The Sheila Divine
Encyclopedia
The Sheila Divine are a Boston
-based rock group. Critics compare their sound to the band's own heroes, mainly early 1980s post-punk
. The band is most often noted for its loud/soft musical dynamic and Aaron's Perrino soaring vocals, screaming in key one moment and howling a falsetto
the next. The band has a large die hard fan base in what is often called "the three Bs": Boston
, Buffalo
, and Belgium
.
The band most often explains that they take the name from the Australian term "sheila", which denotes an effeminate man or wimp - thus making them in a literal sense, the sacred wimps. However there is also, in fact, a real live woman named Sheila Devine who Aaron, Jim, and Shawn were friends with at Oneonta State University.
, Massachusetts
. The lineup consisted of singer, songwriter
, and guitarist
Aaron Perrino, bassist
Jim Gilbert, and drummer
Shawn Sears. All three had met in college at State University of New York at Oneonta
, but each had ended up in Boston
independently. They were signed to local indie label CherryDisc Records
and released their self-titled five track EP in 1998. They gained a loyal local following and went on to win the 1999 WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble
. CherryDisc Records were bought out by Roadrunner Records
, who released The Sheila Divine's first full length album New Parade in 1999. It received critical praise from local press and spawned the college radio hit Hum. The album featured re-recorded versions of songs that appeared on their first EP, as well as several brand new songs (the Japanese import edition featured two additional songs unavailable on the domestic release, "Secret Rendezvous" and "Weightless", the latter of which had also been released as the b-side to the then-titled "Criminal", the band's only released vinyl 7-inch).
In late 2000, the band was hard at work on their second album when they added Colin Decker as a second guitarist to broaden their sound. The band released their second album, Where Have My Countrymen Gone, in March 2001 on Co-Op Pop Records. Later that year in August, Shawn Sears left the band to spend more time with his recently born child. Following a handful of shows with fill-ins Pete Caldes (The Gravel Pit/The Gentlemen) and Paul Buckley (Orbit), drummer
Ryan Dolan replaced Sears a month later; Dolan had previously been in the band Lincolnville with guitarist
Colin Decker. The Sheila Divine continued to tour constantly and created a large fan base that included both people who would see them across the country and others who would record live shows to share. The band was always generous to bootleggers and allowed video and/or audio taping at all shows.
The band released the six track EP Secret Society in September 2002 (Arena Rock Recording Co.
). They embarked on a non-stop world tour consisting of China
, Europe
, and then across the United States
and back. This rigorous schedule would prove to be the band's undoing. While at a show in Milwaukee a confrontation with Jim resulted in Aaron throwing his guitar down and announcing to the audience that the band was breaking up. Upon returning home, the band stated on their website they would not break up, but would instead take time off. Aaron Perrino went on to start recording songs in the studio by himself, which would end up on the War Chords EP, the debut release of his new solo project, Dear Leader. The Sheila Divine officially announced their demise on their website in April 2003, and played two farewell shows in October at The Paradise in Boston
, Massachusetts
. The sold-out shows were attended by fans who had travelled from as far away as Belgium
. The 2nd show was subsequently released as a DVD
in 2007 entitled Funeral.
On December 31, 2005 The Sheila Divine played a reunion show at Bill's Bar on Landsdowne Street in Boston. The band played as a three piece with Aaron, Jim, and Ryan. A second reunion show was played on Saint Patrick's Day
March 17, 2007 at T.T. The Bear's Place with the same lineup. Subsequent reunion shows with the original line-up of Aaron, Jim, and Shawn took place on December 27, 2007 at TT the Bear's Place in Cambridge, MA, and the following two nights (both sold out shows) at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, MA.
They played another short reunion show in Antwerp, Belgium
at Humo's Pop Poll Deluxe at the Sportpaleis on March 3, 2008.
On September 4, 2010 they played at Crammerock (Stekene, Belgium) another reunion show, with special guest Stijn Meuris who sang along on 'Automatic Buffalo'.
The Sheila Divine performed a show on January 14, 2011, at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, MA with Orbit (band)
.
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
-based rock group. Critics compare their sound to the band's own heroes, mainly early 1980s post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
. The band is most often noted for its loud/soft musical dynamic and Aaron's Perrino soaring vocals, screaming in key one moment and howling a falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
the next. The band has a large die hard fan base in what is often called "the three Bs": Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
The band most often explains that they take the name from the Australian term "sheila", which denotes an effeminate man or wimp - thus making them in a literal sense, the sacred wimps. However there is also, in fact, a real live woman named Sheila Devine who Aaron, Jim, and Shawn were friends with at Oneonta State University.
Overview
The Sheila Divine formed in 1997 and played their first show on July 4 at The Middle East in CambridgeCambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. The lineup consisted of singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Aaron Perrino, bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Jim Gilbert, and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Shawn Sears. All three had met in college at State University of New York at Oneonta
State University of New York at Oneonta
The State University of New York College at Oneonta is a four-year liberal arts college in Oneonta, New York, United States, with approximately 5,800 students. The College offers many bachelor's degrees and a number of graduate degrees...
, but each had ended up in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
independently. They were signed to local indie label CherryDisc Records
CherryDisc Records
CherryDisc Records was a Boston-based independent record label in the mid- to late-1990s. It gained notoriety by moving acts such as Letters to Cleo, Big Catholic Guilt, Smackmelon, Tracy Bonham, The Sheila Divine, Quintaine Americana, and Semisonic on to major labels.Cherrydisc was founded in 1991...
and released their self-titled five track EP in 1998. They gained a loyal local following and went on to win the 1999 WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble
WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble
The WBCN Rock 'n' Roll Rumble, begun in 1979, is a Greater Boston "battle of the bands" competition co-sponsored by WBCN-FM and its local music show Boston Emissions....
. CherryDisc Records were bought out by Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
, who released The Sheila Divine's first full length album New Parade in 1999. It received critical praise from local press and spawned the college radio hit Hum. The album featured re-recorded versions of songs that appeared on their first EP, as well as several brand new songs (the Japanese import edition featured two additional songs unavailable on the domestic release, "Secret Rendezvous" and "Weightless", the latter of which had also been released as the b-side to the then-titled "Criminal", the band's only released vinyl 7-inch).
In late 2000, the band was hard at work on their second album when they added Colin Decker as a second guitarist to broaden their sound. The band released their second album, Where Have My Countrymen Gone, in March 2001 on Co-Op Pop Records. Later that year in August, Shawn Sears left the band to spend more time with his recently born child. Following a handful of shows with fill-ins Pete Caldes (The Gravel Pit/The Gentlemen) and Paul Buckley (Orbit), drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Ryan Dolan replaced Sears a month later; Dolan had previously been in the band Lincolnville with guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Colin Decker. The Sheila Divine continued to tour constantly and created a large fan base that included both people who would see them across the country and others who would record live shows to share. The band was always generous to bootleggers and allowed video and/or audio taping at all shows.
The band released the six track EP Secret Society in September 2002 (Arena Rock Recording Co.
Arena Rock Recording Co.
The Arena Rock Recording Company is an independent record label based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Albums are distributed by Redeye in the United States and Koch in Canada.-History:...
). They embarked on a non-stop world tour consisting of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and then across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and back. This rigorous schedule would prove to be the band's undoing. While at a show in Milwaukee a confrontation with Jim resulted in Aaron throwing his guitar down and announcing to the audience that the band was breaking up. Upon returning home, the band stated on their website they would not break up, but would instead take time off. Aaron Perrino went on to start recording songs in the studio by himself, which would end up on the War Chords EP, the debut release of his new solo project, Dear Leader. The Sheila Divine officially announced their demise on their website in April 2003, and played two farewell shows in October at The Paradise in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. The sold-out shows were attended by fans who had travelled from as far away as Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. The 2nd show was subsequently released as a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in 2007 entitled Funeral.
On December 31, 2005 The Sheila Divine played a reunion show at Bill's Bar on Landsdowne Street in Boston. The band played as a three piece with Aaron, Jim, and Ryan. A second reunion show was played on Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick , the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of :Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion , the Eastern...
March 17, 2007 at T.T. The Bear's Place with the same lineup. Subsequent reunion shows with the original line-up of Aaron, Jim, and Shawn took place on December 27, 2007 at TT the Bear's Place in Cambridge, MA, and the following two nights (both sold out shows) at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, MA.
They played another short reunion show in Antwerp, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
at Humo's Pop Poll Deluxe at the Sportpaleis on March 3, 2008.
On September 4, 2010 they played at Crammerock (Stekene, Belgium) another reunion show, with special guest Stijn Meuris who sang along on 'Automatic Buffalo'.
The Sheila Divine performed a show on January 14, 2011, at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, MA with Orbit (band)
Orbit (band)
Orbit is a Boston, Massachusetts-based power trio. Formed in 1994, the band went on hiatus in late 2001. Their initial releases were on drummer Buckley's own Lunch Records label before the band moved to major label A&M Records. They completed recording their second major label album, "Guide To...
.
Reunion
Beginning in October 2010, The Sheila Divine has regrouped and is currently recording a new album as of November 2010. The studio recordings are broadcast to the world via UStream, allowing an interactive experience between the band, studio crew and fans.Albums
- New Parade (1999 · Roadrunner RecordsRoadrunner RecordsRoadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
) - Where Have My Countrymen Gone (2001 · Co-Op Pop Records)
EPs
- The Sheila Divine EP (1998 · Cherry Disc Records)
- Secret Society EP (2002 · Arena Rock Recording Co.Arena Rock Recording Co.The Arena Rock Recording Company is an independent record label based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Albums are distributed by Redeye in the United States and Koch in Canada.-History:...
)
Singles
- Hum/I'm A Believer cassette promo (1999 · Roadrunner RecordsRoadrunner RecordsRoadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
) - Hum radio promo CD (1999 · Roadrunner RecordsRoadrunner RecordsRoadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
) - Like A Criminal 7" vinyl (1999 · Roadrunner RecordsRoadrunner RecordsRoadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
) - Ostrich radio promo CD (2001 · Independent)
Compilations
- Viva Noel - A Q Division Christmas : "O Holy Night" (1999 · Q-Division Records)
- Then Covered Now : "Metal Health (Bang Your Head)" (1999 · Hearbox Records)
- In Our Lifetime: Vol. 3 : "New Landscape" (2002 · Fenway Recordings)