Shawn Harris was the lead singer and guitarist for pop punk

Pop punk

Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...

 group, The Matches

The Matches

The Matches are a United States-based band formed in 1997 in Oakland, California. It currently is composed of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Shawn Harris, lead guitarist and backup vocalist Jonathan Devoto, bassist and backup vocalist Dylan Rowe, and drummer Matt Whalen...

. He is an artist and has done the art for several albums, including Matchbook Romance

Matchbook Romance

Matchbook Romance was an American rock band from Poughkeepsie, New York and was formed in 1997.were signed to Epitaph Records. They released two full length albums and one EP...

's Voices

Voices (Matchbook Romance album)

Voices is the second album by American rock band Matchbook Romance. The album's sound leaves behind much of the characteristic pop punk sound of their debut, Stories and Alibis, opting for a darker, more foreboding tone...

and Bayside

Bayside (band)

Bayside is an American punk rock band from Queens which formed in the winter of 2000. The band has released five full length albums since signing to Victory Records...

's Shudder

Shudder (album)

Shudder is the fourth full-length album from the band Bayside, released on September 30, 2008. Prior to its release, singer Anthony Raneri described the album as having a more punk sound than their previous record The Walking Wounded. The title comes from a lyric in the track "I Can't Go On".On...

. He was born in Oakland, California

Oakland, California

Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

, and attended Bishop O'Dowd High School

Bishop O'Dowd High School

Bishop O'Dowd High School is a Catholic, co-educational, college preparatory school in Oakland, California, administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland and named for the late auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, James T. O'Dowd . About 44% of students are non-Catholic...

 in Oakland. He is also a strict vegan

Veganism

Veganism is the practice of eliminating the use of animal products. Ethical vegans reject the commodity status of animals and the use of animal products for any purpose, while dietary vegans or strict vegetarians eliminate them from their diet only...

 and has appeared on PETA

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...

's YouTube

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

 channel to explain why he chose this eating lifestyle. He has mentioned many times that his goal in music is to write the best song ever and he believes that Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen

Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...

's song "Hallelujah" is the best song ever.

He is currently involved in a project, Maniac, with Jake Grigg of Australian rock band Something with Numbers

Something with Numbers

Something with Numbers is a rock band based in Australia. The band was formed on the New South Wales Central Coast, in Australia, in 2001. They have released an EP and three studio albums in their 7 year career...

. They released an EP titled "Extended Play," both digitally and on vinyl, on June 10, 2010. They are currently working on their debut studio album, titled "Mania." They briefly ran a blog where they posted a cover of the number one song on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 each week.

He provided vocals to the song Doctor Doctor by the American band Forgive Durden

Forgive Durden

Forgive Durden is an indie rock band from Seattle, Washington, who got their name from the novel Fight Club. They are signed to Fueled By Ramen...

.