Boshears proves she is more than just a "chicksinger"
The long awaited self-released CD from Shannon Boshears finally became available to the
public on Friday, December 14th, 2001. The 12-song disc, "chicksinger," features all
original songs that run the musical gamut. "Rock and roll, blues, pop, gospel, funky,
gritty stuff," Boshears said, "it's all in here." She attributes her wide range of song
writing to all the years of playing in clubs.
On any given night in Central Arkansas, you can usually find her chunking out rhythms
with her cohort, Walter K., either as an acoustic duo or backed by their rhythm section
which features, Lori Stidham on bass and Charlie Macom on drums. " Most of the public
knows me as an acoustic act because working as an acoustic duo was the only way we could
make a living by playing music in this town, but I'd play with a full band every night
if only I could afford it," she added. So, you'll only find two or three acoustic based
tunes on this CD. The rest of the cuts are guitar driven, rocked-up, solid pop/rock songs.
As diverse as "chicksinger" may seem, the one common thread that holds the songs together
is that she has wrapped her Southern roots around each of them and has made them her own.
She laughs, "a song that I've played in the bars for years is 'I'm Pissed' and I've
actually had people get 'pissed' if I wouldn't play it more than once or twice in one
evening." Another cut, "Runnin' for Shelter" was written one night by Boshears and
Walter K. when a Hollywood movie crew was in town shooting a full length movie called
"Shelter" and they were looking for local music to use in the film. "They loved the
song and actually used the copy in the movie that I recorded on a 8-track cassette
recorder in my spare bedroom," she said.
Other tracks on the CD smack heavily of her Southern upbringing, like "65 to
Mississippi" (co-written with Lasa Robertson) and "I Am the Blues." Lyrically,
the latter of these songs is like driving down a burned-up, one-lane, back road
somewhere in the Delta. In "I Am the Blues," she writes as though "The Blues"
is an actual person telling its origin to someone:
"I was born down in the Delta and that's where I paid my dues
Where it's a hundred degrees in the shade of the trees and it's hot like the devil's tattoo
They all hollerin' and choppin' and shoutin' as they work in twos
I said, "Lord have mercy, baby, I am the blues.
I spent 15 years in Parchman for practicin' voodoo
I mixed the goober dust up with the elephant tusk and I got the John De Conquer Root
Evil's over in Coahoma county and it's all covered in kudzu
I said, "Lord, have mercy baby, I am the blues."
Other songs on the disc are more personal like, "Back On My Feet Again," which she
wrote after a long period of being down physically. Also, "Room 317" and "Jaded"
which are both more autobiographical.
As far as the title of the CD is concerned, she adds, "I considered naming it,
'What Took Ya So Long?,'" after one of the songs on the CD," she laughs, "but
I opted for the stereotypical, tongue-in-cheek, 'chicksinger.'" She adds, "the
female in the band usually gets the bad rap of being the 'girl singer' like in
a cheesy Holiday Inn lounge act or she's only in the band just cause she's a girl
and that looks good. I've referred to myself as a chick singer for years just
for a laugh and to put myself in my place. But, after all, that's what I am."
For more information, check out her website at www.shannonboshears.com.
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