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Steven Jay Shelley (born June 23, 1962) is an American drummer. He is best known as the longtime drummer of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth, for whom he played from 1985 until their 2011 disbandment.
After leaving the Crucifucks, he moved to Manhattan with a friend, living in the apartment of Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon for dog sitting purposes while the band was in Europe. When the band returned, former drummer Bob Bert had left the band, and they hired Shelley as their drummer without an audition.Azerrad, Michael. (2001) Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes From the American Indie Underground 1981–1991. Little, Brown. .
In 1992 he founded the independent record label Smells Like Records, based in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Along with friend and Two Dollar Guitar musician Tim Foljahn, he helped advance Cat Power's musical career, serving as drummer on her first three albums. He also produced Blonde Redhead's debut self-titled album in 1995. Steve was able to track down Lee Hazlewood in 1997 and secure permission to reissue five of the finest titles of the Hazlewood back catalog. Smells Like Records also released a collection of standards recorded in 1997, which was the first new recording from Hazlewood released domestically in nearly two decades. In 1998 Shelley played on the soundtrack of the film Velvet Goldmine as a member of Wylde Ratttz, along with the Stooges' Ron Asheton, Thurston Moore, Mike Watt, Don Fleming, Mark Arm of Mudhoney and Jim Dunbar.
Other significant work away from Sonic Youth include recording and performing with an array of artists such as Christina Rosenvinge, Chris Lee, John Wolfington, Michael Powers, Michael Rother, Howe Gelb, and Enrique Morente. In 2007, Shelley recorded a number of tracks for the I'm Not There soundtrack with a supergroup called The Million Dollar Bashers, featuring Lee Ranaldo, Wilco guitarist Nels Cline, Television guitarist Tom Verlaine, Dylan bassist Tony Garnier, guitarist Smokey Hormel and keyboardist John Medeski.
In February 2009, Shelley spent a weekend in Chicago recording with Chris Connelly, Sanford Parker, and Jeremy Lemos. The results of this collaboration were released under the moniker the High Confessions by Relapse Records on July 20, 2010.
In 2010, Michael Rother played shows in Europe with Shelley and Tall Firs guitarist Aaron Mullan as Halogallo 2010. This group performs music "in the spirit of" Neu! including some tracks by Harmonia and from Michael Rother's solo albums. Other 2010 concert dates included the ATP New York 2010 music festival in Monticello, New York, and Incubate 2010 in Tilburg, Netherlands.
His enthusiasm for the music of Daniel Johnston and Townes Van Zandt led to his appearances in the documentaries The Devil and Daniel Johnston and Be Here to Love Me.
Shelley is also in charge of operating Sonic Youth's own record labels, SYR and Goofin'. In 2010, he started a new label called Vampire Blues whose inaugural release was a 7" by Hallogallo 2010.
In 2011 he joined Disappears. In 2012, he left the band due to scheduling conflicts.
From 2014 to 2017, Shelley played the drums for Sun Kil Moon on the albums Benji, Universal Themes and Common as Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood. He also toured with Sun Kil Moon on select 2015 dates.
| 7" Babel 01 | |||
| 1984 | Strange Fruit | Strange Fruit/Abiku | split 12" Babel 02 |
| 1985 | Crucifucks | The Crucifucks | Alternative Tentacles 38 |
| 1989 | Maureen Tucker | Life in Exile After Abdication | 50 Skidillion Watts 007 |
| 1990 | Daniel Johnston | 1990 | Shimmy Disc 028 (w/ Lee Ranaldo on "Spirit World Rising") |
| 1991 | Lucky Sperms | Lucky Sperms | 7" Ecstatic Peace! 15 (recorded in 1987) |
| 1991 | Dim Stars | Dim Stars | 3x7" Ecstatic Peace! 11 |
| 1991 | Nikki Sudden | Whiskey Priest | 7" Singles Only Label 228 |
| 1992 | Jad Fair | I Like It When You Smile | Paperhouse 009 |
| 1992 | Richard Hell | 3 New Songs | 7" Overground 24 |
| 1992 | Mosquito | Down | 7" ERL 9 |
| 1992 | Makigami Koichi | Koroshi No Blues | Toshiba EMI 6496 |
| 1992 | Dim Stars | Dim Stars | Caroline 1724 |
| 1992 | Free Kitten/Mosquito | Split | 7" Time Bomb 09 |
| 1992 | Mosquito | U.F.O. Catcher | Time Bomb 13 |
| 1993 | Mosquito | Oh No... | Psychoacoustic 6 |
| 1993 | Mosquito | Time Was | SLR 05 |
| 1993 | Two Dollar Guitar | Lost Bird | 7" SLR 06 |
| 1994 | The Raincoats | Extended Play | SLR 012 |
| 1995 | Male Slut | Male Slut | 7" RRRecords 57 |
| 1995 | Cat Power | Dear Sir | Runt 6 |
| 1995 | Thurston Moore | Psychic Hearts | DGC Records 24810 |
| 1995 | Mike Watt | "Tuff Gnarl" Ball-Hog or Tugboat? | Columbia Records C2-66464 |
| 1996 | Cat Power | Myra Lee | SLR 019 |
| 1996 | Cat Power | What Would the Community Think | Matador Records OLE-202 |
| 1998 | Mark Eitzel | Caught in a Trap... | Matador Records OLE-179 |
| 2000 | Hungry Ghosts | Alone, Alone | SLR 039 |
| 2001 | Christina Rosenvinge | Frozen Pool | SLR 042 |
| 2001 | John Wolfington | John Wolfington | SLR 043 |
| 2001 | Chris Lee | Plays & Sings Torch'd Songs... | SLR 045 |
| 2004 | Christina Rosenvinge | Foreign Land | SLR 050 |
| 2006 | Michael Powers | Prodigal Son | Baryon 006 |
| 2006 | Christina Rosenvinge | Continental 62 | SLR 053 |
| 2007 | The Million Dollar Bashers | I'm Not There | Columbia Records COLB 12038 |
| 2007 | John Wolfington | American Dreamsicle | SLR 054 |
| 2007 | Thurston Moore | Trees Outside the Academy | Ecstatic Peace! E#91C |
| 2008 | Matt Madly | Checkered | P.O.S. 062808 |
| 2008 | Christina Rosenvinge | Tu labio superior | Warner Spain 25646 93707 |
| 2009 | Anna Ternheim | Leaving on a Mayday | Emarcy 06025178719-15 |
| 2009 | Samara Lubelski | Future Slip | Ecstatic Peace! E#110 |
| 2010 | D-W/L-SS | D-W/L-SS / JBe | 7" Sixgunlover SGL018 |
| 2010 | The High Confessions | Turning Lead into Gold With the High Confessions | Relapse Records 7084 |
| 2010 | Hallogallo 2010 | Blinkgurtel / Drone Schlager | 7" Vampire Blues VB 01 |
| 2010 | Circle of Animals | Destroy the Light | Relapse Records 7104 |
| 2011 | Israel Nash | Barn Doors and Concrete Floors | CRS CSCCD1073 |
| 2011 | Disappears | Live at Echo Canyon | Plus Tapes |
| 2011 | Spectre Folk | The Blackest Medicine, Vol. II | Woodsist |
| 2012 | Disappears | Pre Language | Kranky |
| 2012 | Lee Ranaldo | Between the Times and the Tides | Matador Records OLE-980 |
| 2012 | M. Ward | A Wasteland Companion | Merge Records |
| 2012 | Spectre Folk | Ancient Storm | Vampire Blues VB 02 |
| 2012 | Chris Lee | Bury the Kings | Vampire Blues VB 03 |
| 2012 | Lee Ranaldo | Between the Times and the Tides: Demos | Lazy8 01 |
| 2012 | Lee Ranaldo | Between the Times and the Tides: Alternate Mixes | 7" Lazy8 02 |
| 2012 | Lee Ranaldo/J Mascis | "Albatross" | Hear Music HRM-33327 |
| 2012 | Carice van Houten | See You on the Ice | EMI 9782242 |
| 2012 | Samara Lubelski | Wavelength | De Stijl IND115 |
| 2013 | Dyveke Kuloy | Gabriel | 7" |
| 2013 | Howe Gelb | The Coincidentalist | New West Records |
| 2013 | Lee Ranaldo and The Dust | Last Night on Earth | Matador Records OLE-1041 |
| 2013 | Lee Ranaldo and The Dust | The Rising Tide | Lazy8 03 |
| 2013 | Lee Ranaldo and The Dust | El Blues De La Revolución | 7" El Segell Del Primavera PS006 |
| 2014 | Sun Kil Moon | Benji | Caldo Verde |
| 2014 | Admiral Freebee | The Great Scam | Sony Music 0888430378728 |
| 2014 | Thurston Moore | The Best Day | Matador Records OLE-1062 |
| 2015 | Sun Kil Moon | Universal Themes | Caldo Verde |
| 2016 | Kino Kimino | "Bait Is For Sissies" | Ghost Ramp |
| 2017 | Sun Kil Moon | Common as Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood | Caldo Verde |
| 2017 | Cinnamon Tapes | Nabia | Cinnamon Tapes |
| 2017 | Thurston Moore | Rock n Roll Consciousness | Caroline |
| 2017 | Jessica Lea Mayfield | Sorry is Gone | ATO Records |
| 2018 | Riviera Gaz | Connection | Hearts Bleed Blue |
| 2019 | Sick Gazelle | Odum | War Crimes Records |
| 2020 | Thurston Moore | By the Fire | Daydream Library |
| 2024 | Winged Wheel | Big Hotel | 12XU |
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