Kevin Shields
Kevin Patrick Shields (born 21 May 1963) is an American-born Irish musician, singer-songwriter, composer, and producer, best known as the vocalist and guitarist of the band My Bloody Valentine. They became influential on the evolution of alternative rock with two of their studio albums Isn't Anything (1988) and Loveless (1991), pioneering a subgenre known as shoegaze.[1] Shields's texturised guitar sound and his experimentation with his guitars' tremolo systems resulted in the creation of the "glide guitar" technique, which became a recognisable aspect of My Bloody Valentine's sound, along with his meticulous production techniques.[2]
Kevin Shields
Kevin Patrick Shields
21 May 1963
Queens, New York City, U.S.
Dublin, Ireland
Musician, singer-songwriter, composer, record producer
Vocals, guitar, bass, keyboard
1979–present
Following My Bloody Valentine's dissolution in the late 1990s, Shields became a frequent guest musician, producer, engineer, and remixer with various bands and artists, including Experimental Audio Research, Yo La Tengo, Dinosaur Jr, and Mogwai. In 1998 he became a touring member of Primal Scream. Shields contributed several original compositions to the soundtrack of Sofia Coppola's 2003 film Lost in Translation, which earned him nominations for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) awards.[3][4] In 2008, Shields released a collaborative live album together with Patti Smith entitled The Coral Sea.
My Bloody Valentine reunited in 2007, and released their third studio album m b v in February 2013. The album was composed entirely by Shields and had been in production since the late 1990s, when Shields was rumoured to have been suffering from writer's block.[5][6] Shields has since been featured in several publications' best-of-lists, including Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists and Spin's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.[7][8] Multiple musicians have also cited him as an influence, including Billy Corgan and J Mascis.
Early life[edit]
Kevin Patrick Shields was born on 21 May 1963 in Jamaica Hospital in Queens, New York City, United States.[9][10] He is the eldest of five siblings born to Irish parents; his mother was a nurse and his father was an executive in the food industry. Shields' parents had emigrated from Ireland to the United States in the 1950s, when the couple were teenagers. Shields attended Christ the King, a Roman Catholic primary school which he described as "a really horrible school run by psychopathic nuns".[11] They lived in Flushing, a neighbourhood in north-central Queens,[10] relocating to Commack, Long Island, when Shields was four, where he lived until the age of ten.[12] In 1973, Shields moved to Dublin, Ireland, with his parents and siblings due to financial conditions and in order to remain close to their extended family.[11]
Shields was raised in Cabinteely, a suburb in Dublin's Southside.[13] He has described the experience of moving to Ireland as a culture shock, "going from, as far as I was concerned, the modern world to some distant past."[14] According to Shields, the main difference between the US and Ireland that affected him was the attitude towards music culture: "[in the US] there was no Top of the Pops, there was nothing like that, there was no MTV; and over in [Ireland], everything was completely catered to for teenagers." He said that the change was "what got [him] into music in a really big way."[14]
Music career[edit]
1979–1982: Early projects[edit]
Shields received his first electric guitar, a Hondo SG, as a Christmas present from his parents in 1979.[15][16] Shields befriended drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig in south Dublin during the summer of 1978, and together they answered an advertisement placed by a 12-year-old musician to form punk rock band The Complex.[17][18] Ó Cíosóig's schoolfriend Liam Ó Maonlaí from Coláiste Eoin in Booterstown was recruited as lead vocalist, and the band began rehearsing.[19] Shields later said that The Complex had formed out of "what all the nerds and weirdos actually do as opposed to the cool people with the leather jackets," who were forming fictional groups around Dublin in the late 1970s.[20] According to Shields, the band played "a handful of gigs" during their short-lived career, the first of which included covers of songs by the Sex Pistols and Ramones.[11]
The Complex disbanded when Ó Maonlaí left to form Hothouse Flowers, and Shields and Ó Cíosóig began rehearsing with another bassist. In 1981, the trio formed A Life in the Day, a band that focused on a more post-punk sound influenced by Siouxsie and the Banshees and Joy Division.[11] The band recorded a demo tape, which features Shields' first experimentation with pitch bending, and performed at local venues to crowds of no more than a hundred people.[11][21]
Artistry[edit]
Influences[edit]
Shields has referred to The Beatles and the Ramones as his favourite bands of all time.[21] Upon moving to Ireland in 1973, he became a fan of "the energy, androgyny and otherworldy production style" of glam rock and has said Johnny Ramone inspired him to begin playing guitar.[72][12] Speaking about Ramone, Shields said "I realised [Johnny] wasn't playing guitar—he was generating the sound ... it was just a noise generator."[72] He later remarked seeing the Ramones perform in a North Dublin cinema "changed his life". Other guitarists he admired were Public Image Ltd guitarist Keith Levene and Killing Joke guitarist Geordie Walker.[73] Some of his earlier influences included local Dublin punk band DC Nien, The Birthday Party, The Cramps and Einstürzende Neubauten.[16][19] In the mid-to-late 1980s, he was influenced by The Byrds, Hüsker Dü, Dinosaur Jr and Sonic Youth—particularly two of the band's albums: EVOL (1986) and Sister (1987).[11][74] He was also influenced by hip hop music, in particular Public Enemy, whose track "Security in the First World" Shields sampled on the 1988 My Bloody Valentine track "Instrumental No 2".[16][75] Later Shields has cited The Beach Boys as an influence and expressed admiration for modern artists like Tame Impala.[76][77]
Shields' production techniques were influenced by a range of producers and artists.[12] He has stated a dislike for the "wet and ... liquid" production values of 1980s music and shoegaze artists; he instead favours the "dry ... and upfront" sound used by Dinosaur Jr and Sonic Youth.[12] He said that the use of stereo in the 1980s was part of a "weak, corporate sound". Shields records and produces largely in mono,[78] an approach influenced by Brian Wilson's production on The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (1966) and veteran pop producer Phil Spector. He has also expressed admiration for producer Joe Meek and the French electronic duo Daft Punk.[12][21]
Guitar sound[edit]
Shields' guitar sound has been cited as one of the most recognisable aspects of My Bloody Valentine's music. His sound uses "texture more than technique to create vivid soundscapes".[79] He has been listed at number 95 and 2 on Rolling Stone's and Spin's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time list.[7][8] During the late 1980s, Shields began customising the tremolo systems for his Fender Jaguars and Jazzmaster guitars; he extended the tremolo arm and loosened it considerably, to allow him to manipulate the arm while strumming chords, which resulted in significant pitch bending.[79] Shields used a number of alternate and open tunings that together with his tremolo manipulation, according to Rolling Stone's Michael Azerrad, achieved "a strange warping effect that makes the music wander in and out of focus".[20][80]
Among Shields' notable effects is digital reverse reverb, sourced from a Yamaha SPX90 effects unit. Together with the tremolo manipulation and distortion, he created a technique known as "glide guitar".[81] Shields' effects rig, which is composed largely of distortion, graphic equalisers and tone controls, consists of at least 30 effects pedals,[60] although on most songs he only has two to four activated when playing live.[82] His rig is connected to a large number of amplifiers which are often set to maximum volume to increase sustain.[83] During live performances with My Bloody Valentine – particularly during the closing number "You Made Me Realise" – Shields creates a blend of white noise, which often lasts for half an hour and can reach 130db.[84] "It was so loud it was like sensory deprivation," he remarked. "We just liked the fact that we could see a change in the audience at a certain point."[6]
Legacy[edit]
Shields' sound and performance have been regarded as influential, with musicians including Billy Corgan,[85] J Mascis,[86] and Greg Puciato[87] citing him as an influence; the last revealed that his most desired collaboration would be with Shields.[88]
"Kevin Shields achieved something on Loveless that only the great guitarists achieve: he achieved a wholeness and a unity," observed Living Colour's Vernon Reid. "He created his own sound."[89]
Personal life[edit]
Health[edit]
Shields has mild dyslexia, "mild to extreme" tinnitus, and tendonitis in his left hand.[73][90] He contracted tinnitus during the mixing of Loveless in 1991.[74] Though initially worried about the condition, Shields has said he has "come to treat the tinnitus as a friend. It filters unwanted sounds and actually protects my ears. It becomes your first line of defence against audible stress."[73] He said his tendonitis, which he has had since 1988, is relieved "once you start to immerse yourself in the sound, any discomfort just disappears."