Biography
In Seattle during 1998, guitarist Jimmy Paulson—previously a member of the Lemons—joined forces with vocalist Johnny Reidt, frequently billed simply as Johnny, to launch New American Shame. Bassist Kelly Wheeler, drummer Jack Stringham, and second guitarist Terry Bratsch completed the initial roster soon afterward. The band rapidly drew notice through its intense live shows. After cultivating a small yet fiercely devoted audience, the group tracked its self-titled debut for Will Records, with Paulson serving as producer. Engineer Clint Werner, also the guitarist in Seaweed, and mixer Brett Eliason—who had previously worked with Pearl Jam, Mad Season, Screaming Trees, and Neil Young—supplied additional hard-rock shaping in the studio. Eschewing the heavier grunge textures still emanating from the Emerald City in the late 1990s, New American Shame instead summoned the brisk, high-voltage hard rock of the 1970s. Eschewing the extended, sludgy approach modeled on Black Sabbath and Jimi Hendrix, the Paulson-led band instead channeled the urgent pulse of early AC/DC, marked by irreverent independence and gritty hard-rock/metal honesty. That allegiance to expansive, open power-chording is routinely prized for its straightforward emotional directness and lasting resonance. The same quality soon attracted major-label interest eager to broadcast the band’s lean, high-volume message. Around the same juncture, Stringham exited and Geoff Reading, formerly of Green Apple Quickstep, took his place. After the 1999 appearance of the Will debut, Atlantic Records signed the group and chose to issue a lightly revised edition of the same material. The updated version surfaced later that year, introduced by the lead single “Under It All.” Though a solid track, “Under It All” gained little traction at rock and alternative radio, leaving the band without sufficient national support or sales momentum. The group toured extensively across the United States and Japan in support of the record. Through Johnny’s piercing, headlong vocals and Paulson’s ringing guitar tones, the music conveys that recklessness and liberation, rather than conventional success, remain the band’s true priorities. By embodying a core truth about loud rock music, New American Shame emerges as a leading 1990s reminder of the subversive, vital spirit that once surrounded hard rock.
Albums