-titled debut from Chicago's I, Sharko. While it starts out sounding like common distorted jangle fuzz, the Kramer-produced CD gently veers off into ethereal shoe gazing. On the Expansive "Eyes", a song that highlights the crack production, layers of echo-laden guitars, crisp drum and bass and keyboard doodles inconspicuously weave in and out of the mostly instrumental jam. While the acoustic songs bring to mind a more psychedelic Aztec Camera, the extended electric workouts summon a modern-day blend of Youngian guitar mixed with a twisted rock language of My Bloody Valentine and a less Manchester-beat influenced Verve.
Bucketfull of Brains, August '96:	Given the tenuous advance information I had, I was expecting the sound of their debut album to fall somewhere between that of Spiritualized and Bongwater. Actually though, only the shimmeringly translucent euphony of the second track, "Eyes" and the complex dynamics of the closing "Untitled" live up to expectations. For the most part, this Indiana band's sound is unassuming, harmony laden, 12-string pop which reaches a head on the Sundial-ish "For Anybody", with its rousing guitar/keyboard close. More of the same next time would be a real treat. *Phil McMullen
Astro-Zombie:	A youthful quartet who play drug-induced indie pop, which is not a particular favorite genre but nevertheless they do it well. Imagine the Wonderstuff and Pop Will Eat Itself vacating to the US for six years, having a huge identity crisis because nobody there wants their over-inflated ego shaw and so to gain any attention they must remove their inflated heads with poser hair-extensions from their very loose backsides and come to grips with reality and you have I, Sharko who are far more musically superior. There are many free-form, tangential spiralizations where incredibly well performed, the bass wraps around you spine while the keyboards shuttle up inside the spinal column towards the back-brain. I'm describing the last three minutes of "Eyes". The vocals are acidic folk similar to REM, Thee Morning Glories and the Petals, made distant by tons of reverb and giving that essential psychedelic quality to an otherwise nineties Indie pop band.