The Shams

The Not So Silence Of The Shams: Exclusive Interview 1
BY STEVE ROBY ON MARCH 16, 2015 INTERVIEWS
An interview with the San Francisco Irish rock band, The Shams.

The Shams have been featured at local music hotspots such as The Milk Bar, Bottom of the Hill and Neck of The Woods in San Francisco, as well as 19 Broadway in Fairfax, The Starry Plough in Berkeley and legendary L.A. favorites Molly Malone’s and The House of Blues. They’ve headlined many festivals and fleadhs (Irish for festival) and had an opportunity to work with and play with world renowned Irish musician Damien Dempsey, as well as The Irish Brigade to name a few.

The Shams first began in 2011 in San Francisco, when Sean Daly (front man from Donegal, Ireland) and fellow Irishmen James Scragg (drums from Cork, Ireland) and Joey Kennedy (guitar from Kilkenny, Ireland) decided to join musical forces. Not long after, the trio added Texan Kevin Tregar Otton (fiddle) and first generation Irish-American Tommy O’Mahony (upright and electric bass) into the mix to round out the group’s soulful sound. Recently, the group brought in a sixth member, Henry Moser, to kick it up even further. The Shams provide listeners with a new, hard-hitting perspective on the evolution of Irish music, unlike any you’ve heard before. Today, the group draws Bay Area fans of all ages.

The Shams are quickly becoming a fan-favorite by combining their hard rocking, punked-up beat and raw, powerful vocals. Their repertoire of original songs reach deep down into their rebel roots and pulls out incredibly original tracks that illuminate what it means to be Irish. They provide listeners with a new, hard-hitting perspective on the evolution of Irish music, unlike any you’ve heard before. With each fiery live performance, The Shams are leaving listeners begging for more.

I had the pleasure of speaking with The Shams just prior to their March 13 show at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. - SF BAM Magazine

The Shams are a rock band based in San Francisco, but with a heavy Irish influence (three of the five members are from Ireland), which I totally appreciate. The Shams (not to be confused with the Ohio band Thee Shams or the New York girl group The Shams) formed in 2011, and are made up of Sean Daly on lead vocals, Joe Kennedy on guitar and vocals, James Scragg on drums, Tommy O’Mahony on bass and Henry Moser on guitar and vocals. Their new EP, One And All, features all original music. Joining them on this release is Kevin Tregar Otton on fiddle.

The album kicks off with “Sunset Paddy’s,” beginning with a steady rock beat (and hand claps). This is a fairly straight and fun rock song, and I imagine it’s a good one to see them perform in concert, driven as it is by that steady beat, and with the echoes of “Sunset, sunset.” I like the song, but I’m much more taken with the following track, “Go On Home Boys.” This one also starts off with a beat, but the groove is a bit more fun and catchy. That doesn’t mean it lacks a rock edge, as its brief instrumental section features some great work on guitar that should satisfy the rock fan in you.

Things get even more interesting with “Not Bothered,” which surprisingly has a bit of a reggae thing going on at moments, and also some nice work on fiddle during the instrumental section. This is a really good tune, with an uplifting vibe. Here is a taste of the lyrics: “The birds, they rise in the morning/To start a new day/Their silence has broken/In a world far away/Oh, I’m not bothered or worried at all/As long as I’m breathing/I’ll always be home.”

“One And All,” the CD’s title track, is another strong tune, which also features fiddle. It begins with acoustic guitar, then comes bursting in with a glorious force that should get your body moving. And then later there is a section that is just drums and vocals: “Move your feet to the beat of the drum/Dance to the rhythm of love/Scream and shout/Open your mouth/Let your voice be heard.”

And of course, as this is an Irish band, there has to be at least one earnest drinking song. On this release it is “Drinks Are On Me,” which is one of my favorite tracks. It’s just so much bloody fun, and I fucking love the vocal line, the way it races along (reminding me a bit of “The Rocky Road To Dublin”). And then in the chorus they sing, “Come on, the drinks are on me/One for you and ten for me.” And interestingly, this is a drinking song that acknowledges the troubles associated with the fun: “Now my aching liver’s given up/I’ve had too much of the damned stuff.” But then of course they add, “But before I say goodbye/Pour me a drink and raise it high/Through the good times and the bad/Drink a pint and don’t be sad.” Amen.

This is a CD that just gets better and better, and as much as I love “Drinks Are On Me,” it’s the final track, “Sick To Death,” that is my absolute favorite. This is one to get you dancing and drinking with total abandon. I love the attitude of this tune. Here is a taste of the lyrics: “I’m sick to death of everyone I’ve met/Every drink I’ve ever downed/It’s time for me to go, so leave me alone/It’s time for me to leave this fucking town.” And this line makes me laugh every time: “Never been to bed with an ugly woman, but I woke up with quite a few.” And of course I dig the fiddle. This is a song I’m going to be listening to a lot. - Pop Culture Beast

‘The Shams’ is een alternatieve rockgroep uit San Francisco, Californië, die in 2011 het levenslicht zag nadat leadzanger Sean Daly, gitarist Joe Kennedy, leadgitarist Henry Moser, bassist Tommy O’Mahony en drummer en songschrijver James Scragg besloten hadden om de handen in elkaar te slaan en hun succes in de wereld van de muziek te gaan zoeken.

Met de ep “One And All” treden ze voor het eerst met een opname naar buiten. Zes songs werden voor deze release samen gebracht, nadat de band via de fondsenwervingswebsite ‘Kickstarter’ de nodige financieringsgelden hadden weten te verzamelen.

De sound van ‘The Shams’ werd duidelijk beïnvloed door Britse en vooral Ierse rockformaties zoals ‘The Pogues’, ‘The Cure’ en ‘The Smiths’ en de redenen daarvoor zijn te vinden in het feit dat Joey Kennedy, Sean Daly en James Scragg alle drie uit Ierland stammen. Dat is dan ook vooral te horen aan de ‘Gaelic’-uitspraak van de Engelse taal door leadzanger Sean Daly. De twee overige bandleden hebben trouwens ook Ierse roots vanuit een vorige generatie.

Er zit duidelijk ‘speed’ in vier van de zes nummers op “One And All”: opener “Sunset Paddy’s”, drinkebroersliedjes “Go On Home Boys” en “Drinks Are On Me” en punkrocksong “Sick To Death” aan het einde van de cd. Een uitzondering hierop is de mooie rockballad “Not Bothered” en de albumtiteltrack “One And All” (zie video) die zo uit het repertoire van ‘The Pogues’ lijkt te zijn geplukt, hoewel dan wel gezongen door een Shane MacGowan-kloon die wel nog al zijn tanden heeft.

Deze ep lijkt me ideaal om te beluisteren met een stevig kratje bier in aanslag. U zult dan wel merken dat alles nog veel beter gaat klinken en tot onweerstaanbaar mee zingen zal uitnodigen naarmate de flesjes leeg aan het geraken zijn. Wel nog even oefenen op het Ierse accent. Cheers!

(valsam) - Roots Time