ANDREW SHEPPARD TO RELEASE STEADY YOUR AIM (MARCH 23, 2018)
“Soulful Country With An Outlaw Mentality”
December 23, 2017 Boise, ID— Singer-songwriter Andrew
Sheppard grew up in Hailey, Idaho in an extended musical family, his
mother was always playing and singing in rock and blues bands. As a kid
Andrew was always at his moms rehearsals and live shows, drawing in the
music as a constant. Sheppard was playing bass in punk rock bands in
high school and by the age of 19, he picked up the guitar and started
writing his own songs. 10 years later, he is poised to release his
sophomore album, Steady Your Aim on March 23rd.
Steady Your Aim is
a concept record, a musical journey in which every song was
methodically thought out to fit the record. An analog recording, it is a
cinematic dreamscape narrative that is richly layered with the pedal
steel, piano, cello, Wurlitzer and organ. All of their parts are gently
tucked in which leaves the listener wondering just what it is they are
actually hearing. “We used traditional sounding instruments to create a
new sound,” said Sheppard. “For example, we used cello on this record
because I wanted a deep sound that didn’t come from anything electric or
synthetic. Instead of being a ‘lead’ instrument we used it as a
texture tool giving the songs a more rich and ‘real’ feel.” Produced by
Sheppard, Eric Loomis and Wes Walsworth (both of whom play guitar on
the album), Steady Your Aim was recorded at Ivy Hall Studio in
Nashville, Tennessee. John Mayfield at Mayfield Mastering mastered the
record.
Leaving
Idaho just after high school, Sheppard headed to Los Angeles, CA to
pursue his other passion, skateboarding. After a blown-out knee
derailed his skating plans, he shifted his focus back to writing
music. In 2008 he formed the band, Gypsy River Haunts that disbanded in
2012. Feeling the need to roam, he bought a car, loaded up his dog and
headed around the country collecting stories for what he deemed his
“record-writing road trip”. After 8,000 miles of driving, Sheppard
wound up back in Idaho with no plan to stay, but realized after landing,
that all his childhood friends were great musicians and that he had
everything he needed to make the record he had in mind. Packing it up
for a trip to LA, Sheppard and pals recorded Far From Here in 2015 at
Bedrock Studios before heading back to Idaho. “I realized how much
more I thrive in a mountain town,” said the artist. “I need to be in
nature to feel a bit more sane.”
But
a slower pace doesn’t mean that Sheppard has slowed down. He is on the
road constantly (both solo and with band), playing festivals such as
Stagecoach Country Music Festival, Treefort Music Festival, The Feed LA
Festival and The Northern Rockies Music Festival. He’s shared the stage
with The Black Lillies, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Whiskey Shivers and Scott H.
Biram and has toured with friend and fellow roots musician, Jeff
Crosby.
On Steady Your Aim,
Sheppard doesn’t sugarcoat any of the emotions in his songwriting. He
writes honest music that comes from the heart and darker places in
life. The first track of the album “Take A Walk With Me” is inspired by
packing up his life in LA and heading back to the mountains…”I was
tired of the coast, so I booked it for the pines. Took a swing at the
open road and caught up with my mind.” The more somber 2nd song, the
title track, is a response to the first song, where he is taking the
musical journey and dealing with the trials and tribulations of what
being a musician on the road means. “The instruments are meant to make
you look at everything wide-screen, like watching a film,” he explains.
From
the sad and happy, “Here at the Bottom”, to the protest vision of “Not
My Kind”, to the traditional (yet modern) waltz of “Holy Water” Steady
Your Aim takes you on a musical journey from start to finish with a
modern and experimental sound. Sheppard writes songs and music that
isn’t a carbon copy of other country and Americana artists and that
touches on subjects you don’t typically touch.
“Writing
a song is something that I don’t, and won’t take for granted,” Sheppard
vows. “Every show, every tour and every album provide me with new
insight and a new way of looking at life. It helps me grow as a person
and an artist and I want to see where that takes me for the rest of my
life.”
Steady Your Aim releases on March 23rd, 2018 and will be available on digital and CD.