31 Years Old

writer profile >

BIOGRAPHY

Sometimes there's just no point in trying to figure out what you want to be when you grow up. The trials and tribulations of childhood rarely determine what we become. With Nick Shelton's music, there's a strong argument that being able to tell a story about your life in unflinching honesty outshines any misfortunes with music early on. Disinterest in a few music classes didn't stop Nick from dusting off his grandfather's guitar. With a few chords settling in under his fingers at the outset of his high school years, it was obvious to Nick that he would forego flash for substance. It's this unspoken mantra that has given birth to deeply personal compositions such as "Adrianna" and "Carolina's Twilight Creeping" from his debut album Average Everyday.

In his live set, Nick's warm, unforced stage presence lends itself brilliantly to his songs. There is an aged beauty that whips around every note he sings that is both tempered and unforgettable. It's as if his voice is an audible photo of the West Virginia coal town where he was born and raised and the Tennessee college town where he came of age. While hovering in the stylistic territory of John Prine, Bob Dylan and Elliott Smith, Nick has found his own distinctly dusty musical road to travel and leaves his signature on the walls of the stops along the way. His follow-up album with critically acclaimed Nashville indie label Me and the Machine Records is due out in May 2008. This sophomore release entitled Crazy Jo and Other Stories will feature label mate Andrew Dolfie (The New Whole Usuals) ..s as well as Kevin Arrowsmith (Josh Gracin) on mandolin and fiddle. Recently, Nick relocated to Charleston, SC and the future is looking bright for him in the low country.

LEVEL

semi-pro

GENRES

Folk, Singer/Songwriter, Traditional Folk

PUBLISHING COMPANY

Me and the Machine Music, independent publishing company

Contact

Publishing: Me and the Machine Music
Label: Me and the Machine Records www.meandthemachine.com
Music Supervisor: Josh Preston josh(@)meandthemachine(dot)com
Booking: Lisa Reed Preston lisa(@)meandthemachine(dot)com

P.R.O.

BMI

INSTRUMENTS

acoustic guitar / vocals

INFLUENCES

John Prine, Bob Dylan and Elliott Smith

I AM INTERESTED IN

in networking with songwriters

>>

Q&A: Bright Eyes

After a brief stint as a solo artist, Conor Oberst has revived Bright Eyes to release The People’s Key, an album that deals with the nature of time, spirituality, and human existence. Also, it’s Rastafarian friendly.

>>

Jessica Lea Mayfield: Look At Miss Ohio

“Things are starting to get weird.”

Jessica Lea Mayfield, whose Nonesuch Records debut Tell Me is in stores now, is on the phone from her home in Ohio and we’re having a good laugh over her recent success. It’s beer o’clock on both ends of the phone, the last interview in a long week of talking to complete strangers for the two of us.

>>

Cadillac Sky

Cadillac Sky should be a lot more tired. It’s early Saturday afternoon at MerleFest and the band–Bryan Simpson, Matt Menefree, Andrew Moritz, Ross Holmes and newest addition David Mayfield–has already logged two performances on the day....

>>

Sessions: David Bazan

It was pretty slow. I mean, I played [the songs] on acoustic guitar for a long time, but I didn’t know how to transfer them to the other format. I didn’t want it to be a solo acoustic record. I wanted there to be bells and whistles and full band arrangements even if I didn’t want it necessarily to be electric guitar rock....