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Shanna Crooks w/ Angie Aparo (1st 50 people 21+ get a free beer)
Monday November 9, 2009 at 8:00 PM
- 18+ Show -
Shanna's been called a "Freak Of the Industry" by the Nashville Syndicate Magazine, "Powerful and Bluesy" from The Rage Publication, and after watching a performance given by Shanna, one Fox News Reporter wrote, "Shanna Crooks, who could give Jessica Simpson and some other young divas a run for their money when she's signed, wowed the very experienced crowd."
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Find Shanna Crooks w/ Angie Aparo (1st 50 people 21+ get a free beer) on...
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Schedule
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Angie Aparo
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8:30PM
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Shanna Crooks
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9:30PM
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Angie Aparo | 8:30 PM
 "I decided I had to get fearless," says Angie Aparo. "I realized that if
you’re truly an artist, whether you’re Woody Guthrie or a medieval minstrel,
you’ve simply got to communicate. It’s in those moments that you’re really alive. Communicating, creating - that’s what I have to do." With characteristic intensity, the singer/songwriter/guitarist is talking about the soul-searching behind his remarkable Melisma/Arista debut, The merican. Aparo’s songs are urgent and inspiring, and capture the full breadth of human emotion. They are subtly arranged and melodically indelible, telling the story of the common man. A rich aural landscape of primal guitar and insistent rhythm, of strings and horns and evocative vocals, The American is music that will last. The album introduces a voice who’ll be around for a long time; a streetpoet for the 21st century.
"I am a song/I've been here all along," Angie sings on "Memphis City
Rain." Inspired by Aparo’s fury at the manipulation of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday by self-serving politicians, the tune is one of the bum’s many highlights. Yet its lyrics, too, could sum up its creator. Southern-reared and Italian by heritage, Angie Aparo has spent a lifetime in music. He honed his skills in Nashville song circles and New York’s The Bitter End and The Mercury Lounge, refining his vision on the byways and ossroads of the land he’s traveled. Always, he has sung. "Singing has always been transcendent for me," he says. "And what I want to do is communicate thing of meaning, something that connects in a very real way."
From the soaring essence of "Spaceship" ("When you get tired of satellite flyers /And fame has let you down/Under the wire and over the moon/I’m nd") to the artful Latin syncopation of "It’s Alright," The American unveils a signature passion. A crash course in the art of the song, the album ranges from the pared-down gorgeousness of "Wonderland" to the waltzing beauty of "Cry". As the music lingers, we’re left not only with an artist’s self-portrait, but a rediscovery of ourselves. "I’ve thought for a long time, Aparo asserts, "that the skill of performing - especially in people I really admire - isn’t about ‘me.’ It’s about reminding you of what you have."
The journey toward The American began roughly two years ago when Angie began collaborating with producer Matt Serletic (matchbox20, Edwin McCain, Aerosmith,Collective Soul). In a genuine meeting of minds, the pair traded ideas and insights, working out how best to derive the full measure of meaning from Aparo’s music. "I’d been working with a groovebox for a long time,just compiling tape after tape of ideas," Angie says. "I write every day -- generally starting in the morning, when I just open up to a kind of stream of consciousness.
And about 90 percent of the creating happens when I’m driving in my car - I get ideas that I shape into finished songs later. I just follow the music. The music knows what it’s supposed to be." Eventually landing in studios in Atlanta (Angie’s home base),Nashville and Miami, Aparo and Serletic assembled an ace corps of players to augment Angie’s guitar, groovebox and spell-binding vocals. The method they arrived at was tically collaborative, a real synergy of forces. Feeding the players groovebox riffs and scratch vocals, Aparo began crafting, piece by piece, music of an intense immediacy. "Working that way,putting things together in the studio, made the songs fresh for me" says Angie "It was a method Matt and I first came up with on ‘Spaceship,’laying down about 40 tracks on the song in a single day." Singing about family and fatherhood, about romance and heartbreak, Aparo creates a cycle of songs that illustrates the many facets of the human condition.
And, as he prepares to take this remarkable music on the road, he’s thinking of another kind of sharing. "To me, performing is about much more than even the performer getting into the songs." he says. "That phenomenon happens, of course, and it’s amazing. But performing is an interchange; it’s mutual. From audience to performer, there’s a gift going on. It’s a collective experience, of people united - just by the simple fact that we’re all human."
Human, honest and real. That’s The American. That’s Angie Aparo.
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Shanna Crooks | 9:30 PM
 Shanna Crooks, Rock/Pop singer/songwriter from South Florida, has been given many nicknames to describe her undeniable talent. "The Soulful Barbie" "The Diva with the Booty and the Brains" and "Stage Bling" just to name a few. But they only begin to touch the surface of what Shanna Crooks truly represents. Underneath her flashy and charming appearances, and her soaring vocals, is an honest, soul-filled artist with a message that speaks volumes to both men and women: Be true to yourself; Be strong and be beautiful.
Shanna's music is both relatable and inviting. Influenced by the edge of Aerosmith and Heart, to the classic moods of Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder; Shanna carries with her the perfect mix of soul, pop and rock. Catchy sing-a-long melodies with intelligent and emotional lyrics.
Shanna's been called a "Freak Of the Industry" by the Nashville Syndicate Magazine, "Powerful and Bluesy" from The Rage Publication, and after watching a performance given by Shanna, one Fox News Reporter wrote, "Shanna Crooks, who could give Jessica Simpson and some other young divas a run for their money when she's signed, wowed the very experienced crowd."
In the recent months, Shanna Crooks has shared the stage with greats like Patti Labelle, Chaka Kahn, Michael McDonald, Sam Moore, Billy Preston, Lionel Richie and Sheila E. as well as sang on the albums of Sam Moore and Robert Randolph. She has toured extensively in the past few years, performing over 500 shows, and has made various radio and television appearances.
John Rich, of Big and Rich, signed Shanna to a publishing deal in 2005 and Shanna has written over 75 songs since then. John Rich calls Shanna, "One of the best songwriters Ive run into in a long time," as well as, "one of the most impressive people I have ever met."
The talent that songstress Shanna Crooks radiates is unmistakable. It's explosive. ..
“It’s not really the fame that I yearn for,” says Crooks, “it’s the respect. I set a big goal for myself when I got into music. It was that someday I would be a respected songwriter and vocalist. That when someone hears my name, they quote a lyric I wrote, or sing one of my melodies that’s moved them. I feel that’s the biggest compliment any artist could get.”
The Florida-born songstress’ gift for conveying real, raw emotion stems from what she herself describes as a complicated childhood, complete with multiple homes, step-parents and an array of step- and half-siblings. Shanna discovered her life’s path singing “Wind Beneath My Wings” at her eighth grade talent show. Moved by his daughter’s passion, her father devoted himself to her career, driving her long distances for voice lessons and always encouraging her to pursue her dream. Crooks performed anywhere and everywhere throughout her teens, singing on stages across the Sunshine State.
At 18, Shanna packed her bags and moved to Nashville, where she discovered a knack for songwriting. It wasn’t long before her songs – fraught with frank emotions and irresistible melodies – caught the ear of country music superstar John Rich, who signed Crooks to a publishing deal in 2005. “(Shanna is) one of the best songwriters I’ve run into in a long time,” Rich enthused, “and one of the most impressive people I have ever met.” She was soon invited to join MuzikMafia, an informal collective of Nashville-based musicians and artists co-founded by Rich and his multi-platinum collaborator, Big Kenny Alphin.
All the while, Crooks kept at her chosen craft, writing constantly and performing weekly shows in Nashville. She also made a number of trips to Cuba, where she sang for troops stationed at Guantanamo Bay. As if that weren’t enough, Shanna performed backing vocals for a truly diverse range of artists, from Avenged Sevenfold and Robert Randolph to Randy Jackson and the legendary Sam Moore.
In 2007, Crooks signed with Atlantic Records and immediately set about recording her years-in-the-making debut album. Armed with a sheaf of personal, powerful songs and irrepressible energy, Shanna Crooks is now poised to become one of 2009’s brightest new stars, a one of a kind artist with a blindingly brilliant future.
“My life is like one full circle,” Crooks says. “It makes me laugh how things turn out and come back around. Time and time again, it’s revealed to me that there really is a master plan in my life. I look forward to the next surprise.”
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