The Life and Times is a Kansas City, MO indie rock band fronted by former Shiner bandleader Allen Epley. After Shiner disbanded in late 2002, Epley began working with drummer Mike Myers and bassist/guitarist John "Houdini" Meredith and released their debut EP "The Flat End of the Earth" in the summer of 2003. "Flat End's" most noticeable distinction from Shiner was the instrumentation; after the math-rock bombardment that marked Shiner, Epley found a looser