Feel free to come out to the Basement on July 21. I’ll be playing there at 8p.m.

Thanks for listening.

My brain felt like it was on fire. I could hear every single sound inside the house from my washing machine to the music on the radio to my fridge leaking water to the steaming teapot and beyond. On top of that, I couldn’t stop thinking about all the things I had to do in the next fifty years. What is my life amounting to?

My Sunday night was a little overwhelming and that is why I stepped outside for a moment. I needed to catch my breath. Find some fresh air. Hear the sound of the trees, smell the new mown grass next door, see the sky. Chill out.

Right outside my back door there is an iron gazebo. Flower pots and little candles nestle in each pillar leveling the structure. It’s one of my favorite places to sit. Usually when I go outside at night I engage all my senses with everything going on around me, but not on this night. There were no porch lights on, no lights peering out windows, no neighbors talking, no cars passing by. My dark, quiet, back yard felt huge, unknowable and unconquerable. The only thing I had to focus on was the warm tea I was holding in my hand and a little candle I lit. I propped my feet up on the table and leaned back in my chair. I just wanted to sit still for a second and not think. I wanted nothing to do with the thoughts of what I wasn’t amounting to and how tomorrow I was going to be ninety years old and what would I have to show for it.

So, there I was sipping my glass of hot tea and focusing on that little candle. That flame took my mind to a grander place. Just imagine ending world poverty, finding a cure for cancer. What about running my 150^th marathon at ninety years of age? Perfect.

Fortunately for me, before I slipped any further into my outrageous imaginary accomplishments I was drawn towards a very true thought. That little candle reminded me of a very good book called The Gospel of John.

“In Him was life, and that life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (Jn 1:4-5).”

It’s not up to me to conquer the world in the next fifty to ninety years. The point of my life isn’t to “accomplish” whatever it is that will make me feel accomplished. It’s up to Him. It’s all about Him.

So as I sat in my back yard overwhelmed with my lack of abilities, I raised my tea cup to the fact that I have accomplished nothing and that He has accomplished everything.

Here’s to the candle in my back yard.

grow

I’ve learned something about myself. I grow with the music. Every song makes me discover the evolution of who I am as a writer of songs and walker of life. Every note I play is a deep reflection of some imbedded part deep within me. I know it sounds egocentric. The truth is, the more I find out about who I am as a woman, the more I’m disappointed. And the more I learn about who I am, the more I learn about God, and there is no disappointment in that. With every song I write, I’m lured into a very vulnerable place of discovering who I am as a woman and who God is. I know it may sound silly and overdramatic, but it’s where I am.

the place

I’m an extremely ambitious woman. My ambition has wobbled me to where I am today and has also given my mom  (awesome) grey streaks in her red hair. I can’t say I’m proud of it all, but it’s my life.

My ambition makes me run. It’s in my nature to always be moving and I’m especially talented with the motion of running. I’m good at running from problems, fear, failure, being known, yesterday, today, tomorrow, and any situation I find uncomfortable. My years of experience have resulted in me being an unorganized control freak with the word “irresponsible,” thrown in every so mile. I’m practically a winning veteran of marathons sponsored by fear. It always appears easier to run away from something than to run towards something. My past ambition has been channeled in running away from things rather than running towards something.

Right now I’m in an interesting place. I’m actually taking steps forward. I’m seeing, feeling and experiencing things in a fresh and raw way. I know the word “raw,” may be a little gross but, it’s the truth. My heart has turned inside out and is sensitively starting to heal/work. All the hidden parts that I’ve been running from have emerged. A lot of those sensitive moments of life are surfacing in the form of melody and song. Some of those songs may not sound the best, but every single note is helping me face who I am and who God is, and with that comes an entirely new soundtrack to accompany this long race.

HELLO!

I’m counting this blog as my first milestone on the road to efficiently communicating my experiences of life. It’s been tricky for me to embrace the technological world that I’m living in, so if this isn’t “Bloglicious,” you’ll have to forgive me. I’m as curious as you probably are about how this is going to turn out. So, to mark this moment in my history, welcome to my first official blog entry…….ever.  

This morning I woke up feeling ridiculously tired. You know when you wake up early and can’t quite coherently remember what you did the night before that made you so tired? Yeah, that was me this morning. Once I got a grip on my surroundings, I remembered where I was and why I was so tired: for the past four days I’ve been at a songwriter’s retreat. This songwriting retreat is an event created to stick a bunch of emotionally charged, mildly despondent, creative, inspirational, right brained, task grabbing, makers of music into one room, divide us into groups and say, “Write a song.”  

You can only imagine. So that’s why I’m feeling a little tired and out of oomph. Fatigue aside, this week has not only been educational, but has also turned out to be one of the most productive songwriting weeks I’ve had since I moved to Nashville last fall. Actually, this past week was THE most productive songwriting week of my life. Pretty exciting. I was able to write seven songs in four days. Now, whether or not they are “good songs,” is probably still on trial. No matter the outcome of the songs, I’ve learned several things.

But rather than talking about specific lessons or sharing some of the amazing quotes I’ve written down all week, I thought I’d focus on my writing experience. There are two songs specifically that not only taught me about music and the process of its genesis, but also affected me internally as a woman. I’m excited to share these little glimpses of truth and honesty I’ve found along the way.

Stay tuned……..

Click here to hear Shannon’s latest song “Just Be Honest”. Keep an eye out. More songs to come…

Welcome to Black Hole Secret, A blog documenting the musical development of Shannon Whitson. 

We first met Shannon in the summer of 08 when she was part of a new artist competition in Colorado where she was living at the time. We were really impressed with the quality of her voice, and the overall uniqueness of her sound. 

Just to get you in on the ground level, here’s a video of what we saw that night.

We liked what we heard so much, that we decided to offer Shannon a development deal on the spot! A development deal is pretty much what it sounds like; an agreement to partner with an artist to help focus on and better define their songs, sound and style, and to connect them relationally with others who can be of help along the way. 

If there’s one thing we’ve come to realize in our development work with Shannon, it’s that her music defies categorization or definitions. It’s its own thing and while we love it, we realize it isn’t Kelly Clarkson or Brittany Spears or anything else you’re hearing on pop radio these days, and that’s OK by us. 

That’s where this blog comes in. It’s a great vehicle for exposing Shannon’s work and we hope to use it as a public forum to share and discuss all things pertaining to her music and development. As you listen to the new songs and videos that get posted we’d love for you to post your thoughts and comments. Shannon will be a part of the discussion as well so feel free to post comments or questions directly to her. 

Our hope is that you’ll love what you’re hearing like we do. And that if you love it, you’ll want to tell your friends about it. And if those friends tell a couple of other friends, well, we’ll never have to worry about what box Shannon’s music does or doesn’t fit. 

Visit often and keep the communication flowing. If you love it, tell it, and we’ll all get to be a part of the story of what happens! 

The secret support team