Sixty Watt Shaman was formed in 1996 by lead singer/rhythm guitarist Daniel Soren, lead guitarist Joe Selby, and drummer Chuck Dukehart, from their original band Approach, bringing in bass player Jim Forrester, when Joe Selby moved from bass to guitar to form the new project. The band name derives from a split reference to
Jim Morrison (referred to as the "Electric Shaman") and an infamous sixty watt amplifier once played by
Jimi Hendrix. The band name was dubbed by vocalist Dan Soren in early September 1996 upon his return from European travel where he had visited the grave of Jim Morrison who is buried in
Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Jim Morrison was called the "electric shaman" by press and popular culture during his
Doors years. The reference to "Sixty Watt" refers to an amplifier that was built specifically for
Jimi Hendrix by the pioneering amplifier manufacturer
Jim Marshall; it was a special sixty-watt amplifier which was used during live performances and on the
Electric Ladyland album, but was alleged to have been stolen and never recovered after Hendrix's
Isle of Wight Festival performance. The band's debut album,
Ultra Electric, was recorded in two 24-hour sessions at Hound Studio in Baltimore. The session were produced by Sixty Watt Shaman and engineered by Frank Marchand in 1998 and released on the independent label Game Two Records. The band toured with labelmates
Black Label Society and
Crowbar in support of the album in the summer of 2000, and then later with Clutch and
Corrosion of Conformity. For their 2002 release,
Reason to Live, Dukehart was let go from the band and was replaced by drummer "Minnesota" Pete Campbell, who went on later to play with other acts, such as
Pentagram. Former
Kyuss bassist
Scott Reeder was recruited to work on production for this album. It was recorded at Phase Studios in College Park, MD in 28 days. The album reveals the strong influence of the heavy music and the musicians that Sixty Watt had been on tours with over the previous two years.
Reason to Live features many standout tracks including "All Things Come to Pass" which features Sixty Watt Shaman and guest performers Scott Reeder and
Scott "Wino" Weinrich (
The Obsessed,
Saint Vitus) who were brought together again after having played together years earlier in The Obsessed for this live jam performance. Before the release of
Reason to Live, Sixty Watt Shaman toured Europe with
Karma to Burn, playing with many of their European contemporaries such as
Dozer. After the release, they embarked on a full US tour with
Alabama Thunderpussy and dates with Clutch that culminated in a final tour date at their hometown venue, 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., on January 4, 2003. After the end of that US tour, lead singer Daniel Soren moved to the mid-west and worked on other projects including
The Mighty Nimbus with Pete Campbell; and, also, a project out of Norman, Oklahoma with Chris "Paco" Johnson and Forrest Smith, playing shows in Norman and Oklahoma City. Jim Forrester worked on other projects including The Devil You Know, Angels of Meth, Soaphammer and others. Upon his return to Maryland from Oklahoma, Dan Soren rejoined Joe Selby in another rock project, Stillhouse. Dukehart had been fired from the band and went on to other projects. Pete Campbell joined doom pioneers
Pentagram on drums. Over the years, band members continued to work both separately and together on various projects and reunions. Dukehart had a brief return for a tour to play DesertFest dates in 2014 but was fired once again by the beginning of 2015. Soon after Forrester and Soren parted ways as band mates once again, with Soren leaving the door open for future work together. Eventually, Dan Soren reformed the band with a new lineup, and, tragically, Jim Forrester died in a shooting in Baltimore in 2017. Following the DesertFest dates in 2014, and the firing of Dukehart and parting with Forrester in 2015, lead singer Daniel Soren reformed the lineup in 2015 to include Johnny Wretched (John Koutsioukis) on bass guitar and longstanding hometown heavy rock drummer Sandy Hinden. That lineup went through 2018, followed by several more lineup changes, eventually landing on Mike Beggs and Chris Baker to round out the current group. With their new lineup, Sixty Watt Shaman moved to new home base in Winchester, VA and continues to write and record new material. == Members ==