Catch The
Light
In addition to performing
live, this emerging chanteuse enjoys being an entrepreneur
and a "Jane-Of-All-Trades". She single-handedly produced
a ten-city tour with former music partner Ryan Haire,
produced and hosted a plethora of Songwriter performance
events at venues around South Florida, wrote and
published music articles for "9ine" Magazine, and
co-produced both her 2008 demo CD and her
7-Song collection, Catch the Light. Having spent
time living in W Hartford CT, Boston MA, Chicago
IL, and Orlando in addition to South Florida, Shauna
credits these experiences, as well as a highly arts-oriented
upbringing, for inspiring her songwriting.
"People ask where
I get the ideas for my songs, and to me it's sort
of like dreaming; sometimes it's straigh tforward
and other times, very abstract. Sometimes different
elements come to mind that make you think, 'whoa,
where did THAT come from?!' And one of the great
parts is seeing how the different pieces swirl around
together until they become the cohesive whole."
Shauna comes from
a musical family. At their family get togethers ten
minutes could not go by without one of the family
breaking into some sort of song or rhythm. They came
to South Florida when she was just 14 and she soon
had the chance at local music festivals and house
concerts to see how exhilarating and intimate it
can be to share original songs with people in that
setting, around a campfire or in a small room. She
still loves doing that, and when in front of a larger
audience, the best moments are the ones when Shauna
still feels that intimate and connection. |
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The year 2011 had a few
milestone performances, including a trip to Guantanamo
Bay Cuba to sing for the U.S. troops, and also singing
the national anthem at Dolphin Stadium for two Florida
Marlins games. Shauna
comments "I've done a lot of shows that were
exciting but those are definitely experiences I
will treasure. The trip to Cuba with my percussion
player Shaen was so interesting. It was my first
time playing on a base, and we got some time to
meet a lot of great men and women from the armed
forces who really appreciate having live music.
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When
they're sacrificing so much and being away from
home, it's a huge honor to be able to bring them
some fun and normalcy at the end of the day.
When I sang the anthem at the stadium a few weeks
after getting back, thinking of them made me profoundly
more aware of the song's meaning." In the immediate
future, expect some new song and video releases,
as Shauna is really looking forward to more tour
dates as well. In addition to her South Florida dates
in February and March, expect to see some new dates
on the calendar, most likely on the east coast U.S.
and elsewhere! This songstress is always game to come
to a new city, so if someone's interested in having
her in their town, all they have to do is reach out.
(email shauna@shaunasweeney.com)
Other projects you might see include writing music
for movies, collaborations with other artists, and
some songwriting workshops for children and teens.
Currently Shauna is concentrating
on the two-year plan of recording as much as possible
and playing a lot more cities across the U.S.In the
last year I've definitely been transitioning towards
new things musically and personally in my life, so
a lot of the songs I'm writing are about changing priorities,
holding on to what's important, and --gasp--becoming a
grown up." |
Recently
in Nashville Shauna stopped at Grimey's Music store, where
she bought Ryan Adams' Fire and Ashes. "I love most
of his stuff, and on this album you can definitely tell
he's settled in a bit-- he sounds less frenetic, and warmer,
and still raw which is great. The Canadian band STARS put
on a great show at the Culture Room, and I've been listening
to their recordings and live stuff. Also in my ear are
Matt Nathanson, Dave Matthews, Brett Dennen, and Sigur
Ros." Shauna admits "I love my job almost every
single day, and I know how lucky that makes me. The fact
that I get to make a living by sharing songs that I love
with people who are there to enjoy them and have a good
time is a huge blessing. At the end of the song when people
are clapping, that just feels like a great bonus."
In
the last decade in the music business HAS been a
major change. For it to go from, no one will hear
your music unless you have a lucky day while banging
on the gates at the Capitol Records building to now
literally ANYone can create their own fan base and
be heard around the world is kind of mind-boggling.
Any singer can sound passable on a patched-up, overdubbed
track put together by a good studio engineer, but
sites like YouTube give us access to live performance
videos where we can see what an artist is truly capable
of.
Overall Shauna believes these changes
were long overdue. She would like to see the industry
stabilize a little bit, so artists can know where
it's safe to step. There's sort of a middle class
in the industry that's been created, which is great,
That leaves a place for artists to flourish, in between
the cliches of the multi-platinum label darlings
and the "starving
artists". When Shauna does her songwriting workshops
or collaborative songs with other musicians, that's
a really special thing. Whether you are picking up
a guitar for the first time at the age of 8 or 82,
writing your first song, or experiencing a concert
for the first time in decades, that can become a
great experience that no one can ever take from you.
She says "I can't think of any greater contribution
than encouraging people to keep participating in
these magical moments." |
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Just
like in any industry, she thinks it works best when everyone
involved tries to be as fair, considerate and respectful
as possible. " Working
with venue owners, booking agents, and other musicians
who are passionate about what they do and are good at it
is always a fun thing. When venue owners or booking agents
take those few minutes to consider the artists' needs and
want to make you feel welcome, it makes it easy to focus
on having a great show. So the audience has a better time
and everybody leaves happier. Shauna has been very
fortunate not to have had many bad experiences in this
business to speak of. That being said...occasionally she
does meet people in the industry who just want to exploit
musicians, or musicians who might take advantage of a venue's
hospitality. Those things tent to bum her out because they
make it harder for the rest of her fellow performers to
keep creating and doing what they are doing.
At the end of the day,
the things we want should be the same--put on great shows,
get our songs into the hands of people who want to hear
them, and make some money in the process so we can all
go home happy and satisfied and do it again tomorrow.
Shauna we couldn't agree with you more (-:
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