Jennifer Sheppard

art.ist n. 1. A person who draws or paints pictures, especially one who does so as a profession. 2. A person skilled in any of the fine arts such as sculpture, music or literature. 3. Somebody who knows who they are and what they feel and how to translate that into something that can be seen, heard and felt by other people.

At only age eighteen, Jennifer Sheppard has been making music for over ten years. Blending a largely acoustic sound with strong, clear vocals has become her trademark. An accomplished songwriter, Jennifer's songs showcase a maturity well beyond her years.

Born in Newfoundland, Jennifer first discovered a love of music listening to her mother sing and play guitar on the front porch. She and her sister would listen in wonder, singing along with songs like "The Rose", "The Gambler" and "Paper Roses". Although Jennifer was fascinated by the guitar, she never picked up the instrument until she was fourteen.

When Jennifer was six years old, her parents split up and she went with her mother and sister to live temporarily with family members -- one of whom abused Jennifer. The event led to one of Jennifer's most personal songs, "Empty". The abuse stopped when Jennifer's family relocated to a different part of Newfoundland. The move also led to Jennifer learning her first instrument: the flute. She joined her school's beginning band and learned to play very quickly. She often played until her fingers cramped and using music as an escape.

In 1998, when Jennifer was eleven, her father Gary lost his lifelong battle with various sicknesses. The loss of her father struck Jennifer hard and she retreated within herself. She found her only solace in music.

In 2000, at age twelve, Jennifer and her family moved to a small town in Ontario. Adjusting to a new province didn't come easily, but once again Jennifer took comfort in music, using the time to perfect her lyrics. She also discovered a talent for playing piano, clarinet, and conga drums -- teaching herself the latter during a music class.

At fourteen, while cutting classes one day, Jennifer began teaching herself to play guitar. Her mother taught her three basic chords and Jennifer taught herself the rest. She wrote her first complete song, "Mariposa", soon after. The next two years were spent immersing herself in songwriting and guitar.

Jennifer's first public performance was in a small-town Canadian Idol spinoff, entitled "Beaverton Idol". She was the only contestant to play an instrument and perform an original song (everyone else did karaoke) and she took second place. Many more local performances at open mic nights, school events and coffeehouses followed.

In August 2006 Jennifer headed into the studio to record tracks for her debut EP, the yet-to-be-released Wallflower. She wrote all the songs herself and recorded them at a small studio in Markham with Scott Bynoe of Black Tooth Grin Records acting as producer/engineer/musician.

Currently Jennifer is finishing up her last year of high school and working towards releasing her EP. (She's hoping to have it out by mid-2007.) She's also working a part-time job and looking forward to celebrating her 19th birthday in December. Until Wallflower is released, watch for this talented young woman at an open mic night near you!