A blues artist in today's musical conversation may have a difficult time finding the words. The blues, of course, is one of America's traditions--one that is deeply rooted in the soil of Americana and music history, as a whole. But in the case of the very Reverend Shawn Amos, discovering the blues was not only a way of locating his voice, but of finding his seat at the musical table, too.
There is a backstory here, in dealing with his "Famous Amos" cookie magnate father's legacy. Sure, Shawn is from a lineage. And notions about legacy will inherently follow him throughout his career.
But it was his mother that had a major impact on his music.
His seminal LP, then, takes its name directly from her: the wonderful Shirlee May. Shawn, who lost his mother to suicide in July 2003, dedicated an entire disc, entitled Thank You, Shiril-ee May: A Love Story, to the musical gift she had genetically bestowed on him.
And it is in spite of this tragedy that Shawn sits as the vice chair on the Board of Directors for Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, for he advocates and supports breaking the stigma and negative connotations that dog mental health patients.
That album, though, was released in 2005. And in just over 10 years, Shawn Amos has adopted a different suit, honed his skills on the mouth harp and even added a prefix.
The blues is a hard gamble nowadays. But as Colin Meloy sang, "the blues run the game," and no one knows that better than the Rev. Shawn Amos. Having just passed through New York City for a slew of shows in the Manhattan area, Shawn is currently supporting his latest album, Put Together's The Reverend Shawn Amos Loves You.
And with his passing through, we brought the Reverend to Classicalite's studio for an exclusive interview and performance of "Will You Be Mine."
Pick up the album here; be sure to visit his website, as well.
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