The complex anatomy of a band breaking up—a
once-promising union gone awry, the hurt feelings and scorched
earth—is akin to a painful divorce. And when indie pop band the
Shins appeared onstage in Bellingham, Washington, on May 2, they were a
mere shell of their former selves. Without a formal announcement or
press release, the band that “will change your life” performed for the
first time without longtime drummer Jesse Sandoval and
keyboardist/bassist Marty Crandall.
Band members come and go, but the confusion surrounding the
allegedly forced departure of Crandall and Sandoval only intensified
when frontman James Mercer gave a rare interview to Pitchfork, stating
their departure was “an aesthetic decision” and leaving it at that.
Given that the two missing musicians were integral elements of the
band’s signature pop sound, no mere hired guns—Crandall and
Sandoval first teamed with Mercer to start the Shins’ first
incarnation, Flake (or Flake Music), 16 years ago while living in
Albuquerque, New Mexico—Mercer’s odd comments only heightened the
situation.
When initially approached by the Mercury to tell his side of
the split, Sandoval was extremely hesitant to speak on record, politely
declining and allowing Mercer a chance to voice his side of the story
first. (As of press time, Mercer’s management had not responded to our
request for an interview.) Weeks later, Sandoval agreed to speak in a
series of interviews, taking time away from a venture he started in the
downtime following the band’s last tour—Nuevo Mexico, the
acclaimed New Mexican food cart located in downtown Portland (between
SW 3rd and Stark).
Refusing to use this soapbox as an opportunity to strike back and
berate former bandmate Mercer, Sandoval was remarkably polite,
remorseful, and genuine. He touched on the extremely complicated nature
of a band with humble roots that was left shouldering a world of
success and expectations, how insecurities still linger for even the
most seasoned musicians, and how a communication divide tore apart both
the foundation of what many believe to be one of the premier pop bands
of this generation and a long-running friendship as well. Wanting to
clear the air, and resolve the mystery that still haunts the band’s
once-pristine legacy, he offered up a unique firsthand account of the
complex breakdown of the Shins as we know them.
“We played our last Christmas festival run of shows for radio,”
Sandoval explains. “It was in Atlanta, and in all honestly, I
definitely remember walking offstage and calling my girlfriend and
saying, ‘I don’t know why, but I just have a feeling like this is it. I
feel like this is probably my last Shins show.’ And it wasn’t coming
from my end, I just had this feeling.”
Following the grueling tour regimen promoting 2007’s Wincing the
Night Away, which dated back to 2006, the band took an extended
break, as requested by Mercer. “James said, and he’s absolutely
accurate, that we’re lucky to be able to have that opportunity to do
anything that we choose to do. Everybody can do music, someone can
write a book; he just listed the numerous things we could do. I’d
always wanted to do my food cart and the plan was to get it started and
make it its own entity before we went back on the road. Usually when we
have time off everybody scatters, does their own thing, and then every
once in a while everybody reconvenes at a barbeque, or a party, or
calls each other to go out and have a beer.”
But as time rolled by, the calls never came and the respective band
members remained segregated, eventually triggering Sandoval to contact
Mercer. “I’d caught wind from a couple people that James was processing
moving further along with the idea of working with other people, but I
never quite got the impression that it was going be an across-the-board
change. So I contacted him.”
Sandoval’s attempt to quell rumors that the band’s dynamic was
changing led to few answers from the lead singer, other than plans for
a band meeting that would involve their management flying in for the
occasion. “That’s when I was like, the writing’s on the wall here,”
Sandoval explains, still devastated that a friendship which spanned
nearly two decades dissolved so quickly. “The manager’s coming from LA?
I haven’t seen James in a while, but now when I’m going to see him,
it’s going to include the manager?”
The meeting never occurred, and instead Sandoval was dismissed via
phone call from Mercer. “You could tell in his voice that it was really
hard,” Sandoval continues. “He started to explain his thought processes
and his reasoning and, of course, I’m shocked. Even though I knew it
was going to happen, I was shocked.” Bandmates are often dismissed in
unceremonious ways—you might recall the legend of the Pixies
breaking up via fax machine—but after helping nurture and expand
the Shins from their meek beginnings in Albuquerque, Sandoval felt
unsatisfied, not as much by his release from the Shins, as the sheer
lack of communication surrounding it. “There was nothing. There was no
follow-up. Management called after that, then our lawyer
called—it’s funny, the most conversation I had with anybody to
that point was with our lawyer.” So it was then that, for the Shins,
the divorce was complete.
“I understand that I unequivocally got fired, and it kind of
confuses me why [Mercer] has a hard time saying that,” Sandoval admits.
“I understand he’s probably doing it out of respect for me reading
interviews, it might be hard for him to say it, but… I got fired.
There’s no other way of looking at it.” Sandoval compares the situation
to original Shins’ bassist Neal Langford, who was cut free from the
band early on in their initial climb to success. “The way Neal got
fired was no different from the way I got fired. And in a lot of ways,
I guess that’s probably what hurts the most. I thought I did whatever I
could to not deserve that sort of ending.”
Despite the anger and remorse that lingers in the quivering wake of
being dismissed from a project that he was so emotionally invested in,
Sandoval directs no ill will at Mercer or the new incarnation of the
Shins. “I wanted my answers to be out there so every time I do any sort
of press for the cart and what I’m doing in my life, I don’t have to
repeat myself,” he explains, discussing his reasons for doing this
interview. “Also something that’s been bothering me is a lot of people
have been saying, ‘I’m never going to buy another Shins album again!
How can James Mercer do that?’ And I have my reasons to be angry at
James, but I don’t want to be a part of any sort of movement where
everybody’s against the Shins.”
For a full transcript of our interview click here.
i met jesse one time when he was doing merch for modest mouse. this was before chutes too narrow was released — so the shins weren’t super big, and he seemed a bit surprised to be recognized. anyway, he was super friendly. i always liked his drumming too, so i was quite saddened to hear about mercer’s shaky reasoning behind his departure from the band. it takes a lot away from mercer’s music to know how business-oriented he is, and you can’t replace the special dynamic of a band of guys who’ve been playing together for decades. it’s a shame.
The only people who really know….REALLY know how things worked within this band for the last few years are the original band themselves. James, Marty, Jesse and Dave. They ALL have a story that makes sense when put together. Listening to just one of them, be they James OR Jesse, provides a mere fraction of a very long and complicated story that nobody but they understand.
And people who believe that Shins music should not be supported due to personnel changes, well, they arent music fans. They are fans of a soap opera that they wish existed, comprised of rules of morality made up entirely by them. And the Shins are better off without them.
However, if there are music fans that are mature enough to be aware that art cannot be measured alone by the supposed “character” of the artist, then the Shins and Mercer will continue to inspire. Forever.
Best of luck to Sandoval.
[COMMENT EDITED DUE TO POTENTIALLY LIBELOUS AND UNVERIFIABLE CONTENT—ED.] I wonder if that kind of behavior had anything to do with his getting fired?
Serves him fucking right.
I played my very first show with the Shins. I don’t recall Taco Guy being a seducer.
@ClipClop then why was his nickname Cunt Destroyer?
this is actually very simple: it’s about guys who have known each other since they were young, starting a band, and then getting famous. but while one band member led the way and did all the work, the others let the temptations of the rock and roll lifestyle get a little out of hand. Mercer probably should have just killed the band and started a new project, but i can’t blame him for wanting to rid himself of party animal band-mates.
classy, jesse. really classy.
in one move you’ve…
admitted that james has tried to be cool about all of this but that you’ve ignored him, despite the fact that you see how torn up about it he is….
pretended that a visit from management was an unusual sign that something cold and scary and legal was coming, when i think visits were not only commonplace, but regularly social as well as work related. (didnt you contact management regularly more than anybody else in that band?)…
spelled out how important it is that this interview is out there so people will stop talking about it and drop everything when in actuality you know exactly what kind of shitstorm this would create again for your old “friends”…
acted confused and hurt about your noble pursuit of learning drumlines not being appreciated, despite the fact that not touching a drumstick for over a year if there wasnt band work happening was a regular practice with you. you had a “slower learning curve than polished musicians”? dude you almost went out of your way to forget how to play drums…
you outed the details of mercers new side-project before it was officially announced. wow….
apparently you are mostly angry about the meeting/BBQ/catching up on the days when you were essentially a manager (???) not happening-yet you conveniently neglect to say why that meeting never occurred…
you just made it official that you wont work with mercer ever again even though he said he’d like to at some point. hope you dont regret that little one. will you also, again out of principle, get rid of everything in your life, including your house and this taco truck, that being a member of james’s band afforded you? will you also return every check sent to you from now on from record sales and merch? checks that will continue to be made out to you as long as ANYONE buys something with “the shins” attatched to it? you know-since james is such a bastard?
the neal comparison? are you for real?
anyone that knows you, really knows you, and knows exactly whats going on here, knows what a funny article this is.
everyone else…well i hope they just let you make tacos in peace for once and stop constantly pestering you for autographs and instead listen to your message of “hey man just leave my buddy james alone…and for HEAVENS SAKE dont stop buying shins records or anything!!! cant we all just get along???”
you are a real class act.
Well I for one won’t be purchasing/stealing any new Shins cd’s or going to anymore concerts/buying tons of merch James crapped on his bandmates and friends by doing this cold and callous move.. I’m just glad to see Jessie finally speaking about it.And @ Catfan.. your comment is blocked, but I’m assuming you’re talking about Marty getting in a fight with his girlfriend where all charges were dropped.. not Jessie..Marty.. And all charges were dropped so stfu.
I’ve been listening to these guys since 1998 ..and I for one won’t be purchasing/stealing any new Shins cd’s or going to anymore concerts/buying tons of merch James crapped on his bandmates and friends by doing this cold and callous move.. I’m just glad to see Jessie finally speaking about it.And @ Catfan.. your comment is blocked, but I’m assuming you’re talking about Marty getting in a fight with his girlfriend where all charges were dropped.. not Jessie..Marty Crandall..
hey atheistpeace. wow, the shit you dont know could fill a book.
that one comment that was blocked (i got to read it before they removed it) definitely had nothing to do with the marty crandall/elyse sewell debacle. and i wont repeat it here cause it will just get removed again, i assume. but suffice to say it was some pretty bad stuff-stuff that i’ve not read anywhere.
so yes-please stop having anything to do with this band. i’m sure one less overly-reactive and insane fan that believes everything they read/hear verbatim without any basis and allows that to dictate their musical taste would be awesome news for these guys.
and its spelled “jesse”, mr “listening to these guys since 1998″…
…..or…..
actually DOES have some shit on him.
There are definitely two sides to Jesse. I’ts great that you know one of them.
There seem to be several people who posted about this who were sure that Sandoval had it coming…but rather than really saying why, they just did these snide, insinuation-themed “we ALL know perfectly well why this happened” posts. Would’ve been nice if they’d actually said what they supposedly know.
I wasn’t into the Shins, but it doesn’t sound from the article as if Sandoval was THAT much of an irredeemable fuck-up. And also, given that he and Mercer were equals in the band(it wasn’t “The James Mercer Band”, and Sandoval wasn’t a mere sideman)did Mercer really have the right to fire Sandoval as if he were an underling? Nobody would’ve accepted Paul having the right to fire Ringo, after all(not that The Cute One wouldn’t have tried it once or twice if he thought he could).
It might have been different if Mercer or the label had at least offered to set up another project for Sandoval, rather than just treating him like the Pointy Haired Boss treats the whole engineering department in DILBERT.
I wonder if what actually happened here was that power dynamic between Mercer and the label somehow gave the the label the power to force Mercer to fire Sandoval and Crandall in exchange for the LA recording sessions and the higher promotional profile? Perhaps this was one of those “we want the singer, not the band” kind of things.
That said, I still don’t understand the personal viciousness some people were expressing here towards Sandoval. Even if he did have substance abuse issues, it’s not like nobody else in rock history has had those problems. What the hell did Jesse Sandoval ever do to any of you?