the ShysterS

Bio:

In November of 1985, James Dague, a native Chicagoan, completed the cutting of his first two albums for Belgium's something from nothing records. December saw the release of the ShysterS, and seven months later, the second album, Love at First Sight was released, both making strong showings on the Belgian chart.

After the mysterious disappearance of Luxembourg studio ace Erik Westbruk during a snowstorm in December '86, Dague was forced to learn how to play his own instruments. The absence of studio musicians and addition of Dague's guitar playing (best described as "loud") added an extra bite of boldness to the ShysterS' developing sound. The first results of these changes were heard on the album Let Them Make Noise. The band's singles dominated the airwaves throughout the summer of '87, making the ShysterS a European household name.

Still virtually unknown in the American music world, the ShysterS were commissioned by a Hollywood representative from a major movie studio to write the title song for a possible Jennifer Beals/Kevin Bacon feature. The movie died with the sale of the studio. American audiences were to remain unfamiliar with their music, but not all was lost by the ShysterS' stay in Hollywood. The track created for the project, "Didn't Want to Set the World on Fire" became the band's first international hit helping make their fourth release, Can't Get It Down, their first global success. The album and 3 additional singles topped the charts in Belgium, Germany, Japan and curiously enough, Latvia. Six months later in the summer of '88, the ShysterS' fifth album, (ironically titled All Summer Wrong) added to the continuing validation of their talent and ability by again topping the same charts.

The ShysterS received great critical acclaim with their next two albums in 1989 and 1990. Kids on a Leash allowed the group to venture out on their first yearlong tour spanning the globe. The band surprised and delighted fans when they released Michael at the end of their tour spurred by the tremendous response of the performance of these new songs in concert.

While contemplating the recording of an orchestral piece in early '91, the ShysterS met Brian Hufnagl, trombonist with the Austrian Symphony Orchestra. Amazed by his musical prowess, demonstrated during an extended solo, the ShysterS coaxed him away from the orchestra. After abandoning the orchestral piece two months later, they decided instead to teach Hufnagl to play bass for them. Despite the radical difference in the instruments, Hufnagl drawing on his classical training added a new depth to the ShysterS' sound.

Determined to conquer the U.S., in 1991 the ShysterS built a headquarters/recording complex on three acres in Chicago's south suburbs. Working from the inside out, the ShysterS' music slowly started spreading from this centralized base. The American release of hYpe not only spawned the international number one hits "Dancing With Jim Morrison" and "Love Substitution," but gave the band a taste of the American support they had longed for. In appreciation of the unfaltering, borderline unnatural, support the band encountered on its subsequent tour of the Midwest, the ShysterS next released fan, an album named and dedicated in honor of their supporters.

Rolling right along, 1994 found the ShysterS gaining an even more elaborate cult-like status throughout the States with songs like "Fronts", "Heather" and "Lisa" prominently featured on college airwaves. The crowds grew. Live performances were starting to become disturbing to the band members, as the fans' occult-like abandon became a routine element of the spectacle. In the middle of a back to back rendition of "Private Hell" and "Roadkill", the ShysterS had a life-altering vision: They would call it quits, sell their equipment and all their other worldly possessions, and devote their lives to God.

After an unusually difficult Easter in '96, Dague and Hufnagl parted on good terms with the Almighty and worked diligently on re-acclimating themselves with all the trappings of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle. Not long after a brief outing as Banner, the divine creator again intervened to bring the band full circle.

While playing a gig as Banner in Duluth, Iowa, the band found they were opening for Roadkill- A Tribute to the ShysterS. Stranger than that, their lead singer was female! Odder still, it worked! After paying off the guitarist and bass player, Dague and Hufnagl joined singer/guitarist Mary Anne Keane and drummer Brett Goral as certified members of Roadkill.

Reclaiming their ShysterS moniker, the band embarked on an extensive "Return to the World" tour that kept them on the road for nearly 3 years. Surprisingly after a such a successful live run, LIE, the ShysterS first studio recording in nearly 10 years was received with much indifference. As a result, the band was dropped by many of their long-time label associations throughout the world and left scrambling for distribution.

Inspired with another epiphany in 2002, Dague, Goral and Hufnagl created "The World's Only Garage-Band for Kids and the Grown-Up Who Love Them." Best of Friends introduced the children's music market to the ShysterS' alter-ego, ScribbleMonster & His Pals. 2004's follow-up, Chocolate Milk, gave the world its first "drinking song for kids." The band's success opened new doors for the ShysterS who found a home for LIE with ScribbleSongs Entertainment.

Rather unexpectedly, a special event charity concert, CD and DVD, Live from Tommy van Duijvenbode's Living Room, renewed interest in the ShysterS and allowed the band to recapture much of their European fan base. The timing couldn't have been better as 2005 marked the ShysterS' 20th anniversary. Meanwhile, back home in the states, no one much cared.

The future of the band remains uncertain as the ShysterS' singer, songwriter, guitarist and frontman recently announced that he has no plans of touring or recording as a member of the ShysterS anytime soon. "Perhaps the time will come, but I have never had more fun than I'm having with ScribbleMonster. This is the band we were meant to be all along."

Member Since:

August 24, 2008

Members:

Current Lineup:
James Dague - Vocal, Guitar
Brian Hufnagl - Bass
Brett Goral - Drums

Previous Members include:
Bob Long - Guitar
Paul Pieczynski - Drums
Mary Anne Keane - Vocals, Guitar

Influences:

Our influences are many and vast - including, but not limited to: Kids, The Figgs, Rancid, Charlie Sexton, The Knack, Ike Reilly, Juliana Hatfield, You Am I, Cheap Trick, The Smoking Popes, Candy Butchers, Odds, Jet, Everclear, The Cars, Sesame Street, The New Odds, Weezer, Material Issue, The Partridge Family, Sparks, Ben Folds, J. Geils Band, Fountains of Wayne, Neil Diamond, The Gentlemen, Sly & The Family Stone, Duvall, Ratt, Some Girls, The Producers, Sweetwater, The Go! Team, Janet Jackson, The Who, Haircut 100, Bruce Springsteen, The Bees (U.S.), Wang Chung, Joan Armatrading, ScribbleMonster, Queen, XTC, The Archies, Government Issue, Robert Palmer, Night Ranger, The Blues Brothers, Elton John, The Babys, Any Trouble, Billy Idol, Nonsense Anonymous, Brendan Benson, The Kinks, Local H, The Jackson 5, Aerosmith, David Bowie, The Darling Buds, Rick Springfield, Kate Bush, Fatima Mansions, The Clash, KISS, Tom Jones, Julian Cope, The Wonder Stuff, Chris Stamey, The Rolling Stones, Johnny Polonsky, Split Enz, They Might Be Giants, Andrew Gold, Roger Day, Ted Nugent, The Aquabats, Falco, AC/DC, The Replacements, Billy Joel, The dBs, SPYS, The Wallflowers, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Fastball, Ivy, Nick Heyward, DEVO, The Inhalers, INXS, Bobby Sherman, Elvis Costello, Love and Rockets, The Police, Art Brute, Robyn Hitchcock, The Jayhawks, TIM, Matthew Sweet, The Carpenters, Steak, Adam and the Ants, Jude Cole, Jim Morrison, The Alarm, Sheryl Crow, The Virgins, Judas Priest, Crowded House, Jim Croce, The Ramones, Ernie & Bert, Imperial Teen, Green Day, New Order, Crash Test Dummies, The Vapors, Bread, Kim Wilde, Squeeze, Book of Love, Prince, The Monkees and Van Halen. Who's your favorite band? We sound like them too!

Record Label:

ScribbleSongs