Shannon Curfman--singer, songwriter, guitar player--breaking out of Minneapolis via Fargo with her debut album "Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions". Her unique style of soulful rock with blues and roots influences is turning heads in concert and on the radio throughout the midwest and the rockies. Reviews are calling Shannon "a true belter" who "sings like a legend" and everyone from Jonny Lang to Jeff Healy are already on board as major fans of her music. Oh yeah, and she's only 14 years old.
Now, my opinion.(Sheila's Opinion :) Wow, Shannon Curfman, is one HUGE inpseration! I heard of her about, hmm, probably July 99? I'm pretty sure. And I heard some snipets of her Pop Sense Ablum, it was released in April, it was also called "Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions". It had 3 songs which weren't on the Arista release. The songs, "That's How It Feels", "Musta Been Love", and "Real Bad Feeling". But she does play those songs live. -Okay anywayz, I was like, in shock of how good she was! I was like, man! She's so good! I wish I could play like that! And then I thought, whoa, this is my dream. We're the same age, we're both Jonny Lang lovin', gutiar playin', long-hair-parted-down-the-middle, singin', little hippies. She's living my dream! Then so I got mad, and I didn't like her. :) Hehehehehe. Okay, so then I heard that her CD was going to be released nationaly in September. Then, I gave in and said, well I might as well buy it and learn something. Okay so the story ends, I'm a big stubborn Shannon Curfman Fan. :)
Shannon got the chance to work with her long-time friend and inspiration (and fellow Fargo native) Jonny Lang, four years her elder. Lang co-wrote the bold "Love Me Like That," and plays guitar on 3 songs on the album. Shannon has enjoyed following his progress up the charts. "We wound up going to one of his concerts once, bought his CD, bought all his posters and hung 'em up on the wall. I was just mesmerized by him."
With the release of LOUD GUITARS, BIG SUSPICIONS, Shannon can finally take Lang off that pedestal. Now she can take her place alongside him in the growing list of young artists who are rejecting the heavily produced videocentric fluff being made by many teen groups these days, in favor of music with a classic sound and a respect for the history of rock, blues, and R&B. "A lot of my friends listen to the other kind of stuff, and that's fine," she says. "But a lot of them are also getting into blues and rock and Jimi Hendrix, and I think that's really great."
Shannon describes herself as a "natural ham" who was always putting on shows for her parents and her friends. She made her stage debut singing at a local talent show at age 7, and by age 10 was singing in local coffeehouses. Treated to guitar lessons by her grandmother, Shannon took to the instrument obsessively and practiced for hours on end. At the Fargo Blues Festival, she met and jammed with blues-rock virtuoso Jeff Healy. "I played with him on his bus for several hours, and then told my mom and dad, 'Uh, I want to start a band, okay?'"
Through it all, Shannon has retained a hold on what most of us would think of as a normal life. She's been home-schooled, but says she lobbied for that long before her career took off. "I always thought they wasted a lot of time in school, where you finish your assignment in 10 minutes and then have to sit there for another half hour," she says. "At home, I can get a day's work done in four to six hours. I love home schooling, so I continue to go right through the summers. I'm guessing I'll graduate a year, maybe two years early."
Shannon spends hours on her laptop computer, which she describes as her lifeline to family and friends while she's on the road. While she continues to pursue her music, she figures the rest of life will work itself out. "What's more fun than this?" she says. "This is what I want to do with my life. It's cool being young and knowing what you want in life. I still have time to go to college if I want. I love every part of this - traveling, meeting people, and playing music, of course. Just as long as I'm playing music, I'm happy."
You started performing very early. What motivated you to start in music?
Shannon:There was always music around the house from my parents' old classic rockrecords to the pop 80's radio stations that were on in my sister's room. For as long as I can remember I was always choreographing and singing along to all the songs I knew, and having little show. When I was 7 I sang on-stage for the first time at a local talent show, and then I picked up the guitar when I was about 10. I had my first band when I was 11, and from there I was in a couple of different bands, and we finally moved to Minneapolis when I was 13.
What artists have influenced you the most?
SC:Jonny Lang for being so professional and so dedicated, and for being an all-around amazing musician/writer. The first time I ever played with a full band was with Jeff Healey and his band, so they made a huge impact on my career. I listen to a lot of different music from The Artist, James Brown, and Sly Stone to Lucinda Williams, John Prine, Dwight Yoakam, and Greg Brown. I also love classic rock like Led Zeppelin, Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, The Beatles, Aerosmith, and a lot of the newer stuff like Ani DiFranco, Jamiroquai, and Sheryl Crow.
Is there anything you would do different from the past couple of years?
SC:Yeah - Not buy so many shoes!!! I'm running out of room for my guitars! No, I'm just kidding. I wouldnÕt do anything differently because everything that I've done in my past has made me who I am today. I'm very happy with where my life is right now.
What advice would you give to an artist just starting out?
SC:Always make sure that the reason that you're in this is for yourself, and for the love of music. Always STAY FOCUSED AND TRUE TO YOURSELF!!!
You can buy Shannon's album at
CD Now!
Listen to a clip of my favorite Shannon song "Hard To Make A Stand". Did you know, that Shannon covered this song from Sheryl Crow's self titled album? And that the name of the album got it's name from this song? Groovy.
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