Although Shawndell Marks has been a professional musician for several years, it wasn't until the death of her father six years ago that she truly began to listen to her own voice for inspiration. Her father's suicide propelled her into a quest to answer some difficult questions and heal wounds. Music has been the language that has allowed her to do this. She has been compared to Norah Jones, Jewel and Stevie Nicks. However, her sound is truly unique.
Together with her 4-piece band, she fuses blues, jazz and rock influences with intensely emotional lyrics to call her music soul rock, created to move your body and speak to your soul. Performing is nothing new for Shawndell. She has performed with the cover band Thunder Road for 10 years, opening for acts such as George Jones, Blackhawk and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. She takes her performance experience to a whole new level when presenting her original music to a crowd. She invites the listeners to reflect on how the lyrics can relate to their own life experiences while being entertained by her magical voice & accomplished musicianship of her band members. She weaves beauty and grace with raw emotion.
Remnants of Crazy, her debut album from September 2005, is a collective collaboration with her band members and a few guest musicians: Al Buttner, drums & background vocals, Matt Skinner, Joe McCloskey, bass, Chris Mittlesteadt acoustic and electric guitars, Claude Cailliet, trombone, Dennis Schulte, saxophone, and Cheryl Sabatier, background vocals. The lyrics and music are hers. The musicians have added their own colors. The result is a dynamic, diverse, polished recording. A story. In her own words, ?...real, raw scraps of the battles that go on behind my eyes and behind my breasts. A collection of heart-wrenching work and talented musicianship, thanks to the boys and girls that contributed. Go ahead. Have a listen. Take the ride. Crawl inside. Can you handle the honesty? It just might unleash some truth in you.?
Shawndell is currently working on a second album....... Stay Tuned!