Exile on Peachtree Street
Musician Scott Shamel dies at age 40
BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH
"A lot of people didn't know Scott as a musician," says veteran Atlanta singer/songwriter Ray Dafrico about his longtime friend and fellow musician Paul "Scott" Shamel II. "Even people where he worked (Fellini's Pizza in Atlanta, GA) might not have known he was in a band." But Dafrico knew him well. The pair met when both were in eighth grade in Alpharetta and bonded through a shared love of the Rolling Stones and Cheap Trick. They later played in several local projects, including Shades of Shame and Kickstand. Shamel's recent death at age 40 was quite a shock.
"We hadn't been playing together for a while, so I don't think he was doing anything apart from working, buying a new condo, and just trying to get his life together," says Dafrico.
Even though he wasn't the best known artist in town, the hard-living Shamel was active in the local music scene. In the late '80s, he was the bassist for Mr. Crowe's Garden, which later became the Black Crowes after he and his friend, Ted Selke, were booted out.
"I think he was always bitter about that, but he didn't make a big deal out of it. That's the kind of guy he was." Even though rock stardom escaped him, Shamel went on to play in a series of modestly successful bands including the Dixie Tramps, and collaborated with a who's who of the local elite.
"He just had a big heart," says Dafrico. "And that probably led to his addictive personality and I guess, from that, his early death." Shamel's penchant for excessive partying was a part of his image that friends tried to discourage but he embraced it and even joked about it, says Dafrico.
"He was the real deal," says Lars Nagel, also of Motor 76. "He really was Exile on Main Street, a true rock 'n' roll pirate with a great human quality about him. We'll all miss him."
Scott Shamel was born Sept. 29, 1964 at Piedmont Hospital, and died there June 22, 2005. Cause of death was still unknown at press time.
BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH
"A lot of people didn't know Scott as a musician," says veteran Atlanta singer/songwriter Ray Dafrico about his longtime friend and fellow musician Paul "Scott" Shamel II. "Even people where he worked (Fellini's Pizza in Atlanta, GA) might not have known he was in a band." But Dafrico knew him well. The pair met when both were in eighth grade in Alpharetta and bonded through a shared love of the Rolling Stones and Cheap Trick. They later played in several local projects, including Shades of Shame and Kickstand. Shamel's recent death at age 40 was quite a shock.
"We hadn't been playing together for a while, so I don't think he was doing anything apart from working, buying a new condo, and just trying to get his life together," says Dafrico.
Even though he wasn't the best known artist in town, the hard-living Shamel was active in the local music scene. In the late '80s, he was the bassist for Mr. Crowe's Garden, which later became the Black Crowes after he and his friend, Ted Selke, were booted out.
"I think he was always bitter about that, but he didn't make a big deal out of it. That's the kind of guy he was." Even though rock stardom escaped him, Shamel went on to play in a series of modestly successful bands including the Dixie Tramps, and collaborated with a who's who of the local elite.
"He just had a big heart," says Dafrico. "And that probably led to his addictive personality and I guess, from that, his early death." Shamel's penchant for excessive partying was a part of his image that friends tried to discourage but he embraced it and even joked about it, says Dafrico.
"He was the real deal," says Lars Nagel, also of Motor 76. "He really was Exile on Main Street, a true rock 'n' roll pirate with a great human quality about him. We'll all miss him."
Scott Shamel was born Sept. 29, 1964 at Piedmont Hospital, and died there June 22, 2005. Cause of death was still unknown at press time.
posted by PMC 3 at 2:40 PM
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