The Shins

In 1997, Mercer began writing what would eventually become The Shins' first record. Flake Music came to an end around this time leaving Mercer with an opportunity to record, "Nature Bears A Vacuum" a 7" EP released by Omnibus Records. For their earliest shows, The Shins performed as a duo with Mercer recruiting Sandoval to play drums. "Nature Bears A Vacuum" was released with no expectations of expanding the band's following beyond Albuquerque. However, the single generated enough attention that Mercer felt it necessary to assemble a full band. Martin Crandall was brought in fold on keyboards, and Dave Hernandez (frontman of local punk legends Scared of Chaka, which had played dozens of shows with Flake Music) on bass. After a year, during which half the songs on debut album "Oh, Inverted World" (including "New Slang") were penned, Hernandez left and moved to New York City. He was replaced by Neal Langford, and the group then embarked on a tour with Modest Mouse.