'Shameless' TV Show Taps Local Band's Song For Theme

Whether he's cavorting in the Caribbean Sea at Guantanamo Bay or manning the door at , creativity is never far from Josh Malerman's thoughts.

Malerman is a member of the Metro Detroit band The High Strung, whose song "The Luck You Got" serves as the theme for the new Showtime series Shameless, starring William H. Macy.

"The song seems like it's about a very small thing: Despite the madness of life, be happy about the good things that squeeze through," Malerman said. "With a drunk dad and the kids running the house, it makes sense. (The song's) rock 'n' roll, but it's still bright and optimistic, which is like the main character (played by Macy)."

Executives at Showtime agreed.

“Ann Kline, our music supervisor, brought us the song and we felt it not only embodies the show but also was a wonderful piece of music to get viewers in the mood for the wacky antics of the Gallagher clan,” Shameless executive producer Andrew Stearn said.

Having its song picked up by Showtime is just the latest stroke of good luck for The High Strung, which has been featured on NPR's This American Life and recently played a pair of shows at the U.S. Naval station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"That was the craziest week of my life," said Malerman, who explained the band arrived at the base on a Sunday and had to wait until the next Saturday for the next flight out. "There were awesome, mammoth backdrops. The prison was up there on a cliff while we're swimming in the ocean."

The High Strung played for military members, their spouses and kids, he said, and was joined at shows by a military cover band.

The group – which consists of Clawson resident Malerman on vocals, Derek Berk of Southfield on drums, Chad Stocker of Detroit on bass and Stephen Palmer of Oak Park on guitar – plans to begin recording a new album in March in Detroit. The band will be working with Jim Diamond, who produced its first three albums, along with "The Luck You Got."

"I kind of want the album to be like, 'Here's your ambitions, here's your ideals.' Are they possible or not?" Malerman said. "I started writing this before this slew of good things started happening for us, so maybe it was really well timed."

In the meanwhile, the songwriter spends Friday and Saturday nights working the door at The Berkley Front, a venue the band has played in the past.

"As someone who's played probably 2,000 bars across the country, The Berkley Front's probably one of the best ones," said Malerman, who added he thinks about book ideas during his downtime at work.

"One of my books is being shopped around right now ... and the Showtime thing ... it's just making me feel like there are possibilities," he said.

With the band's upcoming album titled ?Posible O' Imposible?, maybe the universe is answering that he's right.

The band's upcoming shows include Thursday at PJ's Lager House in Detroit, Feb. 3 at The Loving Touch in Ferndale and Feb. 12 at The Berkley Front.