What do you get when you combine nostalgic Yorkshire folk tales, heavy Celtic punk-inspired riffs and a whole load of high-tempo banjo action? We spoke to Shanghai Treason lead singer Sam Christie to gain an insight into an impressive couple of years for the proudly local punks.
So, ‘Yorkshire Flatcap Banjo Punk’ sounds intriguing. Tell us about it…
Funnily enough, it’s been something I’ve wanted to do for a while. I grew up listening to Flogging Molly, Pogues, Dropkick Murphy’s, and I thought it’d be great to a Yorkshire-based twist with a strong regional identity, tales of local folklore and infamous characters.
Tell us a bit about dipping into Yorkshire folklore. Could you give us any examples?
I think because we’re good friends with the Everly Pregnant Brothers, maybe I borrowed a bit of this from Big Shaun. Tying songs to a region through using local dialect and lyrics referring to local landmarks that mean a lot to people; it’s actually quite emotive, life-affirming stuff for audiences to hear songs about their region. If you can bottle up a bit of nostalgia in your songs, it can go a long way. I grew up in West Yorkshire, near Huddersfield, so there are songs that talk about the textile industry, the history behind that, and pubs I used to drink it at *cough*… 16… *cough*. There are tracks about Sheffield as well; the rest of the lads are born and bred here, apart from one who’s from Barnsley, and I’ve been here for ten years now, so is that enough to say I’m a Sheffielder? I don’t know.
Judging by some of the clips online, it certainly goes down well live.
Absolutely. It’s drinking music to have a dance to; the banjo comes out and its fast-paced, high-tempo music that needs to be seen live. It’s quite a niche genre, Celtic punk-inspired music, and we’re one of few bands up north doing it, which means we get plenty of shows!
“It’s drinking music to have a dance to; the banjo comes out and its fast-paced, high-tempo music that needs to be seen live.” Image: Joseph Clark
How did you meet the other members of the band?
It came together through the local scene. I met Tom Jackson at a show and we spoke about our desire to start a band like this, then we met Tom Hardy (not that one) who is an incredible banjo player. We already knew the other guy, Alex, an incredible drummer; and finally, there was Joel, who worked behind the bar at Yellow Arch and basically asked if he could come and play. It’s been the five of us since.
You can see just how much you all enjoy being onstage. What is it about the genre that you personally love?
It’s fast, accessible to anyone and unpretentious. It’s down to earth and there’s something for everyone in our music. I’ve been in plenty of bands, banging my head against the wall for years, and this is just a very welcoming genre where everything has fallen together nicely.
You’ve got a big St Patrick’s Day gig coming up at Yellow Arch in March. How would you sum up your live shows?
It’s raucous, hectic, energetic – but a lot of fun. We very nearly sold out the last time we played Yellow Arch, so I’m hoping this time we’ll do it. We’ve got some incredible special guests in Headsticks and Crazy Arm, so it’s a real triple-threat of a bill. It will be a big, sweaty, beer-soaked, poppy-punky, Celtic celebration of an evening.
“It’s fast, accessible to anyone and unpretentious. It’s down to earth and there’s something for everyone in our music.” Image: Joseph Clark
Anything else you’d like to add about Shanghai Treason before you get off?
Stick with us because I think we’re the bogey band of the Sheffield scene. You would never have guessed that a banjo punk band would be breaking out across the country, but we’ve just announced a UK tour supporting Hayseed Dixie and we’ve got some exciting stuff in the pipeline for the New Year: new music, billings, gigs, festivals. It’s going to be a huge year. Sheffield’s not just indie rock – there’s a lot going on and loads of variety in terms of music people can listen to. So, if you fancy trying something different, you know where to find us!
Shanghai Treason play Yellow Arch on 17th March with Headstick and Crazy Arm. Tickets and more info available here.
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