Here in Oregon we are Blessed with a rich musical heritage and artist pool bursting with talent. Lauren Sheehan is one of our state's treasures, a diamond in the Oregon moss.
Lauren has been playing guitar, singing and collecting Piedmont, Mountain and Country Dance tunes for nearly 35 years. She has a long local history (including the Port Townsend Country Blues Festival) and a national provenance that credits her as a true American Roots artist. She has been a much requested performer for Traditional Dance in the mid-West and New England states, and her music honors the countless generations of fine pickers who came before her. It will surely touch those listeners and artists lucky enough to hear her today and years from now. Lauren continues that "string band" tradition in the NW, and performs at community dances, house parties and other events dedicated to the "old-time" music and dance right here in Oregon.
Miss Sheehan isn't shy about her influences musically, and she runs the gauntlet of traditional American music. She includes Blues, Country styles, Bluegrass-ish and Folk finger style guitar and singing styles as well as traditional American "dance" tunes. Lauren has played and studied with John Jackson, Jerry Ricks, John Cephas, Steve James, Del Rey, Howard Armstrong and many others. Her most excellent debut CD is called "Some Old Lonesome Day" ( Recorded 2001, 2002 Big Red Studio, Corbett, OR.)and features 17 songs of traditional American Country-Dance, Blues and Folk (including one Contra-ish dance song).
The CD is enchanting, with beautiful vocals and tasty guitar from Miss Sheehan. This woman is a fine guitarist with lovely tone, and is not only a wonderful finger pickin' rhythm section but an outstanding soloist, also. She certainly has great voice on her rendition of accapella "Rattlesnake Mountain", but this young lady keeps it up alternating between Blues howl or pure Country yodel to just sweet voice for the duration of the CD. Very pleasant listening throughout, with certain selections dedicated to showcasing Miss Sheehan's formidable guitar skills. I enjoyed her singing styles as much as the string and harmonica arrangements for all selections. Even though the initial attraction was to the harmonica, I have to admit my favorite cut is "Old Friend Waltz", a lush piece with stellar vocalization and accompaniment, featuring dual fiddle tracks. (I cried the first spin because it was so beautiful.) The other musicians featured on disc selections are just perfect for the task at hand, and Lauren Sheehan has released a delightful recording.
Tracks 1,2,3,6,7,11,15,16,17 (she just has too many harp songs to list by name, but pay special attention to CC Rider, Little Maggie & The Werewolf for some of the best harp around - heartfelt and astoundingly beautiful ) feature Master harmonica player Phil Wiggins on harmonica. A splendid job he does with the variety of tunes Lauren offers. The interplay between harmonica, guitar and voice is just stunning. A real great performance by Wiggins for the entire disc! He is playful, drawing you to your feet in wild abandonment during Weepin' Willow Blues. He is powerful, causing the hairs to raise on the back of your neck during The Werewolf. He provides outstanding tandem lines with the vocal and other instruments along with absolutely incredible solos on each of the songs he plays. Wiggins is plainly a big part of each selection he appears on.
Many of the tunes are "dance" numbers from those by-gone yesteryears, and generate a fine feeling of joy causing the toe to tap and the voice to rise with merriment. Other songs are strongly emotive, and bring about a sense of loss, longing and sorrow, only to be rectified by the sheer beauty of voice and instrumentation.
Here's some info about the performing musicians, and a brief interview with Lauren regarding "Some Old Lonesome Day" and her career in general. Remember folks, there are 17 tracks on this CD featuring "Classic" Blues, Piedmont Style, "Rag" Styles as well as Country and Folk blended into a warm and vibrant panoply of American music. Well worth the effort and price of purchase. The place to purchase Lauren's CD is www.cdbaby.com/laurensheehan or 1-800-BUY-MY-CD and just ask for Lauren Sheehan by name! Global shipping within 24 hours guaranteed! Don't let this one slip between the cracks…
Available exclusively at : www.cdbaby.com/laurensheehan
The performers are:
Voice / Guitar Lauren Sheehan Harmonica Phil Wiggins
Bass Ryc Williamson Banjo/ Fiddle/ Voice Stephen "Sammy" Lind
Mandolin Peter "Spud" Siegel Fiddle Kevin Healy
Bass Walter Spencer Harmonium Billy Oskay
LAH: : Your CD has great variety of Trad American music. Was it difficult to decide what to put in or leave out?
LS: : Yes, but it must be hard for everyone when it's time to choose what to include on a recording project. Trying to make a cohesive "whole" out of a variety of "parts" was a great challenge, but I think we pulled it off nicely.
LAH: : Can you share any of your experiences recording the CD with Phil Wiggins? He is an awesome harmonica player, and the two of you sound like you're having a great time with the tunes.
LS: : Phil is an amazing musician and person, extremely generous and gracious in spirit, and he plays that way, too. Musically, he is "right there"- and a great listener who is so responsive to the entire musical piece. Phil's tone on harmonica is beautiful to sing with. Some of the favorite times I experienced while recording with him include the way he adds "texture" to the music, the velvety weave of my voice and his harp. Then, of course, there is the rhythmic groove and punch Phil delivers at just the right time. He's just a fabulous musician and we had a lot of fun during the project. The "Werewolf" is worth mentioning, Phil really loved that tune and all his playing is live, one take stuff, I think it got a little spooky! Phil's playing is just superb, and he did a wonderful job on all the selections he played on.
LAH: : Did you study voice in a conventional way, or were you just "Blessed" with that beautiful voice and absolute control?
LS: : (If only my producer could hear you say "absolute control!" Seriously, I have had a bit of voice training, but it is probably the choir experience and singing Gospel for nine years (in Port Townsend) that gave me the most experience singing. I have never formally "studied" voice.
LAH: : Do you have any tours or performances you will be doing in support of the CD?
LS: : I am just beginning an open leave of absence from my vocation as educator and will be moving to Portland! I expect more performance opportunities, and with that comes the chance to promote my CD as well.
LAH: : Would you like to share some of your personal reasons for continuing to record and perform traditional music as opposed to more "popular" forms of music? Do you have a spiritual or political agenda promoted through your music?
LS: : Well, I am drawn to the music; traditional music is accessible, timeless and most of it is acoustic (and I love acoustic music best!) There are social interactions surrounding the traditional playing style that attract me to that situation. I love playing knee to knee, singing and playing, just feeling those vibes…I am spiritually and physically involved with the music ,with my ears open and working. There is something about the dance tradition associated with the music that just reaches out and grabs me.
LAH: : How do you reconcile your touring / recording career with family life? How hard is it for you as a woman to be touring and performing in a male dominated field?
LS: : I chose to give live performance and touring up for a while because it was too hard to jibe with family life and living a country lifestyle far from any town. There are advantages and dis-advantages to performing in a male dominated field. For a role model, I look to Del Rey. She is the Queen of Country Blues, and an excellent example to follow in my opinion.
LAH: : How do you feel about working with harmonica in general? Do you have any "special considerations" when arranging for harmonica in your music?
LS: : I love working with harmonica, depending on the ensemble and the harmonica player, of course! The quality of their playing is important to me.
LAH: : How would you advise the up-coming performer regarding performance and recording? Can you give us an example of both negative and positive experiences?
LS: : Regarding recording, I think that an experienced engineer and producer are essential and key to getting a good product. A lot of musicians are much better players than technicians, but they do not know it. Making a good or great recording is vastly different from playing your instrument well.
Thanks so much to Miss Lauren Sheehan for consenting to interview for our readership. A special thanks to Lauren for sharing some of the insights her many years of performing and playing have brought her. I encourage all of you who love Traditional American music to purchase Lauren's excellent recording "Some Old Lonesome Day" ASAP! You can go to CDBaby on line and even preview many song selections for yourself.
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