Today we’d like to introduce you to Christian Shields.
Christian, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started playing music when I was 6 years old. I originally played clarinet in the school band up until I turned 12. It was at the point I had discovered Kiss and once I saw Paul Stanley up on stage I told my parents that’s what I wanted to do. I saved up enough money to buy a guitar. I started taking lessons shortly thereafter. I’ve been in a few bands before I started Shields. My first band called Last One Standing I started when I was 13. I did that up until I was 19. At that point we were contacted by a producer in New York and he wanted to work with us on doing an album. I initially declined but later decided it was an opportunity we needed to take advantage of. After doing the album we decided to change the band name because musically it was a completely different sound. The new band name was Dreamer. We toured all over New England and started creating major buzz. We started getting offers from record labels but nothing ever manifested into a tangible deal. The band ended up falling apart after this and I spent some time doing some solo stuff but I didn’t take it too seriously. In the fall of 2015 that same producer contacted me and asked what I was up to. I told him I was done with music and I was going to just work a day job and call it a day on my music career. He convinced me to come down to Austin, Texas to talk to him. He had recently just moved here and felt it would be a great career move. I came down to visit with my brother and my friend Mitch. As soon as we stepped off the plane we were hooked. Two weeks later we relocated our lives from Rhode Island (Mitch from Massachusetts) to Austin. At that point we formed a new band called Shields.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road for the most part has been smooth. Going through the line-up change was a bit of a challenge. Building up our fan base and developing new markets has been the constant struggle along the way.
Please tell us about Shields.
We are Shields. We are a Party rock band that puts on a spectacular live show. We are known for being the fun band. No fans leave our show disappointed. I’m proud of the hard work and dedication that my brother N.V. Shields (drums/vocals), Shade (bass/vocals) and myself put in day in and day out. It really stands out and sets us apart from the rest of the pack.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
This is tough question. If I would have done something differently it would lead to a completely different outcome. It’s tough to say.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shieldstheband.com
- Phone: 401-450-2822
- Email: booking@shieldstheband.com
Image Credit:
Photo credits Joshua Cumming and Mathias Fau
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
