As witnessed at their rave-up LIVE REVOLUTION show in Las Vegas at The Beatles Revolution Lounge, THE SHYS delivered a fresh modern sound representative of a new hybrid of vintage genres that they’ve infuse and sculpted into their very own. To the mesmerized audience’s delight (after two encores), THE SHYS’ brand of music is built with the same excitement and reminiscent of the first time you heard The Rolling Stones, Kinks or The Strokes.

From the opening lines of their immortal rock anthem, “Already Gone” to the earlier screaming “Call in The Cavalry” that has been featured in HBO’s Entourage, it was a raw and raucous set … chalked filled with imaginative lyrics sandwiched inside catchy adrenaline laced pop tunes that pay homage to the best of American garage rock, British rock n roll and Contemporary indie. Compounded and jacked up with such energy and intensity that could blow the roof off of any music joint, this is one hard act that to follow.

The band, like its songs, is made up of contrasting elements that somehow fit perfectly. They’ve somehow successfully constructed and molded all the individual abilities into one tight-knit killer outfit whose glorious soul lies in all its integral components. Fronting the helm, dynamic lead singer/guitarist, Kyle Krone spews out the purest rock n roll vocals today and with aptly seasoned pros like Alex Kweskin on exemplary bass + vocals; Chris Wulff on virtuoso fuzz guitar; Riley Stephenson on perfect harmonic keys and among the best drummers you’ll ever see, Tony Cupito, THE SHYS go straight to front of the pack as a must-see experience.

The band has come along way since their junior high school days when childhood friends, Krone and Kweskin met guitarist Chris Wulff and subsequently formed a band called Hush Hush which later became The Gun Shys. The band started playing small local gigs in the San Clemente area of California to promote their six-song EP in 2005. The band signed with Warner Bros’ sub label, Sire Records, shortened its name to THE SHYS and released their debut full length album, “Astoria” in July 2006.

Tirelessly touring around the globe, the band parted ways with the Sire label and signed to a new indie label (Aeronaut Records) that could give them the direction, communication and attention they needed. Thoroughly rejuvenated and refreshed with a new outlook on life, their creative juices paved the way to write the most compelling music of their careers.

The end result is the much anticipated release of THE SHY’S new album, "You'll Never Understand This Band the Way That I Do," that is slated for full release on June 24. Right now as their legions of fans are impatiently waiting for the new album, it’s advisable if you fancy an “unadulterated surefire high velocity performance that has pure rock n roll show all over it” run (don’t walk) out now and check out THE SHYS. You won’t be disappointed.

MojoRepublik conducted an in-depth interview with THE SHYS at a Café.

MojoRepublik: What’s the origin of the name THE SHYS?

Kyle: Originally we were called The Gun Shys but a lot of our fans called us The Shys for short and enviably we made the change when we found out that there was a solo artist called Gun Shys. As our former record label, Sire Warner Bros, had concerns over complications and to avoid confusion, we officially changed our name to The Shys.

MojoRepublik: What are the noticeable changes in regards to your previous major record label and your new indie label?

Kyle: It’s a beautiful thing now. We’re dealing with one or two people and there are no longer problems such as red tape bureaucracy or lack of communication associated with dealing with a big corporate company, especially when the band was trying to get monies. Today, we have total creative and artistic control of our music. Being with a big label today doesn’t’ necessarily mean that you’re going to get the support you need. We’ve all heard the horror stories. We’re now on a great little indie label called “Aeronaut Records”. They’ve got the backing and knowledge to get out music out to the masses in a faster timeframe and without all the RED TAPE bureaucracy associated with major labels. Smaller roster of artists on a small label equates to a bigger fish in a smaller pond … that’s the difference at the end of the day … we get the attention we need to get things done.

MojoRepublik: Tell us about The Shy sound. Rolling Stone described that The Shys “tear up the stage with their fuzzed-up super-rock like the Who in the early days”… is that indicative of your sound.

Kyle: I don’t think we can describe our sound in simple terms … it’s so much complex. It’s like trying to describe who you are as a person. There are so many elements and characteristics involved. You can try to describe yourself but as a band we are growing and changing everyday…we’re going through the process ourselves of trying to figure out who we are. As The Shys have gone through a couple of incarnations the new lineup is still a blend of core members and new members who all grew up together as friends. The Shys sound today is totally fresh sound comprising if five individuals who happen to be real good friends…Alex, Chris, Riley Tony and myself are playing great music together … playing what we think is cool and what we think sounds right. Our music is about what makes sense to us and most important what feels good to us. I wish we had this current lineup from the beginning because this is the perfect band to represent the Shys. The Shys today is sum of all its individual parts. Five guys creating good music in an unselfish manner.

Alex: The Rolling Stone statement was flattering. Kyle: It’s flattering but not totally accurate. At the time when Rolling stone made that statement, our record, Astoria was out and on that particular live show that they saw… perhaps we projected a higher energy guitar rock sound but I think it’s a bit off. Nonetheless, it’s their opinion and it is flattering to hear especially from Rolling Stone.

MojoRepublik: What was it like hearing your songs on a TV show (Entourage)?

Kyle: That was very nice to hear our song on TV because it made our moms and dads smile about it and maybe to our relatives, it was a sign that we weren’t “wasting our lives”. For us, however it was not only exciting but it gave us motivation to do go on doing what we live for and to make music that we are really passionate about.

MojoRepublik: As a whole, let’s talk about your songs.

Kyle: Each particular song has its own story and is case specific. Songs get created via many different ways. Sometimes someone comes in already with an idea or a song which acts as a foundation to build on. Sometimes we just jam or switch instruments and play until an idea comes about. On this new record, everyone contributed to all the songs. It’s a team effort where everyone’s strength comes to play and is incorporated throughout. As I stated each song is special in its own way and has a life of its own. One song might come about from a personal experience or emotional experience. It’s could be your own persona coming through lyrically and being backed up by the music or you taking on a real or imaginary character and viewing a situation from an outside perspective. To me personal experiences are very potent but it could also be another person’s experience that’s so compelling that it influences us to write about it.

MojoRepublik: How was the first album different from your new one?

Kyle: The first album (Astoria) was comprised of songs that Alex and I had maybe written when we were sixteen to the time we recorded it. It was a heartfelt chapter of our lives that needed to be recorded. We were young… ambitious with great aspirations and it represented the music that we loved at the time.

Alex: It was recorded rather quickly but it serves as a firm reminder of where we were. Our new album is very fresh and, in retrospect, indicative of a new chapter that in itself reflects how much we’ve grown as a band.

MojoRepublik: Describe your influences and whether the songs you listen to have any affect the music you’re creating?

Kyle: Our music has its roots embedded in soul, gospel and blues and we still listen to those genres. Individually everyone has vastly different tastes and influences. With our band it’s polarized to a point. Someone could be listening to Radiohead and someone else listening to Motown. Chris is guitar player and he much likes to listen to music based on guitar and I tend to like music that is based on melody. The songs we listen to are not as important as one would perhaps think. It’s as influential to our music as seeing a movie or having a normal experience. It’s not so much as about the genre of music we’re listening to… it comes down to the basics of creativity… to have the passion to create original and exciting music.

MojoRepublik: What’s the most frequently asked question?

Kyle: People most always ask “what do you want to achieve as a band?” or “What are your aspirations? The fact is… most of the time, we don’t have a straight answer for them. The real story and answer is simply this… we want to just be a band. We want to make great music and to tour in support of our music.

Chris: The music landscape is perfect as the power has shifted to the artists. Music is going into the direction where it will be basically free and it will separate the men from the boys. Are you good enough to produce good relevant music which will attract people to come out to your shows? Will your live shows be great and exciting enough so that the audience becomes ardent fans that will support your records and future shows?

Tony: It harkens back to the 50’s when everyone was touring.

Kyle: Dealing with an indie label is great now. We’re friends with our label. We talk to them anytime we want. It’s like family and they cover all aspects of what we do. With our previous music label, we’d occasionally roll into a town or city only to find out that our record can’t be found anywhere. We’d call the headquarters of the major label and of course everyone is blaming everyone else. Today, there’s great communication with label. Everyone loves the fun of being in the music business but most importantly… they take on their jobs in a serious and professional manner which allows us to be what we’ve always wanted to be. To be just a band. No more, no less.