Shaw, Leo Francis and Felix Potier sing (they all share lead vocals) and play scorching guitar. Interestingly, there’s not a drummer in sight. While that sort of lineup was common in early R&B and rockabilly, it’s kinda unique now. “It’s our thing and what sets us apart,” confirms Shaw.
Shaw’s love for the music goes way back. “I guess I probably got into rockabilly when I was about 19 or 20,” he reflects. “I didn’t start playing guitar until I was 24 though – I was a late starter in that respect, but I’m 45 now, so I’ve been doing it for a while.
“Like a lot of people, I was exposed to it by my parents, especially my mum. She was into early Elvis, doo-wop and the Platters. From there, I got into the Stray Cats and they were out there in the general public, pop forum. It was a rockabilly revival, but in context, they were doing something more contemporary. I saw that and thought it was different, but pretty cool.
“Then, I got into the harder edged stuff. I was into psychobilly in the early piece, and I worked my way back from there, figuring out where some of their stuff hailed from. I ended up listening to early Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent and really early R&B, prior to the rock’n’roll explosion.”
There was some serendipity in The ReChords’ inception. Shaw describes it as fate. “Yeah, it was bizarre really. All three of us had an idea that we wanted to do western swing, with a hillbilly feel and then magically, we all found each other at the same time.”
The fact that it’s a three-piece sans drummer only came about after they had started playing together.
“Initially, we were thinking it’d be a four or five-piece band, with a steel guitar and a drummer, but then we started jamming and did a few trial gigs and we realised that we had filled out the sound. Suddenly, we switched on to the fact that we didn’t need a drummer.”
They walk a pretty nifty line too – they’re reverent towards the genres they play, while giving things a contemporary edge. Take their single Don’t Know Much, in which Francis bemoans an ex airing dirty linen on Facebook and being ditched via email.
“Leo and Felix write most of the lyrics and they try to breakaway from the standard pin-up girls and jumping in a hotrod. That’s all fine, but it’s just not who we are,” Shaw explains. “That’s a conscious effort on our part, to sing about stuff that relates to us. We don’t force it, though. We just sing about what’s happening, but using a traditional format.”
Shaw is pretty humble about the band’s achievements. “Making it this far and being such a tight-knit band is definitely a highlight,” he laughs. “I’ve never been in a band before with this much enthusiasm and unity.”
The international travel’s apparently not bad, and neither is the opportunity to play with some of the greats, like Big Sandy and Deke Dickerson. “Does it blow me away? Oh yeah – definitely,” he agrees. “And anyone who says no is lying! Those guys have been doing it such a long time and I’m not saying that America is the beginning and end, because the music has grown up all over, but they certainly have a claim to early rock’n’roll. We’ve played with some guys who were playing it in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s – all over the world! It’s a buzz.”
BY MEG CRAWFORD
