East Tennessee's The Shazam are superheroes in the UK
by John Sewell
The road to rock 'n' roll success usually follows a twisted route, assuming you're even one of the lucky few with a road atlas and a navigator. Nashville-based power pop/rock band The Shazam seems to be steady at the wheel, piloting one of those "overnight success" stories where commitment, some good luck and a bunch of great tunes are reaching a synchronous zenith—after years of relative obscurity, that is.
Guitarist/vocalist Hans Rotenberry describes The Shazam as "that little old English band from Tennessee." While the band is still an unknown entity in the States, it has already completed six jaunts to England in the last year, garnering a spate of good press releases in major British magazines, mainstream radio play, a coveted spot on a BBC television event and several major concert appearances. And now that the band has made such a big splash with the Brits, would it be possible for them to come back home as an English export? Stranger things have happened.
On the verge of recording their fourth album, The Shazam is reaping the rewards from years of toil, and what glorious rewards they are. Looking at the band's press kit, you'd think they were from England. With rave reviews in respected UK rock mags like Uncut, Mojo and Q, the band seems on the verge of big-dollar success. So the burning question is, will The Shazam's "Britpop" sound translate to radio play in America?
"The best thing that ever happened to us was going to England," says Rotenberry. "In England, we get played on real radio instead of just on local shows. In the UK, Q and Mojo have given us a lot of attention—all the national press. And here we're still having trouble getting gigs in Johnson City."
The Shazam is most often compared in the press to Midwest pop rockers Cheap Trick. Though this comparison is surely meant as a compliment, it's not exactly on the mark. Sure, the band has a big guitar sound, singalong choruses and Anglophile tendencies, just like Cheap Trick. But having the same influences doesn't make the bands sound exactly alike.
"I guess people are just gonna say that [the Cheap Trick comparison] and that's OK," says Rotenberry. "They always say that Oasis sounds like The Beatles, and they don't. I would describe our music as a mix of influences from all the best English guitar rock from the late '60s through the mid '70s and filtered through an American guitars-and-drums band from the South."
And the band really does put their reverence for classic mod rock to good use. The British influences are obvious, but there are no faux English accents. The music still comes off as wholly American. Imagine listening to The Who and The Vapors in a souped-up Camaro with a bunch of stoned, high-school-aged skinny-tie new wavers, circa 1979, and maybe you'll have some idea of the musical experience offered on the Shazam's latest opus, Rev9 (Not Lame Records).
Though the band finds its home in Nashville, Rotenberry actually resides in the industrial redneck mecca of Kingsport, where he inherited a house four years ago. "I'm originally from Kingsport and I got this house—it's not a great house but it's here and it's mine," says Rotenberry. "No rent to pay means living the rock 'n' roll lifestyle in Kingsport, Tennessee, and that's fine with me."
As much as Rotenberry may want to downplay his recent globetrotting rock 'n' roll life, he can't deny that the band has experienced its share of glitz in the UK. Exactly a year ago (Memorial Day 2000), The Shazam appeared as a part of a multi-band extravaganza at The Beatles' famed Abbey Road Studios that was broadcast on the BBC.
"They had a ton of artists coming through there all day long," says Rotenberry. "And we were the only American band on the bill, much less the only unknown band. Paul Weller played, The Move played and Paul McCartney was supposed to play but he didn't show up.
"It was weird hanging out with Duran Duran—they actually played before we did and that was pretty cool. It was an all day thing and everybody played about five songs. We got the extended Beatles tour of the studio and were assured that we were singing into The Beatles' mics.
"That was so cool," Rotenberry continues. "I mean, it was like all of the British rock aristocracy were hanging out backstage and we were the opening band. We were standing back there like"—he says in a Beavis & Butthead-esque voice—"'Heh-heh-heh'—just drinking beer and looking around."
From the BBC special, The Shazam became fast friends with Paul Weller, who offered them a series of opening slots on his shows. From there, the band became the toast of swinging London and even spent an evening of ribaldry with Oasis' Liam Gallagher.
"We got to meet Gallagher and he was actually really cool," says Rotenberry. "I've gotta say that he's everything that he comes across as being. He's just a blathering English idiot, and I mean that in the best possible way. I mean, you can't understand a word that he says. He'll get right in your face and point his finger at you. And he's got big guys hanging around with him so if he starts a fight with you and you hit him, those other guys will just beat the shit out of you. So he can say whatever he wants to anybody. I just kind of laid some heavy East Tennessee on him and he couldn't understand me either."
May 24, 2001 * Vol. 11, No. 21
© 2001 Metro Pulse
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