As promised last month, I've started to put together a summary of the various plug-ins and players that have been mentioned in the past articles in this monthly series. First, however, I'd like to introduce a country music artist from the West Coast whose record company has produced an enhanced CD. And with Christmas approaching, I'd like to recommend several holiday CDs by mentioning the artist sites associated with them.
Shelly StreeterWe all know the usual career path of a new country artist. More often than not, a young person, either out of high school or, if they're smart enough to stay in school, out of college, moves to Nashville to follow their dreams. While they try to get a recording contract, they work odd jobs and try to write songs if they have that talent. Often it will take many heartbreaking years before some of them get that lucky break. Shelly Streeter has taken a vastly different route to her record deal with independent label, Long Arm Records, a division of 911 Entertainment.
Shelly developed her passion for country music much in the same way as the rest of us do; she listened to the radio and sang at school, at church and at family gatherings. This was as far as her talent went until after she was married and raised a family. Then, upon making the decision to go into country music professionally, she entered and won several talent contests. One contest win got her an invitation to record background vocals for a gospel album. She then joined a local Modesto, California band that opened concerts for Ricky Skaggs and John Schneider. Following this, Shelly formed her own band and has opened for artists such as Vince Gill, Pam Tillis, Tim McGraw as well as other well known acts. The California Country Music Association has honored her with its Female Vocalist of the Year, Female Entertainer of the Year and Vocal Band of the Year awards. Now Long Arm Records has made her their flagship country artist.
This and other background information is available at her web site. But her site features much more than this. There are pictures of Shelly and her band taken at various concerts. Moreover, you can listen to all the songs from her entire album in RealAudio format. And these aren't just 30-second clips; you get the entire song. Depending on the type of connection you have, the audio quality will vary, but you'll get a good idea how good this artist is. All the songs except one were written or cowritten by Shelly; the one that isn't was written by Boy Howdy's Jeffrey Steele and Chris Farren. All the songs are good, showing a traditional country style, but covering contemporary subjects. One of my favorites is Oh Mamacita, a haunting tale of the love of a child, who fell victim to gang violence, for her mother. And best of all, you can view the three videos that have been made from this album, including White Lace, Promises, recently featured on CMT and released to country radio stations, and the equally haunting video to Oh Mamacita. The videos use the RealPlayer format, available from RealAudio, that will play both the audio and video clips.
