Nick Shaheen
Chicago, Illinois, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2013 | SELF
Music
Press
Chicago singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Nick Shaheen’s new album, 'Sauvignon' is a brilliant interpretation of Americana, a mix of Rock and Roll, Bluegrass, Folk and Country that incorporates everything from Horns to a Wurlitzer for a distinctive sound rich in varied traditions. From the first two songs, the hook-filled 'State Song' and the boogie-woogie "Big Hippo" the album is an instant classic that will have you doing multiple repeats.
The Musicans: Nick Shaheen Vocals, Banjo, Composer, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Harmonica, Organ, Percussion, Piano, Chris Crisman Bass, Bass (Upright), Nathan Mark Drums, Marty Kondziolka Drums, Johnny Iguana Piano, Eric Frantz Cajon, Composer, Harmonica, Russel Gillespie Composer, Guitar (Electric), Piano, Wurlitzer, Cisco Rodriguez Congas, Horn, Percussion, Vocals, Stephen Shirk Engineer, Guitar (Electric), Mixing, Musician, Percussion, Producer, Vocals
Via Press Release:
A Major in Finance and Marketing at the University of Michigan, Shaheen toyed with music a bit in his teens and early 20's but admits to not committing to songwriting until 2009, when he crafted a tune rather out of the blue that he couldn't shake.
"The song came out so fast and afterwards, it was something I could look at and I felt like it stood on its own and didn't need me to validate it or anything," he recalls. "I always felt connected to music and knew I'd be doing something with it, but I never really wrote anything (before that)... so it seemed kind of strange. But when it all started to happen, it just sort of unfolded for me and I felt very connected to the whole thing."
After relocating to Chicago to continue work in finance, Shaheen met up with those that would make up his backing band through open mic performances and connections at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music. It seems like fate that these members, most of which being from Michigan as well, also sport not-so-typical work histories: Shaheen is backed by a lawyer, an Apple Genius, a mechanical engineer, a brand strategist and a district manager of a hardware store chain. All of which should be able to quit their day jobs if this album gets the attention it deserves.
Shaheen's journeys throughout the album aren't just by foot or automobile, but deep within the recesses of the mind. In the fever-dream chaos of "Flashbulbs," one of the album's many lively highlights, he struggles with being framed and eventually exonerated for murder, a scenario that developed from a real-life panic:
"I was in the kitchen cooking dinner,” prefaces Shaheen. “I remember I was chopping up potatoes when this violent vision completely overtook me. Everything was so vivid. I had a full-on panic attack right there.” Even two weeks later, he was actively dealing with guilt he had no control over. “I couldn’t hold a knife for weeks. ‘What the hell was that? How could you even think that? You’re going crazy.’ I read all about it online, like I'm a psychiatrist trying to diagnose myself and find the cure all at once. I found these message boards where people were dealing with stuff like this for years. It made me more nervous, but at the same time gave me hope. After I had some time to reflect, I started to write down the scene as it came to me and a song started to take shape. The idea was to lay it all out and triumph over it.”
Listening to Sauvignon all the way through, one takes these trips with Shaheen and the band, and comes out the other end like they've actually traveled some distance, despite camping out in front of their stereo. Just as the album's opening cut "State Song" begins the journey (with landmarks and names of locations adding to the personal nature of the track), Sauvignon wraps up with "Younger Years," where Shaheen suggests his sweetheart fetch a bottle of wine while he slips an LP on the turntable. It's a fitting final chapter to an album full of carnal instincts, wild dreams and a sense of adventure for the ears, eyes and soul.
Within those final few minutes, Shaheen admits he's "having trouble realizing that I'm not that important / It's a good lesson, I suppose." And while he's reflecting about the loss of those days within "Younger Years," there's a sense that we should all be thankful for that id inside all of us; that mythical sense of self that drives us to create, dream, drive or scream. Without it, we don't have much to remember or look forward to, and game-changing albums like Sauvignon - and the experiences that shape them - wouldn't exist. - Popa's Tunes
Behold the singer-songwriter: an individual and their guitar, maybe with a backing band. What makes one stand out from the pack?
In Nick Shaheen's case, it's his subtle subversion of all the genre's standbys: sweet love songs, the road song, the songs about self-pity, the occasional murder ballad. There's a reason these types of songs endure, but sometimes they're boring. Give this album careful attention, and Shaheen will make sure you never get bored.
It's not just that Shaheen plays a mean guitar, or that his lyrics are exceptionally sharp, or that his pop-punk delivery suits itself well to folk music. Taken altogether, he's a triple threat. While each song is beautiful in its own right, I'd like to draw attention to "Flashbulbs," an unusual twist on the murder ballad with an unusual backstory. In the song, the narrator recalls being framed for the murder of his lover while chopping vegetables in the kitchen. We learn that the killer used his kitchen knife. The song takes us through the trial and the aftermath, when his name is cleared -- the ambivalent triumph of being declared innocent while you've lost your love in a horrific way.
Shaheen writes he was inspired to write the song when he found himself in the midst of a vivid, violent fantasy while preparing dinner. Shaheen wrote the song to exorcise that particular demon, making the triumph at the end of the song very real.
All of this is to say that these are inventive -- but subtle -- songs from a vivid imagination. It's definitely worth your time. - Adobe and Teardrops
In this podcast with Nick Digilio, Nick Shaheen performs songs off his new album “Sauvignon” and previews his Friday night show at Mayne Stage. - WGN Radio - 720AM
Nick Shaheen sounds very together (and talented) on his sophomore release Sauvignon. - WXRT Chicago - 93.1FM
Radio One Chicago sits down with Nick Shaheen to talk music and preview his new album "Sauvignon" - WLUW - 88.7FM
Fearless Radio welcomes Nick Shaheen into the studio for an interview about his new album "Sauvignon" and an in-studio live performance. - Fearless Radio
Nick Shaheen’s part of that new crowd: the rebirth of the American singer-songwriter who does it to make good music. Nothing else, just to crank out songs that make your feet tap and your brain race. Catch him tomorrow, Friday, April 20, from 11 AM until noon on On the Trail with Josh Rice. Nick’s doing an interview and a giveaway of his new album. - WVUM Miami
Discography
SAUVIGNON - released Feb 2015
State Song / Big Hippo / Crazybird / Against The Wall / Long Way Down / TN / Flashbulbs / On My Mind / Like Diamonds / Younger Years
DON'T GIVE UP ON ME - released Mar 2012
Don't Give Up On Me / Fishin' / Hard Times / Quite Uncommon / I Could Love / So Long / Coming Home / Inside My Shoes
Photos
Bio
Though titled Sauvignon, Nick Shaheen's second album relates less to the delicate imagery that fine wine may bring to mind, and far more to the French derivation of the word, loosely meaning "wild" or "untamed." Sure, there are breathtaking acoustics and brilliant uses of space here, but one thing Shaheen's brand of modern Americana and roots-influenced soul-searching brings to the table is activity.
Take the lively "Big Hippo" for instance - created in the tour van as the group drove through a monsoon, and performed that very same night - where soulful, boogie-woogie keys from legendary pianist Johnny Iguana (who has played with the likes of Junior Wells, Van Morrison, and Koko Taylor) assist the tune, chugging along with the power of a freight train thanks to friend and long-time band member Russ Gillespie’s crunchy guitar up-strokes. All the while, the band's riding a brash blues vibe and the eventual crazed shouts from Shaheen command your ears as well as your already-dancing feet.
On the flip side, the seemingly endless emptiness between notes on "Long Way Down" is almost its own instrument entirely. Penned about finding love in a bustling city with an array of options and distractions, each instrument - wurlitzer, acoustic guitar, the warm hum of the bass, the heartbeat of a kickdrum - is given ample breathing room to provide the focus on Shaheen alone, for arguably his best vocal to date. Also at play here is the artist's much-appreciated specification: He's not just in an apartment, he's “inside a little bedroom on the third floor of a red-brick, green-doored flat.” Yet, after making specific points about his location and his company, he admits not knowing "a thing about where I'm at." It's an honest admission that points out Shaheen's inarguable strengths as a songwriter and lyricist. He's soaking up his surroundings and, maybe too often, putting himself on the back-burner.
Shaheen's journeys throughout the album aren't just by foot or automobile, but deep within the recesses of the mind. In the fever-dream chaos of "Flashbulbs," one of the album's many lively highlights, he struggles with being framed and eventually exonerated for murder, a scenario that developed from a real-life panic: "I was in the kitchen cooking dinner,” prefaces Shaheen. “I remember I was chopping up potatoes when this violent vision completely overtook me. Everything was so vivid. I had a full-on panic attack right there.” Even two weeks later, he was actively dealing with guilt he had no control over. “I couldn’t hold a knife for weeks. ‘What the hell was that? How could you even think that? You’re going crazy.’ I read all about it online, like I'm a psychiatrist trying to diagnose myself and find the cure all at once. I found these message boards where people were dealing with stuff like this for years. It made me more nervous, but at the same time gave me hope. After I had some time to reflect, I started to write down the scene as it came to me and a song started to take shape. The idea was to lay it all out and triumph over it.”
Listening to Sauvignon all the way through, one takes these trips with Shaheen and the band, and comes out the other end like they've actually traveled some distance, despite camping out in front of their stereo. Just as the album's opening cut "State Song" begins the journey (with landmarks and names of locations adding to the personal nature of the track), Sauvignon wraps up with "Younger Years," where Shaheen suggests his sweetheart fetch a bottle of wine while he slips an LP on the turntable. It's a fitting final chapter to an album full of carnal instincts, wild dreams and a sense of adventure for the ears, eyes and soul.
Within those final few minutes, Shaheen admits he's "having trouble realizing that I'm not that important / It's a good lesson, I suppose." And while he's reflecting about the loss of those days within "Younger Years," there's a sense that we should all be thankful for that id inside all of us; that mythical sense of self that drives us to create, dream, drive or scream. Without it, we don't have much to remember or look forward to, and game-changing albums like Sauvignon - and the experiences that shape them - wouldn't exist.
Band Members
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