Sam Shinazzi

AUSTRALIAN STAGE

http://www.australianstage.com.au/reviews/sydney/tom-freund-2465.html
Written by Lloyd Bradford Syke

Tuesday 14 April 2009 supporting Tom Freund+Caitlin Park at Hopetoun Hotel

We were there, principally, for Venice beach-based singer-songwriter Tom Freund, in Australia, not least for the East Coast Blues 'n' Roots. But the night came with not one, but two, bonuses. Firstly, Sam Shinazzi and band.

Honestly, where does all this talent hide? Why wasn't I told? Turns out Sam's had four releases to date (three 'full-length'); all this since circa the turn of the century, making him, you'd have to say, quite prolific. Apparently, he's a multi-instrumentalist, too, 'though there was no evidence of that on the night, as he clung, solely (and soulfully, as it happens), to an acoustic guitar.

Of course, one of the reasons Sam might've escaped my attention is because although he's been doing solo shows 'round the traps, for about the same length of time he's been recording, it hasn't always been under the snazzy Shinazzi banner (Caitlin Park professes wanting to marry him on the strength of his name alone), but as the C-Minus Project; a not-so-subtle allusion, I presume, to a less-than-brilliant academic record.
A curious sidelight, by the way, is that he spent a long time as a drummer. Yet, he seems to have overcome these setbacks, hardships, adversities and handicaps (couldn't resist a cheap, opportunistic sleight on the backbeaters). Though formally trained and mentored in respect of that instrument, he's a self-taught rhythm guitarist, having picked it up post-matriculation, whereupon he also started to dabble in the dark arts of writing and singing.

There's much more to tell, but the long and the short of it is, it's really paid-off, especially if a song like Please Don't Let Me Forget is anything to go by. And there's every indication it is. A touching, homespun love song, it showcases Shinazzi's Springsteenian charisma in two minutes thirty exact.

I'd like to tell you about the SS band, but I've no inside track on the players. Suffice to say, bass and drums were as tight as a Scottish insurance assessor, the mild-mannered lead guitarist knew a lick or two and the keyboardist from Venus, not Mars) enriched the sound without making her presence particularly felt.
In conclusion, I give you every encouragement to welcome yourself to Sam's world: I think you'll find his global concerns not far removed from your own.