Keith Zarriello grew up a quiet kid in upstate NY, popular and well liked. However, when puberty hit, Zarriello struggled. The jocks who had been his buddies literally pulled his seat out from under him after he made a cassette tape impersonating his Junior High School teachers, which incidentally became his first album. Shunned, Zarriello turned to music. After discovering Nirvana and the Velvet Underground, hearing Lou Reed sing “Heroin” sold him on a life in rock n’roll.

The Shivers formed in February of 2001 in New York City. The band has had many line-up changes, at low points being reduced to a one-man band and banned from several prominent local venues for a variety of reasons seen by Zarriello as a ‘series of misunderstandings’.

Ben Jones found The Shivers “Charades” CD in the garbage of the radio station where he works, he was intrigued. Also a booker at a local venue, Jones asked the then solo version of The Shivers to perform. Zarriello showed up to the gig in the middle of one of his frequent and painful bouts of insomnia and gave a confusing performance. But something stuck with Jones so, when Zarriello called him up shortly afterwards and asked him to join the band as the bass player, he agreed.

In an ironic turn of events, Zarriello then started to receive phone calls from a strange man called “Sheldon”. He thought Sheldon was a detective from the NYPD, who at the time had a warrant out for Zarriello’s arrest. His paranoia led him to change his phone number and flee to Canada. Whilst living in a hostel in Montreal, Zarriello received emails from Sheldon clarifying the situation. One of the same high school jocks that had tormented Zarriello, Sheldon was now attempting to offer him a record deal with his new label Outerborough Records, having never heard Zarriello play one note based on a recommendation from a mutual acquaintance.

In desperation, Zarriello hesitantly signed on for the 1yr contract with his former bully, foolishly believing success had finally come. Having already secured Jones on bass guitar Zarriello sought to fill out the line up. The album’s modest budget was enough for Zarriello to seek professional musicians for the recording. New to NYC, Australian cellist Will Martina answered an ad and stunned Zarriello (never much of a musician) with his cello skills. He was immediately “hired”.

The line up for the recording was completed with Alaskan transplant cab driver Mathew Jahn on guitar, Japanese jazz composer Maki Watanabe on upright bass and professional mastering engineer and good friend Alex Saltz on drums. The band secretly recorded Phone Calls in a variety of secret - and often illegal - places. The band then went on to play several shows including a 4th of July show at the now closed legendary punk rock club CBGB’s. However, nothing really gelled and the line up soon dissipated.

When The Shivers opened for popular folk singer M. Ward, Zarriello, inspired by Martina’s skills and not wanting to be considered a lesser folk singer, decided to play the role of a jazz crooner. Trooper Martina suggested another Australian, pianist Joanne Schornikow, who was in NYC on an arts grant. The gig was successful, and Schornikow and Zarriello begun hanging out and playing together, recording a version of Zarriello’s song “L.I.E.” one night in Zarriello’s fleabag apartment in LIC. The song went on to be the hit of Phone Calls, earning the band some very minor praise and recognition. When Schornikow returned to Australia, Zarriello took a job selling Christmas trees. During this time, The Shivers song “Beauty” received a write up on popular website, Pitchfork. Zarriello never entertained the thought The Shivers would finally take off. Zarriello spent his Christmas day in the rain selling left over trees to Russians in Brighton Beach.

With Saltz too busy, the band called in NYC native and journeyman drummer Evan Pazner. Their 2007 SxSW trip & Schornikow’s move to NYC bonded them as a band.

The Shivers have just completed their first proper album Beaks to the Moon, recorded at the famous Loho Studios after house engineer Dan Hewitt asked to work with the band. The album is distinctive in that it marks a new songwriter to mix in Pianist/Vocalist Jo Schornikow. Beaks to the Moon was funded and released entirely by the band. This DIY approach extends to everything The Shivers are about and they look to the future with their beaks pointed to the moon.