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Patty Hurst Shifter

"Really incredible songs. Patty Hurst Shifter rocks ass!"
- Ryan Adams


Too Crowded on the Losing End, the second album from Patty Hurst Shifter, begins with what could pass for the credo of the spirited Raleigh-based band. "If she's like a song then I'm like the radio," frontman J. Chris Smith sings, in a tight, reedy voice that's frayed at the edges like Keith Richards' bleat, but with some there there. "She's turnin' me on and takin' me out for a ride." In those two lines, Smith hits on the nub of what has kept rock 'n' roll vital for more than a half-century: girls, cars and electricity. It's apparent in these lines and in every note they play that this young band believes in the enduring virtues of a heart full of longing, a full tank of gas and the shake, rattle and roll of an overdriven tube amp.

“…(this) literate, thrilling quartet is a classic of delinquent rock’n’roll bravado, barroom heartache, carnal testimony, all the regrets that come with reckless living and ruinous women. It's familiar territory, largely. But the urgent dispatch of swashbuckling rockers are rowdily irresistible...”
- Allen Jones / Uncut

For a band that loves to fire away, Patty Hurst Shifter displays an impressive musical and emotional range on Too Crowded…, rolling from jacked-up rockers like "Happy" and "Never Know" to the billowy, bittersweet "Break Everything" and the panoramic, 10-minute epic "Acetylene." Echoes of bands from the Stones and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers to R.E.M. and The Replacements can be picked up, not surprising considering these musicians cut their teeth on all of the above. Fittingly, Neil Young's Buffalo Springfield classic "Mr. Soul" has become a showstopper in their live sets.

“Theyve listened to all the right people but this band is wired directly into the here and now. J. Chris Smith writes and sings with that curious balance of cynicism and joy, weary of heart but fire in his belly. His songs are the sort that make you want to get your own guitar
and shout your own sad story. When a song does that, what higher praise can there be?”
- Robin Cracknell/AMERICANAUK

The band-singer/guitarist/songwriter J. Chris Smith, lead guitarist/vocalist Marc E. Smith (no relation), bassist/vocalist Jesse Huebner and drummer Skillet Gilmore-is dedicated to the basics: writing relatable songs, rocking crowds wherever the play and having a blast, onstage and off. While these goals may not sound terribly ambitious, they're no different from what has driven the Rolling Stones for more than four decades, and what's good enough for the Stones is good enough for PHS.

“Smith has a way with words that packs extra punch into rave-ups… But the crown jewel is Acetylene, an expansive, cinematic epic that rolls more than it rocks, and earns every minute of its epic 10-minute running time. …its not hard to imagine a sea of arena lighters responding
to that call.”
- OffBeat Magazine

"At the core of it all, we are just friends," says Marc. "The fact that we're musicians and write songs together is just coincidence. If we were wood carvers it would probably be the same. We just wouldn't have to get in a van and drive to another state to carve wood." Adds Gilmore, "We're friends, first and foremost. The music is the by-product of us hanging out." Yet another rock 'n' roll tradition honored. "There's a lot of sincerity in what we do, but not in a heavy way," Chris points out. "It's fun, but at the same time I think we have a knack for taking painful experiences and imagery and turning it into something that rocks."

Patty Hurst Shifter has evolved considerably since releasing its 2002 debut, Beestinger Lullabies, an album distinguished by "hard-hitting, textured anthems with plenty of space between the notes for the vivid scenes set by Chris Smith to sink in," according to No Depression's Rick Cornell, who added, "The band can bite hard or burn slowly, bringing to mind big-beat outfits like the True Believers..." Whereas roughly half of …Lullabies consisted of amped-up treatments of acoustic-based material Smith had penned during his days as a solo singer/songwriter, Too Crowded… is in every way a band effort, and that makes all the difference.

“…this Raleigh, NC-based quartet has tapped into that elusive bristling, electric rock 'n' roll energy that separates the wannabees from the real thing. …the disc is clearly the product of a working "unit" that's hitting on all cylinders. Too Crowded… approaches the level of raw,
cohesive band energy of the first Television record or R.E.M.'s Murmur. High praise indeed,
but rock 'n' roll hasn't sounded this good in quite a while.”
- Charleston Daily Mail

"There's very little acoustic guitar on the new record," Chris points out. "We only used it because it added the right touch in a couple of songs, whereas it was the basis for everything on the first album-which is why I think we got tagged as alt country. People who thought that will be surprised by this new one." Their surprise will no doubt extend to the current PHS lineup, which is substantially different from the one that recorded the previous album. Whiskeytown alumnus Gilmore joined up as drummer after that LP was completed, whereupon original drummer Johny Williams switched to bass. But Williams left the band in late 2004 in order to stay close to home with his family, and Huebner solidified the current lineup in time for the bulk of the Too Crowded… sessions.

“There are rock 'n' roll groups. Then there are rock 'n' roll bands. There's a difference. A group is a business enterprise. A band is family that lives and breathes music as a unit. Patty Hurst Shifter from Raleigh is a band (with a really great name and a reputation as a
ferocious live act). Too Crowded On The Losing End, is a rock 'n' roll treasure, a barroom brawl of an album the likes of which are all too rare in this age of American Idol. Ringing, amped-up guitars goose its serious edge. It boasts inarguable pop smarts. There is a soft, bittersweet taste of Southern country-soul. It's seductive. It's lucid. It's dangerous. It stands to be one of the best pure rock 'n' roll albums in years.”
- Ed Bumgardner / Winston-Salem Journal

Along with the personnel changes came a fundamental shift in approach from the bandleader. "I think Chris figured out how to adapt his style to the band as much as the band adapted to him," Marc explains. "It all became much more collaborative and, in many ways, easier." The band's growing legion of fans seems to agree, considering the feverish response their recent shows have been getting.

“Patty Hurst Shifter remind me of everything I love about power pop music, with hints of Beatles drenched in a hodge podge of influences from U2, The Cars, R.E.M. - oh Hell, it's all good! Hints of influences are here, but the originality and bouncy rhythms and interesting melodies make Patty Hurst Shifter something fresh and exciting. Something people in my line of work spend our lives looking for.”
- Michael Buffalo Smith / gritz.net

"We just played in Arlington, Virginia, and a friend who's seen us plenty over the course of our rampage was there," Chris recalls. "He said to me, 'I love you guys 'cause you always lay it out.' I asked him what he thought were the elements of our 'thing' that set us apart. His reply was, 'The lyrical content, your unique vocal quality and the band's raw energy.' I like the sound of that just fine. "We're just good at what we do," Smith says, his words resonant with hard-earned knowledge. "Sometimes it's great, and that's happening more and more often. We're a band that believes in finding your thing and doing it like you mean it."

“The album is chock full of radio-friendly guitar pop. Much to the band's credit, they keep their
arrangements simple...allowing the listener to concentrate on the melodies and words. The guys
in Patty Hurst Shifter aren't trying to be artsy or clever...instead opting to play it straight-from-the-hip
for those listeners who prefer an easy listen. The playing is energetic and spirited and the vocals
clean and professional throughout.”
- Baby Sue / LMNOP

The band is currently touring in support of Too Crowded… and building their fanbase in the U.S. and in Europe via word of mouth & a lot of sweat. They plan to release a series of “limited edition” EP’s in ’07 featuring live material, acoustic material, demos, and outtakes before they release an all new album of material in early ’08. In addition, their debut album, Beestinger Lullabies (out-of-print for the last two years) will be re-released nationally in early ’07…


Patty Hurst Shifter are:
Skillet Gilmore - drums
Jesse Huebner – bass/vocals
J. Chris Smith – guitars/vocals
Marc E. Smith – guitars/vocals

DISCOGRAPHY
Beestinger Lullabies (2002) – out of print, being re-issued in early ‘07
The Short Record (EP – 2005) – available only via the band’s website
Too Crowded on the Losing End (2006)

PUBLICITY CONTACTS:

NORTH AMERICA
Cary Baker (National) Patrice Fehlen (Tour)
Conqueroo September Gurl
(818) 501-2001 (718) 768-3859
cary@conqueroo.com patrice@septembergurl.com

UK
Paddy Forwood
(011) 44 1258 830014
pad.forwood@virgin.net

BELGUIM/HOLLAND
Robbie Klanderman
Klanderman Promotion/Rosa Records
(011) 31 20 420 8040
Robbie@klandermanpromotion.com

GERMANY (the rest of EUROPE)
Blue Rose
01149-7062-955444
info@bluerose-records.com

ARTIST MANAGEMENT:

John Porter for Mood Indigo Entertainment (212) 239-3449, (917) 301-7528 – cell
johnporter@moodindigoentertainment.com
www.moodindigoentertainment.com

www.pattyhurstshifter.com
www/myspace.com/pattyhurstshifter
11/06