The Shants are a band from Oakland, California that play slow, sweet country-influenced folk. The Shants' sound originates from the rural backgrounds of its members: from South Louisiana delta pines to the brusk plains of Wisconsin to the rolling hills of the Central California Coast. The band consists of Sam Tokheim (pedal steel guitar), Skip Allums (guitar, harmonica, vocals), Carver Cordes (bass, vocals), and Adam Burstein (drums). Russian River Songs EP, 2010 was recorded live in a cabin near the redwoods north of San Francisco. The Shants are on High Scores & Records, and often tour regionally. "The Shants. Hailing from Oakland, California, The Shants specialize in a blend of Southern folk and country, embossed with the sad sounds of the pedal steel guitar" - FILTER Magazine "Rustic and subdued, like the scant, heavily muted light that finds its way to the floor of a redwood grove" - No Depression "The Shants combine mellow grooves with a sexy twang. The vocals will give you a goofy grin. The same goofy grin you get after you.......well, you know. - SF Chronicle Music Blog, Off The Record "Musically The Shants are the equivalent of dinner with friends rather than dining out. It isn't flashy and slick but it is almost infinitely more enjoyable. There is very little spectacle to their music, which instead will nest itself quite happily in your head for hours after a few spins, bringing with it a sense of earthy, warm familiarity." - The Wolf Magazine, UK "The Shants recorded the Russian River Songs EP near the Russian River holed up in a cabin in the redwoods. The complete EP was mainly recorded live and in only two takes, what adds a nice campfire atmosphere to the tracks. And saying campfire atmosphere, it is just the right word to express all the other aspects of Russian River Songs. That is: the overall dark character of the music with the haunting but very mellow lap steel melodies, the cozy acoustic guitar play accompanied with chilled e-guitar vibes and cradling bass lines together with decent sounds from the rhythm section on drums – I don’t need to say that this is pushed to the limit every time the harmonica kicks in. The lyrics are perfect to forget about your surroundings and to hum or sing along with them with closed eyes thinking of a nice night with your friends hanging out around some crackling campfire with some tasty beers or beverages of your choice." - Common Folk Meadow "The Shants & my iPod have been carrying on a torrid little dalliance for a few days now. Kind of languid, kind of sexy. The clear signature here is the aforementioned pedal steel, wielded craftily by Samuel Tokheim. Samuel plays with finesse, with wit, & with a poetic sense..." - Such A Clatter