There’s a story of a teenage guy who had a passion for music and wrote poetry, his talent grew but he didn’t practice it until he saw John Mayer’s “No Such Thing” on TV and knew what he had to do. Buying his very first guitar in the summer of 2001, Shady Ahmed knew that it was about time to start his dream. By coincidence, his basketball team buddy, Tarek Reda also started his musical journey. Together they spent the whole summer learning the guitar, improvising, composing music and tape recording what they came up with. Eventually, a band was initiated under the name of Kravin. Gaining so much popularity at the time, some circumstances forced the band to stop playing eventually Shady started going solo.
For those of you who already know Shady Ahmed, then you already know what kind of Egyptian talent we have and should pretty much enjoy and appreciate. For those who don’t then read and admire what Shady has to say about himself, his journey and his music.
How did Kravin start?
Kravin started right out of my family’s living room where Tarek and I were recording. We wanted to put a band together so Tarek went out and found a drummer, a guitarist and then we were later joined by a bassist. Tarek played guitar as well as Mohammed Hany, Mohammed Shams played drums and Nadim played bass. I was the singer and songwriter of that band. We got pretty popular after playing a series of outdoor festivals and getting great reactions from the crowd. We disbanded in 2009 when Nadim left for England after graduation and Mohammed Hany was enlisted in the army, later leaving for England as well.
You recorded three acoustic albums on the side of Kravin, what are their names and as which is your favorite?
“Awakening”, “Winter Waiting” and “The Vintage Sessions” were the titles of the records. I was always doing my acoustic stuff, Kravin just happened to take a turn and become a big Rock n Roll band so there wasn’t much room for my quieter songs to be made into rock tunes. My favorite set of recordings however was an album I wrote and recorded just as Kravin was disbanding, “Songs Once Deemed Unworthy” was the one I was the most proud of. It made a lot of sense to be fulfilled musically like that. Get the rock side out with Kravin and then all the other softer songs out on my own.
When did it feel like it was the right time to go solo?
I was doing solo shows while Kravin was still a functioning band and I continued to do so after it was over. My very first solo show was a big deal for me. I played my originals as well as some covers. I was joined by a friend of mine called Nader Edward who lent his skillful guitar playing to my songs.
What does street singing represent to you? How many times did you do it?
Before one of my shows, I was tired of the usual Facebook invites that everybody was sending out for their shows I wanted to reach people beyond the internet so I took my show to the streets and started promoting for it. It really paid off. Street performance is a passion for me and I love doing it. It makes me connect with people I have never met before just for a little while, and then I’m gone. I love being just a memory that way. I don’t know how many times I have done it honestly, I started in 2009 and I still do it today.
You recently said on your fan page “In learning there is growth and in growth there is peace.” Did you do any studies related to music or song writing? Any future plans to do so?
I have had no formal training in music, but I listen to a lot of music. A lot. I practice writing and playing guitar every week to keep myself in touch with my own abilities. Sometimes I find progress, other times I find I’m a bit rusty but that’s just life yeah? I’d love to attend songwriting classes, the little of what I have seen online has changed the way I wrote honestly, so I’d love to get into that at some point yeah.
I heard you have super powers guessing right things about people. Another talent you want to tell us about?
Ah yes, the guessing thing. It’s not a super power but as a writer I learned to be observant of things. I have to see stories everywhere I go and in everyone I meet. Sometimes I am able to get some guesses right but some other times I am wrong. Other talents include impeccable nail biting and annoying the hell out of people who love The Beatles.
What super power would you want to have?
I’m afraid everything I think of having, I might end up putting it to bad use. There’s evil in all of us and abuse of power is such a tempting thing. I guess just flying would do.
You said this before “Times are changing again. People are realizing that songs about something meaningful are better than songs about nothing. I’m hopeful.” What is “meaningful” music to you?
It just seemed to me that for a good while now, all songs were just about being in the club. But recently people have been putting in a lot of effort in discovering and promoting for decent meaningful music. People are starting to realize that there’s more to life than fucking someone you met at a club.
You have a blog called “I make playlists”. It’s quite self-explanatory but what’s the story behind this?
I was making playlists for people long before I created the blog. I would always depend on music to get me through the good and the bad moments in my life. And I guess I just wanted to show people that if you put a group of songs together with a certain sequence, they could create a mood that you can exist in for an hour or something. Emotional triggers I like to call them.
When are you planning on getting a haircut? Don’t lie about this.
I’m not planning on doing that, soon : )
Describe each of the following in one word: Marlin Monroe, Led Zeppelin, Jim Morrison and Bob Dylan.
Marlin: Phenomena
Zeppelin: Intoxicating
Morrison: Shaman
Dylan: Prophet
“Life is Hard for those who Dream” is the name of your new album, why did you chose this name? How did the process go this time?
Anybody out there fighting to make their dreams come true knows what this means and knows how it feels. It’s hard out there for anyone with a passion and a dream, but that’s no reason to give up. The album is pretty hopeful and has an uplifting mood to it. The process was long and grueling because of the events that have been happening for the last year and a half. But I guess that’s conducive to the cause of the record, gives it more validation.
WE SAID THIS: You need to get a lot of things done after reading this; first like Shady’s Facebook fan page, check out his amazing “I make playlists” blog and definitely attending his show on the 18th of September, 8:00 pm at the Cairo Jazz Club.