SHINN, with his waist-length dreadlocks and 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. Im inspired by different things now. On this record, theres slide guitar, piano, and strings. Ill play any instrument that makes sense with the song. It helps to be creative on a different instrument, one youre not as competent on, because its 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 youre 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, its just Blind Melon with a singer. Its 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 DogUNIFIED THEORY was recorded there and in SMITHs home studio, produced by THORN, SHINN, and SMITH and mixed by David Bottrill (Peter Gabriel, Tool, Remy Zero)] and produced records for three years. I didnt know if I 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, hes a fucking rock star. He answered the door in four-inch heels and this crazy hair tied up in a knot. I was like, okay, Ill buy your record. He was who I was looking for; I just didnt 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 peoples legs to get this guy. He chuckles. Though, obviously, its either going to happen organically or not.

SHINN moved from North Caroline 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 THORNs wife and got to know SMITH in the guitarists 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 ever Allman Brothers song and all the Zeppelin catalog blindfolded! Artsy is not quite the word for CHRIS, but hes 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 moms favourite music. But Ive had a thing for female vocalists, live Curve, and old Lush, and PJ Harvey, but Jeff Buckley has been a huge influence on me. My last band was less focused, a lot louder, and we got compared to Tool, he adds. Theres no weak link in this band. Every element is so strong. Its exceptional. The focus in UNIFIED THEORY is amazing. As for any comparisons that may be forthcoming, SHINN isnt concerned. I was welcomed into BRAD and CHRISTOPHERs and Blind Melons extended family. I respect Shannon and think he was an amazing singer, but I also know that Im 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 THEORYs 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 Im pretty picky about who I would work with, he notes. Its 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 thats evident in the band name. First, THORN laughingly clarifies: Were not guys with glasses doing math problems but its and Einstein theory. The UNIFIED THEORY was the last one he was working .. 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. Its so romantic, more than anything, even if its never proven, THORN furthers. Thats sort of what sharing music is, so it made sense.

The music UNIFIED THEORY share is exemplified, for SHINN, by the tune Fin. Im 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. Its so cool starting from scratch, like when my house burned down. Its scary, but ultimately, a cleansing and new beginning.

Chris Shinn Has Appeared In:

• Imaginary Heroes
• Celia Green
• August Annd
• Luma
• Unified Theory
• Chris Shinn Project
• Move as a Verb
• Ouroboros
• The Sound I Saw
• Everything is Energy>