Latest / Unsigned518 / Unsigned518 - Episode 165 - Shannon Tehya

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Unsigned518 - Episode 165 - Shannon Tehya · Unsigned518

0:01
Speaker A: He was born on a Saturday in 73 he loves punk rock music fighting the 13 jabbing the dazzle jazz rock now on the beat guitar with a short quick radio bass his motherfucking envy scrolling look at motherfucker cuz here he comes Andy Sculling wearing his orange hat.
0:27
Speaker B: Welcome to unsigned 518. I'm here with Shannon Taya. How's it going?
0:32
Speaker C: Good. How are you?
0:33
Speaker B: I'm doing very well. And we just met, I guess, IRL, like what, 10, 15 minutes ago, something like that. But I was telling my wife before you got here that you were like my favorite guest before you even got here, because you brought me coffee from Kickstart Coffee, which, for those that don't like Kickstart is my favorite place in town because I do love my caffeine. And I was just like, wow, already my favorite guest. We just met, but I guess what we want to do is kind of go back and tell your history with music. You know, I just realized that you're from up this way. You told me that when we met a couple minutes ago. I didn't know that. And, like, so we've lived in and around the same area, but I guess just start with wherever you want to start your tale.
1:28
Speaker C: Cool. Yeah. I grew up in Cambridge, New York, Technically, White Creek and Eagle Bridge, so just outside of Cambridge, but my mom has a little piece of property off of Lincoln Hill. And, yeah, I switched schools a lot. I went to Cambridge for a bit, and then I went to a school in North Bennington, and then I went to Hoosick Falls, and then I switched to a school up in Williamstown, Massachusetts. So it's my hometown in the sense that I grew up there, and I spent a lot of time in the arts program at Hubbard hall, but I didn't go to school in Cambridge. I switched around a lot because I know now that I have severe ADHD and I needed changes every two or three years to keep myself entertained.
2:12
Speaker B: Yeah. So you grew up out here, like, basically within a couple of minutes of where we are now. I mean, Eagle Bridge a little farther. But, I mean, I know where. Where Eagle Bridge is because a lot of the times when people are on the show, they're from, like, you know, Albany or Troy or. And they're always like, wow, where are we? So to hear, like, you're like, oh, I grew up in Cambridge. I'm like, oh, my God, that's.
2:36
Speaker C: Well, that's why I knew I had to bring you coffee or at least ask, because I'm like, oh man, it's that small town etiquette. Like I can't show up with a coffee from the best coffee shop ever and not bring one as well. That's so rude.
2:48
Speaker B: Pixar is the best coffee shop ever. I've got T shirts, I've got like their steel mugs, I've got their stickers on, on like love that place. And I don't even ride motorcycles, you know.
2:56
Speaker C: Right, right, me neither.
2:58
Speaker B: I just love copy. So, you know, grew up around here. Like, when did music kind of start being a, you know, Because I'm assuming being a musician that started to overtake everything at some point.
3:12
Speaker C: Yeah. Well, okay. It's a, it's kind of a sad and long story, but I'm going to summarize it. Yeah, I'll try to not make you cry. But I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be a musician. I was totally dead set on it. I got in fights at like every family event because everyone's like, what's your backup plan? And I'm like, screw you. So when I was like four years old, I wrote, quote, unquote, wrote my first song, but it was actually just a parody of Hound Dog by Elvis Presley. And I didn't know it at the time. I guess I had heard it on the radio and I thought I created it in my four year old brain. And then that just sparked a lot of songwriting and none of those exist anymore because they were really bad. But I was just obsessed. I wanted to be Taylor Swift. I would set up a microphone in the shed and sing as loudly as I could my whole life. So fast forward through high school and I go off to a boarding school where I can really study liberal arts and focus more on music than I could at my old school. And there was just this huge tragedy in my senior year of high school that completely stopped me dead in my tracks. Like I was on a trajectory to go to a great college. I was super good at school, like pretty much a straight A student, tons of extracurriculars and very driven. And then a really dear friend of mine died tragically and I just like full halt, like completely could not function. I went to a psych ward, which I was in for eight days. And when I got out, I turned heavily into substance abuse. And I didn't play music for a year. I didn't touch my guitar for a year. I didn't sing for a year. I didn't even know if I could sing when that year was over because my voice was so Messed up from all the drugs I was doing. And I think it was. It was during COVID that I snapped out of it. And I remember. I remember sitting at a picnic table on my mom's property out in Eagle Bridge. And at this time, I had been, like, couch surfing all over Albany. I had just been, like, really distant from my small town roots and just super invested in party culture and ruining my life in every way I could. And I somehow ended up back at my mom's house, sitting at this picnic table, and I wrote a song for the first time in a year, maybe even a year and a half. And I, like, broke me. I was like, oh, my God, like, who is this person that I have become? I don't know her. I look in the mirror and I don't recognize myself. And it just, like cracked me wide open. And it was. It was a long and arduous healing journey. But I got back to my center and I found myself again kind of during and after Covid, I think, because it felt like the rest of the world was commiserating with me and the rest of the world was like, right.
6:17
Speaker B: Pain. Pain was just everywhere.
6:19
Speaker C: Yeah. Which is terrible. It's not a good thing. But it made me feel less alone, and I really value that. And so in 2020, 2021. Ish you, I snapped out of that crazy self destructive phase and I locked in on music. I was like, hell no. Like, what have I done with my life? So I got my shit together and I started playing some open mics and writing more and more music and learning some fun songs. I ended up actually being in a folk duo, like a Celtic folk duo for a while. And then I got to play with a band called Ginger roots with Jeff McQuarrie and Gordon McKeown. And that was awesome. And eventually I found myself playing at sort of a curated open mic at a Pride festival in Cambridge on the Hubbard hall lawn, actually a few years ago. And that's when my band started, because I was approached by a gentleman named Neil Goes. And he was like, I love your original music. Which is crazy because it's all about, like, at the time, it was all about, like, really sad shit, like nearly.
7:25
Speaker B: Dying, substance abuse, you know, like that shit. That's how you. I mean, if that's how you heal, you know, like, you. You can't heal through letting out the happy emotions, you know what I mean? Like, you have to get the sad shit out. And that's so. I mean, I love. Not like, I love sad music, but like, I get what you're saying, like, some. That's the. The. I guess not ugly isn't the right word, but, like, the. The. The negative stuff has to come out.
7:55
Speaker C: It has to. And it did.
7:56
Speaker B: You got it out, you know, it's great and it's beautiful and, you know.
8:01
Speaker C: Yeah. And so, you know, from that point forward, all of a sudden, I had someone working with me on music, and it changed everything because I had been feeling less and less alone. But having a little bit of a team made me feel so strong and made me feel accountable, too, because I was like, someone is watching what I do. Like, someone is carrying about me, and.
8:24
Speaker B: Someone believes in what you're doing.
8:26
Speaker C: Enough. Yeah. And first of all, like, Neil is a pro, right? Like, Neil does not come to play well. He does come to play, but, like, he comes to play well.
8:37
Speaker B: Right.
8:38
Speaker C: And so for him, this man who I respect so much, he was also the lead guitarist in Ginger Roots. For him to ask if he could learn my original music was just, like, such an honor. And that started the troupe. I don't remember what we used to be called. It turned into the troupe, though, because more and more people started joining, and now it's, like, bigger than I ever thought it could be. And we don't write sad music anymore. Now the music that we write is centered around positivity and just pure, unbridled joy. And it's been so cool to be riding that train, like, from the first station that it was at to where we're at now. Yeah. That's the overview.
9:21
Speaker B: Wow. That's. I mean, you know, the only reason I didn't cry is because I stayed silent. I'm one of those. I'm one of those criers that when I'm hearing a sad story, it's only when I start to talk that shit comes out. But, yeah, that's fucked up. But to have that pain and regression of. Cause I understand what it's like to just shut everything down and to have something so fucked up happen that you're just like, I can't process life.
9:50
Speaker C: Yeah.
9:50
Speaker B: You know, and to be able to come out of that is. It's amazing, you know, because a lot of it's not a fucking 50. 50 shot. You know what I mean? Like, when you go down that road, it's like a fucking 8020 that you're not coming out of that.
10:08
Speaker C: And so is it. I think there's a term for like. Like a chain suicide. Like, because. Because when someone commits suicide, which is how this kid died, it's like, the people closest to that person are watched very carefully, because I know that there's a medical term for it.
10:26
Speaker B: I'm not aware of a medical term, but I do know that certainly that's, you know, a ripple effect that can really fuck people up.
10:35
Speaker C: And so that's what I was doing is I was, like, putting myself in such a dark space that nobody could keep eyes on me or keep tabs on me because I didn't want anyone to know, because my whole plan was.
10:43
Speaker B: Like, just cut as many ties as you can.
10:45
Speaker C: I'm not making it out of this either. Like, seriously, screw you guys.
10:48
Speaker B: Right?
10:49
Speaker C: But it is a testament to the power of music as a healing tool, because it. It is medicine. Music is medicine. And truly, I think a lot of people are like, wow, like, so good for you. For. For pulling yourself out of that. I honestly didn't. I listened to music, and I think that some higher power that I don't really understand healed me through. Through music.
11:11
Speaker B: Yeah. Because it's not like you made a conscious. You were. You know, you said you just happened to write a song.
11:15
Speaker C: Yeah.
11:15
Speaker B: And while you were writing that song, you just got smacked in the face with this reality, which moved into something else, you know, like, these weren't conscious decisions of, like, okay, you know, like, something happened. And I think it was the music for sure.
11:30
Speaker C: It was, like, literally being punched in the face by an aggressive will to live.
11:35
Speaker B: Right. It was. What do they call that? Tough. It's like tough love from, like, universal tough love or something, you know?
11:41
Speaker C: Yes.
11:42
Speaker B: Like, ow, that really hurts. But, okay, I get what you're saying.
11:45
Speaker C: You know, I'm crying. Stop.
11:50
Speaker B: So, you know, the troupe starts happening, and, like, this is within the last couple years, you know, like, in Covid. And to have that quick of a turnaround where now you're making joyful music. Like, I've heard, you know, heard the stuff. I've seen this stuff on Socials. I think it's. I think it's great. And, you know, we were saying we are going to have the whole troupe here in the Dazzle Den at some point, and I think, you know, now that you've seen the space and you're like, we could fit in here. I think we could do a live performance in here for sure. And you're also going to do a live performance. But that's later, later, later, later. We'll have you do a solo acoustic song. But right now, I think we should hear a song, you know, and. And we were saying that. That we're Going to hear a produced song and then a live song later. So what do you have for us?
12:39
Speaker C: First, I would love to share with you the title track of my latest album. It came out in June of 2024. It's called Tangled String, and it's a love song. It's honestly just your standard, sappy love song. But don't be fooled because it's actually a breakup album. Yeah, it's a little bit zesty, but Tangled String I wrote from my heart, and it's kind of a acoustic folk pop ballad.
13:06
Speaker B: Cool. And this one's out now and available on all the streaming. And I'll link to your Spotify page on the show notes so anybody listening can just click on it and get your music. But right now, let's check out Tangled String, Shannon, Taya, and the troupe.
13:22
Speaker C: Yes.
13:23
Speaker B: And then we'll be right back to talk some more with Shannon.
13:33
Speaker D: I was made to love you I was made for you I was walking one by one and now it's two I was made to love and I choose you I was made for breaking hearts But I won't hurt you I don't know what it means I don't know what it means to be a person Tied to a person With a long entangled strain I just know my body loves to love you My body greets for you My body needs to know if your body loves mine too and if you say you love me oh, if you really do Then I'm a bird who only wants to fly and sing for you I don't know what it means I don't know what it means to be a person Tied to a person With a long entangled stream I see a future with laughing and crying and maybe it's hard But I'll never stop trying I love you through winter Let me keep you warm let's help each other to weather the storm because learning cologne is a beautiful thing when you're bound to each other With a long and tangled strip.
15:40
Speaker C: I.
15:41
Speaker D: Don'T know what it means I don't know what it means to be a person Tied to a person with a long entangled string I don't know what it means I don't know what it means to be a person Tied to a person With a long tangled string.
16:16
Speaker B: That was Tangled String, Shanatea. And that one is off the the album of the same name that came out last June. And we were talking while we were listening to the song that you have some upcoming stuff that you've been working on. That kind of Has a, I guess, an interesting angle to how it was produced.
16:35
Speaker C: Yeah, well, I am learning right now how to work in Ableton and how to do some production work myself. And I'm so lucky to be working with Antoine Breton, who is the producer for every song on that album. And he's been doing some mentorship stuff for me and he'll be producing five songs on side A of my upcoming album. And I will be producing the five songs on side B of the upcoming album. So it's a little bit of an experiment to see if I can ace this test.
17:07
Speaker B: And for those that don't know, I mean, I've talked about it on this show, I'm sure, but like, there's. It's not the same thing to be a musician and to be a producer and, you know, mix and produce and it's a completely different beast. And I guess out of curiosity, like, how has that experience been for you to learn what is, I mean, a completely new skill that most musicians don't handle themselves because, you know, it's that. That difficult, I guess. So how's that been?
17:40
Speaker C: It's been difficult. It's been really eye opening, realizing how little I know, actually in the grand scheme of things. And also how difficult it is to talk about this with people because also, most people don't know. And I mean, until I started this adventure, I didn't know that there was a difference between producing, mixing, and mastering. I kind of thought it was recording and then all the rest happens, but it's like completely different. And you can tell when you listen to a track that, like, skipped one of the phases.
18:14
Speaker B: Right?
18:15
Speaker C: You know, and even. Even the most stripped away folk song, there's like some level of production, like. But the trick is listening to it and you're getting tricked into thinking, oh, this isn't a produced song because it doesn't sound like pop.
18:28
Speaker B: Or it's like really stripped down. And you're like, oh, this is just one person with a guit. And then like, you listen, you're like, oh, no, there's like four guitars, there's like a couple vocal harmonies. There's like, you know, a subtle tambourine or this. You know, there's so much going on that you don't know. I'm certainly not an expert.
18:47
Speaker C: Like, I don't know.
18:48
Speaker B: I don't know shit about shit. And like, we just finished recording an album and my guitarist knows a lot about this stuff and he'll be talking, oh, you know, this, this, this, this. And I'm like, I don't fucking know what you just said. Like, I don't have any idea what. What you just said. So, like, don't ask me about compression levels or the other one is fitting into the mix. Yeah, we need to put that. Yeah. And I'm like, what does that even mean? Like, it sounds fancy, but I don't know what it means. Like, it's got to be in the mix better. I'm like, that's. But again, that's why it's wise to either get somebody else to do that for you, who knows how to do that, or the route you're taking, which is certainly the more difficult, which is just, fuck it, I'll just learn it myself.
19:37
Speaker C: No, I think it would be more difficult if I was learning it completely myself. But having a mentor to sort of like, consult with. And it's so hard to ask YouTube really specific questions. And at a certain point, you know, you can't just Google, like, overview how to mix bass in pop song. Sabrina Carpenter. You have to, like, ask a real human being, right? Hey, I have a question. I don't like this frequency, but I don't like the EQ plugin that I'm using. And can you fix it?
20:10
Speaker B: See, and even what you just said right there, I'm like, I don't know what she's saying.
20:15
Speaker C: I barely know what I'm saying still. That's why we have Antoine.
20:19
Speaker B: But yeah, having the mix and the mat and like, I still like. I mean, now I know what a mix is and what a master is at the most bass terms, you know what I mean? But it wasn't more than two or three years ago that if, you know, I would have said the same thing. Oh, you know, you get somebody to record it and then they. It's done, you know, like, it's like. No, you get somebody, the recording engineer who does, you know, hands it off to the mixing and then someone masters it. And they are very important. And it is super obvious when you miss a step.
20:56
Speaker C: It really is. And it's tough because you can't always tell what's step they missed. Like, if you listen to a song that is like, maybe sub parley. I don't even know the word produced, but, like finished.
21:09
Speaker D: Right.
21:10
Speaker C: Sometimes you can't even tell what was missing. You can just tell that the whole song is, like, slightly worse than it could be.
21:16
Speaker B: Yeah.
21:17
Speaker C: And it's unfortunate because, like, the best band in the world can have a produced song on Spotify that is just, like, doesn't reflect their sound. Because it wasn't mixed right.
21:27
Speaker B: And one thing I noticed, you know, paying a little more attention, you know, basically since this show started and I've been talking to musicians every week and, like, is how much ancillary instrumentation goes into mixes, like piano. But you wouldn't know, you know, if you heard that song without the piano, you'd be like, I don't know. There's something about it. It doesn't sound right, but, you know, it's that the hidden stuff that gets you. I love that.
21:53
Speaker C: No, it's exactly what you said. It's just a completely different beast. Like, completely. It's super cool, though, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to learn about it too.
22:00
Speaker B: And is that something that, like, you know, you think you'll start doing for other people?
22:06
Speaker C: I would love to, and it's probably a great idea to talk about this with you here and maybe someone will hear this. I. I have done some work with some friends of mine, super casually, just out of the studio that we have in our living room at home, and I've enjoyed that. And I'd love to do more because building a portfolio of sounds that aren't just my own sounds is going to help me learn even more. And it's important to be able to deliver a product that someone wants, not just what I'm capable of doing, you know, So I would love to be challenged and to work with more people so that I can kind of expand my horizons on that.
22:44
Speaker B: Yeah, and that's true, because if you're doing your own stuff, you know, you know what you want, what you want it to sound like. You'll be like, oh, that's good to me. But it would be just such great practice to bounce it off different people that want different things from you, and even different genres and styles and. Yeah, it would just build everything up. So if you're listening, reach out to Shannon.
23:05
Speaker C: Yeah. Follow me on Instagram. ShannonTea. T E H Y A. Yeah.
23:09
Speaker B: And again, the. The pronunciation of your name, too. We gotta make sure we set that record straight. It is. What is it? Te Ha. It's Taya. Very fucking simple. And I would say when you first got here, because I know somebody named Taya and it's spelled the same, so I'm like, oh, that's easy. I got it. But I guess I could see the mispronunciation.
23:35
Speaker C: I brought you coffee. You pronounced my name right, and now we're best friends.
23:38
Speaker B: Yeah, totally. That's all it takes. Give me caffeine, pronounce Your name. Right. So let me tell your dog. Yeah. Calvin, everybody. And I was. We always say that Calvin knows every musician in the 518.
23:51
Speaker C: Yeah.
23:51
Speaker B: Because everybody who's come here knows he's. If you know, he's Calvin. So, you know, before we go, I wanted to. Or you were going to play a song. You know, you brought the guitar and we're going to hear a song. And this one. You chose to play this one live for kind of a specific reason. And what was that? That reason, yeah.
24:15
Speaker C: So this is gonna be one of the songs on side B of my upcoming album, and it'll be something I've produced myself. We're creating a Frank Ocean type of feel with it, and I'm super excited. And I can't wait for you to hear it acoustic live, because it might be a little jazzy folky right now, but it's actually. It's actually quite pop in the mix that I've created. So this is called A Silly Thing, and it's a bit of a satirical love song. I don't know how to describe it. It's about Lord of the Rings and watching it with someone who you love. Because I'm a nerd.
24:53
Speaker B: Well, I mean, like I said, me and my wife watch Lord of the Rings extended editions several times a year, so it's not like. And if you look around this room. Do you think I'm not a fucking nerd?
25:03
Speaker C: Oh, I can tell walking in here. Yeah. Immediately.
25:07
Speaker D: Yeah.
25:07
Speaker B: Yeah. Lord of the Rings is not silly.
25:10
Speaker C: No.
25:11
Speaker B: But anyway, let's listen to a sill thing live here in the Dazzle Den, Shanatea. And then we will be right back to wrap it up.
25:21
Speaker E: Emily, oh, Emily I hope you find who you wanna be I'm still here maybe one day you'll come back to.
25:35
Speaker D: Me.
25:37
Speaker E: Emily O Emily Never been harder to see your face Than when they shared your photo on the Facebook page that we both go to. Ooh, Emily. We'd get stoned and watched Lord of the Rings Remembered when I saw that photo I'm your salmon, Frodo Time is a silly thing Kinda like watching Lord of the Rings extended edition Takes so long But I really miss it when it's done like how one day you were gone 1, 2, 3, 4. Emily I'm sorry I know you deserved better than me I wish I knew but I know now I tried to be a good person But I didn't know how Emily, Emily.
26:52
Speaker D: Whoa.
26:53
Speaker E: Letting go is harder than I thought it would be Last three years went by so fast But I don't miss you any less. Oh, I love you, Emily. Thank God. I love the way you sing and how you play ukulele. Have you played any lately? Or does it remind you of me?
27:20
Speaker D: Love is a silly thing.
27:23
Speaker E: Kinda like watching Lord of the Rings makes you happy, makes you sad. Best cinematic experience I've ever had. Now the memory of Emily is all I have.
27:41
Speaker B: All right, that was a silly thing. Shanatea live here in the Dazzle Dead. And Shannon, I want to thank you so much for taking time out of your day to come up here and do this. It's really been fun. And before we go, I just want to give you a chance to say what I refer to as your gratitudes. So the microphone is all yours.
27:58
Speaker C: Well, awesome. I definitely want to start by saying thank you to you, Andy, for having me here in the Dazzle Den. It's as cool as it sounds and I have had a very fun time.
28:07
Speaker B: Thanks.
28:08
Speaker C: And obviously I have to thank my amazing band. I would be not anywhere without them, really. Like, this is my team, this is my family, these are my best friends. So real quick, let me just rattle off the names that you guys should remember.
28:25
Speaker B: Absolutely.
28:25
Speaker C: Neil Goes, Sewin Keener, Hunter Frost, Dane Jennings, Rachel Costello, honorary band member Hayden Frost, and myself, Shannon Tea. Together we are Shannon Tea and the troupe. And yeah, we're excited to bring you some new music as a band moving forward too. I think that's it. Oh, my dogs too. They're very supportive. And Hunter Frost is also my partner and my best friend in the world, so let me give him like an extra big thank you.
28:57
Speaker B: All right, so she is Shannon Tea. I am Andy scullin. This is unsigned 518. I'll see you on the road. Unsigned 518 is produced and hosted by me, Andy Scullin. New episodes are available every week wherever you stream podcasts. If you'd like to help support the show, please like and subscribe wherever you are listening. Or you could buy me a coffee@buymeacoffee.com unsigned 518. If you would like to advertise on the show, send me an email at unsigned518mail.com and to be a guest on the show, reach out to me through Instagram. Signed 51 8. Take care of one another and I'll see you next week. And.