The Next Big Thing: Shannon Curfman Out of the studio and onto the stage... Girls Who Rock

The Next Big Thing...

Shannon Curfman

Amiss all the teenage pop rockers, one true talent can be found. 14-year-old Shannon Curfman has no reason to sing the blues... and yet she does! LPoI caught up with Shannon during her tour.

Lindzi.com: What have you been up to lately? Shannon Curfman: [After a long rundown of her schedule] Lindzi.com: Wow - you say it so non-chalantly. Does any of this faze you? Do you get nervous before shows? Shannon: No -- I think that people can be intimidating. It doesn't matter who they are. That's more of an attitude than anything else. I mean, you can be ten years old and intimidate me. You just have to kinda ignore that stuff and do what you do. No, I've never gotten nervous. I'm guessing it's just because I started so young. I didn't know that people got nervous before shows. Lindzi.com: Now, being on the road and being homeschooled, how does that affect making friends? Shannon: Well, it's not any different really. I mean it is because I'm on the road, but I meet more people with the same interests that I have this way.... a lot musicians and techs. I'm not going to pick and choose my friends by their age. Lindzi.com: As a child were you always influenced by artists like Janis Joplin or was it phase you went through and never grew out of? Shannon: It's definitely something that I've never grown out of. I've always been a huge fan of Janis Joplin, Jimmi Hendrex, Sting, and Sentana. That's the stuff [my parents] listened to. Then I picked up on it and started listening on my own. Lindzi.com: The first spark of interested really started a Jonny Lang concert - how'd you wind up there in the first place? Shannon: He was just starting out playing. It was at his second gig ever. He was "Kid Johny Lang and the Big Bang" back then. It was in Fargo - we're both from there and he was still living there. We had heard about his show and about this guy that plays blues. So we went and I completely fell in love with blues and the only idea of doing it for a living. Lindzi.com: What was it like working with him on your album? Shannon: Well, it was great - just because he's a great guy and an amazing player and amazing songwriter and everything. So, it was really fun to be able to do something in the studio with him. Lindzi.com: Does the whole pop craze make it difficult to get your music out to teenagers? Shannon: I just want to be able to expose them to this. It's up to them to chose if this is something they dig or not. We're definitely focussing on one certain age group and crowd, but there's room for all kinds of music. The only thing it would affect is radioplay, which doesn't really matter to me. Just, overall, I hope to have a long career playing the kind of music I love to play. Lindzi.com: How do you friends feel about this? Shannon: I'm the same person to them. They just know that this is my job. They're starting to have jobs now, so I think they're starting to understand a little better. Lindzi.com: Are they catching onto your vibe? Shannon: They like a little of everything. A lot of the top 40 stuff... a little bit of country, not much, but a little bit. Some classic rock. Lindzi.com: Am I mistaken or did you really produce this album? Shannon: Well, we co-produced it. Lindzi.com: That's amazing! How'd you know where to begin? Shannon: You just kinda sit back and observe. I knew what I wanted going into the situation, but I didn't exactly know how to go about a lot of things. Just doing demo's really helped with understanding how you get certain things out in the studio. From there, you just kinda take into your own hands. Lindzi.com: And you write your own music, as well! You write about a lot of issues that most 14 year olds have yet to deal with. Where do you draw your material from? Shannon: You know how somebody's feeling in certain situations. You just have to put yourself in that person's place and tell the story as best you can. It's kind of role playing. Lindzi.com: Speaking of which, would you ever like to get into acting? Shannon: Maybe someday. We'll see if it comes up, but this is what I do and this will always come first for me. Lindzi.com: Is there anyone you'd like to ask to be your valentine? Shannon: The most important person to me is my nephew. He's 7 years old. That's the one person I really, really miss while I'm on the road so I'd have to ask him. He's Alex. Lindzi.com: What does Alex think of all of this? Shannon: He loves it. He's my own little publicity agent or something - like telling all his friends. It's really cute. He's a doll. Lindzi.com: Does he have any interest in having a career of his own? Shannon: Yeah, he has a couple of basses and some guitars. He wants a drum kit now, so I'm going to get him a drum kit. He's a really good singer. Lindzi.com: Maybe you'll get to co-produce his album one day, huh? Shannon: Yeah, that would be cool. Lindzi.com: We've reached the signature question... what drives you insane? Shannon: {to her drummer} What are things that drive me insane? {laughs} I just asked my drummer what I should say and he said, "Your drummer." Let me think... when other people lose patience, I lose patience with them. Also, I can't stand it when people wake up grumpy. I'm just like "Aww - cheer up!" When I think of little things, it's more like the "Business Shannon" talking, I guess. You wanna get done what you need to get done and just be organized and focused. Things come together and work better that way. It's just like in practice and stuff, you have to pay attention and get your job done and then, after that, screw up and have fun.

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Out of the Studio & Onto the Stage...

FLORIDA CROWD LEFT SCREAMING FOR MOORE MANDY Performance: ***/*****

Cheers from the crowd drowned out the pop/rock driven dance ditty "So Real," as Ms. Moore sauntered onto the stage accompanied by four male dancers. Definitely living the teen lifestyle in style, Mandy interacted with her fans and dancers, just as any flirtatious fifteen-year-old girl would. After her first song, the crowd got exactly what they wanted (maybe not exactly - after all, they were there to see BSB, but she definitely won over their fans!) with "What You Want." Compare Mandy with fellow pop-ster Britney Spears as much as you'd like, but this girl can actually sing live and put on a good show. As Mandy's performance came to an end, she left the crowd with a sweet tooth for more with Candy, the first single off her debut album. Sweet and not quite sixteen, Mandy Moore is definitely "so real."

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Girls Who Rock

Charlotte Church She's got all the assets of a young pop star. The looks. The age (she's only thirteen). The voice. The difference? This girl can really sing. We're not talking easy, ____. We're talking opera. Only Charlotte Church can make opera look and sound so good.

S K 8 Whose name ends in a number, is getting rave reviews, and knows how to snag a pop cuttie? Use your imagination, people! That's right - SK8 grabbed Brad of LFO for her first music video, "My Imagination." What makes this girl so cool? During a jam session at a local rave, SK8 wondered, "the music sounds great, why are there no lyrics." And so, she took matters into her own hands. The rest is HERstory.

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