* En anglais uniquement
A raucous cross between
the Clash and
Stray Cats (sounding pretty close to
the Living End),
Shark Soup quickly got to discharging a punked-up version of rockabilly in crowded basement shows upon their formation in 2003. Based in Erlangen, Germany, the trio recorded its first EP, a seven-song self-titled one, that fall. The demo was released to positive reviews around Europe, and as
Shark Soup continued bringing the party wherever they could, a word-of-mouth buzz began following them around. They hit up local festivals and jumped on support slots for acts like
One Man Army and
Mad Sin, which then led to the guys landing a spot on a summer 2004 tour of Europe alongside North American acts
the Briefs,
the Turbo A.C.'s, and
the Real McKenzies. Following a string of 20 shows opening for
Nekromantix,
Shark Soup -- vocalist/guitarist Chrissi Jany, drummer Stephan Wettig, and bassist Tim Heerwagen -- hit the studio to record their debut full-length,
Fatlip Showbox. Demos sent to California's BYO Records piqued the label's interest; they subsequently offered a deal and released the album in August 2005. ~ Corey Apar