Paul Shellooe's Music

The Informants Rock The DNC

2008-08-27T09:42:00.000-07:00

This has been a huge week for The Informants. The Democratic National Convention officially kicked off on Monday and huge gatherings like this always includes big parties with rock bands. The Informants are always happy to bring the rock. On Sunday night, we played a huge party for the Blue Dog Democrats at Mile High Station. In addition to a really impressive spread of food, open bar and decorations, there were two big stages, one inside the bar where we played and the other was outside and featured international recording artist KT Tunstall. The event was impressive and appeared to be sponsored by Microsoft -- there were huge flat screens all over the place broadcasting the performances. We played for 90 minutes, then KT Tunstall took the stage for 90 minutes and we finished the night with another hour long set. It was a blast.

Monday night found us playing a late night party at Marlowe's for Moving Virginia Forward, Governor Tim Kaine’s PAC, and the Virginia delegation. This party was smaller, but more intimate and the Virginia delegation was a blast! Tim Kaine was a great host and is also an awesome harmonica player, so of course we had him sit in with us for a song. Another fine politician/musician was there, actor David Keith who hails from Knoxville Tennessee. David plays a mean guitar, has a great voice and is rallying support for a great cause (dedicated to the protection of children from abuse, exploitation and neglect -- see http://www.protect.org for more information), so we had him come up and lead a couple of killer southern rock tunes. Just when you thought the party couldn't get more happenin', Charles Barkley walked in at midnight. He was super cool and seemed to really dig the band. Definitely a night to remember.

I've Been Informed!

2007-01-12T14:03:00.000-08:00

Well, it's official -- I'm back in a band! I am now the guitar player for Denver's all-star jump blues & swing band The Informants. I will spare you all of the details and just tell you that the band is awesome, I'm honored to be a part of it and I'm psyched to be back in the music scene. We will be rehearsing and working on new material through January and my first gig with the band will be on February 8th at the Robusto Room in Lone Tree (Park Meadows).

A new website will be launching in February. In the meantime, there is a new home page with new info:

http://www.theinformantsband.com/

This is definitely a new start for my music career. It's a very different gig than Dirty Pool. I've been wanting to get back to old-school blues, jazz and roots music and this is the perfect opportunity. It's super cool to be playing with top notch musicians -- amazing singer, keys, horns, rhythm section, etc. Playing for the song instead of goin' full blast all night is really cool. I'll still blast from time to time, but this is where my heart is. I'm finally learning how the guitar should be played.

Looking forward to seeing you at a show...

Once You Put Your Mind To It...

2006-12-04T09:33:00.000-08:00

I haven't been updating this page very much. As lame as it is, the most current information about what I'm doing musically is on MySpace. Check out: http://www.myspace.com/paulshellooemusic for all of the latest information, new music (I just posted a new tune), gig dates, etc. I'll try to at least keep this page somewhat current.

The last few months have been awesome as far as music and the guitar is concerned. It's funny, I decided to get back in the game and since I made that decision, tons of opportunities have come up. I played with Joey Fender and the 55's at the Skylark back in April. Joey called me in October and wanted me to play with him at the Rockabilly Rod Reunion in Las Vegas. I flew out for the gig and it was a blast. Nothing cooler than flying with a guitar for a couple of gigs in 'Vegas. After getting back from 'Vegas, I met a bunch of cool local musicians and have been playing with different groups of people trying to find a good match for a new band (or bands?). I'm psyched. There are a lot of great musicians looking for the same kind of situation that I'm looking for. We'll see what happens.

I also might be back on stage on a fairly regular basis in the very near future. Details are still being worked out and I can't really say much yet. I will post again if things work out and I know more. In the meantime, check out the MySpace page and let me know what you think. MySpace is popular with the kids, but also really useful for musician/band networking. Check back soon for more information...

Back In The Ring, Rock-ola Style!

2006-04-04T14:41:00.000-07:00

I've been slackin' big time on the blog updates. I've been busy in the past few months. I started working at Quark in December, which has been awesome. I missed it. I went to India in January and had a blast. It's such a cool country -- amazing culture, people, food, history, etc. I got to hang out with a lot of old friends and even jammed with a great guitar player that I work with (I brought a little electric travel guitar).

The big news is that I'm headin' back to the stage. That's right, you can see me playing guitar this Thursday night at the Skylark Lounge playing with Joey Fender and the 55's! I met Joey last week -- he is in town for some gigs and is playing with my buddy Mad Dog, the drummer for Paul Galaxy and the Galactix. They saw me playing at Ziggie's and asked me to do the gig with them. It's been great hangin' out with them. This is the first time that I've been a sideman playing rhythm guitar with a band and I'm blown away by how much I'm learning.

I have been wanting to start gigging again and I would like to start a straight-up good time roots rock/blues band. Joey Fender is exactly that. He has played all over the US for over a decade and has gigged with the best -- Buddy Guy, BB King, etc. He also has a great attitude and refuses to quit. It's exactly what I needed to kick my ass back on stage.

So come on by The Skylark Lounge at 140 South Broadway in Denver this Thursday, April 6th at 9pm -- we'll be playing all night. Three sets of burnin' rock and blues.

Remembering Chris Whitley

2006-01-18T12:45:00.000-08:00

This is now old news, but one of the best musicians on the planet died on November 20th. I haven't posted about it because it really bothered me and I wanted to digest the news. I found out about it in late December, which is weird because I had recently re-discovered Chris' music and had been watching his website for local tour dates. I even exchanged e-mails with the owner of his record label (super nice guy) to get his new record on eMusic.com (which he did).

I discovered Chris Whitley when his first major record, Living With The Law was released in the early 90's. I was totally blown away. He was coming from a blues base, but was much further out there. Way more poetic and nowhere near the cliched sound of a lot of modern blues. He played scary slide guitar and sang like a troubled angel. His sound was always totally authentic. His follow up albums were even further out there and that made me like him (and his music) even more. He took the blues base and went way out into heavy (and scary) rock territory. Dark, loud, raw and totally amazing.

I met Chris briefly at Albums On The Hill in Boulder during his Dirt Floor tour (a stripped down acoustic, huge "comeback" album as good or better than Living With The Law). The owner Andy (one of the coolest guys you'll ever meet) introduced us at an in-store performance. He was really soft spoken and nice. We chatted for a while and he signed a CD for me ("Hey Paul, thanks for all -- Chris Whitley"). That was also the first time that I had seen Chris live and I was in awe. Just a guy and a beat up steel body National acoustic guitar making huge noise.

I went to the show at the Fox Theater that night and was surprised to find that he was touring alone. Dirt Floor was a solo acoustic record, but I just assumed he would be travelling with a band. Well, he didn't need a band. It was just him and an amplified board that he stomped on and it was some of the biggest music that I've heard come out of the Fox Theatre (and I've heard a lot there).

I continued to follow Chris' career (though not as closely) up until last year. The description of his new CD Soft Dangerous Shores sounded really cool on the website, so I checked it out as soon as it came out. It was as incredible as anything Chris had ever done. More gentle, but still visceral -- evidently it was his take on love and relationships.

Around the time the CD was released, I read in the forums on his website that he had a trainwreck of a show. Couldn't play, was angry -- just out of control. I had always heard rumors that Chris had his share of demons, so I assumed (probably like everyone else) that he was fighting some kind of addiction. That's where I left it until I read that in Guitar Player magazine that he died (the article didn't mention the cause of death). The news hit me like a ton of bricks. It was like I had lost a friend (though I didn't even know him).

I read the next day that he died of lung cancer. His website has an excellent eulogy from his daughter and his younger brother. The website somehow made me feel better. I'm sure the botched show was just a natural reaction to getting the news that he was extremely ill. I just can't believe how fast he died. I guess it's better that way. All I know is that I'm really going to miss him. I want to be able to see him tear it up at the Bluebird Theater (down the street from my house), tellin' it like it is.

Luckily, he recorded a ton in the last few years, so there is a lot to listen to. I recommend everything that he ever recorded. It's all amazing. His music is difficult, but worth the extra effort required to "get" it. Here are some recordings available on the web:

Chris Whitley Songs

Check out "Hellhound On My Trail" -- talk about someone that really gets Robert Johnson...

"Blues is a mean thing and when it gets to rocking in a fun kind of way, I don't really care for it. Actually, I don't think of the stuff that I really love -- early Muddy Waters, early Howlin' Wolf -- as 'blues;' I almost think of those guys as not playing in a particular style. They're more like dangerously pure expression. I like things real stripped direct. Except lyrics." -- Chris Whitley, 1991

Under The Influence

2005-12-11T11:08:00.000-08:00

I went to see the Chris Duarte Group at Oscar Blues in Lyons, CO. last night. It was really good to see Chris again. The first time I saw Chris play was back in 1993. I had just turned 21, Aaron, Dave and I had just started jamming in my garage -- it was a very cool time. Seeing that show was a definitely life changer for me. Chris was playing exactly how I heard music. I wasn't a very good guitar player at the time, but it didn't matter because I had something to strive for. All I wanted to do was be good enough to approach making music like Chris did.

Over the years, I got to know Chris pretty well. Our first theatre gig (at the Fox Theatre in Boulder) was opening for Chris and we opened for him about 15 times over the next 7 years. Chris was always the coolest -- greeted us with open arms, would always sit in with us, invited me to sit in with his band, etc. He even invited me over to jam in his hotel room during the day between a two night stand. Needless to say, I've learned a ton from Chris.

After playing in Dirty Pool for about 8 years, I started to get tired of my own playing/style. The market was flooded with over-the-top blues guitar players that all were trying to cop Stevie Ray's style. Being a blues-based rock band, we were put in the same category. I admit that I owe a huge debt to that style of music, but I was always striving for more. That's why I like Chris Duarte's approach so much -- it's all about breaking down the boundries. Anyway, the blues scene left a bad taste in my mouth and I eventually started to explore other types of music.

For better or for worse, blues as a music style is definitely at a popularity low point. Strangely enough, I am now being drawn back to it more than ever. It makes me realize why I was so drawn to the blues in the first place. In the late 80s, corporate hair rock was the thing and no one was interested in the blues. The blues was dangerous and kinda scary (just listen to some Robert Johnson). That really appealed to me. I feel the same thing going on now. I LIKE the fact that there isn't a big audience for blues. Ironically, I'm playing way more than I have in years and am slowly getting back to gigging.

I have always struggled with wearing my influences on my sleeve. I'm only now coming to terms with who I am as a player. It's OK to have influences and, to be able to approach the level of musicianship required to draw comparisons is pretty flattering. All musicians have certain strengths and are drawn to certain aspects of music.

I realized a long time ago that I won't ever reach the skill level of someone like Chris Duarte because I don't have the desire to push the guitar to it's technical limits. I just don't have the discipline to practice as much and as hard as I would need to reach that level. Plus, I have tried a million times to get into the crazy jazz that Chris is influenced by and I just don't understand it. Maybe that will change, but for now, I'm happy with where I am as a musician.

One of the most flattering compliments that I have ever received was from Brian Nevin (drummer for Big Head Todd and the Monsters). He told me that the thing that sets Dirty Pool apart from the other "big guitar" bands is the songwriting -- "you write good songs." I still have a long way to go musically and as a songwriter, but I enjoy the songwriting process more than any other aspect of music. Don't get me wrong, I love wailing on the guitar, but the most rewarding experience for me is a finished original song that people (even a few people) actually enjoy. Usually it's with someone else singing (like "Room To Breathe" which Crystal Derx sang the hell out of on our CD), but just to know that I wrote a good song is where it's at for me.

Anyway, I am eternally grateful to Chris Duarte and the long list of musicians (including Jim Thomas from the Mermen who I talked to a few weeks ago) who have influenced me over the years. It's OK if someone thinks that I sound like Stevie Ray Vaughan (or any other influence), we all learn from those who came before. It's the weird combination of influences that come together to form an original style. Some musician's combinations are just a little bit weirder and more bold than others.

Holiday Music

2005-12-07T09:52:00.000-08:00

The last couple of months have been really cool. Tracy and I just got back from a trip to northern California (visiting my family for Thanksgiving). We stayed in Carmel, Los Gatos and San Francisco. The stay in San Francisco was mainly to see one of my favorite guitar players, Jim Thomas (of The Mermen and the Shi-Tones). His side project band called The Shi-Tones has a weekly gig at a cool bar called the Park Chalet which is right on Ocean Beach. They play instrumental surf covers and are totally awesome. It was a really high energy, but small/low-key show, we talked to the band, met cool people, etc. Very cool.

Tracy and I have recently been cleaning out our storage room in the basement for the past few weeks. It has been a huge pain in the ass, but one cool outcome was finding a ton of stuff from the Dirty Pool days. I found everything from photos (candids and official) to original master tapes of studio and live recordings, as well as jam/rehearsal tapes, song ideas, etc. I have just started listening to everything and it's been pretty cool.

I even found the very first studio recording that we ever did. The name of the band was "Black Cat Bone" at the time of the recording, but we changed it to "Dirty Pool" after finding that a national band had the name Black Cat Bone. It's definitely raw, but there is a lot of spirit in the performances -- it was a really cool time.

Another studio recording that I unearthed was a Christmas song that Dirty Pool recorded for the KBPI morning show in 1996. KBPI was supporting local music by playing Christmas songs recorded by local bands. We recorded the song in one night at the Boulder Sound Company (where we later recorded our CD "Shootelectric"). We did it without a click track, so I thought it would be pretty shaky, but I think it actually sounds pretty good. Again -- there is a lot feeling there. We definitely had a good time recording the song.

So here it is, just in time for Christmas 2005. Merry Christmas! Enjoy...

Back Door Santa - Dirty Pool (MP3 file)

Learning A Lot

2005-10-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

The learning process continues. I'm getting to the point where I'm spending as much time with guitars as I used to (minus the gigging). My intererest is totally back and really focused. It feels good. The only problem now is that I want to play all the time (or at least do something that relates to the guitar). Oh well -- you gotta make a living somehow and software is a pretty good gig.

The acoustic sessions with Goggin have been really cool. I still have a ton to learn, but it's pushing me in the right direction. I'm finally learning some solid, basic music theory. Just enough to get by. I want to have a working knowledge of chord theory, all of the notes on the guitar, etc. I want to go from there into jazz. All in time.

The Martin that Tracy gave me as a wedding present is totally awesome. Inspiring to play. I stopped by the Colfax Guitar Shop on the way home from work yesterday and my buddy Scott Baxendale showed me some tips for basic acoustic guitar adjustments. The action was too high, so he tweaked the truss rod to bring it down. I've known Scott for years, but only recently have learned his full story. He's one of the top luthiers in the country (he was even mentioned in this month's Guitar Player magazine) and has led a pretty incredible life (ups and downs). He's also a really cool guy.

The Ibanez archtop is totally amazing. $250 and it's one of the nicest guitars (looks and playability) that I own. I finally got the new pickups installed in the Squier 51. Electric guitar wiring is pretty complicated! I learned a lot though. The Telecaster should be easier and more straightforward. Refinishing the neck won't be as easy.

Acoustic Jam

2005-09-29T07:38:00.000-07:00

I got together with my good friend John Goggin (bluesman extraordinaire) last night for an acoustic jam. It was a lot of fun. I'm definitely a fish out of water on the acoustic. It was really cool observing our strengths as players. John knows so many cool songs and can play and belt them out with the best of 'em. He's not going to be blinding anyone with flashy licks, but he's got the whole song package. Then there is me -- much more technique than "whole song playing." I guess that's the difference between the rhythm player and the lead player, but I have always preferred rhythm over lead. All those years being the only guitar in a very electric band has made me into a "lead guitar player."

So I am going to work on becoming more of a solid rhythm player that can hold my own all by myself on an acoustic guitar. It's a long road, but one that I'm excited to go down. Playing with John is going to help. We're going to try to put a set list together of cool songs, learn 'em, rearrange 'em and see what happens. Hopefully teaching each other along the way. We'll see what happens.

In electric guitar news, the Ibanez Artcore archtop (see last post for pics) finally arrived yesterday. It was definitely worth the wait. What an amazing guitar! I don't feel worthy. The only thing keeping me playing it is the fact that it was so cheap. Otherwise, my jazz (and even rockabilly) chops aren't strong enough (yet) for such a bitchin' guitar. I'll be working on that too. The guitar should keep me striving to be a better "studied" musician -- something else that I really want to be.

Finally, I was checking in on The Who, just because they were childhood heros of mine and I came across Pete Townshend's blog on Blogger (same service that I use for this page). The internet has really made the world a lot smaller. It just seems weird that Pete Townshend and I are hangin' out in the same corner of cyberspace. Very cool though...

Slacker, But Playing...

2005-09-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

I'm a total slacker as far as this blog is concerned. The good news is that I've been spending more time playing guitar than I have been writing web content. I've been going to two blues jams a week at a blues bar called Ziggies in Denver (Lakewood). It's definitely a dive, but a cool dive and it's forced me to get my chops back. A band called The Shaman's hosts the Thursday night jam. It turns out that the guitar player and I met about 5 years ago and exchanged CDs. It's a small world. He's an incredible guitar player and I have been learning a lot from him.

I have also been buying guitars like they're goin' out of style. I think I have a problem! I sold some stuff on eBay and have picked up three guitars using what I made from the sale. They're all cheap guitars, but super cool. The quality of entry level guitars has never been better. I guess the technology available has brought quality way up and prices way down. Here are the latest editions to my guitar collection:

Ibanez Artcore AF-75 (photo)
This is definitely the coolest of the new purchases. I have been playing these guitars every time I go to a guitar shop and I'm always blown away, so I finally broke down and bought one. The quality, workmanship and tone are totally unbelievable. I got it for $250 (shipped) on eBay. I can't wait for it to get here. I guess a lot of jazz players are leaving their expensive archtops at home and gigging with these. I've been learning a bunch of rockabilly tunes lately and baby steppin' into jazz, so this guitar is going to get a lot of use. The guitar is getting great reviews and recommendations (another Guitar Player Editor's Pick Award winner!) from all of the guitar magazines. It's going to be a perfect partner for my DeArmond M75T (which also won a Guitar Player Editor's Pick Award -- a good guage for the best of the best). Two big, bad blue rockabilly rockets.

Fender Squier '51 (photo)
Super cool hot rod hybrid of a Stratocaster, Telecaster and the looks of an old P-Bass. Plays like a dream. The coil-tapping of the bridge humbucker is especially cool. All kinds of tones. Won a Guitar Player Magazine Editor's Pick Award. It's damn cool to be able to play hard and sound great on a guitar that cost less than $150!

I bought the Squiers to teach myself basic guitar repair. No big deal if I screw up a cheap guitar. So far it's been cool. I smoothed and dressed the frets (not hard at all and expensive to pay someone to do it), adjusted the truss rod, set the action and intonation and now it's playing perfectly. I'm also upgrading it with a vintage Alnico Strat neck pickup and a vintage Fat PAF humbucker. The guitar is a top-loader (strings feed through the bridge), so I'm going to get a new hardtail bridge and drill it for string-through-body. I'm eventually going to get ambitious with this guitar and the Telecaster and refinish the neck in a vintage amber. Should look way cool...

Fender Butterscotch Blonde Squier Affinity Telecaster (photo)
I've always wanted a Telecaster, but never was willing to spend the money on one. It's the original meat-and-potatoes workhorse guitar, so it makes sense to get one cheap. The body is solid Alder (unheard of for a guitar this cheap) and the Butterscotch Blonde finish has tons of vibe, the neck is straight and plays well and it's built like a tank (all Teles are). The pickups are definitely weak, so I'm replacing them with GFS Vintage Telecaster pickups (I got a screamin' deal on them -- about $20 each). Awesome Alnico pickups wound just like they were in the old days -- cloth covered wire, etc. I picked up the electronics (pots and switch) and wiring to a Muddy Waters Telecaster on eBay for $12, so that will replace the cheap Squier setup. I also found a vintage 3-saddle Tele bridge with the proper string spacing (2 1/8"), so I'm going to drill it to string through the body (also a top-loader) and use the new bridge. Like I said above, I'm going to refinish the neck with Fender Neck Amber laquer and nitrocellulose clear, so it'll be 50's Fender approved.

I also picked up a Zoom PS-4 Palmtop 4-Track recorder for cheap on eBay. More amazing technology. It records up to 40 takes on 4 tracks, has a built in drum machine and bass sequencer and is about as big as a Walkman. It's killer. There is a little bit of a learning curve, but I've been noodling around and getting some super cool results. If I record anything that is worth listening to, I'll post it here.

That's it for this big update. There is a lot of musical activity happening -- it feels good. The next eBay sales purchases are going to be motorcycle parts. I need to make some Winter upgrades on the Drifter...

Starting Over

2005-05-23T08:19:00.000-07:00

Still slowly getting back into the music scene. Tracy and I went and saw Lenny Kravitz and Nikka Costa a couple of weeks ago. The show was awesome (both Nikka and Lenny rocked) and we had a blast. I ran into my old friend Steve Allen who has always been the best stage manager in the business (we used to hang out at the Fox Theatre all the time). He asked if I was playing and was bummed that I wasn't. That was all it took to get Tracy all fired up about me getting some kind of band together again. It's great having a supportive wife that is also a musician. We are both dealing with similar issues with music. It's nice to go through it with someone that understands.

So now the search begins. I'm not sure what it's going to be, but I'm ready to start talking to other musicians...

Crafty

2005-04-19T08:30:00.000-07:00

This has been a cool, but weird month. I've been really paying attention to my overall attitude toward music and life and it's been helpful. I feel like things are changing for the better. Funny how that works -- just shut up and listen.

As far as music goes, I've been listening to a lot of cool, strange acoustic music. I've also been messing around with altered tunings. Switchin' up what I'm used to has been refreshing. Busting out of the rut. I'm working on Preston Reed's "Fat Boy" now. The tuning is C-G-D-G-G-D. Definitely different, but funky and cool. Preston Reed is worth checking out.

I'm also feeling the pull of Guitar Craft. I have known about it for a while and I keep coming back to it. I've only now started to really explore it and it seems like the right time. I'm psyched. Keep playing...

Back Online...

2005-03-10T15:22:00.000-08:00

I'm slowly, but surely starting to throw my hat back into the music scene. I have the home studio wired up and back online, I've turned DirtyPool.com into a blog so I can blab about music and keep the world informed, I'm practicing as much as I can and I'm going to start making new music. We'll see what happens. In the meantime, I've been looking into getting all of my music online for playback and download. I've had an account at AcidPlanet.com for a while and it just occurred to me to host the music there.

I checked it out today and there is a contest for the best 30 second guitar solo. Of course I had to enter the wankfest! I entered two solos that should sound familiar to all of you. Check it out and post a review or comment if you feel like it:

Paul Shellooe's Music at Acid Planet

Check the Acid Planet site for more music -- I'm going to be adding everything that I've ever done. Have fun!

Back In Action!

2005-02-19T13:04:00.000-08:00

It's been way too long since there was any activity on this site. But it's back baby and it's a blog, so I can update it on the fly. Not much has been happening musically for the past couple of years. Sad, but true. Dirty Pool never officially broke up (we still hang out all the time), but we all ended up getting real jobs. Again, sad, but that's just how it goes.

I'm starting to get back into playing music again. Check back soon and I'll tell you all about it. In the meantime, the old Dirty Pool website is still available here:

Dirty Pool Website

Have fun!