Shaped Like a Gun
 

BIOGRAPHY

Andrea Baker - violin
Caitlin Moss - drums
Kestrin Pantera - cello
Javier Valdez - bass
Raymond Lew - vocals, guitar

Shaped like a Gun is the brainchild of 25-year-old singer/songwriter Raymond Lew, who mixes dissonant chord structures with intricate lyricism to make for music that is both disarming & thought-provoking.

The crowds they perform to are different each night. However, the responses are always the same.

"How does he do that with his voice?"

In all honesty, the voice of Shaped like a Gun is not something you are accustomed to hearing come out of a 5'4", 115lb frame. It's a voice washed in hopelessness that all New Jersey natives seem to carry these days (see Ours, Garden State). Throw in the tarnished optimism of anyone who has come to terms with Los Angeles and their place in life...and you have Shaped like a Gun.

"Music is therapy for me," says Lew. "It's the only means by which I can truly express myself without leaving me open for anguish or heartache."

A misconstrued notion of therapy? Yes.

"But that's the beauty of music," says Lew. "I can essentially sing you a song about drug addiction, which you may interpret as a tongue-in-cheek nursery rhyme about candy. Nonetheless, you appreciate the art for what you're able to take away from it--while I'm allowed to save something for myself."

Take the song "Sweet Tooth," in which Lew sings:
Sarsaparilla leaves and powdered waves will wash my mind away
Give me something that I can drink
Caffeinated haze and tabs of glee are seeping into me
Can I have a sip of your face?

"It's as if I walked up to you and said, 'You are the biggest ******* I've ever met'--and having you respond, 'Why, thank you, I'll let my mother know you sent your regards.'"

For Shaped like a Gun, everything is open to interpretation; and each listener--even the artist--walks away with their own personal meaning for each song.

"Music as a language is both private and universal in that it takes all of a couple of notes to relate to...and yet a lifetime to understand."

It is true. Listen to the music...you too will be able to relate within seconds.

It is the sound of catharsis...Shaped like a Gun.

(personally, I've admired the works of SLAG/Raymond Lew since early January and their music is an inspiration for me)

Listed sites:

http://www.shapedlikeagun.com

http://www.raymondlew.com

was all that necessary?

not the piano lesson links

SLAG, like it

matt can't you summarise, or just tell us what they sound like before we get to know their favourite colours or whatever you wrote?
man i can't be arsed to read all of that.....plus there's a promotions forum for this....

This was actually their old biography before they switched to a new one. They switched the style of their website in March. Also, this is not my band, therefore, I do not need to promote it in the promotion board where only your band, songs, etc... are posted.

fair enough......what do they sound like?

they are an acoustic 5-piece that rely heavily on strings, unless it is those acoustic home recordings, where one song, "Suffocation", was mistaken to be a nirvana song by one person and Courtney Love filed a lawsuit against Raymond... a cease and desist notice... so sounds like kurt cobain, thom yorke, and john lennon mixed... but as they say, what is it like to you?