Joy Shannon (vocals, Celtic harp, cello, accordion)
and the Beauty Marks:
Sean Wallace (guitar), Graham Spillman (drums), Andy Zacharias (bass), Axel Clarke (drums).
ALBUM ALSO AVAILABLE ON iTUNES!
For Sale at:
Fingerprints in Long Beach, CA
Amoeba Records, Hollywood, CA
Influences
my whole life.
Sounds Like
"Joy plays Celtic Harp and has some great and unique vocals which range from soft and sweet to powerful and moving. Sometimes bordering on the ethereal; at others punk/rock (YES - punk on the Celtic Harp!!!) A must listen to artist whose unique application of the Celtic Harp and hard-rocking band makes her truly one of a kind. A prolific and profound lyricist is another great quality which makes experiencing her music an utterly enjoyable yet an incomparable style and sound. Her recently released CD, "As In The Wilderness" showcases her various musical qualities and attributes. Take a listen or two; if she doesn't grab you straight away, a second listen will lock you in!!!"
Michael Cleveland, Irish Press US
The CD Release show to celebrate the new album is:
Saturday July 25th at 8 pm
@ the OCCCA Gallery in Santa Ana, CA.
The Meaning of the CD Title
The CD is called "The Opium Wars or Love in Lieu of Laudanum". This is in reference to the themes that are throughout the songs- the inner wars we fight in ourselves against things like addictions (to drugs, bad relationships,etc) and the outer wars we fight that fund our cultural addictions (oil, greed for more money, land, etc). This greed and these addictions make us selfishly exploit others, exploit the earth, and makes us overlook what is truly important in life: caring for the people we love, taking care of this beautiful earth for all future generations, and deciding to choose "Love in Lieu of Laudanum".
About the CD Artwork
The CD is filled with all of my own artwork and is designed by me. I did a series of lino-cut prints for the album (like the cover you can see above) that illustrate the songs on the album. The above artwork illustrates the theme in the song called "Thylacine" (which some of you have already heard me play live). The song is about questioning and mourning our culture's mistreatment of this earth, our fellow humans and animals. The thylacine was a striped Australian marsupial wolf that was killed into extinction by the 1930s because the wolves did what wolves do- ate the sheep on farms. The cover artwork illustrates a mother earth archetype who is kneeling in front of a thylacine and many other animals who are extinct or near extinction and is pleading for mercy with an executioner (who represents the masculine aggression that can lead to destruction of this planet).
The Story Behind the Album
Firstly, thank you for all your support that made this album possible- everyone who has come to my shows, bought my last album, all my musicians (Axel, Andy, Sean and Graham) and my amazing mixer/masterer Brian Frederick and producer Martin Carrillo.
This album was a big leap forward for me musically because I produced it myself (except for the drum sessions with Graham Spillman which were produced by Martin Carrillo) and on most of the songs, I am playing all the instruments. This album is much more heavy on harp, cello and accordion than the last, because I wanted to stick with and focus on what I play myself. There are many more stripped-down songs that are just me (like the song "Just a Lie" on my last album, "As in the Wilderness"). On the fuller songs, Sean Wallace on guitar and Andy Zacharias on bass added their final touches.
The album had a few hitches along the way- one being that I needed to get approved to have a cover of the Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds song "John Finn's Wife" on the album. Nick Cave was one of the first singers that inspired me to be a songwriter back when I was 13, so it is fitting his song is the first cover I have done on an album. I almost thought I might not get approval to have the song on the album, but in the end I got it! Mixer/masterer Brian Frederick say it's one of his favorite songs he's ever worked on! This song is a pretty dark song that was quite an adventure for me to put my own stamp on!
The other hitch was I actually could not afford to do the CD printing myself as I did for the last album. So, this time I have a record company sponsor! Fierce Kitten Records based out of Cambridge, England have funded this release. This is thanks to Mark Sheppard with the band The Offering (who I have another album out with now- see below). Mark has been a great supporter of my music and I thank him so much for all his help and encouragement!
Oh and the Explicit Lyrics Thing...
I think I am the first harpist to release a CD with the explicit lyrics label. I chose to label this CD as such because in two of the songs on this album I do say f*ck- not superfluously- but because it absolutely worked with the meaning of the song. I was back and forth as to whether it was necessary to do, but in the end I put the label on the CD so my radio DJ friends would be warned and not get into any trouble playing this CD on the air.And part of me is a still a punk kid at heart- even though I play harp. ;)
Music Video for "As in the Wilderness":
Performing "Weights and Measures" from the album "the Opium Wars or Love in Lieu of Laudanum":
Joyyy! Thank you so much for having me, it was truly i delightful experience! You and the beauty marks were so original... i loved it!! I'm looking forward to doing more shows together in the future :)
Yes, Erich and I got to go and sit in the front row! Did you see the pics? We even got to sit in the front row. He's amazing. It was my first time I have seen him in concert. I hope I'll get to go again one day. We saw one of his last shows in Vegas. What an amazing experience. We should set a date. Come visit Erich and I again. We'd both love to hang out with you again.
