Pic by Jimdad Kinney
Going by her locally famous stage name, Shikiboo has been guest singing all over greater-Boston as well as getting down with her own outfit she calls Shikiboo Boston. After only about two years in the Boston scene, this woman who only first got up on stage a few years back, has become a household word in these parts. Shikiboo’s very visible presence can be seen at Pete’s Bar & Grill in Quincy, Celley’s Pub in Lynn, and Joco’s Bar & Kitchen in Waltham.
Shikiboo was born and raised in the heart of Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood and she graduated from Boston English High School. She had been a karaoke diva for several years when a singer friend had called her up on stage spontaneously.
“From there, I was ‘I want to do this,’” she said. “I want a band.” Then, she started guest singing with Brad Faucher’s Session 450 at Waltham’s Joco’s Bar And Kitchen. Suddenly, a lot of other bands wanted her to sing with them too.
“They were like ‘Can you do a set here and do a set there,’” she said. “It’s been like that. Then I decided, you know what? I want a band and I want to sing my own songs and some cover songs. For the last two years, I’ve been doing a lot of that.”
Although Shikiboo handles mostly blues, R&B, and a lot of soul, she’s been known to unleash her chops in genres ranging from Hip Hop to hard rock to 1980s pop. “I like all genres, and I think that’s what keeps it funky, and that sets me apart,” the singer said. “Blues is heavy, a lot of great, great singers in the blues vein. So I like to combine a lot of blues, Hip Hop, soul, funk.”
When her blues material starts to get too serious, she’ll segue into a Hip Hop number just to lighten the mood in the room. “No matter where I go, people always break out and dance,” she exclaimed. “They don’t always dance to blues so I give them a few dance tunes to get things what I call ‘poppin’,” That always seems to work.”
Shikiboo’s colorful and memorable stage name has an interesting origin. “I’ve always dreamt of telling this story,” she said. “I’m going to be one hundred percent real. My real name is Dychell. Folks used to get my name confused all the time, and they ended up calling me Dashiki a lot, the African robe dashaki, and I used to hate it. So one day, I decided I had to figure out a way to embrace it. I just kept the ‘Shiki’ and then one time during an intimate affair, let’s say, someone called me ’Boo,’ and I put the two together, and Shikiboo was born.”
It’s memorable and people always know who she is. “People just love it,” she said. “They’ll say ‘peekaboo’ all the time. It’s very fun.”
Shikiboo was born with her raw, powerful, room-filling voice. As a child she, didn’t think much of it. At age 12, she started singing around the house just for the fun of it. She began showing up at local competitions. Eventually, it was par for the course for people to be describing her voice as “room-filling” and “rangy.” She, at the time, didn’t even know any of the technical terms. “It’s just natural ability,” she said. “Now I’m learning the technical. I want to put a name to things I already do.”
Shikiboo turned onto blues, R&B, soul, and funk later in life, as she was hitting the open mikes. She began her fan life following rock and roll bands. “I was more of a rocker chick, my gosh,” Shikiboo said. “Rock is my first love, absolutely. I took to rock and roll first, singing and stuff. I started in karaoke. I love rock and roll, like Joan Jett. But I also liked Mary J. Blige and Aretha Franklin. They were really great and intimidating. I kind of shied away from it. But then I was like ’Wait a minute. I can do it. Let me just do it.’ And people love it. But I love all genres.”
One of Shikiboo’s first influences was Axl Rose and Guns N Roses. She had started out with a young band influenced by the 1980s rock phenomenon, performing “Welcome To The Jungle” and “Sweet Child Of Mine.” “Those two songs I absolutely love,” she exclaimed.
Pic by Ron Rudy
Her current band, Shikiboo Boston, is staffed by keyboardist Christian Kennedy, bassist Steven Oundo, saxophonist Lawrence Terry, drummer Tom Scotto, and with either guitarist Brad Faucher or guitarist Neil Itzer.
Shikiboo Boston has played in clubs like Dunny’s in East Brookfield, the C Note in Hull, Pete’s Bar & Grill in Quincy, Sonny Walkers in Roxbury, and Celley’s Pub in Lynn. “I get it crack-ah-lacklin,’” she said, of her band’s involving, high energy shows.
She gives her band members much of the credit for engaging the audience, getting the crowd to enjoy going along for the ride. From there, it’s just a matter of Shikiboo choosing just the right song for the right moment.
“Aretha Franklin is my all time favorite singer. I’m just intimidated by her,” Shikiboo said. “But, she has a diverse range, very soulful, and she’s touching. Then, there’s Axl Rose, who’s like over the top. I’m bi-polar when it comes to music. I like it because it gives the audience variety. You hold them captive, you really do, when you’re not monotone. You hold their interest when you vary.”
Audience members never really know for sure where Shikiboo is going next, with her song selection, so they follow along at the edge of their seats. “They’re hypnotized,” she exclaimed. Personality is another tool Shikiboo uses to keep her audience focused.
“I always call myself weird. I’m weird. I’m weird, I’m zany. But, ultimately, I love to sing, and folks that take their time out to come and listen to me, I absolutely make sure that they feel special and that feel taken care of, and I genuinely do love everybody. Everyone’s like family to me. I want to make sure that everybody who came out is partying. So that’s where it comes from, genuine love. Love of the art and love of the people there.”
Shikiboo received a comment from a patron of one of her regular rooms. Somebody appreciates her for being such a tremendous fan of the other bands at her venues. Even if she doesn’t sing at all, she would still be there as a fan. “I am a groupie. I love music. I love hearing everybody. I’m not like ‘it’s all about me,’” she said.
Shikiboo has a cause. She supports raising awareness for Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome, a disease for which there is treatment but no cure. It’s a syndrome that wreaks havoc on the body and can cause many health issues. Many cysts on the ovaries results in insulin resistance, weight gain, diabetes, depression, and can lead to cancer. Shikiboo, too, suffers from PCOS.
“It’s very debilitating and grueling,” she said, grunting to emphasize. “I love to sing for the art, but to raise awareness about this disease is my number one focus. A lot of people are infertile. They can’t have babies. A lot of people are hurt by that. They want to be moms. So, they try different methods, fertility drugs. It’s pretty dire for some.”
To help keep her mind off her medical condition, Shikiboo does have a lot of pleasant distractions in her musical life. She has performed with Fast Times 80s Band, Session 450, The Muzik Makerz, LT & The Gypsies, James Montgomery Band, and Willie J. Laws Band. “Oh, those wonderful guys,” the singer exclaimed. “As I’m coming up, I look at them all as mentors and I look at how they perform and how they interact with the audience, and I try to do that. They’re really accomplished, and I have a huge amount of respect for those guys. I mean Willie J. Laws just got back from Russia. That’s so amazing.”
Shikiboo also noted that they’re genuine people and that is why their audiences love them. “It’s off the chart. It’s off the chart,” she exclaimed. “Willie J. Laws is also an entertainment. We both can sing, but we can also put on; we can put on a show. He’s playing the guitar with his teeth or tongue or something and the whole crowd is like ‘Whoa, you got us nice and hot.’”
Shikiboo said her family is her biggest strength and cheerleader. “Without my family supporting me, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do. The love of my life is about to turn sixteen, my daughter,” the singer said. “She is an old soul, and she understands my passion and my drive, and she is so supportive. My family is too. My family is actually in the music business and has been for a long time, and that they’re rooting for me is huge.” Shikiboo was asked by this interviewer not to name names so that it would not distract readers from her own singing career.
Her family members, though, sometimes call her up to the stage to help her get that practice in. And practice comes in handy in this business. “Singing live, whoo, is hard. It is hard. It’s harder than singing with backing tracks,” she said.
Shikiboo’s set list may also include Erma Franklin’s version of “Piece Of My Heart,” “I’d Rather Go Blind,” “Clean Up Woman” by Betty White, “I’ll Take You There” by The Staple Sisters, “Diary” by Alicia Keys, and even “Walk Like An Egyptian” by The Bangles.
The Bangles song may seem to stand out from her other set list selections. Yet, there is a plan and a purpose. Shikiboo, ever the sharp business woman, does study her demographics. Facebook and ReverbNation give statistics so the singer knows the age category of her listeners.
“One thing about me is I really want to be able to do what I like best, and I really don’t want to get locked into blues or anything,” she said. “I want to be diverse. I’m slowly trying to weave it all in. I love the 80s too. Again, it’s going to boil down to getting people to dance and shake their butts.”