Image courtesy of Valerie Valberg-Yeoh
If you like live music in Singapore, you would probably have been entertained by the energetic, entertaining band Shagies at least once. The six-piece cover band has withstood the test of time in the tough music industry with its current band members playing together for 21 years. Among them are three silvers who have been holding up Shagies for 28 years.
Hashim Suhaimi, 60, proudly discloses that he formed the band in 1987 and has been its lead guitarist and vocalist since then.
His bassist Wann and keyboardist Tomross (also in their 60s) have been with the band since 1996. Now that’s a feat considering all the stories we’ve heard about the challenges in band dynamics that cause bands to split. Singer Yanee joined in 1998, drummer Daffy in 2002 and female frontwoman Olynn in 2003.
Hashim is thankful for the diversity of the current band.
"We can leverage on different strengths. With a range of ages, each contributes in their own way. For example, Olynn, the youngest member, does the social media pages for Shagies."
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They perform twice a week at Simply Retro by Tin Box.
Credit: Hashim Suhaimi
Today Hashim is a contented and happy family man balancing his gigs with teaching music.
He recently contemplated retiring from the music gig scene but his wife has encouraged him to play on simply because he can. He is now fully convinced to continue because he remembers he has musician friends who have had to stop playing in their senior years because of ailments.
The fifth son in a family of six boys growing up in Marine Parade, Hashim has always been into music, especially with his brothers being musicians as well. He loves music so much that he auditioned for the navy band while he was in National Service. He could already play the trumpet and cornet (he learnt them in his school band) but he wanted so badly to play in the navy band.
Hashim went on to join the navy band playing both in Singapore as well as overseas.
Precursor of Shagies: Shaggies with a double 'g's
Credit: Hashim Suhaimi
In 1986, 22-year-old Hashim and his first band took part and emerged second in the Yamaha Band competition. That paved the way to forming Shaggies in 1987; yes Shaggies with two ‘g’s.
While pursuing his love for music, Hashim was also completing his apprenticeship as an aircraft technician due to a promise he made to his father.
However, Hashim managed to make time to compose music and win some awards, which eventually earned his father’s blessings for him to work on music full-time, with gigs secured consistently for a decade.
Fourteen years later in 2001, however, the band Shaggies split.
The learnings from this experience came in handy when Hashim decided to reform his band.
"For our new band member selection, we looked for good character first. Then came musicianship."
And so the new band was formed. But with one less letter – Shagies.
The name Shagies with one ‘g’ has since stayed. The lessons learnt from the first band’s split were not forgotten.
Credit: Hashim Suhaimi
"However our common vision is strong, so we all understood that to be a tight band meant long hours of rehearsal. It was a big sacrifice of personal and family life."
"Sometimes I want to make big changes but then I think, just let things be. We just made it work."
Shagies played at all the then-popular night spots: the Europa at Big Splash, Europa at Pleasure Dome (Specialists’ Centre), Europa’s Roar at Cairnhill and Club 501 at Wheelock Place, Anywhere (Tanglin Shopping Centre), Ridley’s at ANA Hotel, Harry’s Bar at Orchard Towers and Wala Wala in Holland Village.
Shagies' shenanigans: happy and sad times
The band has had its share of hilarious memories. One occurred at an overseas gig. Shagies was playing their final song. Fellow band members saw a glint in younger Hashim’s eyes as he spied a chair on the ground below the stage where the emcee was standing.
Unfortunately, not all memories are sweet. One incident that left a sad indelible mark on the whole band was the passing of fellow band member AJ. This happened in 2016, just as they finished setting up and conducting sound checks for an event.
AJ, the saxophone player, complained of breathlessness and was then rushed to the hospital. The band carried on with their gig, but received news of AJ’s death in the midst of their performance. They had to soldier on, suppressing their heartache.
AJ’s role was not replaced.
Today the band comprises the same six remaining members.
Hard times strike Shagies
Shagies reached a comfortable status quo right after that, with a regular gig entertaining the audience at Hard Rock Café Sentosa in 2018. Then came the dampener of Covid-19. All nightlife was shut down and they couldn’t perform anywhere. It was to be a two-year unplanned hiatus.
Hashim was very thankful that he had done some teaching at the Timbre Academy before that. Budding musicians who used to watch him play in the ’80s and ’90s were now full-fledged musicians in 2020. They got him a teaching gig at the music school they were teaching at during the pandemic.
Credit: Hashim Suhaimi
Hashim then worked hard at passing his music theory and Grade 8 music examinations to be more qualified as a music teacher.
The rest of Shagies’ band members took on jobs in the delivery business or drove for Grab. It was a scenario replicated by other musicians all over the island.
Looking to the future
Credit: Jovin Lim, Thunder Rock School
Being a cover band is never easy, and the pandemic made it tougher.
"The audience is spread out. Some are at coffee cafes."
"You need to have entertainment value and the fans will come. We have fun among ourselves and involve the audience. We address them by name. So even when the audience is quiet, we give our all so they can feel and catch the vibe."
Hashim looks forward to seeing new bands on the scene adding to the vibrancy of live music. Does he have any advice for budding musicians?
"Keep playing, learning, watching, and be inspired by other musicians. Be humble and network. Don't be afraid to come up to sing or jam if there is a chance."
Keeping relevant means not being complacent and always being willing to learn. Hashim shares that the band has amassed a repertoire of about 300 songs spanning the decades (pop, disco, rock, Latin, rhythm and blues, jazz) over the years. Today they play about 150 of these because they are frequently requested.
The band learns new songs and Chinese songs too because they are frequently requested (especially from the band Beyond).
Shagies is focused on the objective of making the fans happy. And their fans support them regularly.
And this personal touch is one of the factors contributing to their staying power.
And on the rare down days when the audience is sedate?
"The whole band just gives their best and we all sing (including drummer Daffy) and enjoy ourselves. We are there to deliver. We love what we do. Making people happy."
