We Versus the Shark

Where Have All the Loud, Weird Bands Gone?

originally published June 4, 2008

After being one of the loudest and most available bands in Athens for several years, We Versus the Shark should need no introduction. Thing is, though, with each release, tour or other activity, the band has consistently re-introduced itself. That is to say the shark keeps moving, and this movement is essential to its survival.

On the cusp of releasing its second full-length album (and fourth release overall), Dirty Versions, the band is fresh off a recent U.S. tour, and the day they got home member Jeff Tobias was already at work scheduling the next one. Easily the most straightforward, rock and roll oriented record the band has done, Dirty Versions is possessed by two core moods: anger and paranoia. Tobias doesn’t disagree with this assessment, but he says that the mirror is as often turned inward as it is turned outward at the world.

“There’s a line on the record that comes from a colleague of [member] Scott [Smith’s] who said ‘You have a lot of contempt for your audience.' Yeah, I complain a lot, but there’s just as much contempt or anger at ourselves. [Comedian] Patton Oswalt is like our patron saint, and he admits to this also. He’ll be angry, but also turn it on himself when he says he’s lazy, he overeats, etc. It is a frustrated record,” he says. “Everyone in the band is pretty introverted. Scott is one of the most genial people you’ll ever meet, but when you see him behind the drums you know there’s more there. You can say that with everyone in the band. There are things that happen in your life that just leave you with a feeling of powerlessness. That’s the way the world works, the way the government works. It’s just the way it is.”

As anger is typically expressed via immediate reactions or long-simmering resentment, Dirty Versions, at least musically, was expressed via the former. Recorded very quickly, the album has an upfront-ness that hadn’t yet been heard from the band. “We were going to go out of town and record with a producer we’d never met and had recorded demos for the record with Joel Hatstat,” Tobias explains. “We listened to those and thought they sounded almost as good as the record we wanted to make. So we stayed here and did the record in two days. The only overdubbed stuff was vocals, keyboards and handclaps.” As for the band's introverted nature personally versus their outspoken nature on record, Tobias says, “I can say things lyrically that I can’t say conversationally. In a song there’re the lyrics, but also the way they’re expressed. It’s different than having a conversation.”

We Versus the Shark splits vocal duties between bassist Tobias, guitarist Samantha Paulsen and guitarist Luke Fields, each of whom composes his/her own lyrics, thus giving voice to each member's personal expression. Recognizing that people often express themselves best through an artistic device, Tobias says, “If people can read the lyrics and relate, then it’s mission accomplished.”

The heavily touring band has not been without its frustrations on the road. “We played a lot of really empty shows, but there were always at least three people who showed up and knew our music. We’re kind of anomalous out there. Indie rock has gotten so quiet. Bands that are influenced by punk musically, as opposed to philosophically, aren’t out there as much as before. We played a show in Spokane, WA, and as we were loading out, I overheard a girl say we were just noise with time-changes.” Paradoxically the band gets the snub from the high-brow crowd, too. “We’ll play an art space and people will accuse us of being rockist,” Tobias says. “We’re either too noisy or too poppy for almost everybody.”

Even so, We Versus the Shark is committed to being a live band. After this most recent tour, however, there’s going to be some serious rethinking of where the group is willing to play. Tobias says, “I really like us as a live band. We can be sloppy onstage, but that doesn’t bother me. I don’t go to shows to hear perfect versions of a band's songs. But this is the last tour we’re doing where the majority of shows aren’t all ages. At one show someone showed me a Ticketmaster ticket that a kid had purchased online for the show and then he couldn’t get in because he was too young. I don’t want to do shows like that.” Also, it’s just a simple case of economics whereby it’s too expensive to not do exactly what the band wants to do. “Gas prices are so high and there are so many bad promoters throughout the country. I mean, seriously, so many are horrible,” he says. “The best places are in someone’s basement playing on the floor. I like being at the same level as the audience. It’s amazing, though, how much of the United States has no indie-rock culture. Like, where do you go in Wyoming?”

With its commitment to artistic growth and touring, it seems certain the Shark will keep surviving, and Tobias, while being outspoken about his disappointments, is always clearly optimistic about the band and what it's accomplishing. Indeed, the stylistic changes the band has made are, while not extreme, evident to seasoned listeners. When asked about possible future directions Tobias says, “I’d like us to do something different. The Beatles and The Clash made jumps with each record. We talk about it as a band, but we haven’t come to any conclusions yet. When we’re on tour I always wonder where the loud, weird bands are. We just don’t have many bands to play with. Even our buddy bands are pretty dissimilar to us.”

Although there may be a generalized feeling of artistic loneliness within We Versus the Shark, the band should remember that, just like sharks themselves, only a handful are needed to get people’s attention. Tobias said, “We’re going to keep doing this. I wrote to my friend Pete DeAngleo (owner of Ernest Jenning Record Company) about various tour frustrations and he said ‘Win-win, lose-lose: keep going.’ That’s been my mantra ever since,” he says. “I can’t imagine not doing this. Also, Luke is going to play music the rest of his life. He was born to do it. We want what most bands want: people to enjoy the records and come to the shows.”

This wish of the band’s is not only likely but, at their current work rate, seems unavoidable. Check out the band's official CD release party at the Caledonia Lounge on Friday.

Gordon Lamb

WHO: Chrissakes, American Cheeseburger, We Versus the Shark
WHERE: Caledonia Lounge
WHEN: Friday, June 6
HOW MUCH: $5 (21+), $6 (18+)