Mesa Legend - ARCHIVES - Vol. 39, Issue 7


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Volume 39, Issue 7
December 4, 2001

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Singer takes exception with music critic labels

U-Wire

SAN DIEGO - Artists are rarely understood by others. Van Gogh sold only one painting in his lifetime, Herman Melville's Moby Dick was never a bestseller and Atlanta's Shannon Wright has found herself constantly mislabeled by narrow-minded music critics.

Since the release of her debut album, Flightsafety, Shannon has been called "southern goth," a term she disagrees with.

"I think (southern goth) is a really lame term," Shannon Wright said in a recent phone interview. "I've lived all over the place. I'm really more of a hobo than this southern belle, so it's hard to say that my influences are my surroundings. If anything, my travels have influenced me the most."

Judging by her new album, Dyed in the Wool, Wright is the kind of musician who can't easily be pinned down. Songs such as "Hinterland" and "Path of Least Persistence" are shorter bursts of high energy rock, while "The Hem Around Us" and the title track are slower, minor-key ballads. If anything, Shannon's recordings have proven how diverse she is musically.

"I take things song by song," said Shannon. "I don't think that 'this album's this' or 'this album's that.' It's not a long, thought-out process. It's very natural, and I can't just edit myself. The songs are all different, and don't just have one particular sound. I really enjoy challenging myself and just letting it all happen."

Wright's music has drawn comparisons to such artists as Kristin Hersh and Cat Power, another Atlanta local. But where Cat Power's music is more subdued and sparse, Wright's sound is fuller and much more explosive, as evident on Dyed in the Wool, and in her live act.

"The live show tends to be more improvisational," she said. "The audience has something special. I mean, I don't just want to get on stage and then just play the album.

"I'm getting closer, but it's hard to capture the live show in the studio."