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July 19, 2006
Finding Love - A Moment with Shawn Mullins
"Somebody came to my show not too long ago, and she goes, 'I wish you would do that song.' She didn't know how to say it without criticizing me. It was really sweet, though; she was like, 'You know, you almost get that note. You don't quite hit it, but that's what I like about it.' I think there is something about that kind of emotion, though - there definitely is, not just for my voice, but for a lot of stuff that a lot of us listen to, and you end up hearing stuff that's not perfect, but there's something human and emotional because of that."
That's a story Shawn Mullins shared (not realizing I was rolling tape) when he came in-studio earlier today to tape some songs for Altville, the radio show I produce. He said that in reference to one of the most beautiful songs on his latest CD 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor, "Find Love." I'd asked him to play "Find Love" live so we could air that version on Altville, as well as the studio version we've been playing, and I have never seen anyone perform a song so intensely and so passionately. He shyly confessed afterward that that particular song is a very, very personal one, and he rarely plays it live, because it's so close to his heart, which made me feel so honored that he'd be willing to allow us to play it on Altville.
Just about all of the artists that come through Altville are super-appreciative of the radio play, but Shawn went above and beyond that by sharing "Find Love" with us. My respect for him only increased when, after breaking a string at the end of a song we were taping, he insisted we record the song again. No complaints from the peanut gallery - we were more than happy to listen to him play again. In addition to being extremely generous, Shawn's also a perfectionist - a dangerous combination.
Shawn had a top 10 hit on the pop charts back in 1999 for his song, "Lullaby," but 9th Ward is without a doubt an Americana album. In fact, some people (and I'm one of them) would argue that Soul's Core (the album that included "Lullaby") is an Americana album, too (don't believe me? Listen to "Twin Rocks, Oregon" or his cover of Kris Kristofferson's "Sunday Morning Coming Down"). Shawn continues his "tribute to country's past" in 9th Ward, with the murder ballad "Cold Black Heart," but also includes progressive Triple A-type songs like "Beautiful Wreck" (which has already reached #1 on the Triple A charts) and "Blue As You." Half of the album was recorded in the New Orleans studio, the 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor, and after Hurricane Katrina destroyed it, Shawn named the album after the studio as a tribute, making his cover of "House of the Rising Sun" particularly poignant.
Altville airs locally on KZLA Sunday nights at 11pm. Listen to the show in the next few weeks to hear more about Shawn Mullins, or even better - pick up a copy of the album itself, and find out why "Find Love" - not to mention Shawn himself - is so darn special.
Posted by darlin at July 19, 2006 5:48 PM
