Flower-Powered Artist - August 2008

Shannon Hurley

While most artists are coy to defining a specific genre for their music, our August 2008 Flower-Powered Artist fully embraces the genre she’s in. In her own words: “I know that people don't like to pigeonhole music, but I think it is important because you need some kind of reference. I would definitely say Pop-Rock.” Our spotlight this month of August shines towards this particular independent artist Shannon Hurley, whose brand of pop music is beyond ephemeralness that characterizes most of mainstream pop.

Shannon was born in Indiana surrounded by musically-inclined family members. To name the specifics: her grandmother (as well as her great-grandmother) used to sing in Chicago with Vaudeville, while her mom was in a rock band. As music is clearly in her veins, all she needed to pick was the right instrument. She started playing piano by age seven and took lessons for it. Sensing the lack of excitement from classical music, she went on her own merry way to experiment by flipping the musical sheets and playing the songs backwards. All she really wanted to do was play contemporary piano music, in the likes of almost every female singer/songwriter’s influence: Kate Bush and Tori Amos.

Perhaps we can chalk it up to Shannon’s desire for musical growth that she decided to take up a new instrument. Her initial choice was violin but her mom quickly disapproved of that idea so she went with the next unusual choice, the trombone. Of course she was so serious with this idea, that she graduated with a performance degree in music, major in trombone at the University of Colorado. Or was she? Apparently, it was not really a very good choice as she fell back on her beloved instrument, the piano. So, out goes the trombone, orphaned at a very young age. But fret not, as the orphaned trombone found its rightful home with a member of the Brian Setzer Orchestra.

Thankfully, the years of studying at the University of Colorado did not all go to waste for that was the time when she became the stage manager for Fox Theatre. Working with established artists like Julian Lennon, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, and Rufus Wainright fueled a desire for songwriting. Thus, after finding a newly-re-ignited passion for piano, Shannon began writing her own music.

She moved to Los Angeles by 2001 armed with an intense motivation to follow a musical career path. The flurry of originally-written materials gave birth to her independently-released EP in 2003, the self-titled Shannon Hurley. The release of the EP prompted Shannon to play a lot of gigs. In 2004, she co-headlined a 4-act show titled, "Don’t Call Us Tori." The show was so successful that it attracted the attention of many other talented artists wanting to perform under the same showcase, including artists we have featured as FPAs: Libbie Schrader and Marina V. Shannon then, and up to this day, became a booking agent for the showcase. The Don’t Call Us Tori shows are held all over L.A. in venues such as the Hotel Cafe, the Derby, and Tangier. Incidentally, this showcase was also the breeding ground for Shannon and Marina V's collaboration. Shannon still plays keyboards for Marina to this day, adding an orchestral string section for Marina’s original compositions.

More touring followed in 2005 as a session musician for pop artist, Brie Larson. The tour presented an opportunity for Shannon to open for big acts like Jesse McCartney, Gwen Stefani, The Black-Eyed Peas, and Gavin DeGraw. Another EP was released in 2006 titled Sunrise. The EP was produced by Guy Erez, who worked with artists including Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ryan Cabrera. Carmen Rizzo, who worked with artists like Coldplay and Jem, contributed to the EP as a programmer in the title track Sunrise.

In 2007, Shannon finally completed her debut full-length titled “Ready To Wake Up.” Officially released on Nov. 5, 2007, the record was met with well-deserved success and widespread radio airplay. The success carries on this year (2008) with the launch of her remix contest for the song Sunrise. Details for the contest can be viewed at Acid Planet’s website. In a similar fashion, she also has a plan to release a remix version of the full-length and she’s taking submissions for it. Interested individuals can view more information at ccMixter’s website.

KGRL is very proud to present our August 2008 Flower-Powered Artist, Shannon Hurley. Shannon and her husband Ben joined KGRL in-studio for an exclusive performance shot in high-definition video and audio. Our feature, as usual, packs a lot of exciting materials including: a CD review of her full-length Ready To Wake Up, photos, and our very comprehensive interview with Shannon Hurley in video, audio, and transcribed form.

As per our usual monthly feature, we are giving away 3 signed Ready To Wake Up CDs! Just e-mail me at contests [at] kgrl.fm and tell us why you deserve to win. Don't forget that you can request a FREE copy of the FPA live session DVDs as well!

KGRL Shannon Hurley Interview

KGRL had a chance to sit down with the lovely Shannon Hurley for an interview right after our KGRL FPA Live Sessions held at The Alley Studio - 07.06.08.

Shannon Hurley Video Interview (Click to launch the player!)
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Ready To Wake Up CD Review

Ready To Wake Up is the debut offering from the LA-based indie singer / songwriter Shannon Hurley. Almost half of the tracks in this record came from her 2006-released Sunrise EP. What follows next is a detailed account of my journey into Shannon’s musical world. Allow me to guide you through it.

First impressions last. And that is what the opening track, titled Matter Of Time, leaves us with - a lasting impression of a ballad with plenty of hooks to rival even Peter Pan’s arch-nemesis. The vocal work is subtle yet immensely captivating. If it somehow managed to elude your musical senses by first listen, which is quite impossible, it’s only a matter of time before you get sucked into this song’s gravitational pull.

Making a comeback from the same-titled EP, Sunrise casts its ray of stellar radiance in this full-length. A song as solemn as this is likely to induce tears from the softhearted ones - but thanks to the upbeat rhythm, you’ll be singing along with it instead. Like the first song, this track is impossible not to be amongst everybody’s favorite songs on this CD. It was a favorite from the EP and it still is a favorite in this record. There is an ongoing remix contest for this song as of this writing and I’m thrilled to hear what the remixes will make out of this marvelous composition.

Shame comes in next with a hint of lounge / jazz. This pop-jazz track, originally written as an entry for the American Idol songwriting competition, is presented with a superbly-played piano and a nice touch of electric guitar. The vocal work gets a little aggressive, compared to the other songs so far, thanks to the powerful chorus that really accentuates it.

After Shame comes Breaking Down, pun intended. Breaking Down is another of those sad songs with oh-so-good hook-filled melody nicely contrasted with a good upbeat accompaniment. The same song concludes this record and I guess I’ll talk about both versions here. Remixes sometimes even surpass the original version, like in the case of Feist’s Gatekeeper in which the remix (One Room One Hour Mix) is stunningly more superb than the original. The same is the case with Shannon's Breaking Down. Celeste Lear really did such an amazing job that I personally prefer the remix version more than the original.

Shannon’s guilty pleasure song, Overboard, delights us next. While some may say it’s too cheesy, I’d have to admit that I love this song as well. The stanzas are well-structured leading to a very catchy chorus. The same can be said about the bridge part of the song. Speaking of bridge, the modulation part that Shannon added in the extended version of the song (KGRL exclusive) transposes the final chorus a key higher, giving this already-wonderful song a more elegant ending. Why don’t you check out the video below to see what I’m talking about?

The bossa nova-flavored pop track titled We Are In Love sets us in a very relaxing mood. It’s a very welcome change in style, which makes this tune truly a standout from the rest of the songs in the record. Where I Stand, a song that originally came from the Sunrise EP, follows next and once again proves Shannon’s mastery in crafting an ear candy. Sometimes I think that Shannon has an ear candy factory where she pulls out all these hook-filled melodies from.

The next track, Garden Path, found its way across all of Shannon’s recordings. Perhaps the third time is the charm. By now, I think I am already overloaded with a copious amount of yummy pop but I still want to ingest all of it. It’s true what they say: once you pop, you can’t stop - Shannon just proved that. And then there’s Silence. Just when you think that she couldn’t possibly offer another easy-to-love melody comes another. Silence is golden.

Lastly, Shannon’s cover of The Charlatans UK song Try Again Today does the original justice. It’s sweet, vibrant and feverishly catchy – the qualities that makes it a perfect fit for this record. I think I’m going to need an insulin shot after this one.

It is very hard to find anything negative about an album as aurally blissful as Ready To Wake Up. Well… except if you already own the Sunrise EP, which was rehashed almost entirely into this record. Either way, every track here is a pop jewel that shines brightly. Ready To Wake Up is sure to put listeners in melodic overdrive building layer upon layer of indie pop excellence. Perhaps some people may consider the fact Shannon didn’t take much risk of offering anything more than pop as the weakness of this album. But for those who are into exceptionally-polished well-constructed pop songs with great hooks then look no further, Ready To Wake Up is the perfect record for you.

Ready To Wake Up CD - Buy It Now (Click Here)!

Tracklist:

Matter Of Time
Sunrise
Shame
Breaking Down
Overboard
We Are In Love
Where I Stand
Garden Path
Silence
Try Again Today
Breaking Down (Celeste Lear Remix)

Shannon Hurley Photos

Play Slideshow!

KGRL FPA Live Session - The Alley Studio 07.06.08

KGRL proudly presents another wonderful episode of our FPA Live Sessions, this time featuring Shannon Hurley . The streams can be viewed using our embedded flash player. We do hope you enjoy these wonderful exclusive videos shot in high-def video and audio. If you're wondering how the real recording looks like in a non-downsampled full-glory high-definition video, click here for a sample still-frame shot in its native 1920 x 1080 resolution (Full 1080 HD).



And remember, those of you who support the station by donations can request a copy of the DVD. Click here for more information on how to obtain the DVD!


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Where I Stand	Silence	Sweet Loving Ways
Shame	Overboard (Extended)	Don't December

Sunrise