Shrimp Daddy & The Sharpshooters

Artist Information

Biography

They call him Shrimp Daddy and he plays the Blues.
Michael 'Shrimp Daddy Reid' is the winner of the 2011 MAPLE BLUES AWARD for "NEW ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR" and was nominated for the 2011 CANADIAN INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS FOR "BLUES ARTIST/GROUP OF THE YEAR"

His deep powerful vocals and soulful harmonica, supported by his hard playing band The Sharpshooters, will whisk you from the juke joints of Mississippi, to the hard edge blues clubs of Chicago, and leave you swingin' and jumpin' west coast style. Inspired by the music of Little Walter, Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf & Muddy Waters, and his personal favorite, William Clarke, Shrimp Daddy carries on the tradition of heartfelt blues performance.

Transplanted from “La Belle Province” this native Montrealer now makes Toronto his home. He is a driving force in vocalizing, interpreting and writing Chicago and West Coast jump and swing blues.

Michael “Shrimp Daddy” Reid is a must hear!

Instrumentation

Mr. Conrad - Guitar, Guitar &Vocals
Dan Dufour - Guitar/bg vocals
Peter Griffin - Percussion & Drums
Tyrone Ramsey - Bass & Backing Vocals
Mike Shrimp Daddy Reid - Vocals & Harmonica

Discography

Shrimp Daddy
"messin' with my system"
Independent release in Nov of 2009

Official Website

http://www.shrimpdaddyreid.com

Links

• Facebook

Audio

• MESSIN' WITH MY SYSTEM
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• NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOUR
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• MISTREATED MY BABY
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• SOME GUYS LIKE IT ROUGH
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Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Embracing harmonica’s soulful sound [+ Show ]
  

  For most people, New Year’s resolutions come and go, but for Mike ‘Shrimp Daddy’ Reid, a 2001 decisi...For most people, New Year’s resolutions come and go, but for Mike ‘Shrimp Daddy’ Reid, a 2001 decision to learn how to play the harmonica forever changed his life. Although he had tried the drums and guitar in the past, he admits he didn’t quite have the dexterity to do “two things with his hands at once.”
  
  But the minute he put a harmonica on his lips, he says, it just felt right.
  
  “You don’t really choose the blues,” he says. “It kind of chooses you.”
  
  After just one year of practise he began to perform at open mic nights in Toronto and then began jamming with friends and doing cover shows at local pubs.
  
  But after deciding to take it to the next level he hasn’t looked back, forming a band — Shrimp Daddy and The Sharpshooters — and wowing fans throughout Ontario, Quebec and New York.
  
  But Reid says he certainly doesn’t do it for the money or the fame.
  
  His current gig includes working at a pool company in the daytime to pay the bills, while playing bars and festivals with his band at night and on weekends.
  
  “It’s all about the love for me,” says the Montreal native who has lived in Milton with his long-term girlfriend for years. “I live my life through music; it means everything to me.
  
  “I grew up with music all around me. My dad played Newfoundland folk and my mom loved French-Canadian folk and country music.
  
  “I still love and listen to all that music but I sing and play the blues for my soul.”
  
  He names his musical idol as Little Walter Jacobs, former sideman for Muddy Waters.
  
  As for his personal style he says it resembles that of Chicago blues with a dash of “westcoast swing.”
  
  It was this style, with the technical help of well-known Canadian blues artist Steve Marriner, that landed Reid his big break only a month ago, after he and Marriner completed his CD at the end of 2009.
  
  The Maple Blues Awards, Canada’s national blues awards, nominated him as one of the country’s top new artists.
  
  When more than 3,000 votes cast by Canuck blues fans were counted in January, he was crowned best new artist.
  
  “It was really great to be nominated, but to be voted on by fans is a real honour. As an artist you always wonder if people are being genuine when they tell you they like your stuff, but this confirms it.”
  
  His CD, named Messin’With My System, is now being played all over the globe from London to Rome and from Glasgow to Helsinki.
  
  And he has been getting great reviews on the original album that includes numerous songs, the subject of which mostly revolve around life.
  
  He even says he has been noticing some fans singing along to his music at concerts, a sign his album is gaining recognition.
  
  “When I played at the Mount Tremblant Blues Festival I noticed some people were familiar with my music,” says the 44-year-old. “I have a funny sort of song about losing my girlfriend because I can’t fold fitted sheets.
  
  “Well when I started to sing that on stage, a few people up on a balcony had ripped off bed sheets and started swinging them in the air. As an artist it’s amazing to see that.”
  
  When asked why blues musicians always have such odd names, he tells an interesting tale.
  
  “Back in the olden days during prohibition, a lot of blues musicians used to bootleg booze for extra cash, so their names were often pseudonyms to avoid detection by the police,” he says.
  
  As for his nickname, he says a former singer suggested it on a whim when the group needed a name to start playing gigs.
  
  He says the reality is far less romantic. Chuckling Reid adds: “I’m allergic to shellfish.”
  
  Shrimp Daddy and The Sharpshooters will play Cheryl’s Cookhouse, 550 Ontario St., March 19.
  
  Their album is available online at Amazon, Chapters, HMV and iTunes.
  
  

Setlist

Basic Requirements

Calendar