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Glasgow based Salt River Shakedown have been playing their Led Zeppelin fuelled groovy Rock n’ Roll on the UK gig circuit for the past four years, alongside bands such as Crobot, The Lazys, and US blues rocker Jared James Nichols. Made up of guitarist Alek McMillan, bassist Shaun Kilna, Jake Mackie-Duncan on drums, and new vocalist Griff, the band have just released their new single ‘Sign Of The Times’, and here is everything that you need to know about Salt River Shakedown –
DGM: What are the origins of the band, and how long have you been playing together?
Alek: I started a band back in high school (it wasn’t THE band yet) with our old vocalist; from there we recruited Shaun and a drummer named Robin, but that was when we were babies – I was 13-14 years old at the time! I would say that the band never really started till our drummer left, and within the space of two minutes of hearing that, we had a new drummer: the animal that is Jake Mackie-Duncan! That was a game changer, and then for about four years our line up was complete. Back then we were called Magic Trik, a name we had made up as kids and it just didn’t fit our overall style and vibe.
The motivation for the name change came after we went to see Rival Sons together. We realised if we wanted to play at that level we needed a better name, so here we are! We’re Salt River Shakedown and finally we don’t have to cringe when telling people our name! Moving on; in more recent times things weren’t working out with our singer and we needed a change, thus we now have Griff, a beast of a vocalist who has brought a new dynamic to the table! He’s been in the band since January and we’ve already written and recorded five songs!
DGM: How did you feel performing your first gig? And how was it?
Alek: I remember playing my first gig in a band like it was yesterday! I was 12 or 13 and actually still remember waking up that morning and being like “here we go”. It has always come naturally to me, and through the years I have come out of my shell more and more; it’s been a non stop roller coaster since! The actual gig itself went great! It was a showcase for the rehearsal studio we went to!
Shaun: First gig was a blast! I remember not being nervous, just super excited to actually get out in front of a crowd of people. I’ll never forget that gig.
DGM: What should people expect when they check the band out? How would you describe yourselves?
Alek: I think people should expect good songs and high velocity Rock n’ Roll. We aim to create music that’s packed with energy yet remains composed, with feel good melodies. The great thing about this band is that we don’t ever put ourselves in a box stylistically; it’s all about what the individual song has to say and that’s what matters to us.
Shaun: Loud!
DGM: The new music scene is bursting at the seams with fresh talent. In what ways do you feel a band has to stand out from the others trying to build a name?
Alek: I think bands nowadays have to really create their own path and take their future in their own hands; there’s so much you can do for yourselves these days. For example, as a band we are extremely self sufficient and we don’t rely on anyone. I record and produce the songs, Jake creates the music videos, and we distribute our own music; this means we own everything we make and aren’t reliant on a label. A lot of bands are still waiting for that golden phone call, for someone to sign them up. That isn’t going to happen unless you put the graft and hard work in first!
DGM: What are you currently working on that people can check out?
Alek: We have just released our brand new single “Sign of the Times”, our first release with our new vocalist and we are happier than ever with our music! You can find us on all streaming platforms: YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. We created the music video during the lockdown, which was a lot of fun. We tried to make it as silly as possible to give people a laugh and spread some joy during this tough time!
DGM: What band out there at the moment do you feel that you would be best suited to open for?
Alek: Now this is a big question! My absolute dream band to open for would be Rival Sons, they are my favourite band and the musicians that I look up to the most! Their songs and live shows are world class, and they have the best fans! I think we would fit right in opening up for those guys so that’s the dream!!!
DGM: You’ve been local support for quite a few gigs. Is it hard when the local support gets the sharp end of the stick and has to put up with poor light and sound?
Alek: Yeah it definitely can be, and at one time or another we’ve been at that end of the stick. However, recently we have been very lucky; we have been supporting bands like Crobot and Jared James Nichols at the Garage G2, which I believe is a fantastic venue for sound, and they have always been gents when it comes to the sound and lighting! I’m just looking forward to the day we can go on the road with a headline show and be on the other side of that; it would be a lot of fun!
DGM: What are your first musical memories? And what was the light bulb moment that made you go “I want to do that!”
Shaun: My first musical memory (that I can recall) was during a McFly concert way back in 2005. I was singing along to all my favourite tunes and they even broke out a short cover of American Idiot. It wasn’t fantastic. My light bulb moment was watching live concerts from bands like Metallica, Iron Maiden and AC/DC, and just watching the amount of fun they were having made me go “that is exactly where I need to be.”
Jake: My earliest musical memory and my light bulb moment are both the same. I was very young, I can remember watching the DVD that came with the ‘Red Hot Chili Peppers: Best Of’ album. It was all their music videos at the time and some tour footage. It all just seemed like so much fun. I watched that DVD a lot. I also have a vague memory of my mum censoring the word “cunt” in the lyric sheet that came with an RHCP album, and then finding that specific song and listening to it a lot! I think that instilled a sense of rebellion quite early on! She’d be proud; it’s fine.
Alek: My first musical memory I think was hearing the Yellow Submarine cassette tape by The Beatles in the back of the car when I lived in Russia; not the best song of theirs to be exposed to haha! I think my light bulb moment was when I watched the full performance of Led Zeppelin live in Denmark at the Gladsaxe Teen Club 1969, particularly the song Dazed and Confused. Watching the whole gig on YouTube put me in a trance and then I knew that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life!
DGM: Another artist opened up a can of worms recently on their Facebook page when they asked people to suggest who was the most overrated guitarist around today, some bizarre responses for sure! Who would you say is the most overrated? And to even it up, the most underrated?
Alek: There’s probably no way I can answer this question without getting hate from somewhere, but here we go! I think the most overrated guitarist is David Gilmour. I’ve never been a Pink Floyd fan and always thought the songs and solos were way too long and self indulgent. While I’m all for self indulgent solos, they just didn’t grab my attention like some of the other greats, and usually had me bored senseless.
On the case of underrated guitarists I’m actually inclined to say Chris Cornell, purely from a songwriting perspective as he always had an unusual way of placing chord progressions together that was very innovative and unique. It’s as if he learned from The Beatles, but then stuck his own unique dark and sombre twist on those progressions.
DGM: What was the last gig that you attended as a fan?
Shaun: The last gig I attended as a fan was Shinedown and Alter Bridge at the SSE Hydro; what a good night.
Jake: I saw Night Verses a couple of months back at Broadcast in Glasgow. It was an incredible show. The venue was way too small for that band. Blew everybody’s ears out but it was worth it.
Alek: The last gig I was at was Phil X and the Drills right before lockdown. It was hot and sweaty in a packed King Tuts! Probably not the best place to be at the start of a worldwide pandemic!
DGM: What is the album that you have in your collection or Spotify playlist that would surprise most people?
SRS: We each have a fairly expected playlist taste on Spotify, but Shaun has some electronic and pop songs in his playlists which some may not expect. Or Jake’s current noise punk obsession.
DGM: You guys took on Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superstition’ and nailed it, but what song should no-one ever attempt to cover?
SRS: No one should ever cover ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. It’s perfect… Or ‘Seven Nation Army’.
DGM: What are your plans for 2020?
SRS: As it goes, 2020 and lockdown has eliminated our ability to gig, so our plan is to concentrate on our social media and release some singles throughout the year, just to keep us going creatively. We’ll most likely write a lot over the coming months as well.
DGM: How active are you on social media and where can people connect with you?
SRS: The best places to find and connect with us are through Facebook or Instagram; we are very active on those and love chatting and hearing what people think.
Band images – Neil Henderson Photography
