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Sunday, 27 July, 2008 9:03 PM
CMA New Artist Spotlight: Amanda
Shaw
Photo
by Rick Oliver
Rounder
recording artist Amanda Shaw
| By
Bob Doerschuk |
| ©
2008 CMA Close Up News Service |
Fiddler/singer/songwriter/actress
Amanda Shaw's New Orleans roots display proudly throughout her Rounder
Records debut album, Pretty Runs Out, in her street-strut pas de
deux with Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews on "Brick
Wall," the low-down jazzy blues of her solo on "What's
Wrong with You?" and the foot-stomp Cajun feel "French
Jig" and "McGee's Medley."
Shaw wrote five of these
13 tracks and recorded all of them while in her mid teens. Now 17,
she projects an appeal through her music that combines elements
of humor and youthful verve with the precocity that earned her the
distinction at age 7 of being the youngest artist to guest with
the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra.
Shaw was in elementary
school when she made her national television debut on "The
Rosie O'Donnell Show." She was 14 when she won Best Female
Entertainer honors at the annual Big Easy Entertainment Awards.
In 2004, she and producer Scott Billington worked diligently on
repertoire for Pretty Runs Out and recorded demos at the legendary
Ultrasonic Studio, which was subsequently lost to Hurricane Katrina.
They recorded Pretty Runs Out at the Piety Street Studio in the
Upper Ninth Ward at the end of 2006.
Like her hometown, Shaw's
music covers a wide range - all the way to crunchy, guitar-amped
rock on "Woulda Coulda Shoulda." The Crescent City is
all about roots, and the rock/Cajun/Irish blend of her "Reels:
The Gaspé Reel/Sam's Slammer/ Imogen's Ridge" medley
makes clear where Shaw's heart is, no matter how far her explorations
take her from this point - even onto the sprawling IMAX screen as
star of "Hurricane on the Bayou."
IN HER OWN WORDS
MUSICAL HERO:
"There are so many:
Denis McGee, Billie Holiday, Etta James, Chrissie Hynde, Loretta
Lynn . Mostly, though, I have to say the wonderful musicians of
New Orleans."
SONG YOU SING IN
THE SHOWER:
"The song I'm currently
trying to write."
FAVORITE MODE OF
TRANSPORATION:
"The one that gets
me there on time - which, for me, would be 10 minutes late."
TITLE OF YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHY:
"Amanda Shaw: Pretty
Runs Out."
LEGACY:
"I hope people say,
'She lived a happy life and was a well respected artist . even though
she is a bit klutzy at times.'"
On the Web:
www.amandashaw.com
AmericaJR.com
is Detroit's exclusive media outlet for this syndicated weekly column!
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