Johnny Payne: “Do you listen to Devon Williams?”
Me: (shakes head)
Johnny: “Well, it’s quite sad actually. He makes beautiful records, but no one seems to care much about them. “
The same could be said for The Shilohs, having released their “debut” album So Wild on Bandcamp nearly three years ago. Only this past February did it get the distribution it deserved. Beyond the comforts of home in Vancouver, B.C., the band has yet to make an abiding impression outside of a few regurgitated album reviews and brief tour stints.
The Shilohs, a ’60s pop/country rock band, is the work of Dan Colussi (bass), Ben Frey (drums), Mike Komaszczuk (guitar, vocals) and Johnny Payne (guitar, vocals). They have toured with the likes of Wild Belle and Tennis. They count the guys of Real Estate as friends. They were also sought out to record at the legendary JC/DC Studios (Destroyer, The New Pornographers, etc.)
So why haven’t they had their moment? A couple of pitchers of beers later, I was able to find out.
To preface this, you don’t need to feel sorry for these guys. They make bets on bottles of 32-oz. Miller High Life and fight over who gets to sleep in the van — even when management would have happily paid for a hotel room. Rather than pouting about a shitty sound system and opening for a funk band the night before, The Shilohs see this “deficit tour” (their words, not mine) as “practice.”
On a Friday night at the Conor Byrne Pub in Ballard, The Shilohs opened with “This is Vancouver Music.” The song was written in response to a friend of Johnny’s who said The Shilohs’ sound didn’t fit in with the scene in Vancouver. Johnny, who listens to old Disney songs and Ella Fitzgerald, was offended. “Music shouldn’t be defined by a city. If you’re a band and you happen to live in Vancouver, that’s Vancouver music.”
The Shiloh’s sound is a familiar one: well-structured, full of remembered melodies and songs about love. For as much as they bicker like brothers off stage, when they perform you hear camaraderie.
But don’t let their joyful simplicity deceive you. When the band’s distinctive strengths meet, you are enveloped in genuine exuberance. For example, the hazy ballad of “You Don’t Call Me Darling Anymore” has simple lyrics of sentiment, but takes you on a journey.
After spending four-plus hours with these guys, I could sense they are itching to move forward. The highlights of the set were “Student of Nature” and “Queen Light, Queen Dark” — both unreleased. Mike had said earlier, “We had to move on [from So Wild]… we couldn’t sit on a record.” Only four out of the 13 songs they played on Friday were off of So Wild.
During the hiatus, The Shilohs kept recording. And that diligence has paid off. The group probably has more than 40 unreleased tracks, all impatiently waiting to be set free. Their latest video, “English Roads” was dreamed up in Johnny’s head. A former theatre kid and hopeless romantic, Johnny had the idea to show up at a past lover’s doorstep unannounced and profess his admiration. The basketball scene was a metaphor for redemption after having his heart broken. When his friends in real life talked him out of flying across the country, he made the video instead.
Around 2:30 a.m., I was able to pinpoint what was so infectious about these four that had kept me out way past my bedtime. Much like their idols The Beatles — who played hundreds of live shows with no audience and little pay off — The Shilohs exude confidence, drive, and commitment to their craft.
Making music — not being #1 on iTunes or having a Pitchfork stamp of approval — propels them. If they don’t make “most influential pop band” any time soon, I do believe that The Shilohs’ long and winding road (wink wink) of “practice” shows is coming to an end. They are moving on.
Set List:
- This is Vancouver Music
- Get Ready Now (Palm Readers)
- Student of Nature
- Private Lives
- No More Runnin’
- I Wanna See The…
- Pony Boy
- Sisters of Blue
- Queen Light, Queen Dark
- Mike’s New One (??)
- LA
- Place Where Nobody Goes
- Hey Little Child
