Shark Soup

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.