I'm a Coloradan-turned-New Yorker.
I moved to NYC in 2004 (in the winter, mind you! It was freezing and I thought I was prepared being from a ski state and all). For any of you thinking of moving to the City, yeah maybe don’t do it in January.
Once I adjusted to the cold (don't know if I ever have, but I did, in fact, discover the wonderment of long down coats), I started writing songs (or trying to, at least, in my new and noisy surroundings! And, yes, I tried to get an apt that didn’t face the street with all those trucks and buses constantly driving by). Let's just say that I had one-a-many confrontations and epiphanies surrounding my move to the Big Apple.
Once, I got over myself and realized everyone here has to deal with these kinds of things, I decided to bite the bullet and just write. I put a handful of my initial NYC songs down on my debut EP "Days in Between."
I'm a wife.
Here's a fun tidbit: in the middle of recording my EP, I married my longtime college buddy (and love of my life), Kevin. It’s funny how the recording and the wedding planning all came together at the same time. Wait, I take that back. I didn’t think it was so funny at times, but honestly, it was probably a good thing because it kept me in a place where I couldn’t totally obsess about either.
I'm a daughter.
My mom started teaching me piano when I was five and I started messing around with writing songs in the fourth grade. My first song was called "The Dancing Song." Oh, and sorry mom, I still bang on the keys when I get frustrated!
I'm a dancer.
I've always been an avid dancer and even started out a dance major in college before switching over to music. I love how composition and choreography often go hand-in-hand with one another in how they deal with rhythm, bound and flow, among other elements. I’ve found that my experiences as a dancer and choreographer have definitely had an influence on how I approach music.
I done graduated.
I majored in music, with emphasis on vocal performance at The Colorado College. I was curious to know more about composing, so I continued on with graduate work at the Wanda L. Bass School of Music (Oklahoma City University).
For more info check out: www.stephshaw.com