Sheila Marshall

Sheila Marshall walks a fine line between country and rock 'n' roll that defines her musical attitude.

It's a line that some don't like to cross, but Marshall dances on it.

Like the song goes, she's a "little bit country and a little bit rock 'n' roll," but if Marshall is anything, it's talented. In fact, Marshall, a graduate of Nacogdoches High School, was voted "Most Talented" by her NHS senior class. Since then, she's had many accomplishments in her musical career, including playing in Japan and France.

She's come a long way since her days working at area restaurants, clubs and The Daily Sentinel — and if her new album has anything to do with it, she will be going even further.

Most probably recognize her from the television show "Nashville Star," which she appeared on four episodes of last year.

Since then, Marshall has been working on her latest album, "Makes Perfect Sense," which was released at the end of March.

"I'm just promoting the CD to radio right now, and I've got a lot of Texas dates," Marshall said.

Marshall has been singing professionally for eight years.

"I wish I'd started when I was 18," she said. "If I'd known how long it takes to make connections and to get your foot in the door, I would have started earlier."

Marshall said she was a little naive when she started out. She thought if she was good, success would just happen.

"It doesn't work that way," she said.

When Marshall decided to pursue her dream instead of working a full-time job, she took a leap and went for it. And she encourages others who have a passion for something to "just do it."

During her journey to fulfill her musical dreams, a dream she's had since her first public singing experience at the age of 3, Marshall has met several people in the business.

"I met some really good songwriters in Nashville," she said. "I wrote two songs with Jeremy Spillman. He has written for Lee Ann Womack. And I wrote with Stephanie Del Ray, who has written for Radney Foster. And I just happen to know Bryan Bryant, and he co-wrote three of the songs with me."

The album includes 11 tracks, including four written solely by Marshall.

"When I'm just sitting around and I hear a cool hook on the guitar or piano, I just start comin' up with a melody and put words to it," Marshall said. "I write a lot just sitting around, but we never use that stuff. It's always the ones that just came to me when we were playing music."

Marshall likes to keep things upbeat. Even if the song is sad, she will likely belt it out to a rockin' melody.

That's what she did on the song "Radio," which she describes as a "sad love song that really rocks" referring to the style as "country with an edge."

"Radio" is the first single off of Marshall's album, and it starts things off on a rhythmic roll with an easy-to-follow, upbeat tempo.

"Radio" has a rock edge sharp as glass that clearly has what it takes to be a hit. It's about a woman who is trying to get over a man but keeps hearing songs that remind her of him. It's sort of a two-steps-forward, one-step-back kind of song.

On the title track, "Makes Perfect Sense," Marshall puts her own spin on a sweet love song.

"I Believe" is almost an inspirational song with Marshall displaying her vocal abilities in a beautiful melody. The song was written by Marshall and her husband Scott Steinsiek while they were touring in Japan.

"We were playing for the troops who were coming in from Iraq, and we were just sitting around with the guys when we wrote it," Marshall said.

The fourth track on the album, "Sun's Gonna Rise," is a song of encouragement with sweet guitar licks.

The fifth song, "Today," will make chills run up the spine. This sad but inspiring song is about a woman packing up her belongings and her child and leaving her husband. The child is later faced with her mother leaving her.

"Zip Zero" and "Should've Said" will keep fingers drumming the steering wheel with love-with-an-attitude lyrics.

There's also a catchy song, "Intrigued," about trying to figure out the puzzling game of love and how to the read the signs.

"Makes Perfect Sense" will make your eyes tear up and your foot tap. It's one of those CD's listeners will be singing to before it has even finished playing through for the first time.

The CD is available at Hastings Book Music and Video in Nacogdoches and at stores across Texas and online at www.sheilamarshallband.com.

Pick this one up, 'cause Marshall's star is about to rise to the top.
- Buzz Nacogdoches, TX

June 29, 2005, 12:49PM
By JOEY GUERRA
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

Maybe Donny and Marie Osmond were onto something when they sang about being "a little bit country, a little bit rock 'n' roll."

Singer Sheila Marshall and guitarist Scott Steinsiek personify that musical mantra — minus the blood relation and the sugary sweetness. The couple is originally from Nacogdoches but moved to Houston seven years ago to pursue music full time.

"Being from Texas, you can't get away from country music," Steinsiek says.

Marshall's roots are in gospel, Patsy Cline classics and singing with mom around the house. She attended Angelina College, where she crooned alongside the ensemble AC Singers, then went to Stephen F. Austin State University.

"Even as a small child I remember trying to sing louder than everybody else," Marshall says. "I just liked it, I think, more than the average kid."

Steinsiek has played in various rock outfits, but he seems comfortable with Marshall's roots-country edge. The duo is sometimes joined onstage by bassist Jorge Badillo, and various other locals fill out the band when needed.

During a recent acoustic gig at Goode's Armadillo Palace, Marshall and Steinsiek showcased a casual, confident energy amid the rowdy bar's happy-hour hustle and bustle. They also offered some dining recommendations: Marshall loves the salads, and Steinsiek raved about the "mountain" of guacamole that is served with chips.

Accompanied by Steinsiek's thoughtful guitar work, Marshall wrapped her strong, raspy voice around tunes from Linda Ronstadt, Martina McBride, Dolly Parton and a pair of her own favorites, Sheryl Crow and Lucinda Williams.

There were also a slew of impressive originals from Marshall's spankin'-new, full-length disc, Makes Perfect Sense. It's the follow-up to a 2000 self-titled effort and 2003's Beautiful for Situation.

"This new CD puts both our ideas and our tastes into one," Marshall says. "I started out doing country and then did the rock thing for a little while. As we started writing more and more of our own stuff, it became a mixture."

Indeed, the aptly titled Makes Perfect Sense offers an effortless blend of sounds, and it's nearly impossible to pick a favorite track. Radio, Believe, Goodbye, Should've Said, Zip Zero and the bouncy title track — each one is a keeper.

Marshall and Steinsiek, who have been married eight years, are aggressively promoting the independent release to radio stations and hope to make a dent on Texas music charts and secure a label deal.

"It's been good so far. Everyone is picking it up," Marshall says. "We've been playing around Houston for seven years. We've built up our following, now it's just getting radio behind us."

Marshall kicked opened a few doors in early 2004 when she was one of the top 10 finalists on the second season of Nashville Star, USA Networks' country-music talent competition. Winner Brad Cotter went on to middling success, and the show also featured George Canyon, a big star in his native Canada, and wildly talented Texan Brennen Leigh.

Marshall says she went through about six auditions before she finally made it onto the show, and she feels they were well worth it.

"I think I learned a lot about how everything worked. It's kind of who you know, making the right connections. It opened my eyes up a little bit more to that," Marshall says. "You've got to do something on your own before anyone's really interested. It makes it a lot harder on the artist, but you (the artist, not the label) can also make more money that way, too."

So far, the independent path seems just fine for Marshall and her music. She has plans for more touring and record promotion this year — with Steinsiek at her side, of course. It's likely neither one would have it any other way.

"It just happens. It's not something singular," Steinsiek says about the pair's chemistry. "There's a lot of things that we don't agree about, musically. But it's that fire and ice thing that makes it work for us — the yin and the yang."

- Houston Chronicle