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In 1997, Shannon
Cain went back to college and put aside all aspirations
for a music career. He explains, “Music—songwriting
and performing—had a pull that was just too
strong; it wants to dominate… to eclipse
everything else in my life. That’s what an
artist needs to do and, for a long time, I didn’t
think it was responsible of me to let it take
over. I didn’t feel I had permission to be
an artist.” It’s been over seven years
since Shannon shelved his demo and let go the
momentum created by a country-rock song he wrote
in 1993 called “La-di-da”. When he’d
played the song live on HOT 93.3 in Austin, the
station started getting upwards of 50 calls per
show and numerous requests throughout the day
in several time slots. He was invited back every
week the next two months, to play more of his
songs and take calls from listeners; the train
was rolling. Still, Shannon decided to go back
to West Texas and finish college. “I went
2 1/2 years without even changing the strings
on my guitar. I forgot chord progressions for
my songs… It was really sad; I couldn’t
even finish the songs because the lyrics were
gone. My music was rotting.” Then, while
preparing for law school, the prospect of studying
entertainment law brought back the same old questions
about whether his music was unfinished business
that needed another shot. Dusting off the demo
and handing it to a few friends and industry people,
the response was overwhelming; "get your
butt to Nashville!" Shannon and his wife
decided that, once and for all, he needed to see
what was possible when he let music take over.
It was time for a move to Nashville.
When he played his first writers’ round in
Nashville last year, he’d been on stage a
total of 5 minutes since 1997 and it took a few
months to get his performance chops back. Though
Shannon hoped to work toward professional songwriting
by pitching his songs to publishers, people were
taking notice of his voice and live performance
even more than his songs. (A fellow Nashville
songwriter and blues artist introduced him one
night as the Texas Rocket and the name stuck.)
With the realization that performing is his first
love, Shannon is starting to play venues around
the country, getting back the part of him too
long forgotten. “I just wanted to be a part
of the music again. My wife and I agreed that
if I could just make a living at music—as
a songwriter, performer, sound technician, or
even a manager—it would be enough. It was
never about fame or money… otherwise I’d
have gone to law school!” With a style that’s
part blues, part acoustic rock, and a little bit
rockabilly & country, Shannon hopes to connect
with audiences and carve out a niche for himself.
And, if it all goes right, maybe the only bar
he’ll ever have to pass is the one in the
club where he’s playing.
Shannon’s acoustic CD, things i used to know,
is available from:
www.cdbaby.com
www.texasrocket.com
Songs from things i used to know can be
heard on the following radio stations/web broadcasts:
91.9 WNTI (Hackettsville, NJ)—also
web broadcast from www.wnti.org
FM 104.3 Radio Goldenflash (Belgium)—also
web broadcast from www.goldenflash.be
Visit the artist's website |
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"I’m
grateful to be counted among such a fine collection
of artists. Nubzilla runs a great café!
Ten years ago, when I was building a local fan
base and playing out regularly, I’d always
have people ask me about my next step and how
I planned to get my music to more people. I never
had a good answer for them… which is part
of the reason I shelved my music until last year.
There just seemed to be a great divide between
me and the music industry, and the industry seemed
to be the only vehicle for broad artist exposure.
But times have changed and now we have access
to wonderful resources like Nubzilla’s Café,
where artists with a wide variety of styles can
reach audiences across the country and around
the world… without needing a record label
(or publisher or major gallery) and distribution
deal to get it done. When I was running around
looking for ways to get my music “out there”
I’d have given my eye teeth and a lot of
money for an outlet like Nubzilla’s Café.
Yet Sheila and Chris provide their site for free.
It’s an honor to know these talented artists
who are a constant reminder that there are still
people out there who love music so much that they’ll
use their time and resources to make sure it gets
heard. "
-Shannon |
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