Will Sheff

Will Sheff is the bandleader of Okkervil River, whose latest album is The Silver Gymnasium. His criticism and fiction have been published in McSweeney’sGawker, Magnet and the Austin Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter here.

@okkervilriver

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Bio

Okkervil River is an indie/folk rock band from Austin, Texas USA. Formed in 1998, the band takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya. The band currently consists of Will Sheff (vocals, guitar), Will Graefe (guitar), Sarah K. Pedinotti (keyboards), Benjamin Lazar Davis (bass) and Cully Symington (drums). The band self-released their first album, Stars Too Small to Use, which led them to the South by Southwest music festival. After recording their first album in a garage, they signed with Jagjaguwar. Okkervil River continued by releasing four more albums, including critically lauded concept album Black Sheep Boy. After a period of touring for Black Sheep Boy, Okkervil River followed up with The Stage Names. The album sold 10,000 in its opening week in the United States. The group released a free covers album, Golden Opportunities Mixtape from their live performances. The band has garnered positive critical reception. Especially noted are each song's lyrics, intricate instrumentation, and thematic albums. In addition, they were featured on the talk show Late Night with Conan O'Brien and have performed with high profile bands such as The Decemberists, The New Pornographers, The National, and Lou Reed. Okkervil River released their most recent album The Silver Gymnasium on September 3, 2013. Discography: * 1998 Bedroom EP – Jound * 1999 Stars Too Small to Use - Jound * 2002 Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See - Jagjaguwar * 2003 Down the River of Golden Dreams - Jagjaguwar * 2003 Julie Doiron/Okkervil River (A split CD with Julie Dorion) - Acuarela * 2004 Sleep and Wake-Up Songs (EP) - Jagjaguwar * 2004 Sham Wedding/Hoax Funeral (A split CD with Shearwater) - Jagjaguwar * 2005 Black Sheep Boy - Jagjaguwar * 2005 Black Sheep Boy Appendix (EP) - Jagjaguwar * 2006 Overboard and Down (EP) – Inertia, Australia-only tour EP * 2007 The Stage Names - Jagjaguwar * 2008 The Stand-Ins - Jagjaguwar * 2011 I Am Very Far - Jagjaguwar * 2013 The Silver Gymnasium - ATO Records * 2016 Away - ATO Records * 2018 In The Rainbow Rain - ATO Records Current band members: * Will Sheff - acoustic guitar, vocals, harmonica (keyboard occasionally) * Travis Nelsen - drums, misc. percussion * Scott Brackett - trumpet, coronet, keyboards, organ, tape player, misc. percussion * Patrick Pestorius - bass, piano, woodblocks * Justin Sherburn - keys, guitar * Lauren Gurgiolo - electric guitar, pedal steel, mandolin Past band members: * Seth Warren - guitar * Zachary Thomas - vocals, bass * Jonathan Meiburg - vocals, banjo, guitar, accordion, piano, organ * Mark Pedini - drums * Brian Cassidy - electric guitar, pedal steel, mandolin, melodica (keyboard and accordion when on tour without Jonathan) Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

Talks

Will Sheff (Okkervil River) Talks Bill Fay’s Who Is the Sender?

By Will Sheff | June 1, 2015

Will Sheff (Okkervil River) Talks Bill Fay’s Who Is the Sender?

The faith in rediscovered cult favorite Bill Fay's songs about God, war, greed and nature is strong — you can lean against it and it will hold you up.

Will Sheff (Okkervil River) Talks THEESatisfaction’s EarthEE

By Will Sheff | February 25, 2015

Will Sheff (Okkervil River) Talks THEESatisfaction’s EarthEE

THEESatisfaction’s message is simple: music is fun, we are awesome, a beat is good, weed is great, we love each other and you’re invited, too.

Will Sheff (Okkervil River) Talks Bob Dylan’s Shadows in the Night

By Will Sheff | February 3, 2015

Will Sheff (Okkervil River) Talks Bob Dylan’s Shadows in the Night

Singing Frank Sinatra songs, Dylan sounds less like an untouchable icon and more like a stunned, confused human being. And that’s a very good thing.

Will Sheff (Okkervil River) Talks the Disciplined Listening System That Restored His Love of Music

By Will Sheff | March 15, 2014

Will Sheff (Okkervil River) Talks the Disciplined Listening System That Restored His Love of Music

In my late 20s, I started noticing that I didn’t listen to music in the way I used to. Specifically, nothing about music felt satisfying to me...