Singer-songwriter Shawn Pander was destined to tell a good story. With an appealing honesty in his roots-pop acoustic narratives and a deep appreciation for his own roots, the Texas-born Pander connects with listeners in a sincere and direct way. Pander’s blues- and jazz-influenced songs strike deeply and precisely, provoking the type of authentic emotional experience achieved by some of music’s greatest storytellers.
Pander’s own story starts as a five-year-old boy keeping his father company at work–a used car lot on the outskirts of Houston. During his time there, Pander befriended an old blues man, “Homeless” James, who played guitar along the sidewalk and gave the young man a strong and early dose of music. When the business eventually went under, Pander went to say goodbye to his unlikely companion, and the odd couple’s last encounter sent Pander on his journey as a musician. “If I’m not going to see you again, you’ll need this,” James said as he handed over the old Yamaha SG75. Decades after this landmark moment, Pander continues to work toward an appropriate ending for the story that started with James. He writes nearly all of his material on the Yamaha, and has changed nothing but its strings.
James would be proud. In 2006 Pander released his debut LP Memories 4 Sale, which broke him into national airwaves: Tracks from the album spin regularly in a dozen different AAA, Hot AC and Country markets; his first single, “Tell Mama,” is fully supported by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Organization, and can be heard on every USA military base radio station in the country. He has attracted national media attention, with praise from outlets such as Texas Music Magazine, which called his music, “a folk-gem that improves with each listen…his music wouldn’t be out of place on a modern rock playlist next to John Mayer or Dave Matthews.” Pander has appeared on nationally televised programs FEARLESS MUSIC TV (on FOX) and the 30-minute documentary: Behind the Lyrics; he also performed on The Dr. Phil Show, after which he sold 4,500 albums in two days through his website alone. In recent years Pander won both the John Lennon Songwriting Contest Grand Prize in the folk category, and was recognized as a Nokia Featured Artist as well as ASCAP’s prestigious Harold Adamson songwriting award in 2009 that’s only given out every 2 years. In 2009 Pander released a four-track EP, with a new full-length on the way in the near future.
