Unified Theory

CHRIS SHINN – VOCALS, GUITAR
CHRISTOPHER THORN – GUITAR, SLIDE GUITAR
BRAD SMITH – BASS, BACKING VOCALS
DAVE KRUSEN – DRUMS

From the expansive, dreamy notes of “Cessna,” to the alt-aggro groove of “California,” to the Middle Eastern mellowness of “Passive,” to the lovely, lilting and surreal “Keep On,” UNIFIED THEORY have created a sound and album that intoxicates with irrepressible, often ethereal grooves and dynamics. At once sonorous and ecstatic, familiar yet exotic, UNIFIED THEORY weaves a thread that binds the band to its audience via their singular, encompassing approach to modern rock.

“We miss that there’s so few bands anymore that when you leave their concert you feel as if you’ve been to church or had a spiritual experience; where the music and vibe changed your life,” explains vocalist CHRIS SHINN of UNIFIED THEORY’s M.O. “We want the audience to feel like they’re sharing a moment with the band. And we wanted the record to be something you want to listen to with headphones.”

SHINN, with his waist-length dreadlocks and a haunting voice and equally commanding presence, fronts UNIFIED THEORY, a brand-new band with an impressive history. Guitarist CHRISTOPHER THORN and bassist BRAD SMITH enjoyed critical and commercial success as two-fifths of Grammy-nominated Blind Melon, whose “No Rain” single was an MTV staple, while drummer DAVE KRUSEN was a founding member of Pearl Jam and played throughout the TEN album, and most recently toured and recorded with Hovercraft and Candlebox. North Carolina-bred vocalist SHINN is the fresh-voiced wild card whose musical sensibilities perfectly complement the newly minted Seattle-based lineup.

In UNIFIED THEORY, THORN reinvents himself as a musician. “This is not a continuation of Blind Melon,” he says. “I’m inspired by different things now. On this record, there’s slide guitar, piano and strings. I’ll play any instrument that makes sense with the song. It helps to be creative on a different instrument, one you’re not as competent on, because it’s more of a challenge and you think differently,” he observes. His longtime friend and bandmate SMITH, who, since the demise of Blind Melon, had been busy producing other bands and working on his now-completed solo LP, concurs. “When we first met CHRIS [SHINN], it was too easy, too good, too passionate; there was no denying it. It felt fun for the first time in a long time. Sometimes you’re paralyzed by too many options and self-doubt. But when we met CHRIS and we wrote the first two songs together, ‘Cessna’ and ‘Passive,’ it was undeniable. We knew it was good. Nobody can argue with this music, no ifs, ands or buts. No one would ever think, ‘it’s just Blind Melon with a singer.’ It’s not.”

If it was to be Blind Melon with a new singer, that would have occurred following the tragic 1995 death of vocalist Shannon Hoon. But, as SMITH notes, “there were a lot of ghosts there, so I went full-fledged with my solo thing.” Meanwhile, THORN too had taken months to recover from the loss of his friend and band. “I built a studio in my house [Lucky Dog-UNIFIED THEORY was recorded there and in SMITH’s home studio, produced by THORN, SHINN and SMITH and mixed by David (Peter Gabriel, Tool, Remy Zero) Bottrill] and produced records for three years. I didn’t know if wanted to be in a band again. But after being in the basement so long, I missed being in a band, hanging out with the bros,” Thorn explains. “I decided I needed to go to L.A. and find a great singer, and BRAD and I already knew we would work together. I moved to L.A. in early ’98, and after three months and a million really bad singers, I met CHRIS after hearing a CD from his band, Celia Green. I was totally floored. The day I met him, I thought, ‘he’s a fucking rock star.’ He answered the door in four-inch heels and this crazy hair tied up in a knot. And I was like, ‘okay, I’ll buy your record.’ He was who I was looking for, I just didn’t know his name at the time. When I heard CHRIS’ voice and I met him, I went, ‘okay, the search is over.’ I felt, ‘this is it.’ I will bribe, break people’s legs to get this guy,” he chuckles. “Though, obviously, it’s either going to happen organically or not.”

SHINN moved from North Carolina to L.A. at 18, inked a publishing deal and had some minor success for several years before his house burned down, eradicating all his equipment, tapes and, essentially, his life. In the year since that tragedy, SHINN had been sharing a house with video director/photographer Dean Karr. And as the lease was up, SHINN met THORN. His band in limbo and homeless again, SHINN went to Seattle to vibe with SMITH and THORN. Oddly enough, at the time, THORN had prior commitments to tour with his friends in the band Live, so SHINN stayed in Seattle with THORN’s wife and got to know SMITH in the guitarist’s absence.

“It was amazing; it just came together so fast,” recalls SMITH of his first collaborations with the potential vocalist. “CHRIS was the key to making my writing sound more modern, there was none of that hippie retro tag that Blind Melon had. CHRIS comes from a different school,” the bassist furthers. “He was listening to Peter Gabriel and The Last Temptation of Christ soundtrack. He brought in a whole new perspective, whereas I can play you every Allman Brothers song and all the Zeppelin catalog blindfolded! Artsy is not quite the word for CHRIS, but he’s not as blues-oriented. He brought in another element, the other side of the coin.”

SHINN picks up the tale: “I grew up listening to George Jones and Bruce Springsteen, my dad and mom’s favorite music. But I’ve had a thing for female vocalists, like Curve, and old Lush, and PJ Harvey, but Jeff Buckley has been a huge influence on me. My last band was a less focused, a lot louder, and we got compared to Tool,” he adds. “There’s no weak link in this band. Every element is so strong. It’s exceptional. The focus in UNIFIED THEORY is amazing.” As for any comparisons that may be forthcoming, SHINN isn’t concerned. “I was welcomed into BRAD and CHRISTOPHER’s and Blind Melon’s extended family. I respect Shannon and think he was an amazing singer, but I also know that I’m my own singer and no one is like me either.”

Completing the UNIFIED THEORY was KRUSEN, whose previous touring and recording commitments prevented him from playing on every track on UNIFIED THEORY’s debut. While KRUSEN had been doing the “drummer for hire” bit for a while, in UNIFIED THEORY he found a band he wanted to settle down with. “I was really impressed with what they were doing, so I kept in touch from the road. By early 1999, it gelled, and we progressed and it turned into the band it is now. Musical chemistry is really important to me, and I’m pretty picky about who I work with,” he notes. “It’s a hard thing to be in a band, so when this thing happened, I was excited, because the people were mellow and it was the exact kind of music I wanted.”

The young band, whose collaborative songwriting (both lyrically and musically) is nurturing and non-competitive, found they also shared a common belief in the purpose of their music and live show. Hence, UNIFIED THEORY has a philosophy that’s evident in the band name. First, THORN laughingly clarifies: “We’re not guys with glasses doing math problems…but it’s an Einstein theory. The UNIFIED THEORY was the last one he was working on before he died. In a seventh-grade version, he was trying to connect everything, to connect quantum theory with the theory of relativity.” It was the idea, not the science that appealed to the band. “It’s so romantic, more than anything, even if it’s never proven,” THORN furthers. “That’s sort of what sharing music is, so it made sense.”

The music UNIFIED THEORY share is exemplified, for SHINN, by the tune “Fin.” “I’m particularly proud of it. To me, that sums up the band, musically and creatively, it was a really cool joint effort CHRISTOPHER, BRAD and I wrote in the Bahamas. It was sort of our honeymoon!” he laughs. “It’s so cool starting from scratch, like when my house burned down. It’s scary, but ultimately, a cleansing and new beginning.”