#Bandcampgold-Veib by Shane Reis & God Damn Chan
by Dan-O
From the stage Shane Reis has the authority of the most important guy in the properly humming kitchen of a restaurant. His music has always carried that ceaseless Joe Frazier energy: moving forward, finding optimal positioning, and getting off his best shots no matter what touches him or how hard. So the full length collaboration between Shane and God Damn Chan was destined to be interesting not just for the art but the force of will on display.
Chan has moved away from Maine (where Shane, the lobsters, and I reside) to L.A. but I still refer to him as the Swizz Beatz of Maine. He clicks together elements that fit, turns the volume as high as it can go (while remaining clean as a whistle) and when it’s done it’s done. Chan knows what he does and who he is. Both of these gentleman know exactly what they do well and manage to steaily put that in the foreground while they improve on the rest in the background experimenting and evolving, challenging what you came for by adding to it with showing any risk.
The bandcamp description says that while on tour they were soaking in Damn & 4:44 aiming for their own shot at cohesive timelessness. This is why Veib works on three different levels. If you just want to press play bump your head and not think go to track four (Tell Somebody!) and you’ll recognize the stinging gnarled Gangstarr boom bap and screwface headnod as Shane matter of factly beats the track like a speedbag. If you are invested in the journey and the mood the music conveys you are in for a treat. On JonSnow (IWantIt) an off kilter beat (that sounds like it has a harp sample) allows Shane to charm away in as refreshingly non-creepy a fashion as you can find in rap. He says “She’s a downer and an upper for real. I mean I’m in it if she lets me. She’s next level sexy.” Even amidst his most triumphantly authoritative declarations his sexy song has a clear “boy I hope she calls back!” excitement to it that is refreshingly human. He’s a hard nosed dude who has made the choice not to be a dick about it.
The third level of analysis on Veib is where I get in the weeds. My favorite thing about relistening to it is not how remarkably clean, cohesive, and different it sounds from any rap album in the state(or region). My favorite thing about relistening is catching the moments when Shane pretends to give his audience life lessons about maintaining your soul and who you are when in fact he is repeating this mantra to himself. I’m not talking about providing hot lines (if you want them you can have them see IKnowUKnow for “I never met a king, I never met a god but if I did it was living under the devil’s law.”) First mantra example is from TheVeibOfIt “Relax your mind and be who you want to be. Man, who cares what they think? If your you and that’s cool then that’s who they want to be…damn what a concept?” It’s framed as a volley sent at the countless who are losing themselves in fabricated expectations losing their own truth and by itself it could be seen that way. Add to it Witches Brew first verse “Try to keep up with the times but can’t find the time tho, too much social media $*&^ and I do it like you do but you don’t read to your kids ma dude.” Having kids is being terrified to disappoint them; it is learning how to catch as many balls as you can from mid air and only let the ones drop you can afford to. Keeping your artistic character together as you get bigger and bigger is similar, compromises must be made. If you worried I am stretching to make a point listen to We Don’t Care when he says “I’m not sold although they bought it, bought it doesn’t mean a lot. Earning often dreams a lie. And if the star players a bum, what kinda team they got? If you tell me you are then it probably means you’re not. Underdog forever, I pawed my way through steeper plots.” It is all right there, I will not lose even though everyone does. If you dig deep enough Veib isn’t chill at all. It’s the Friday rush during the holidays and the restaurant is earning like it never has before. We are the new kid doing the dishes and after peaking out at the jammed crowd and busy hosts/hostesses we turn to that dude who runs the kitchen who we count on to set the pace. We ask “What the hell are we going to do we aren’t staffed for THIS!”
He turns and says what Shane does on OrangeCrushGroove “Life’s a bitch but I’ve chose not to mistreat her.”
stream or download Veib below:
https://theorderlabel.bandcamp.com/album/veib
P.S. Track 11 Say Nothing has my favorite feature Kenya Hall who is an absolute treasure. Her album Learning For Miles v. 1 from 2010 is one of the must hear albums in the history of the Maine music scene. I could say more about her and the absolutely gripping ideas about racism Shane discusses on the song but I may have written too much already. Its great she is great. More Kenya Hall.
