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New Orleans-based singer, songwriter, fiddler and actress Amanda Shaw is part of a new breed of young, roots-based musicians who have embraced both traditional and pop sounds, creating music that is both authentic and bold. At the age of 16, Shaw is a seasoned entertainer with a substantial audience across the southern U.S., and, through her starring role in the IMAX film, Hurricane on the Bayou (released in 2006), is gaining an increasing national presence. For the past three years, her self-released CD was among the top ten best sellers at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, where she also drew record crowds. She’s also received numerous local awards, including a Big Easy Award for Best Female Entertainer when she was only 14. With the release of her Rounder Records debut, Pretty Runs Out, Shaw is poised to take her dazzling showmanship to the national stage.
Attracted to the violin at the age of three after hearing an orchestra on television, Shaw first studied classical music, and became the youngest performer ever to solo with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, at the age of seven. Although she is not of Cajun descent, she became captivated by local Cajun and country fiddle styles, and was soon leading her own band, playing Cajun fiddle tunes, originals and, eventually, covers of pop songs by the likes of The Ramones and The Clash. Word of her talent and exciting performances spread quickly. She performed twice on The Rosie O’Donnell Show (1999 and 2001), opened locally for Charlie Daniels and played onstage with Cyndi Lauper. With her charismatic on-camera presence, she was recruited to star in two Disney television movies, Now You See It (2005) and Stuck in the Suburbs (2004). On the brink of teen stardom, Shaw chose instead to pursue a different path, applying herself ever more seriously to her music.
Shaw and Grammy® award-winning Rounder producer/VP of A&R Scott Billington began working together in 2004, cutting a demo session at the legendary and now destroyed Ultrasonic Studio in New Orleans. For two years, they diligently worked on developing the repertoire recorded on Pretty Runs Out. The songs came together as Shaw collaborated with such respected songwriters as Anders Osborne, Shannon McNally and Jim McCormick, and in sessions with her own band, the Cute Guys.
Pretty Runs Out was recorded at New Orleans’ Piety Street Studio in the Upper Ninth Ward over a two-month period at the end of 2006. The songs are anchored by Shaw’s Cajun-rooted fiddle, and by her surprisingly mature vocals. Country-influenced songs include the title track, composed by Shaw and Jim McCormick, and Diane Warren’s “I Don’t Want to Be Your Friend,” originally recorded by Cyndi Lauper. The bluesy “Chirmolito,” inspired by two Mexican workers who helped rebuild Shaw’s Katrina-damaged home, was co-written with Shannon McNally. The funky original “Brick Wall” is based on a New Orleans schoolyard taunt, serving also as a showcase for trombonist Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, who might be said to be Shaw’s kindred spirit among New Orleans’ new breed of roots musicians. Of course, the album features three of the blazing fiddle instrumentals for which Shaw has become known.
“What’s most important to me as I go forward is to be respected for what I do as a musician, songwriter and artist—to earn that respect,” says Shaw. With the release of Pretty Runs Out, she’s well on her way.
