| CD REVIEW Shenaniganz |
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Band: Shenaniganz Here’s a band which surprised me in a very positive way! Weirdly enough, it’s the somewhat extensive band biography which came with our promo copy which threw me off at first, as it was stressing somewhat on the “Rock” aspect of the band, as well as on the fact that the band’s songs are rehearsed mostly on stage after a short initiative jam in the rehearsal room. Also, the band’s MySpace was talking about “Bad-ass Rock ‘n’ Roll”…I mean, that completely threw me off the track as to what I could expect musically. But once I’d inserted the disc in the cd-player and played it, I found the band’s music is really a very diverse one, based on Blues-drenched Hard Rock! Occasional remeniscences to the typical AC/DC stylings drift by during songs like album opener “Roses Are Red”, “Girl In The First Row”, “Change”, but really the band’s musical palate goes beyond that somewhat restricted area of the Blues Rock style! With the addition of a mouth harmonica during “We Are The Underground”, they enter the world of Boogie Blues, by having one of the guitarists exchange his instrument for a warm sounding organ (B3 Hammond, perhaps?), the guys give themselves a nice classic ‘70s Blues Rock sound veturing towards the Progressive, through the addition of horns during “Bavaria” they not only bring to the fore the more typical musical style of their region in Germany, but also give the track a Humpa-Polka Blues Rock flair beyond compare, and by occasionally giving the guitar a passing fuzzy sound they give the songs they on a more modern touch…without ever going into Stoner territory! They even end up their album with a nice semi-acoustic “ballad”, employing a drum beat which comes close to tribal (well, actually that last track on the album, which fades out with a fuzzy guitar and a lone bit of drum, also includes a 70-second hidden bonus track, which is really “Bavaria” played at twice the normal speed). In all, Upper-Bavarian, Horn based quartet has succeeded in bringing us a debut album which ventures into several area’s of the Hard Rockin’ Blues Rock field…and beyond…the whole brought with an emphasis on catchy song structures and guitar sounds, avoiding to fly off in extensive solos but nevertheless bringing great (not too elaborate) lead guitar play!!! Right, now that we’ve had thàt, maybe some history after all? In early 2004 Dom Rehbein invited Georg Raig (both still going to school) to a house party, even though the two didn’t even like each other, and at this party the latter met Dom’s brother Daniel for the first time. Now Daniel was already into playing music, rehearsing with his band No Smoking, and had a guitar in his room. Showing Georg (whom at that time wasn’t even into music at all) some licks, he effectively infected Georg with the music bug, and invited him over for a jam session with his band. That first session immediately had a new track as result, and others would soon follow…the core of Shenaniganz (Georg singing lead and playing guitar, Daniel playing guitar and providing backing vocals) was born! It was decided there and then that the band would rehearse their songs as little as possible in the rehearsal room, as they prefered to have the songs evolve in live conditions. So the guys also started looking out for gigging possibilities almost immediately. At a certain moment their drummer quit, just when the band was scheduled to play two weeks after. In stead of starting auditions, the guys asked Dom to take over the drums and learn his part in that time…which he did! Current bassist Tobay “The Basstard” Reich was found during 2005, and in Autumn of the same year Shenaniganz participated in the German band contest Schooljam, which they eventually won! The band then played at the Rock Am Ring festival, and started preparing to record their song “Carolina” (which they’d used during the contest) with Uli Pallemanns at 301 Studios in Koln, and make a video for it. Somehow the band’s reputation got known in Korea, and next up the guys got invited to play at the 6th International Junior Art Festival at Gangnueng, an experience which made an everlasting impression on the young lads. In fact one of their gigs there also left a positive impression on Dreamscape guitarist Wolfgang Kerinnis, whom was there as a normal visitor. So impressed was he that he offered the band to record their first album Four Finger Fist Fight (issued in October 2007, and re-issued in January 2008 through Kerinnis newly formed Silverwolf Productions label), and guide ‘em with his expertise into the professional world of the music business as their manager. So far, so good, and with someone like that behind you, it shouldn’t be surprising to find yourself back into a studio soon enough to record a second album…which you’ve just read a review of! To get an idea of what the band sounds like, check out what’s available at myspace.com/badassrocknroll (a medley of the album, a 1-minute sample of the catchy “Brand-New Chucks”, and full-length versions of “Change” and the debut album’s “Why”) or shenaniganz.de (samples of àll Shenaniganz songs, including a Bob Dylan cover recorded for a tribute album). If you’re into chunky Bluesey Hard Rock with a Garagey feel, a touch of Glam Rock, and what have you more (see earlier), then you’ll certainly have fun with this bunch of German Rockers! I’d tell you about the band’s most prominent live plans, but the file I created in which I stamped all the info on the band when I was able to surf on the Internet, has somehow gotten corrupted…and I find myself without contact to the Net for the immediate future, so check out yourself! By the way, the Shenaniganz are apparently active outside their own band as well, Dom also playing in a school band, Daniel and Tobay have their own side-projects, and Daniel and Georg have also been known to jam with the people from Krautrock legend Amon Düül II…not bad, eh!? 89/100 Tony. |