Shane Piasecki

Ever wished you could be there when a future superstar musical artist arrives on the scene? Well, that time is now and the artist is Shane Piasecki.

Armed with the musical stylings of Tom Petty and the lyrical wit of Bob Dylan, Piasecki has crafted a masterpiece with his first release for LandStar Entertainment, aptly entitled Set You Free.

Piasecki's music returns his listeners to those magical days when Dylan was the voice of the land, when lyrics meant something to the listener and were delivered with catchy tunes that made their message unforgettable.

From the opening strands of Feels Alright to the last haunting notes of Night Like This, Piasecki delivers an album that simply must be experienced. Mixing a rootsy, blues rock sound with lyrical content that is pure Nashville, Set You Free lives up to its title by delivering its listeners from the mundane and predictable sound of so much of today's music. It therefore makes sense that the entire album is being promoted to AAA and Americana radio to allow program directors to choose the tracks they think their listeners will love most.

Those who love Shane’s acoustic side will be gravitating towards the soulful reflection of Wings of Wax and the lonesome, bluesy and hypnotic New To Town. Others may dig the easy rolling, soaring harmonic vibe and the biting wit of Jackie O, the moody, reverb-heavy ballad Roller Gone, the raw, high energy horn-drenched soul rocker Feels Alright and the infectious, harmonica laced pop/rocker Good Thing, My personal favorites are Mannequin Head and Night Like This, which leave me wanting more of Piasecki's incredibleness.

Recorded at The Sound Emporium B and The Lab and produced by versatile Nashville producer, performer and band leader Nathan Meckel, Set You Free features performances by two of Nashville's top session players, bassist Dave Roe (Johnny Cash, Dwight Yoakum) and Jerry Roe (Aaron Tippin, American Idol winner Scotty McCreery) who created the groove on Shane’s previous DIY album Monday Creek (2010). In addition, the album was co-mixed and engineered by Grammy nominated mixer/engineer Mark Niemiec (India Arie), who combined with Meckel form the Buzz Brothers. Other top studio musicians lending their talent to this project include keyboardist John Deaderick (Patty Griffin, James Taylor, Dixie Chicks), bassist Steve Mackey, trumpeter Layne Ihde and Maurice “Bow Tie” Farmer.

“While Set You Free reflects my growth as a songwriter over these past few years, it also marks a breakthrough because it’s my first recording to feature me playing lead guitar – something that few artists recording in Nashville do,” says Shane, who plays a Floyd Stratocaster, Fender Strat, Fender Telly and Gretsch hollow body. “I’ve been working towards this style of Americana where I can play the lead guitar in everything for a long time. I like to say that it’s me getting away from John Mayer-land and creating my own stamp via experimenting with another few levels in my guitar playing.

“If I’m working with my acoustic,” he adds, “I’m doing something folky and poppy, but put an electric guitar in my hand and I’m doing blues and rock. I feel that I have paid my dues with my previous DIY indie albums and that Set You Free, which combines the best of all my styles, puts me on the first tier of an exciting new level in my career. It’s inspiring to work with this caliber of world class musicians and I’m becoming more confident that the songs I am writing, while drawing from many inspirations, don’t sound like any other artist.”

While his career is in a different kind of overdrive since signing with Favarett and now LandStar Entertainment, Piasecki, who grew up listening to CCR and Eric Clapton while driving down country roads with his father in his hometown of Liberty Center, Ohio, has been building to this level of success for the past 10 years. His first indie album All For Coffee (2004) earned him a sport as an opener on the Hanson tour at the House of Blues in Cleveland. Local critics took notice after hearing Piasecki sold more albums in a single night than any other band that had ever opened up for the platinum pop trio.

“All of my life experiences before and since I moved to Nashville have really helped me grow as a songwriter,” Piasecki says. “What’s going on now is that instead of writing songs just about love and heartache, I’m reflecting upon the unique life I am living. To me, songwriting is really about chronicling the world as you see it, and that’s always been the essence of truly American music. I’m following in a storied tradition that starts all the way back with Hank Williams, Sr. in the country world and carries on to this day. At the end of the day, I’m trying to be a good American songwriter.” - LA Examiner

Piasecki shows maturity, talent on 'Monday Creek'

Shane Piasecki could've left Toledo for Nashville and been swallowed up by a music scene that is so competitive it makes the NFL look gentle.

A singer/songwriter in his early 20s, Piasecki is from Liberty Center, but he played Toledo coffeehouses for years and was a fixture on the local scene before moving to Cincinnati a few years ago and then on to the country music capital. His most recent disc prior to "Monday Creek" was "You're Here and I'm A Mess," which was a short, relatively poppy release that was good but not necessarily special.

Now Piasecki has made a serious creative leap, graduating to big boy singer/songwriter status on a disc that is uniformly excellent both from a musical perspective and lyrical standpoint. Comparisons to Radney Foster, Greg Trooper, or Justin Townes Earle are not out of the question, which is heady stuff for a guy making his first proper album.

Produced by bass player Dave Roe, who played on John Mellencamp's latest release, and featuring guitarist Doug Lancio, who worked with John Hiatt, the disc has a country/roots music vibe with a road-weary feel and a mature sensibility. His voice has taken on a rougher timbre and Piasecki lets the songs breathe rather than over-sell them.

The result is an organic album with songs like the title track, "Flat Tire," and "Camping" that have a lived-in sound and rural feel without being corny or overwrought. And just as the energy seems to be flagging mid-disc, he picks it up with the jaunty "Foolish Man," "Lesson," and "Manikin Head," tunes that take advantage of his natural talents as a pop-oriented songwriter while staying in the acoustic groove. There's even a remake of "You're Here and I'm a Mess," which was already pretty good, but is improved on "Monday Creek."

Piasecki should be proud of this disc and it proves that Crystal Bowersox isn't the only Americana-oriented singer/songwriter from Toledo who deserves attention.

-- ROD LOCKWOOD
- Toledo Blade

Shane Piasecki fuses Nashville lifestyle with NW Ohio roots
Written by Nick Bruno | | nbruno@toledofreepress.com

Twenty-four-year-old singer-songwriter Shane Piasecki is exploring his roots on “Monday Creek,” his third independent studio release.

The Northwest Ohio native has spent the last two years living in Nashville, playing music with accomplished musicians and walking the same streets as Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley. The 13-track album — fused with threads of country and rock — marks Piasecki’s first release since moving to Music City, USA.

“It can be overwhelming, and at first I think it was,” Piasecki said, discussing life in Nashville. “But you learn to stay focused, otherwise it’s too easy to become caught up with the city.”

Piasecki now splits his time between Tennessee and Ohio while developing his songwriting skills.

“Someone once told me, ‘There’s just more people here. If you’re good, you’re still good, but there’s just more people to compete with’,” he said.

The Liberty Center graduate has worked with a number of well-known musicians, such as Dave Roe, Mila Mason and songwriter Chris Gantry. Roe, who played bass for Cash during the 1990s and befriended Piasecki, offered his music skills on an earlier project.

“It had to be one of the best sets ever heard,” Piasecki said in reaction to the first time he played with Roe in Nashville. “I wanted to give him a hug when we finished up. The music sounded so real and good, I didn’t think I needed anything else.”

Following their first meeting, Roe agreed to work with Piasecki on “Monday Creek.” Roe then assembled a group of musicians in Nashville to record on the album, such as guitarist Doug Lancio (who has worked with John Hiatt and Nancy Griffith), Mike Schrimpf on keyboards and Raconteurs drummer Patrick Keeler.

“We hit it off as friends,” Roe said of Piasecki. “I love his music and I think he’ll do real well.”

Roe has lived in Nashville for the past 30 years. He said Piasecki has a different take on things when he writes. In the song “Camping,” Piasecki sings about the simplicity of a relationship during a camping adventure: “I like our chances if we just stay here/and live off crackers water and beer/nobody here to do us any harm/and I’ve fallen asleep in my baby’s arms.”

Though steering slightly away from his earlier pop style, Piasecki said he hopes to eventually incorporate folk/rock with pop music.

“I grew up with roots and blues music,” he said, pointing to Robert Johnson and Hank Williams as old favorites. “But I’d hope to be able to appeal to both genres eventually in my career, because they’re both relevant. Inspiration comes from different periods of time in someone’s life and that’s what keeps me moving. Writing has to adapt.”
- Toledo Free Press