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Nikki Shannon has developed a reputation for lighting up a room, whether a small venue or an entire stage. The veteran of two Broadway shows (Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Grease) has a smile and personality that draws an audience in. Once she has you she'll wrap you the cocoon of her songs. Escape is impossible. Nikki Shannon has paid her dues to get where she is, spending time sleeping in the backs of cabs or in the basements of piano bars where she's played. Such days appear to be long over for Nikki Shannon however. The Kingston, NY native's debut album, Too Few, is a dynamic tour-de-force that can not be ignored.
Too Few starts out with a tribute to the woman's curse called Chocolate and Wine. It's tongue and cheek and gives a peek at the mischievous nature that Nikki Shannon exudes. Find It Hard To Question is a guitar-rocker that displays some of the unique timbre of Shannon's voice. There is a Sheryl Crow quality to her voice at times, although at other times she leans more toward Chantal Kreviazuk. Ultimately the sound is all Nikki Shannon. Under Her Breath is a classic Americana rock tune about the inner thoughts of an insecure soul.
Other highlights include Beautiful, Inner Circle, Happy and Suffocate. Nikki Shannon has a voice that melts from her lips like honey from a honeycomb. The material on Too Few is very strong, with only one or two songs I'm non-committal on. Too Few should cement Nikki Shannon's career choice as a singer/songwriter. Too Few is a top notch debut.
Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5) - WildysWorld.blogspot.com
I'm always intrigued when I get a chance to review a debut album from a new artist. So when I had a opportunity to listen to some songs of Nikki Shannon on her MySpace page and was hooked after hearing a track called "Inner Circle," I decided I needed to hear more.
Shannon's debut album, Too Few, is a mix of stories, each song taking the listener on a journey into a different aspect of the human experience. For example, on "Chocolate & Wine," she sings - tongue-in-cheek - about filling her day with chocolate, wine, sad movies, and friends as she wonders why everything seems so wrong. "Drink," in contrast, contains a simpler story: she likes to drink!
She's been compared to Sheryl Crow, Stevie Nicks, Chrissie Hynde, and Joni Mitchell; and like these artists, Shannon is first and foremost a storyteller in song. I can definitely hear Sheryl Crow's influence on a few tracks (especially on "Find It Hard To Question") as well as that of Aimee Mann (on "Under Her Breath"). Even with such influences, though, Shannon possesses a distinct voice, which is perhaps most apparent on "Suffocate," the album's final song.
Recalling her musical journey on her MySpace page, Shannon writes, "It all started on Thanksgiving Eve when I was 4. My mom went to buy a horse but instead came back with a piano." She practiced constantly and, as she grew older, she paid her dues along the way. Homeless for a time, she would sleep in the back of a cab or in a piano bar basement, but she never lost faith in her music.
Each of the songs on Too Few draws on a different aspect of her experiences to include themes of self-empowerment, self-doubt, and humor, making for an album that's easy to identify with. Some of the songs that most resonate with me include "Find It Hard To Question," "Inner Circle," and "Happy," each of which was co-written with her producer, Nunzio Signore, who has worked with a variety of artists - Brian McNight, Katie Neal, and Bo Diddley among them - as both a producer and guitarist.
With Too Few, Nikki Shannon exhibits promise and stands to deliver as both a recording artist as well as a live performer.
- Brian "Fitz" Fitzpatrick - Blogscritics Magazine - Brian Fitzpatrick
"If you like Sarah McLachlan and Sheryl Crow, then you'll love Nikki!"
- Jonathan Clarke, host of "Out of the Box", WAQX 104.3 FM
Chocolate and wine. Two of the favorite female vices. So it’s fitting that Nikki Shannon would choose to open her album, Too Few, with a song that boasts that name.
Nikki Shannon fits into that female singer/songwriter girl rock genre, but she adds a little bit of extra flair to set herself apart from similar artists. It’s usually something simple, like the subtle electronic hints that are layered in some of the songs, such as “She Is Me,” but it’s an interesting addition.
While she does attempt to set herself apart from other girl rockers, the influences sneak into her songs. For instance, “Find it Hard to Question” feels like a Sheryl Crow song, particularly the chorus, and Shannon’s voice even sounds like Crow’s throughout the track, with that laid-back feel and the smooth, simple vocals without embellishments. It almost sounds like it could fit on Crow’s self-titled album, sounding somewhere between “Everyday Is a Winding Road” and “A Change Would Do You Good.”
The songs on the album all sound like they belong together, making Too Few feel like a collection. Shannon’s songwriting strength appears to be in writing choruses, one of my favorites being in “Chocolate & Wine.” “Inner Circle” stands out, an acoustic guitar-heavy ballad that speaks to my own inner strength. “You can fire shots at me; I’ll knock them down one by one,” she sings, an inspiration to those who have been pushed over but had the strength to get up.
The drawback on the album, at times, is Shannon’s voice. It’s kind of plain, which works for her song style. It is refreshing to hear someone with a clean tone who doesn’t feel the need to insert complicated, overly showy vocal gymnastics into every song, but at times I question her vocal style. Particularly on “She Is Me,” in parts she sounds like she has a slight cold. It doesn’t take away from the song but just strikes me as odd.
All in all, Too Few is pretty good and proves that girls with guitars aren’t going anywhere.
Words By: Valerie Williams - Skope Magazine
“Full of emotion, full of truth, her music speaks to you, captivates you. It illustrates the human condition. It leaves you breathless.” - WLSO FM - Planet Music
“Her unadorned, stripped-down rock sound, with just the right touches of harmonies and subtle instrumental accentuations, may at first recall such great talents as Sheryl Crow, Stevie Nicks, Chrissie Hynde, and Joni Mitchell vocally and in her songwriting…yet in the end Nikki has a sound all her own.” - Steve Mateo - contributor to NY Times and Rolling Stone
"Nikki is a talented pianist/keyboardist who is has a raw bluesy voice that is somewhat comparable to early Melissa Etheridge." -- Brooklyn Mike from BrooklynRocks
"WOW, WHAT A TALENT, SO REFRESHING AND SOULFUL, WHAT A VOICE, YOU CAN GET LOST IN IT. HOPE TO SEE A LOT MORE OF MISS SHANNON." -- Anonymous comment on BrooklynRocks.com - BrooklynRocks.blogspot.com
“Full of emotion, full of truth, her music speaks to you, captivates you. It illustrates the human condition. It leaves you breathless.” - WLSO FM - Planet Music
"Nikki is a talented pianist/keyboardist who is has a raw bluesy voice that is somewhat comparable to early Melissa Etheridge." -- Brooklyn Mike from BrooklynRocks
"WOW, WHAT A TALENT, SO REFRESHING AND SOULFUL, WHAT A VOICE, YOU CAN GET LOST IN IT. HOPE TO SEE A LOT MORE OF MISS SHANNON." -- Anonymous comment on BrooklynRocks.com - BrooklynRocks.blogspot.com
Discography
Too Few - released independently (June 2008)
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Bio
Singer-songwriter and Recording Artist
Biography
Nikki Shannon is exactly the kind of artist every music-hungry, Myspace browser looks for. You can’t help but immediately be lured in by Nikki, as she has the complete package--stunning voice, well-seasoned pianist, incredible songwriting and an electrifying personality.
"It all started on Thanksgiving Eve when I was 4. My mom went to buy a horse but instead came back with a piano." Growing up in Kingston, New York, Nikki would watch her two older sisters play the piano and begged her mother for piano lessons. Even at a young age, she spent hours incessantly at the keyboard, which eventually led to Nikki training at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy. In her teen years, she was constantly performing and songwriting—at first, singing in lounges, then writing and performing wedding songs for couples, and eventually writing songs for her debut album "Too Few".
Even with all this early success and incessant drive, Nikki couldn't escape the financial challenges of being a New York City artist and eventually became homeless. She would sleep in the backseat of cabs, on friends' couches, and even in the basements of piano bars where she performed. But the music always kept her going, and Nikki never let any setbacks cloud her visions of success.
In June 2008, the dynamite singer-songwriter Nikki Shannon released her debut album, Too Few. Songs from the album have recently been featured in an episode of "Six Degrees" on ABC, as well on XM Satellite radio and the NYC classic rock station Q104.3 ("Out of the Box" hosted by Jonathan Clarke.) The album is packed with soulful vocals and brutally honest lyrics. Her album resounds with emotional anthems like "Inner Circle" proclaiming, "I'm cleaning the house, I'm locking the doors, I'm mopping the floors with people not worth fighting for." The more upbeat and funky "Chocolate and Wine" perfectly depicts every girl's dreaded monthly experience with chocolate, wine, and the blues, as she sings, "Just in time for another excuse, happy hour is my favorite abuse, juke box plays my favorite song so why is everything so wrong." Nikki is quick to admit her favorite track is "Suffocate," which showcases her classical piano background through its irresistible piano melodies. "’Suffocate’ took twenty minutes to write. I had a melody in my head that wouldn't go away, so I went straight to the piano and my hands knew exactly where to go."
"Most of the time we set up a rehearsal and end up falling in love with the feeling of the song and find ourselves recording it on accident," she says of her recording process. She explains why she chooses to record in analog versus using digital equipment: "You tend to form the habit of staring at the screen, tempted to go back and play with things because you 'can' and my favorite parts are still the 'by accidents’, the first takes, and ‘the moments.'"
Nikki will be kicking off a US tour in early 2009 and plans to make her UK debut in the Summer 2009.
Check out Nikki's debut album Too Few, now available on iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster, E-Music, and Amazon!
Interviewed by Steve Matteo - contributor to The New York Times,The Los Angeles Times, Newsday, Blender, Rolling Stone, Spin, Details, among many others.
Nikki Shannon Q & A:
When did you first start playing music when you were a child? I first started playing the piano at the age of 5. My two sisters took lessons and didn't want to continue. I begged to play so finally my mom and dad took me around til finally we found someone who would teach a five-year-old. My family had to ask me to STOP playing rather than to practice.
When did you first start songwriting? I first started songwriting around 15 yrs old. It was actually poetry and I was already writing piano compositions and tried putting words to everything. It was pretty but not very good...ha! More like a run-on sentence with classical music behind it.
What inspired you to write songs? I was inspired to write songs from myself. I guess you could say it also came from all the musicals and old movies I would watch with my father. My parents always danced with us and my brothers and sisters were always introducing me to new music. Its just who I am. I never for a minute think theres anything else I was meant to do.
Where are you from and where did you live as a child and through high school? I am originally from Kingston, NY and moved to Florida with my family when I was 12 and finished high school there at Palm Bay High School
How many siblings do you have? I have 2 sisters and 3 brothers
Are any of your siblings in music? My sisters took piano lessons as children but never followed through with it. My older brother now plays the guitar but no one actually stayed in music but are EXTREME lovers of music. I grew up learning about all the classics... Zepplin, Emmylou Harris, Billy Squire, Little Feet... everyone!
When did you move to Manha
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