Dave Sheehan

BIOGRAPHY:
DAVE SHEEHAN (pronounced: “SHEE-in”)

Dave Sheehan entered the Northwest folk scene rather by accident, in 2002, as the result of a jam session that refused to end. The Crown Hill Billies were born out of that session and for about two years Sheehan played banjo for the band and shared the creative and vocal responsibilites. He co-produced the group’s only released record, Whiskey Moon, which has sold over 1000 copies. When the band disintegrated, he began to focus more on his solo act and began playing a variety of open mics, songwriter circles and gigs around Puget Sound.

Sheehan plays the banjo in an innovative style virtually unknown to anyone, including himself! It’s certainly not bluegrass, nor is it clawhammer; he calls it “wrecking bar”. But his first instrument is the guitar, and he has his own approach to that as well, using a wide variety of tunings. Or you could argue that it’s his barritone-tenor voice, which produces a raw, honest emotional quality reminiscent of Greg Brown. But really his primary instrument is between his ears! Sheehan is mainly a writer, a poet, a conceptual artist. He is a dynamic performer, to be sure, but never showy.He knows how to distill the performance down to capture the essence of the song. His performance presents the song, rather than competes with it.

Sheehan’s music is born out of his taste in, and exposure to, a vast and varied musical landscape, and out of a passion for the written word. His songs usually fall under the general umbellas of Folk, Americana, or Alt. Country, but clearly draw from numerous genres, including blues,pop,rock,country,bluegrass,jazz,etc. But the defining element in his work has got to be word-smithing, and his major influences tend to be masters of the craft. Among the many songwriters he greatly admires are:
Bob Dylan and Kris Kristofferson, for their sense of rhyme, meter & alliteration; Greg Brown, for his imagery, gut-wrenching honesty and less-is-more sense of economy; Lyle Lovett for his tongue-in-cheek humor & wit, sometimes subtle, sometimes off the deep end, and usually in a larger, more serious context. John Lennon & Paul McCartney, for their sense of melody and use of abstract images; Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, for their use of the traditional as merely a foundation, while building unique and beautiful modern structures upon it.

Summer Flowers

In autumn of 2006, Sheehan released his solo debut, Summer Flowers, on the Rainshadow Records label. Co-produced with George Rezendes and featuring numerous talented musicians, the record perfectly highlights his varied influences. And while quite eclectic in musical and lyrical style, as well as being energetically dynamic, the record has a cohesion and flow that makes it a whole work of art, rather than being merely a collection of songs. It has a somewhat orderly, seasonal theme, loosely representing one complete trip around the sun. Helping to ease the flow are the many instrumental interludes which give smooth transition, as if cleansing the pallet between tasty and diverse wines. And the instrumentals themselves are not your average, store-bought crackers, but more like aromatic, homemade bread!

Sheehan is currently touring the Seattle area, promoting the record. Visit him on the web: