Shelley Short Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 3rd 2010 9:50AM by Rika Nurrahmah
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Portland, Ore.'s Shelley Short has been paving a way to musical success since performing her first solo act at a friend's second annual "Holiday Hot Dog Rodeo" event. The whimsical singer-songwriter's music catalog consists of four releases, and Paste Magazine raved that Short's latest, 'A Cave, A Canoo,' "sounds more at home wafting through barn rafters than through iPod earbuds." Short has opened for acts like M. Ward and Loudon Wainwright III, and this year, she'll be playing two showcases at Austin's SXSW. Before the festival, Spinner chatted with the singer about her tour experiences and inspirations.

Describe your sound in your own words.

This is always the hardest question. There's a lot of focus on words and singing and instrumentation. At some points it's haunting and maybe dreamlike, since it's inspired by the dream world -- like some sort of fantasy.

How did the solo project start?

A friend of mine lived in this space in Portland that hosts this event called "The Holiday Hot Dog Rodeo," where they have singers and songwriters from Portland come out and sing. I think this was the second annual event, and because I used to cover old country songs, my friend was like, "Oh, you should come out and sing!" I was really nervous playing some of my own songs, but after that I started collaborating with other artists and it went from there. Everything progressed because my project is just something that's fun to me.

What are your musical influences?

Just observing life in passing, to who things happen [to] and to what things happen. Books I'm reading while writing a song seem to unconsciously inspire me. As far as artists, Jimmy Rodgers is one. Ween has been a huge influence to me since high school, and I have all the albums. Nirvana, Leonard Cohen and a fellow named James Thakray have all influenced me.

Why did you use your name instead of a stage alias for your solo project?

If I would have thought about it more, maybe I would have had a stage alias. I didn't really think about it at the time since I would just hop on a random show as myself. I guess I didn't take it seriously enough at first to think of it in that way. I also perform solo a lot, too.

What are your musical guilty pleasures?

I don't think I have any musical guilty pleasures. I have a lot of musical pleasures, but I don't really feel guilty about them. You know, I don't listen to the radio that often. If I do like Top 40 I'm usually not around the gossip surrounding the song to make me feel guilty about it.

What's the craziest thing you've experienced on tour?

I was just thinking about this the other day. I was on tour with Gary Danes, who plays an upright bass. We were playing in Mendocino, California and there were maybe five people at the show. This guy off the street came through the doors and yelled, "Marijuana! Marijuana!" He had this handful of marijuana, placed it on stage and then left. We just kept playing.

What's your on-the-road diet?

Especially in the United States, it's really hard to get healthy food everyday. I try to stop at grocery stores and get fruits and vegetables. When I was in Lexington [Kentucky] last time, I had a bag of broccoli and I put it in the microwave of a gas station, and the stench pervaded. People were wondering where the smell came from, but I guess broccoli has an odd stench when cooked in the microwave.

Who was your first celebrity crush?

One of them is probably Agent Cooper from 'Twin Peaks.' I thought he was really nice, loved his intuitiveness, and I really like his hair.

What items do you plan on bringing to SXSW?

This year I'm just flying in, so I'm not bringing instruments -- they'll be borrowed. I'll be bringing a dress and some gum. This will be really nice because bringing so much on a plane is a hassle.

Rika Nurrahmah is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.