Shannon Lyon
Biography
Shannon Lyon took a new approach to music in 2000 when he released Summer Blonde with the World Record Players (Jay Schneider and Jeff Cowell). Long gone were the days of Pop Explosion and mod rock. Shannon turned alt-country. During Lyon's performing career he has shared the live stage with artists such as Blue Rodeo, Bruce Cockburn, The Troggs, Eric Taylor, Oh Susanna, Bob Egan, The Sadies, Richard Buckner and Fred J. Eaglesmith.
With the help of his friend Rob Lamothe, Shannon found himself leaving for Holland in March, 2001. Not sure whether he was going for two months or two years, Shannon embarked on a new adventure to share his rootsy music with the receptive country who welcomed him with open arms. Not long after arriving in Holland, Shannon caught the attention of Inbetween Records who, within a year, released Shannon's first European CD, Dharma.
Shannon teamed up with Dutch producer and singer/songwriter B.J. Barrtmans for a two week recording session on a farm in Boekend, Holland in late 2002. The album, Wandered, features guitarist Robin Berlijn, Ellen ten Damme, pedal steel guru Harrie Brekelmans and drummer Stephan vander Meijden. Bound, recorded live in Holland, was released in 2003. The same year, he released Someday Mourning.
Shannon's music will now be reaching more ears, as Wandered has been picked up by Collision Records who released the CD in Australia and New Zealand.
Shannon has since moved back to Canada and continues to evolve as a musician and performer.
Relationship to Blue Rodeo
- Bob Egan, playing his pedal steel, accompanied Shannon Lyon at his Wandered CD release party at the Rivoli in Toronto on January 2, 2003.
- Shannon opened a number of shows on both Blue Rodeo's The Days In Between tour and Jim Cuddy's solo tour.
- Shannon has had the support of Bob Egan and Bazil Donovan playing with him, including a gig in Kitchener in April 2000.
- Former Blue Rodeo member, Kim Deschamps, has performed with Shannon and played on Summer Blonde.
Quotes
"I first started touring with Blue Rodeo just after Mark French left the band [in 1992] ... and I remember being out on the road with them ... and during their soundchecks before every gig ... we would be waiting and watching and taking notes of course... and they would be hashing out this ballad ... it was 'Lost Together' it was a new one and we heard it come together that tour in the soundchecks ... it was pretty cool ... I remember thinking that it was a great song ... turned out to be a pretty big one for them. We did a few small tours with them back then ... it was very cool ... very exciting ... I think we were 22 or 23 years old." - Shannon Lyon
"I think the only choice I clearly made in this life was that I was that I was going to sing for my supper, and when I'm not singing, I'm not eating, it's pretty simple. The rest I really don't have to think about." - Shannon Lyon
"When I listen to Summer Blonde I hear the rhythms of the Midnight Cowboy, the harmonies of an earth-bound angel, the acoustic guitar that knows the pain of a heart, the steel guitar that stirs the lonely and restless lovers. But most of all I hear that voice that echoes Earle, Faraar and Buckner, a voice that haunts you like a heavy fog over a barren field on a cool October morning." - Bob Egan
Related Links
Shannon Lyon's Official Website