The Shot Band.

A constant feature on stages all over New Zealand, The Shot Band make friends from strangers every time they step onstage. Energy, caustic wit, sweet harmony and great songs make The Shot Band a guaranteed good time for all.

Rob Joass, Hamish Graham and Bill Hickman are a lean, stand up acoustic band whose warm harmonies and onstage vitality serves to showcase three very distinctive singer/songwriters.

“An amazing performance…the night ended with fans wanting more and more” 
Paramount Theatre review, Hayley Miles, Capital Times.

The 1st Ep Songs about Drinkin’ & Dyin’ laid the template. Songs steeped in a love of folk, Americana and the imagery of classic storyteller song writing. Themes of trains, guns, alcohol and women are offset by a delivery and humour that is distinctly antipodean. These are no ten gallon hat wearing neon cowboys, The Shot Band are as happy covering Motorhead as they are singing their rich accapella harmonies.

“The spirit of Johnny Cash meets the swagger of Keith Richards”- Nick Bollinger.

The full length debut ‘The Shot Band” on Red Rocks Records is an all originals set that broadens the bands initial promise. Taking advantage of the studio and friends the album features a more diverse array of instrumentation while the songwriting widens in scope. The wry humour remains in tunes like ‘My Lord’ (often described by the band onstage as an Australian spiritual crisis) & ‘One Hit Wonder’ but ‘Short Memory’, ‘The Only Way To Leave’ & ‘Dead In The Water’ provide an emotional punch that reveals more depth & sensitivity. Of course, no night is complete without a little alcohol and murder, ‘To The Bar’ and ‘This Time’ remain staples of the live shows and are clearly true to the original vision.

“Excellent” –Michael Flynn. New Zealand Musician.

2010 saw the release of Bill Hickman’s solo debut ‘Ghost of Smoke’ and The Shot Band's 2nd Ep ‘Asking for trouble’. A return to the stripped back ethos of Drinkin’ & Dyin’, the Ep has only one overdub, a solo over the fiery track ‘Poison Moon’.

The Shot Band. Songs about Drinkin’ & Dyin’, coming to the stage and speakers near you.
 

Check out Bill’s new EP. ‘Ghost of Smoke’ at www.amplifier.co.nz/release/55685/ghost-of-smoke.html

Ghost Of Smoke sees Bill Hickman drawing from the energy and lyrical intensity of his rock roots, but also blending that with the acoustic textures and intimacy of alt-country, folk and blues.

100% New Zealand Music
 

When does country count" When it's played with craft, passion, and tinder-dry wit.

You get all three in abundance on The Shot Band's self-titled debut album. The Wellington-based trio boasts three singers and three songwriters, but a wide range of instruments -- some courtesy of special guest Alan Norman from The Warratahs.

Rob Joass (guitars), Bill Hickman (guitars, bass) and Hamish Graham (drums) are long-time stalwarts of the New Zealand music scene, and have lived through a story or two. They gave a hint of that on their debut ep Songs About Drinkin' And Dyin', but have upped the standard several-fold on their new Red Rocks Records release.

As you'd expect with three songwriters and just so many places on an album, only the best material has made the final cut. Again, as you'd expect with three distinct musical perspectives, this is an album sparkling with variety and imagination, with influences which span alt country heroes such as Ryan Adams and Johnny Cash, to The Band and Paul Kelly.

The Shot Band ranges from the gospel-tinged jaunt of My Lord, a song which will make any Violent Femmes fan smile, to the tragic lilt of Love Like Water -- a track Nick Cave might have conceived in one of his darkly romantic moments. Humour shines through on Graham's sweetly-crooned Peaches and Joass' One Hit Wonder, while an acapella version of the Hobnail Boots song Railroad Tracks emphasizes the fact these boys can sing as well as play.

While there are plenty of great three minute pop songs here, The Shot Band can embrace the occasional epic as well, with This Time being one of the album's stand-out tracks.

National Radio's Nick Bollinger has called The Shot Band "New Zealand's finest alt-country band", and on the strength of this album it's easy to see why. Songs About Drinkin' And Dyin' earned rave reviews, airplay in the United States and England, and saw the band invited to co-headline the Norfolk Island country music festival. The band also played showcase gigs in Sydney, and will be following up some serious trans-Tasman interest in 2006.