If you had to bet on one, I would say Shepherdstown was probably founded first, simply because it's on an important thoroughfare connecting the Shenandoah Valley to the important Delaware ports, where a lot of European migrants, principally Scots Irish and German migrants, were arriving in the 18th century. So it's likely that these migrants arrived at the banks of the Potomac River in the valley before they arrived in the South Branch Valley. So it's likely that Shepherdstown was founded earlier.
Bringin' Blues to the Jewel City with The Shadowshaker Band
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In April 2015, they released their first full-length Snowflake Mandala. Less than a year later, they earned an entry into the 2016 International Blues Challenge with their second release U Can’t Bother Me. And now, Huntington rockers The Shadowshaker Band are back with a bigger band and a bluer sound.
We sat down with The Shadowshaker Band’s Eve Marcum-Atkinson and Michael Lyzenga in the #wvpublic studios to talk about the band’s new record Heart on the Line and their blues-y beginnings.
The Shadowshaker Band regularly performs at Ritter Park in Huntington, West Virginia.
On playing blues music:
Michael: People say it’s so easy, it’s just three chords and some attitude, but it’s so much more than that. It comes from the heart. Country music does in a way, if you write the right music. But the blues…
Eve: …will rip out your heart and make you happy you did.
On Eve’s musical beginnings:
Eve: I was all rock. Although I really liked one of the albums U2 did when they went more blues, and I liked that style. It wasn’t until the ‘90s that I really started appreciating that style with Nina Simone and Billie Holiday and those chanteuse-style singers. I was hiding under a rock for a very long time, and I did not sing in front of people… at all.
Michael: She’s got it good both ways though. She can not only sing The Shadowshaker Band music (the folk and blues and rock and Americana), but she’s also in a band called Under Surveillance where she can flat out rock. So she has the best of both worlds: she can come to my studio and record a little love ballad and go to their studio…
Eve: …and scream it out.
Credit The Shadowshaker Band
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The Shadowshaker Band’s Eve Marcum-Atkinson designed the band’s cover art.
On writing The Shadowshaker Band’s music:
Michael: You can ask me where the lyrics come from, but I have no idea. I could not tell you how I can wake up in the morning, pick up my guitar, strum a chord, and write and record the song by the end of the day. I don’t know how it works, and I don’t know where they come from.
Music featured in this #WVmusic chat:
The Shadowshaker Band- “Heart on the Line”
The Shadowshaker Band- “Collide”
The Shadowshaker Band- “Shadows”
The Shadowshaker Band- “Mr. Weather Man” (Live in the #WVPublic Studios)
If you had to bet on one, I would say Shepherdstown was probably founded first, simply because it's on an important thoroughfare connecting the Shenandoah Valley to the important Delaware ports, where a lot of European migrants, principally Scots Irish and German migrants, were arriving in the 18th century. So it's likely that these migrants arrived at the banks of the Potomac River in the valley before they arrived in the South Branch Valley. So it's likely that Shepherdstown was founded earlier.
This week on Inside Appalachia, Drop of Sun Studios in Asheville, North Carolina has put out some of the hottest indie rock records of the year. We talk with one of its co-founders. We also visit the Alleghany Highlands, where Appalachia’s maple syrup traditions are changing with the times. And, poet Lacy Snapp introduces us to east Tennessee’s poetry scene.
On this West Virginia Morning, the Hope Scholarship program allows West Virginia students to apply state money toward private and parochial school tuition. And state officials say the program is growing.
