Shamus Currie finding his way with The Sheepdogs.
Proof of how fast things move for the Sheepdogs is the fact that Shamus Currie hardly makes it into the rock doc The Sheepdogs Have At It.
He started playing with the band shortly after the film was shot. That explains why he gets less than two seconds of screen time in the documentary. He’s just someone in the background at a concert wrap-up party. Now, the brother of frontman Ewan plays keyboard and trombone and sings backup vocals nearly every night.
It’s too bad the way it worked out, said director John Barnard.
“In a way, (Shamus is) kind of the big regret that I have because he’s so important to things now.”
Barnard finished shooting the documentary in January 2012, two months before Shamus’ first show with the Sheepdogs. Barnard interviewed many of the band’s family members for the film but decided to cut Shamus’ interview out of the movie. At the time, both Currie brothers had no idea Shamus would soon start touring with the band.
“One second they’re doing one thing, another second another opportunity comes along, another second Shamus is in the band,” Barnard said. “My movie is a really specific portrait of these guys at a very particular time, like right after winning the (Rolling Stone magazine) contest.”
Shamus, 24, is four years younger than his brother Ewan. Ewan couldn’t recall when the Sheepdogs asked his little brother to start playing with the group.
“We’d been talking about the idea of getting a keyboard player for a while. I don’t know when the idea of Shamus clicked in, but it made perfect sense,” Ewan said.
Shamus has more formal musical training than anyone in the band. He specializes in jazz trombone and is just one year away from completing a bachelor’s degree in music at Humber College in Toronto.
“Rock ’n’ roll is not something you want to be too technical for,” Shamus said. “Music isn’t about how many notes you can play. I think that’s why playing in this band has been good for me.”
Shamus’ first three shows with the group were big ones. His first was a secret show in Toronto in March 2012 at El Mocambo, a legendary rock venue that has welcomed artists such as The Ramones, The Rolling Stones, Joan Jett and Stevie Ray Vaughan. His second was at the Canadian Music Week Indie Awards the next day and his third was at the huge California music festival Coachella one month later.
“I didn’t really have Sheepdogs-style clothes,” Shamus recalled his first show at El Mocambo. The band made him perform barefoot and wear a brown buckskin vest without a shirt underneath.
“People were loving it and I was just trying to figure out what the hell was going on,” he laughed.
“He handled it like a pro,” Ewan added.
Shamus gets his moment in the spotlight, ironically, when the group performs Ewan’s Blues. He plays a trombone solo at the front of the stage while Ewan steps back to play keys. The solo has only made it into the group’s live show and is not on the album.
“It’s almost like a secret weapon because everyone thinks of us as a guitar band, and that’s what we are, then all of a sudden halfway through the set we release a trombone solo. It’s not like Shamus can play a little bit of trombone. He can really get around on it,” Ewan said.
Shamus knows he is just a hired hand with the group and he does not expect to officially join the Sheepdogs anytime soon.
Ewan says the group has yet to discuss adding another member.
“It’s hard to add a new member because the core four of us went through a lot of lean years and tough times before we had any success. It’s been a little rite of passage to have been a core member, but if there’s ever somebody who we wanted to join I’m sure it would be Shamus,” Ewan said.