SHAWN MAFIA: Vocals, Guitar, Etc.
The Ten Cent Thrills (past & present in no particular order):
Alan Bergman: Lead Guitar,
Kevin Hughes: Lead Guitar,
Kerry Rose: Bass Guitar,
Shanghai Steve Brown: Drums,
Ray Woods: Drums,
Sam Sloneker: Conga, Percussion,
Billy "Really" Makuta: Piano, Keyboards, Accordian,
John "Juke" Logan: Harp (honorary member!)
Influences
Warren Zevon, The Prophet Peter Popoff, Jemma Moday, Miller High Life, Rudy Ray Moore, Johnny Rotten, Gordon Lightfoot, William S. Burroughs, John Fante, bitter guitar riffs, bad people, Exene, bent handle bars, Tom Waits, fireworks stands, Raymond Chandler, dirty ashtrays and cheap women.
Singer/Songwriter Shawn Mafia, and his own patented brand of “Rock Noir”, has largely remained a musical enigma; a dust covered detour sign located a few miles down the dirt, where the asphalt of the music industry stops and the ever present Dead End sign clearly announces its commercial intentions and the current band of 21st Century artists stick their thumbs out desperate for a ride. But the train left the depot years and years ago, and not even the Devil is driving down to the crossroads to make a deal. In a music industry nullified and negated with safe, sculpted and shallow artists propped up in the sole pursuit of turning a quick buck we are left without any real heroes or anti-heroes for that matter. On the opposite end of the spectrum are innumerable bands, songwriters and performers preaching to the choir. Mixing, matching and amalgamating the best of older genres that in their infancy were vibrant, cutting edge and dangerous, but now days have been relegated to nothing more than nostalgia. Thus, we are set a drift in a musical wasteland with everyone attempting to re-invent retro styles, unable to move forward with anything truly original. Perhaps the most we can hope for is an original voice.
Shawn Mafia has the potential to be that voice. He has been described by the Desert Post Weekly as having “…the persona of a Carney Barker's bastard preacher son out in front of a sideshow tent! Mafia is on a mission to tell stories you might not want to hear, about people you never wanted to meet." Shawn Mafia is also on a mission to bring the music industry a well needed dose of dark, shadowy realism with his own unique songwriting style described appropriately enough as “Rock Noir.” His brand of “musical elixir” pays particular focus on his potent, hard-boiled lyrical attack in both song form and spoken-word prose poetry. Mafia spins tales of down and outers and degenerates. Lurid booze-soaked stories of crime, betrayal and lust; true to life second hand accounts of wayward souls fleeing the demons that lurk in the dimly lit shadows and dark alleyways of their pasts. A born outsider, Shawn Mafia finds it difficult, if not impossible, to connect with the modern day mainstream musical universe. His two albums, Tales From A Street Corner Confessional (2003) and Death In ‘D’ Major (2007), both released in conjunction with New Moon Records, reflect a departure with traditional rock song structures opting for musical foyers into the “unknown.” Mafia’s lyrical focus also spills over into poetry and prose. He has an online short story series for The Sun Runner Magazine entitled The Dark Desert and also contributes articles to the magazine itself. In December of 2006 Mafia, largely hailed as the Poet Laureate of The Hi-Desert’s seedy underbelly, had the distinct honor of being featured as a part of the Palm Springs Art Museum’s LIVE OUT LOUD International Poetry Series.
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Hey Shawn Dropped two of your CD's @ The Dragon's Den in NOLA, manager says he books for more then his own club???? Great town, but we'll give you the scoop when we see you. Any upcoming gigs? Keep on keepin' on Billy Really EShoooo
how r u today? you work at wiefels and son on the side dont you? or is that just your back up career my uncle is in your care the name is Edward robert ebeling kinda odd seeing as i followed sharon and ken around for a week and spent the day with you and the charlie at the main office in yucca and now i have the third person in your guys care but you look interesting and i just figured if you are not to busy i would drop you a line and say hello and ask how your work/music career is going?
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