Published: Friday, 14 February 2025 22:28 | Written by NI Rocks |
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Missouri based band Shaman’s Harvest formed back in 1996 and have released seven albums in that period. They finally make it to the UK and Ireland this year on the aptly named ‘About Time’ tour; alongside Texan band Blacktop Mojo. The tour includes a show in The Limelight in Belfast on 19th March, plus gigs in Dublin and Cork on the following nights.
The band’s last three albums have been released through Mascot Label Group, including the latest “Rebelator” which came out in 2022. The label put me in touch with one of the band’s founding members, guitarist Josh Hamler, and we had a chat on Zoom on 12th February. We talked about the new single “Rock n Roll Queen”, the upcoming tour, future releases, the history of the band and plans for the rest of 2025.
Interview with JOSH HAMLER from SHAMAN’S HARVEST Pt1 (6 min)
SHAMAN’S HARVEST – Wishing Well
Interview with JOSH HAMLER from SHAMAN’S HARVEST Pt2 (7 min)
SHAMAN’S HARVEST – Bird Dog
Interview with JOSH HAMLER from SHAMAN’S HARVEST Pt3 (5 min)
SHAMAN’S HARVEST - In Chains
BLACKTOP MOJO - Rise (ft Shaman’s Harvest)
SAFFRON GORMAN & THE BLACK EAGLE BAND - Paint Me Like The Bitch I Am
AEROSMITH - Livin on the Edge
SIC VIKKI - Kiss Me In French
BROTHER CANE - Got No Shame
Promo for new LACUNA COIL album “Sleepless Empire” Pt1
LACUNA COIL – I Wish You Were Dead
Promo for new LACUNA COIL album “Sleepless Empire” Pt2
LACUNA COIL - Hosting the Shadow (ft Randy Blythe)
MEAT LOAF - Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through
TALISMAN - Mysterious (This Time It’s Serious)
DEF LEPPARD - From The Inside
BLACK SABBATH - N.I.B
NI ROCKS – Hi, thanks for taking some time to talk to us at Rock Radio NI. There are a few things I wanted to chat about, but we’ll start with the new single “Rock n Roll Queen”, which we’ve just played. I read somewhere that it was a track that around for a while, but that you’d redone after it didn’t make it onto an earlier album? What can you tell us about that track?
JOSH - Yeah, it was a song that we actually had, it was kinda like written in the latter portions of the recording of our last record. So it wasn't something that necessarily blended in with that that record tonally or soundscape wise or any of that. So, we didn't force that song to be on the record; we kind of sat on it for a year and then we got back in the studio, reimagined it a little bit, added just a lot more soul vibe to it and you know it's all about that rock'n'roll queen in the front row, getting down to the beat. It's a jammer.
NI ROCKS – It’s a great track. There’s quite a cool visualizer video for the new track too. Are there plans for a full video? And does the band get involved in the video concept process?
JOSH - Yeah, we hope to have a full length video for that song very soon. Obviously, we started out with the visualizer. Our budget for releasing that track wasn't all that huge, as most of our money's tied up in our endeavours of coming over for the ‘About Time’ tour right now so. So visualizer video for now you know. Thanks for the AI. It was AI. If anyone doesn't know that it was made with AI, it was (laughs). And sometimes you got to pivot with the times. So that's what we did.
NI ROCKS – A new single normally means that a new album is on the way, but that’s probably noy the case with “Rock n Roll Queen”? When are we likely to see a release date for another album?
JOSH - Well, you know we are a band that likes to release full length records. It's also a day and age where not many people do that. It's a singles driven industry. And so we figured the year 2025 will be a year of new music for Shaman’s Harvest. And let's just start out by releasing a single here, a single there, a single there and eventually, hopefully, we'll be ready to release a full length record towards the end of the year.
NI ROCKS – The last album “Rebelator” was released on the Mascot Label Group in 2022. You worked with Kile Odell on that album. I actually interviewed Cory Marks recently and he had worked with Kile as well on his latest album. Is that someone you’d like to work with again?
JOSH - Absolutely. Kile is incredible. He's not only an incredible producer, he's an incredible musician and guitar player. The guy can shred with the best of them. And so having his skill set and having him in the studio, he has a more modern approach, you know. I don't think we have to say we've been around a while; so someone like him kind of opened up a new door, took us down a new alleyway that we necessarily wouldn't have went down, had we not been recording with him. So that's what we'd really like to get out of our producers is to kind of take us somewhere that we haven't been, teach us a new craft, teach us a new way to get to the finish line.
NI ROCKS – He has worked with some great people. He did the two Nita Strauss albums as well I think.
JOSH – Yeah, he has worked with a who’s who of artists.
NI ROCKS – It’s just under three years since the release of “Rebelator”. Obviously you were out touring and promoting that album for a couple of years. At what point do you think about writing the next album?
JOSH - Well, you’re always writing. So, it's not necessarily about writing for the next record, it's just writing and we kind of let the songs happen as they happen. We don't try to force them. We find it's kind of like in life. If you're trying to be cool, you're not cool. (Laughs) So, you just got to let it be. That's kind of our approach with it. Over the last couple of years we've slowed down on the touring front mainly just because Nate, our singer, him and his wife had a newborn and so he needed to spend some time at home. All the rest of us, we all needed some time at home too. Being on the road 300 days a year takes a toll on you, so we've really rejuvenated over the last couple of years. We have this new found energy and now the fact that we get to come over to the UK and Ireland and tap into this historic rock'n'roll vibe over there’ it's just raising our game altogether.
NI ROCKS – Is there standard approach to song writing in the band, or does each track come together in different ways?
JOSH - Yeah. Each record, each song individually, all has its own process. Not one of them has been done exactly the same every time. It has its own process, its own vibes, so to speak. You know, we're kind of a sonic jambalaya of rock'n'roll, metal, southern rock, a little bit of country, and even some like folk sounds. So it's hard to really pinpoint us in one particular genre. And I think that's what speaks for itself in our music.
NI ROCKS – I thought we’d play something now from “Rebelator”. Do you want to pick a track from that album and maybe tell us something about why you picked it?
JOSH - I'll tell you what, “Wishing Well” is one of my favourite songs we've ever recorded. It's heavy, it's rockin, it has all the things I just described where the outro in it has mandolins and banjos, and like all these kind of foreign to rock'n'roll instruments, so to speak. But we found a way to make them work. That song, for terrestrial radio is a little too long, according to the industry, so it hasn't seen much love. But if you want to show it some love right now, I would really appreciate that.
NI ROCKS – Oh, I’ll show it some love! It’s a great track.
NI ROCKS – Next year marks the 30th anniversary of the formation of the band, hard to believe, but the upcoming tour dates in March will be the first time that the band has come across to the UK or Ireland. You must be looking forward to those dates?
JOSH - Absolutely, man, you know, this has been a long time coming. We've had opportunities that just fell through at the last minute multiple times in our career; over the last 10 years anyway. And this time around we got together with our friends in Blacktop Mojo and after a few drinks of liquid courage we decided we were going to take on this endeavour together. And, for us and the longevity of our band, a lot of it's been based on bucket list moments and bucket list things. And while we've hit almost every single one of those over here in the states, and in North America even, one of those bucket list moments is to come across the pond and get to perform for you guys. That yearning, that fire in us that still goes after all these years. Obviously we're pretty hard headed, but we're thrilled to be able to take the opportunity to get to come perform for you all.
NI ROCKS – You mentioned there Texan band Blacktop Mojo who are touring with you. Do you have any history of working together with them or how did that arrangement come about?
JOSH - Back about 10 years ago, when they were starting out and came onto the scene they were opening up for us on our North American tour. And we just got to be friends and over the last few years, we just kind of found that we were kindred in what we were trying to accomplish in our careers and with our music. We couldn't think of a better band to come over with us to make this memory.
NI ROCKS – The tour includes a date in Belfast on 19th March and then Dublin and Cork in Ireland the following nights. Have any of the band been to Ireland before or are there any family connections to the island at all?
JOSH - No, this is our first time. We don't even know really what to expect other than we're going to make the most of it. You know I know I'm going to have a have a couple days off in Belfast. Do you have any recommendations? (laughs)
NI ROCKS – Obviously, very few people in the UK or Ireland will have seen you play live, but do you get a good feel for what the fanbase looks like from social media, streaming platforms etc?
JOSH - Yeah, both in Ireland, Northern Ireland and in England and all over there, our streaming numbers are great. Outside of the United States it's some of our top streaming numbers. Ticket sales for the majority of the shows are super duper strong. Other shows are picking up right now, so it's really exciting. There seems to be like an energy that's like pulsating over there with this tour and like I said, it's just like feeding us and like getting our energy going. We've been trying to come over there for a better part of 20 years to get to do this so we're going to make the most of it once we get there.
NI ROCKS – I know a lot of bands and promoters have been struggling. I think since COVID people have a habit of not buying tickets until the very last minute now for things coming up. I think it's probably something that's happened everywhere, not just in Northern Ireland and the UK. A lot people will buy last minute or just turn up on the night for whatever reason, which makes it very hard for bands and for promoters. But people will turn up on the night and buy tickets.
JOSH - Yeah, hopefully we'll have some people that come in last minute. We're all about making the memory. So come make a memory with us. It's going to be great.
NI ROCKS – In terms of a setlist for the tour, will you be focusing on the latest album “Rebelator” or can fans expect something from all the albums?
JOSH - I would think that we're going to be playing a lot of tracks from all of the Mascot Label Group albums, from “Smokin Hearts and Broken Guns” into “Red Hands, Black Deeds”, and then into “Rebelator”. And then of course, we have a few new tunes that we've never played anywhere, that we will be showcasing for the first time anyway over there. So there's going to be some of that. Luckily for us we have seven records of music, so there's plenty to pick from and plenty that makes the set list stuff night after night, so we're not just turning into robots and doing the same thing over and over again.
NI ROCKS – You’ve kind of already done it, but if you had do a quick pitch to get people to come along to one of the shows in the UK and Ireland what would it be?
JOSH – Really, it's like, hey, we're coming in hot. Come make a memory with us. This has been a long time coming. So lets do it up!
NI ROCKS – You mentioned the albums, I actually have the last two albums on vinyl and I know that Mascot also released “Smokin Hearts and Broken Guns” on vinyl too and that Tribal Music reissued “Shine” on vinyl. Is there any plans to release those earlier albums on vinyl?
JOSH - You know, that's something we might address sometime. I know that we've been talking with the folks at Mascot and they've been potentially wanting to buy some of the back catalogue. So, we'll see how that goes. A lot of those early records were us as teenagers or early 20s. Definitely, there was a learning curve, we were learning and we were cutting our teeth on how we got to do things and we were doing it independently in a garage or in a basement. And so it wasn't necessarily in big studios or really high production value. So it's really raw and really, for me, individually it's a snapshot into a chapter of my life. Each one of these records that we've created with the different members of the band at the time and the way we recorded it, how we did it. And you know, I wouldn’t change a thing man. It's been an incredible ride.
NI ROCKS - I know that even getting a CD of the first couple of albums is pretty much impossible, I think they're fetching ridiculous money on Discogs the last time I looked, for CD copies of the first two albums.
JOSH – (Laughs) I know! I'm about to pull mine off the wall and sell it on eBay. (Laughs
NI ROCKS – I thinks its like £200 or $200 for the CDs they are looking these days.
JOSH - Yeah, for “Last Call for Goose Creek”. And it's interesting, like here in my hometown where I'm at right now, this is where we started - we printed 1000 of the first CD “Last Call for Goose Creek” that we made and we sold out of them really quick. We've never reprinted. And yeah, on eBay you can find them for a couple hundred to five, six hundred dollars, but if you're in Jeff City on a Friday or Saturday morning, you could check out a rummage sale and probably find one for a dollar (laughs).
NI ROCKS – At this point I think we’ll play another track. Again, I’ll let you pick any track at all and say something about it.
JOSH - All right man, another favourite track of mine, off of the “Rebelator” album is “Bird Dog”. It just has this haunting vibe about it, and it's heavy, even though it's not necessarily heavy. It's a very subtle tune that just kind of grabs you.
NI ROCKS – We’ve kinda discussed this already but reading some interviews from over the years, you’ve always maintained a dislike for being categorised in any genre and it’s clear there are a lot of diverse musical influences. Do you think those influences have changed over the years and how has that reflected in the band’s sound?
JOSH - You know, I think we've evolved. I don't know if it's changed. I think we've added to what we once were. You know, as an artist, we're always trying to evolve into the next better version of ourselves and to kind of turn in that creativity. So yeah, it's kind of one of those things.
NI ROCKS – Over the years you’ve supported bands like Nickelback and Theory of a Deadman on tour. If you had to pick a band to support on tour that best reflected the Shamen’s Harvest sound or style now who would that be?
JOSH - You know, on tour with Nickelback was epic. I mean, those guys were incredible. I don't know that we ever toured with a more gracious bunch of rock n rollers. They're incredible. Same with Theory of A Deadman. We've been so lucky to share the stage with so many great bands over the years and it's a lot of those experiences and learning from people that have found success earlier than we had, and taking a nod from them and them picking us up under their wing and kind of taking us along with. So it's been an incredible life, to say the least.
NI ROCKS – Doing some research for this, I was reading some of the earlier interview you’d done and Nickelback seems to be quite a sort of learning curve. And Chad was quite keen to give you advice on different bits and pieces I read in some interviews.
JOSH - Yeah, we were trying to be this big rock'n'roll, this tough rock, heavy metal, you know, be mean and mad and pissed off at the world about it. And he said, step back and think about maybe trying to compete with the number one record of the year, not like the number one active rock record. So, know that you're competing with the world not just with active rock.
NI ROCKS – I read somewhere that you were a fan of Jelly Roll and that he was a fan of yours. He really is a great example of how musical boundaries move and merge – he was a rapper and now do you say he is a country singer or a rock singer or just a talented artist? Do you foresee an opportunity to work with him on anything and is that cross genre space that he is in where you’d like to see the band situated?
JOSH - You know, we wouldn't be opposed to it. There hasn't been any definitive talks about anything like that. But you know, hypothetically, it would work. We work on sonic jambalaya of creativity ourselves. So I imagine that we could put something together that would be pretty righteous. Last record, on the “Rebelator” record we collabed with Clint Lowry from Sevendust on the on the “Pretty People” song; which was a ripper. So, we're always open to those collaborations. It’s kind of like our music, we like to let them happen instead of like chasing down and force it. So with any luck, while we're out on the road, we'll make a connection with somebody somewhere and a tune will kind of arrive and we'll go from there.
NI ROCKS – What other artists are catching your attention these days?
JOSH - Well, we're huge fans of Clutch. I'm a huge fan of Gary Clark Jr. The song “Black Honey by Thrice; I just love that song. It just has this thing that I just particularly love. The Highly Suspect guys, I love those guys. That's a great, great band. There's so many great acts out there, and luckily for us, we've got to perform with most of them (Laughs).
NI ROCKS – I saw on your social media that you were doing a bit of a teaser for a tour announcement; which brings me onto the next question. The UK and Ireland tour takes you through to the end of March. What does the rest of 2025 look like for the band?
JOSH - Yeah. Well, as soon as we get back stateside in April, we're hopping in the studio to continue recording what will become the next record. With any luck, we'll find our next single in that batch of recordings and we'll be linking that out to the world as soon as possible. That's kind of where we're at with that. Not too long ago me and Nate, our singer, we're talking and we're like man, we've had more drummers than Spinal Tap. It's about time we come over, we cross the pond and claim our crown (Laughs)
NI ROCKS – That’s all the questions that have for you. We’ll finish with another track and again you do want to pick one and tell us something about it.
JOSH - Yeah, let's go back to “Smokin’ Hearts & Broken Guns” with a track that elevated us to even more success – “In Chains”. That's a banger.
NI ROCKS - OK, we'll play that one. Thanks very much for taking the time to talk to me.
JOSH - Hey, man, Nigel. Appreciate you, man. Thank you so much.
