Bio

Welcome To The Shot Band

"The spirit of Johnny Cash, the soul of The Stanley Brothers and the pure energy of Rock’n’Roll" --Nick Bolinger

A band is thrown together for a one off gig.

Something clicks, and all present (band and audience) agree that this shouldn’t just be a one-off.

At the end of the night, a drunk stumbles up to the band.

"S’great! Youse guys are shot. Shot Band!" *

And, with that said, he lurched off into the night.

Only problem is that one of them is about to go overseas for a couple of years. Eventually he came back, and The Shot Band was born.

Country music fans from the city, all 3 members of The Shot Band are hugely experienced performers who each bring a unique voice to the band. All 3 share lead vocals, and all are multi-instrumentalists, a combination that means you never quite know what to expect.

Take their debut 6 song CD.

Bill Hickman sings like a man posessed on the opening track, a full throttle version of Fred Eaglesmith’s "49 Tons". Then Hamish Graham will melt you with his take on the Sparklehorse song "The Most Beautiful Widow In Town" The title track is next. "Songs About Drinkin’ and Dyin’ is the song Rob Joass calls "...My love song to country music."

Take 345 is a tearaway Banjo instrumental named in reference to the Dave Brubeck standard Take 5. Take 5 is in 5/4 time. Take 345 can’t make up it’s mind.

The Old-Time vocal harmonies on The Reverernd Horton Heat’s "Liquor, Beer and Wine" will take you way back, and leave you reaching for a drink.

And how to round off this eclectic collection of tunes? Anyone familiar with Johnny Cash’s American Recordings will know that the best country songs don’t always start as country songs. The Shot Band certainly know it. Listen to The Shot Bands’ banjo driven ride through The Queens of the Stone Age song "No-One Knows" and you’ll know it too.

* Drink 12 pints and attempt to say shit hot.

Band Members:
Bill Hickman (vocals, guitar, bass, mandolin)
Hamish Graham (vocals, drums, mandolin, guitar, harmonica)
Rob Joass (vocals, guitar, banjo, bass)

Links

• Amplifier Page