BAND | SOUNDS | 10 YEARS | GIGS | PRESS

Shiftless Layabout

We still play funk music.

In honor of our 10 year anniversary, Matty Good-Times dug through the archives and retrieved the original, 2003-era HTML of the original Shiftless Layabout Dot Com homepage. Why not stroll through a quick history with us? Plenty of tasty sound-bites along the way...and a shiny surprise - freshly recorded sounds! - at the bottom!


ORIGINS: Pre-2003. This is what we call kicking it, elderly school.

In the fall of 2002, a bunch of dudes got together in North Seattle to jam some funk music under the monkier "Soulio". Personnel changed, the band moved to Renton, and in June of 2003, "Shiftless Layabout" started recording a demo disc

  • Tim Kelly - vocals
  • Mike Van Bebber - keys
  • Matt Wexler - bass
  • Christian Krehbiel - drums



MEDIEVAL ERA: 2003

With the addition of some brass warbles, Shiftless Layabout hit the stage. First outings included several appearences at Patti Summer's Cabaret (now the site of the tantalizing Can Can Cabaret) and the old Ballard Firehouse.

  • Tim Kelly - vocals and trumpet
  • Stu Hambley - trombone
  • Mike Van Bebber - keys
  • Matt Wexler - bass
  • Christian Krehbiel - drums



RENNAISSANCE ERA: 2003-2004

We did some milling, we did some trading, we did some transitions. "Wicked" Tom Miller and Brandon "Lunchbox" Keller stepped in, and we contributed to an Oingo Boingo tribute album in addition to our own evolutions.

  • Tim Kelly - vocals and trumpet
  • Brandon Keller - saxophones
  • Tom Miller - guitar
  • Mike Van Bebber - keys
  • Matt Wexler - bass
  • Christian Krehbiel - drums



BAROQUE ERA: 2004-2006

Mikey VB was all "Screw you guys, I'm going to Missouri!" Krehbiel one-upped him and was all "Screw you guys, I'm going to Japan!" Ryan "Chubbs" Whitley was all "Here's my chance!" and joined up, inspiring the Shiftless Layabout mainstay tune, "About a Drummer." The band takes advantage of Chubbs' rock-solid drumming tempos and releases the first official, self-titled EP.

From the "Shiftless Layabout" EP:
  • Tim Kelly - vocals and trumpet
  • Brandon Keller - saxophones
  • Tom Miller - guitar
  • Matt Wexler - bass
  • Ryan Whitley - drums



CLASSICAL ERA: 2006 - 2009

Ryan "Chubbs" Whitley got bored, wandered off. Heavy hitter Devan Stovall joined up, and laid down the heavy grooves for awhile, before he, too grew bored and wandered off. Christan Krehbiel, presumably bored with something else, wandered back. Heidi "Chico" Whischler jumped on board - literally, racing to the stage at the 2006 U. District Street Fair, still in her softball uniform - to lend her trombone skills and her powerhouse vocal stylings to the mix. The band takes several years, from summer of 2007 through post-production in 2008, to record and finally release "Layin' It Down 8 Days A Week", SL's first full-length album, in early 2009.

From the "Layin' It Down 8 Days a Week" album:
  • Tim Kelly - vocals and trumpet
  • Heidi Wischler - vocals and trombone
  • Brandon Keller - saxophones
  • Tom Miller - guitar
  • Matt Wexler - bass
  • Christan Krehbiel - drums



ROMANTIC ERA: 2009 - 2012

In summer of 2009, Steven 'baz' Baz, backbeat player for bands such as Bakelite 78 and Golden Robot Army joined up. The band played progressively larger and tighter gigs, hitting all the hot music venues in Seattle - High Dive, Chop Suey, Nectar, ToST/White Rabbit - while returning to grace larger stages at festivals like Folklife and Taste of Tacoma. Mad genius Tim Kelly continued to bring new music to the group, while revisiting and retooling original hits. The rest of the band perfects their lounging.

Oh, you want it LIVE and in your FACE? We'll give it to you LIVE and in your FACE. Right in the FACE:
  • Tim Kelly - vocals and trumpet
  • Heidi Wischler - vocals and trombone
  • Brandon Keller - saxophones
  • Tom Miller - guitar
  • Matt Wexler - bass
  • Steve Baz - drums



MODERN ERA: 2012- present

And so here we are. 10 years of gigs, festivals, venues, stages, music, hotdogs, whips, extended 13th chords, trips out to Woodinville, shots of whiskey, bumming smokes, and taking it cool, baby, oh so cool. Here's to at least 10 more, and we'll see you in the hot tub...but first a little something to get you in the mood:

Brand new tracks, recorded almost exactly to the day of our 10 year anniversary of our debut. Thanks for funking along with us, and enjoy: What? You want more live stuff? But we're so exhausted...okay, baby, we can't resist that pout. Get over here:
  • Tim "TK" Kelly - vocals and trumpet
  • Brandon "lunchbox" Keller - saxophones
  • Tom "Coin Toss" Miller - guitar
  • Matt "Good-Times" Wexler - bass
  • Steve "baz" Baz - drums



And in future memorium - superfan, aka "This guy".

We couldn't have done it without you, the wind beneath our wings.


We'll never forget you, big guy, no matter how desperately we try.