Shawn Meehan is among the busiest gigging guitarists around, and he just got busier by re-branding as Shawn Daniels for a solo trip into the outlaw-country world.
His rockin', honky-tonkin' debut single "Louder Than Ten" was produced by Grammy-winner Brian Howes, who I remember as the singer of DDT, a Rage Against the Machine-ish band that should have hit it bigger in mid-'90s Vancouver. Daniels' song, which celebrates the freedom of making your own rules, also features vocals by Chandra Russell.
I'm pretty sure the title is a Spinal Tap reference, but only Shawn Daniels knows for sure.
Playing country music is a familiar thing for North Langley's Meehan, who fronted Me and Mae for a time, and also the rock-revivalist band Trigger Mafia in more recent years.
These days he's playing guitar for tribute bands Rock n Roll Damnation (AC/DC) and Blue Collar Overdrive (BTO), who took care of business at a sold-out Donegal's Pub in North Surrey a few weeks ago, with Joe Foley, Ted Tosoff and Rod Senft also on stage.
With Shawn Daniels, the push is on to have country radio play the new "Louder Than Ten," which was added to seven station playlists in
Canada last week, out of the gate.
In an Instagram video, Meehan talks about the time he met former Nickelback manager Clyde Hill (RIP) at the Commodore Ballroom, a mid-90s meeting that eventually led to the creation of "Louder Than Ten" with Howes, 30 years later. Meehan's band at the time was Deadline, which had a song on 99.3 The Fox, and fresh-from-Alberta Nickelback was the show-opener in a co-headline gig with Damn the Diva. "Nice job, junior, where can I get my money?" was what Meehan first heard post-concert from that joker Hill, who went on to manage his music projects until his death from cancer last August.
Hill sure is missed on the local music scene by Meehan and many others whose careers were helped by the longtime Surrey resident.
