Shewell sings the Blues
By Sarah Webster • Staff Writer • Asbury Park Press • April 3, 2008

ASBURY PARK — Family members knew 10-year-old Eryn Shewell had musical talent when she sang karaoke at her uncle’s wedding.

Standing in a corner with microphone in hand, Shewell impressed her family members when she started singing "I Saw the Sign" by Ace of Base.

"No one knew I could really sing until that time," she said.

"I have been singing my whole life," she said.

Shewell, now 23, is a musician and mom. She lives in East Brunswick with her 4-year-old daughter, Emily.

"I do music, and I’m a mommy," she said. "I wouldn’t be able to do this without my family. Anytime I need a baby sitter they are there for me, and they also come out to the gigs.

"I’ve played many times where there is only my mom in the crowd," she said.

How does she do it all as a full-time parent?

"A lot of phone calls and e-mails," she said, adding that she also utilizes a Web site called wheresthegig.com, which helps musicians keep track of performances.

Shewell (singer/songwriter/guitar) has her own original music band named after her, The Eryn Shewell Band. She formed the band in June 2007 and they are now putting out a live release called Live from the Cutting Room.

"Right now I have a nine-piece band," Shewell said. The band members include Pat Ruh (guitar), John MacDonald (bass), Elliot Kessler (drums), Antonio Gambrell (trumpet), Tommy Meares, (trombone), Arne Wendt (keyboards), Kathrine Verderosa (backing vocals), and Jenna Britton (backing vocals).

The band has been busy in the past year, Shewell said, playing gigs at least two to three times a week all over the tri-state area.

"I have this band and also a cover band on the side," she said, adding that the cover band is the one that pays the bills.

Shewell grew up in a music environment. She said her mother, Dawn VanArsdale, and father, Larry Shewell, both sing; her aunt Lori has been in a cover country band for 20 years, and her grandfather William Jennings plays various instruments and country and bluegrass music.

"He plays everything from banjo to guitar to accordion," she said, adding that family gatherings involved everyone sitting around singing and playing guitar.

When it comes to music, "I guess it’s in the blood," she said.

What type of music does Shewell prefer to sing?

"I like to sing blues and jazz the best," she said. "Rock is fun, but I prefer the other two. "

She has followed her passion for jazz and blues to New Orleans.

"The entire city of New Orleans inspired me," she said. "It was amazing.

"There is all this spirit and energy there — the horn players will walk around and play anywhere and everywhere," she said, "even if a band is in the club, and they are outside playing."

Shewell has one self-released full-length record out named One Song at a Time. It’s a release she calls a "living-room record. "

"I did it myself in my living room," she said, adding she called her band members over to her house to make it.

The band has just recorded a live album at The Cutting Room in New York City, and it is due to release by the summer. It will feature a DVD of a live concert and feature clips of Shewell speaking.

The live record currently is being mixed, edited and packaged, she said.