- James Mercer (musician)
Infobox musical artist
Name = James Mercer
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Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = James Russell Mercer
Born = birth date and age|1970|12|26Honolulu ,Hawaii , U.S.
Died =
Origin = Albuquerque,New Mexico , U.S.
Instrument =Vocals Guitar Harmonica
Genre =Indie rock Indie pop
Occupation =Singer-songwriter
Years_active = 1997–present
Label =Sub Pop Transgressive
Associated_acts =The Shins
Flake
Flake Music
URL = [http://www.theshins.com/ theshins.com]
Notable_instruments =James Russell Mercer (born
December 26 1970 inHonolulu ,Hawaii ) is an Americanguitarist andindie rock musician . He attended high school in bothEngland andGermany ; in an interview in "The Guardian" he stated that he lived in England from 1985-1990, and that the family moved there because his father was in theAir Force [http://music.guardian.co.uk/rock/story/0,,1982985,00.html. 2007's original soundtrack | Rock | Guardian Unlimited Music ] ] .In the early 90s, Mercer belonged to a group called Blue Roof Dinner; then in 1992 he became a founding member of the Flakes. In 1997 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Mercer began
The Shins as a side-project. In 1999, the Flakes (by then called Flake Music) disbanded and Mercer and the other band members focused completely on The Shins, of which he is still the lead singer/songwriter . In 2002, the band relocated toPortland, Oregon , the given location stated on the band's official MySpace page [http://myspace.com/theshins] . Mercer named his bandThe Shins after the family in the musicalThe Music Man , a favorite of Mercer's father.Musical influences he has mentioned include
The Smiths ,The Cure ,Echo & the Bunnymen ,The Beach Boys andThe Jesus and Mary Chain .Mercer also sang backup vocals on the tracks "Florida", "Missed the Boat" and "We've Got Everything" onModest Mouse 's 2007 album "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank ". On the Shins' 2007 album "Wincing the Night Away ", the booklet credits Mercer with playing "guitar, bass, synthesizer, ukulele, banjo, cat piano, percussion, beat andMIDI programming."Mercer is known to play a worn yellow
Gibson Les Paul Double cut faded.Mercer's favorite quote is known to be "IMOGEN WILLIAMS: do work!", from the Paul Briggs novel "Knoxville".Fact|date=August 2008
References
External links
* [http://www.theshins.com The Shins official website]
* [http://www.theshins.co.uk The Shins UK Fan website]
* [http://suicidegirls.com/words/Missy+Speaks+to+James+Mercer+of+The+Shins/ Suicide Girls: Missy Speaks to James Mercer of The Shins]
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