I've just returned safe and sound from my five-week adventure abroad, and am proud to announce that my Waiting Room session/interview/madness will be airing on woxy.com this weekend, as well as on 91.7 FM in Cincinnati.  Here is what the lovely hosts have to say about the upcoming show:

I have just heard word from Clyde Petersen (who directed the music video for 'we; camera') that the film was shown at Cannes, courtesy of the kind people of Cannes In A Van.


That's neat!

In other news, Bicycle Records is going to start distributing 'We; Camera'...which means that it may soon be available at independent record stores up and down the West Coast.

Stay tuned for more good news...it seems to be rolling in faster than I can write about it. I hope it stays that way.
love
shenandoah

Hello everyone! There is much news to be told.
I have just returned from a chaotic few weeks of four seperate trips, going to Kennewick and Spokane with Grand Hallway, flying out to LA to visit a high school pal and play a few shows, going up to Orcas Island for the weekend with half of Grand Hallway for some quality mountain time, and then last night down to Olympia for a fantastic show at the Northern...five loads of laundry later, my room is finally nearing a state of mild cleanliness...
Some things to report!
Ball of Wax 16 is out, featuring myself and seventeen other (mostly) Seattle bands / musicians.  Its a lovely cornucopia and can be picked up at Sonic Boom in Seattle or here.

'We; Camera' is now available through ..Ms. Valerie Park Distro, based out of Olympia.  Look for it in a big magical box filled with CDs and zines at a merch table near you.

I'm playing at Folklife this weekend, at 6:30 on Sunday evening on the Alki stage. Folklife was one of the very first things I went to on my VERY FIRST trip to Seattle, back in 2005 (before I foolishly moved to Portland for the summer), and I adore it.

Last but not least, check out this video that a really friendly band from Greece sent me of their cover of "We; Camera"! There's a false start, but it gets real at about 1:15.  Accents are pretty cool.



Thanks for reading, and lets talk again soon.
s

i got tired of these cluttering up the page, so if you don't feel inclined to be original, please take one of these (but say who the inspired genius writer was who originally wrote it, of course).

"I  get so excited hearing music by people with so much classical training, seeing how they employ their background in their own music. And it shows through here in all the best ways, while retaining this remarkable originality. I am amazed at how something can sound at once so familiar and so marvelously unique. "

Fabulist

"Don’t let Shenandoah Davis’s simplistic arrangements deceive you. With a voice like an old timey fiddle, she adds on contrapuntal guitar, piano and xylophone parts to round out the subtle symphony. “These Rocks” sounds like something Feist would come up with, only better. “Now We All All” shows off the sheer power of conviction present in her vocals, matched only by the powerful bang with which she hits the final low piano key. “Take Ourselves Out” plays like a Parisian cobble stone street dance. “Well Well Well” has an air of Vaudeville about it, if Vaudeville took place under water. In fact, it’s here where the simplistic arrangements clear away like a pair of heavy velvet curtains to expose the true playful mastery of Davis’s compositions. This happens just in time for the quick, trotting piano and castanet arrangement of “Milagros.” “Skeletons” finishes it all off—a dark, lonely waltz that takes the album full circle, back to the simple basics of vocals and piano, as the heavy curtains close once again."

Kim Ruehl, Seattle Sound


"It begins as a plinking piano, almost too shy to carry on and is followed by a unique voice just on the verge of cracking, but hangs on the precipice - never quite falling off. The sound expands with new layerings of that voice, making it stronger, broadening the knife’s edge, and becoming a solid foundation when shored up by classical strings and further layerings of piano. Even with a solid footing, the music still teeters somewhere between folk, classical and ragtime."

Kevin LeDoux, Seattle SubSonic

"Shenandoah Davis moved to Seattle about a year ago, bringing her solo music project that blends together "classical piano, folk, klezmer, and ragtime." Now, fans of Joanna Newsom have a local act to love (although Davis doesn't play the harp). As her description promises, the song "We, Camera" involves vintage, plinking piano pulled straight from what you'd expect to hear booming from an early-1900s-era bar. The piano takes a more classic and dramatic turn in "Our Favorite Idols," boasting a sweeping, beautiful tone. The star of every song, though, is Davis's unique voice that is as hard to like as Newsom's. But after a few listens, it's easier to embrace its "always on the verge of breaking" tone, especially when paired with music just as peculiar."

Megan Seling, The Stranger


"This particular affair took place in celebration of Shenandoah Davis' adorable new music video for "we; camera", which you can watch here. The video was directed by Clyde Petersen, and Britta Johnson, who has also lent her skills to videos for artists such as Mirah, helped with the cute little fabric (at least I THINK it's fabric) birds...But what was really astounding about the whole evening was how quiet the whole room became as soon as Shenandoah started playing. She sings like a bird, and her piano playing is like a sort of whimsical, melancholy saloon piano. Less jangle, more trill."

Sara Brickner, Seattle Weekly

"I could make comparisons to the sing along simplicity of one indie superstar, and the much-adored quirkiness of another, but to summon such names would feel like an injustice."

See What You Hear

"Seattle based singer/songwriter Shenandoah Davis is a true, quirky, vintage, and fascinating artist. After studying classical voice, jazz guitar, piano and harp during College, her frustration with the “tunnel vision” of academia, leads her to make her own composition. She recorded her first EP Our Favorite Idols in early 2008; quickly follow by her first album We; Camera, in the vein of Joanna Newsom, Karen Dalton and Regina Spektor. Inspired by classical, ragtime and klezmer piano, she composed dreamy and theatricals ballads. Further of her solo project, she regularly plays accordion for Jack Wilson & the Wife Stealers and Grand Hallway, and participate in a new Seattle band project called Hello, Broken Arrow. She also recently works with Clyde Petersen (Thao Nguyen, Laura Veirs) on her lovely, poetical stop-motion music video for the title album song We; Camera."
ctn-music.com

Kim Ruehl posted a nice sit-down interview with me on Seattle Sound Magazine's website today...during which I talk about Grand Hallway, how playing with them affects my music, classical stuff, differences between the Seattle/Denver scenes, and why all of this music stuff came about...I accidentally said a naughty word in there, apologies to my parents (not a super-naughty one though!)
http://www.seattlesoundmag...com/2009/02/qa-with-..shenandoah-davis/

Hello,
The darling Robbie of womenfolk.net (a great blog about, well, you can figure it out) has written a really nice article about 'We; Camera'.  You can read it here if you want to.
Awww. I'm blushing!

Its been a busy week in the blogosphere!
I plan on just updating this when I receive wind of new articles / posts / et cetera, but for right now:
Song, by Toad

Northwest Music Blog

Delicious Scopitone (updated 2/08/09)

See What You Hear (updated 2/09/09)

Indie Muse (updated 2/12/09)

Fabulist (updated 2/13/09)

Sleep Opera (updated 2/24/09)

Hint of Mint (updated 3/04/09)

A New Band A Day (updated 3/17/09)

Call To Nothing Music (updated 3/28/09)

Please let me know if you write something about my music on your blog, so that I can link to you.

Also, Barnes and Noble has posted a video of an extremely weird show I played a couple of months ago in a barnes and noble in seattle...if you want to, you can watch it here, but please don't.  Just come to a show instead. But, you know, its there.

...sara brickner of the seattle weekly sums it up nicely here:

"Saturday night's shindig was my first showgoing experience at 2020 Cycle,
and I have nothing but good things to say about the space. 2020 Cycle
is, as you may know, a bike shop by day, but they have shows on
occasion, and I think the place serves well as a venue, with bikes on
the walls and helmets hanging from the ceilings. It's the kind of cozy,
intimate space where you can feel comfortable stashing your coat for
the duration without worrying about it getting stolen. It also helps
that most of the folks in the crowd know each other. This particular
affair took place in celebration of Shenandoah Davis' adorable new music video for "we; camera"...
The video was directed by Clyde Petersen, and Britta Johnson, who has
also lent her skills to videos for artists such as Mirah, helped with
the cute little fabric (at least I THINK it's fabric) birds.
Katharine Hepburn's Voice,
aka KHV, opened— they're a catchy little synth-pop outfit of drums,
bass, keyboard and quirky lyrics. I found them quite charming, and fun
to dance to. But what was really astounding about the whole evening was
how quiet the whole room became as soon as Shenandoah started playing.
She sings like a bird, and her piano playing is like a sort of
whimsical, melancholy saloon piano. Less jangle, more trill.
Your Heart Breaks,
Clyde Petersen's band, closed out the evening. And while the songs were
sweet, I was ultimately more enamoured with Clyde's stage banter; the
best story was one in which Clyde took on some jerkoff at a show who'd
been calling that evening's burlesque performers "bitches" and
generally acting like an enormous dildo. When Clyde took a stand, dude
became irate and informed Clyde, who rocks a shaggy haircut and big
Buddy Holly glasses, that he was not going to be told what to do (and I
quote), "by a NERD!" Oh, Chuckles, don't you know that nerds always get
the last laugh?"

if you haven't watched the video yet, then...then...then i just don't know whats wrong with you!

here and also here and here/
Thanks a whole bunch to Victoria, Sara Brickner, and Matt respectively.
Hope to see lots of you on Saturday!

I am very happy to "formally" announce that I will be joining the very impressive roster of Grand Hallway, one of (in my humble opinion) the most musically talented and unique bands in Seattle.
My first show with them will be on Wednesday at Neumo's. Filling the evening out will be Johanna Kunin and Carrie Biell.
Also, Clyde Petersen directed a music video for 'we; camera' that turned out (in my less-humble opinion) beautifully. We're having a really fun "release" show for the video on January 24th, with Your Heart Breaks and KHV. That's at 2020 Cycles.
Thats all for now!
xo
shendo