Shandon Sahm meets Meat Puppets
Shandon Sahm not one to follow anyone's song set
By Jim Beal Jr.
[email protected]
Updated 12:42 p.m., Monday, April 11, 2011
For as long as he's been making music, Shandon Sahm has had one foot firmly rooted in history, the other following his muse.
Shandon, 41, the youngest child of Texas music legend Doug Sahm, played hard-rock drums with Pariah, fronts his own Texas roots/glam band and is the full-time Meat Puppets drummer. The alt-rock/alt-country/alt-etc. Meat Puppets are set to release their 13th studio album, “Lollipop” (Megaforce Records), on Tuesday.
“I always knew how to play drums,” Sahm said. “We'd be out at Augie's (his dad's longtime musical partner Augie Meyers) farm and I'd bang away on the drums. J.R. Chatwell (a storied swing fiddler and pianist) said I'd be a really good drummer. But I never owned a kit until Sims (Ellison) bought me one.”
Pariah — Sims Ellison, Kyle Ellison, Jared Tuten, Dave Derrick and Sahm — had its roots in Clark High School. In the early '90s, the quintet signed to Geffen Records and released one album, “To Mock a Killingbird.” The vagaries of the music business and changing musical tastes led to Pariah's breakup. A battle with depression led to Sims Ellison's suicide.
“I was a Kiss man, but I also hung out in the clubs with my dad,” Sahm said. “I worked construction, did some painting, the kinds of jobs musicians take when they don't want to cut their hair. But the main thing I learned is never give up.”
That Meat Puppets obviously have that same attitude. The band, led by brothers Curt (guitar, vocals) and Cris (bass) Kirkwood, came out of Phoenix in 1980 with drummer Derrick Bostrom. Its fusion of punk, psychedelia and touches of country was a trailblazing sound.
In the '90s, Curt Kirkwood moved to Austin. Though Meat Puppets was a band that influenced groups from Nirvana to Red Hot Chili Peppers, it wasn't immune to music biz upheaval and the twists and turns of fads, fancies, bad habits and deaths in the family.
Curt Kirkwood teamed with Sahm, Kyle Ellison and bassist Andrew Duplantis to form Royal Neanderthal Orchestra. The band evolved into the '00 edition of Meat Puppets with the release of the CD “Golden Lies.” A hiatus followed until Cris Kirkwood moved to Austin and rejoined the Puppets. By that time, Sahm had started his own band.
In late '09, Sahm was back in the Meat Puppets' fold in time to tour with Stone Temple Pilots and work the Voodoo Music Experience Festival in New Orleans.
“I was working on my CD ‘Sahm Covers Sahm' and Curt played some guitar and added some vocals. We connected again on my project,” Sahm said. “I started my own band when Curt and Kyle said I should start my own band. When the Meat Puppets disbanded, I did my own project.
“I pretty much decided not to play drums again. I paid my dues for 20 years. I don't want to set up my drums just to play on Sixth Street. I wanted to wait for the right thing. I can not do my band for a year and then do it again. And I'm a huge Meat Puppets fan.”
“Lollipop,” with songs such as “Incomplete,” “Hour of the Idiot,” “Lantern” and “Way That It Are,” runs the gamut from sing-along style to out there.
“Meat Puppets are still putting out great music,” Sahm said. “They've been doing this for 30 years, and the records keep getting better.
“Curt pretty much writes all of a song in his head. We had a certain number of songs we knew we were going to record, and we asked if he had some that he'd never recorded, so some of the songs are from 1999 or 2000. It's a very strong record. The songs are strong and the production is great. Meat Puppets have turned a bunch of people on to great music.”
Sahm said the songs on “Lollipop” came together smoothly.
“We started with Curt on acoustic guitar, me on drums and Cris in the control room thinking about his bass parts,” he said. “If everything was moving and grooving, we just kept going. The spontaneity really shined through. Most of the songs were done in one or two takes. We cut with an enthusiasm you can hear on the album. We added the bass when the drums were right.”
Sahm moves easily from sporting eye shadow and silver platform boots while fronting his band to working behind the drum kit with Meat Puppets.
“I found out I can play drums in my platforms,” he said, laughing. “I like backbeat. I like to swing. For me, it's about timing, execution and the sound of the drums.
“John Bonham was the blueprint. Ringo and Charlie Watts play for the song. I love Kiss as much as I love Creedence Clearwater Revival. There are no boundaries for me. I embrace it all. As a musician, you should widen yourself as much as possible.”
Shandon Sahm doesn't worry about being in his dad's considerable shadow.
“I've never had to deal with that,” he said. “I've always done my own thing. Pariah was signed to Geffen not because I was Doug's son, but because it was a good band. Sean Lennon and Jakob Dylan have to deal with that. If Dad was John Lennon famous, we could have had to deal with that. Curt hired me not because I'm Doug's kid but because I'm a good drummer.
“I want to turn people on to Dad's music, but I don't feel I'm in his shadow. With the Texas Tornados, Shawn's (Shandon's brother, Shawn Sahm) doing a great job of paying tribute to dad and Freddy Fender. We're doing this because we love it.”
Accessed 4/11/11
http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/Shandon-Sahm-meets-Meat-Puppets-1327667.php
Shandon Sahm not one to follow anyone's song set
By Jim Beal Jr.
[email protected]
Updated 12:42 p.m., Monday, April 11, 2011
For as long as he's been making music, Shandon Sahm has had one foot firmly rooted in history, the other following his muse.
Shandon, 41, the youngest child of Texas music legend Doug Sahm, played hard-rock drums with Pariah, fronts his own Texas roots/glam band and is the full-time Meat Puppets drummer. The alt-rock/alt-country/alt-etc. Meat Puppets are set to release their 13th studio album, “Lollipop” (Megaforce Records), on Tuesday.
“I always knew how to play drums,” Sahm said. “We'd be out at Augie's (his dad's longtime musical partner Augie Meyers) farm and I'd bang away on the drums. J.R. Chatwell (a storied swing fiddler and pianist) said I'd be a really good drummer. But I never owned a kit until Sims (Ellison) bought me one.”
Pariah — Sims Ellison, Kyle Ellison, Jared Tuten, Dave Derrick and Sahm — had its roots in Clark High School. In the early '90s, the quintet signed to Geffen Records and released one album, “To Mock a Killingbird.” The vagaries of the music business and changing musical tastes led to Pariah's breakup. A battle with depression led to Sims Ellison's suicide.
“I was a Kiss man, but I also hung out in the clubs with my dad,” Sahm said. “I worked construction, did some painting, the kinds of jobs musicians take when they don't want to cut their hair. But the main thing I learned is never give up.”
That Meat Puppets obviously have that same attitude. The band, led by brothers Curt (guitar, vocals) and Cris (bass) Kirkwood, came out of Phoenix in 1980 with drummer Derrick Bostrom. Its fusion of punk, psychedelia and touches of country was a trailblazing sound.
In the '90s, Curt Kirkwood moved to Austin. Though Meat Puppets was a band that influenced groups from Nirvana to Red Hot Chili Peppers, it wasn't immune to music biz upheaval and the twists and turns of fads, fancies, bad habits and deaths in the family.
Curt Kirkwood teamed with Sahm, Kyle Ellison and bassist Andrew Duplantis to form Royal Neanderthal Orchestra. The band evolved into the '00 edition of Meat Puppets with the release of the CD “Golden Lies.” A hiatus followed until Cris Kirkwood moved to Austin and rejoined the Puppets. By that time, Sahm had started his own band.
In late '09, Sahm was back in the Meat Puppets' fold in time to tour with Stone Temple Pilots and work the Voodoo Music Experience Festival in New Orleans.
“I was working on my CD ‘Sahm Covers Sahm' and Curt played some guitar and added some vocals. We connected again on my project,” Sahm said. “I started my own band when Curt and Kyle said I should start my own band. When the Meat Puppets disbanded, I did my own project.
“I pretty much decided not to play drums again. I paid my dues for 20 years. I don't want to set up my drums just to play on Sixth Street. I wanted to wait for the right thing. I can not do my band for a year and then do it again. And I'm a huge Meat Puppets fan.”
“Lollipop,” with songs such as “Incomplete,” “Hour of the Idiot,” “Lantern” and “Way That It Are,” runs the gamut from sing-along style to out there.
“Meat Puppets are still putting out great music,” Sahm said. “They've been doing this for 30 years, and the records keep getting better.
“Curt pretty much writes all of a song in his head. We had a certain number of songs we knew we were going to record, and we asked if he had some that he'd never recorded, so some of the songs are from 1999 or 2000. It's a very strong record. The songs are strong and the production is great. Meat Puppets have turned a bunch of people on to great music.”
Sahm said the songs on “Lollipop” came together smoothly.
“We started with Curt on acoustic guitar, me on drums and Cris in the control room thinking about his bass parts,” he said. “If everything was moving and grooving, we just kept going. The spontaneity really shined through. Most of the songs were done in one or two takes. We cut with an enthusiasm you can hear on the album. We added the bass when the drums were right.”
Sahm moves easily from sporting eye shadow and silver platform boots while fronting his band to working behind the drum kit with Meat Puppets.
“I found out I can play drums in my platforms,” he said, laughing. “I like backbeat. I like to swing. For me, it's about timing, execution and the sound of the drums.
“John Bonham was the blueprint. Ringo and Charlie Watts play for the song. I love Kiss as much as I love Creedence Clearwater Revival. There are no boundaries for me. I embrace it all. As a musician, you should widen yourself as much as possible.”
Shandon Sahm doesn't worry about being in his dad's considerable shadow.
“I've never had to deal with that,” he said. “I've always done my own thing. Pariah was signed to Geffen not because I was Doug's son, but because it was a good band. Sean Lennon and Jakob Dylan have to deal with that. If Dad was John Lennon famous, we could have had to deal with that. Curt hired me not because I'm Doug's kid but because I'm a good drummer.
“I want to turn people on to Dad's music, but I don't feel I'm in his shadow. With the Texas Tornados, Shawn's (Shandon's brother, Shawn Sahm) doing a great job of paying tribute to dad and Freddy Fender. We're doing this because we love it.”
Accessed 4/11/11
http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/Shandon-Sahm-meets-Meat-Puppets-1327667.php