Megan and Shane
When Megan and Shane say "We'll punch you in the gut then hug you." , they are not even kidding. Their music is both hard and easy to listen to. Hard because it´s deeply emotional, honest and heavy. Easy beacuse it´s an absolute pleasure to listen to those beutiful songs - Megan has an incredible, strong voice and Shane seems like he was born with a guitar in his hands.
Megan and Shane Baskerville just released the album Daughter of Country. It´s 9 songs and 33 minutes of the best country music you will hear in a while. When I heard the title track I just coudn´t believe that Megan and Shane only have about 500 monthly listeners on Spotify... If it would be 500 thousand I woudn´t be surprised. Listen to the album Daughter of Country by Megan and Shane here:
After just a brief chat with them it was crystal clear how modest, kind and caring Megan and Shane are. As Megan pointed out in an interview when I asked about their other interests besides music: "I guess maybe helping is what I'm really into!".
Among other things, they both used to teach at the School of Rock before they moved to Nashville and now they volunteer with Musically Fed. Read more about an amazing husband-wife musical duo in this sincere and authentic interview. Enjoy! Megan and ShaneWhat music have you been listening to lately?
Shane - I've been listening to a lot of Petty, Dylan and also some great records that came out in the last couple of years like Riley Downing, the new Brandi Carlile album, Arlo Mckinley...
Megan - Well, we listen to music together, so all of this :) But add Billy Strings into the mix and revisiting old Pearl Jam album What got you into music?
Shane - I've been writing songs ever since I can remember. I started begging my parents for a guitar since I was 10 years old and didn't get one until I was 15. Guns N' Roses lit the fire to play in a band...but really, I just wanted to write music to the lyrics I wrote. My brother introduced me to so many different styles of music too.
Megan - My dad always had records on as a little kid. It was a ton of soul, but also a lot of CCR and The Band. I sang all the time, my sister and I used to make fake radio shows we tape on our little tape recorder and I loved singing fake commercial jingles. But really my Grandpa was the one who said, you can sing, you need to sing. Megan, do you still make music together with your sister sometimes?
We don't and my family were avid music lovers and the few that do perform, I'm actually kind of bummed we haven't collaborated. But we live all over the country so that makes it tough. Somewhere I have a recording from a cassette burned to CD of my sister and I making a recording of "Locomotion" at a booth from Six Flags, I gotta find that!
How long have you been into music?
Shane - One of my earliest memories is sitting in our living room with my Underoos on putting on the record to Dr. Hook's 'Cover of a Rolling Stone'. As far as playing goes... I got my first guitar at 15 and started my first band about 3 months later.
Can you tell us what you're working on at the moment?
Shane - We are going to go into the studio in May with a grammy winning producer/engineer. We have about 30 songs written for it, but we want to write a few more so we can narrow it down to the best 12-14.
Megan - Same, we are trying to continue to grow in our writing and hopefully start collaborating with other songwriters here in Nashville. Is it hard to get some attention as an artist?
Shane - We are trying to make it in an industry where the customers expect it for free. There is a market with thousands of great artists out there and everything is readily accessible. Needless to say, it is SOOOOO difficult to stand out. We are just trying to be the best we can be and hopefully listeners will connect with us.
Megan - So hard! But we are in a genre where, while it's still really difficult, I feel like there are less barriers like age and image, Americana is first and foremost about the song, so that's where we are focusing, but also trying to find creative ways to rise above the chatter. 
Listen to the song Daughter of Country by Megan and Shane in our "PlaylistSubs - Folk/Country" playlist:Are you a cat person or a dog person?
Shane - Dog person, just don't tell our cats!
Megan - Both BUT I would have a zillion cats if left to my own devices! What is your favourite book?
Shane - Misery by Stephen King.
Megan - The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis) What is your favourite movie/TV show?
Shane - Tough one...I'm a sucker for blockbusters! But I could watch Raiders of the Lost Ark over and over again.
Megan - That is SO hard! The Goonies is up there but I LOVE The Mummy. Who would you like to meet in person and why?
Shane - Carol Kaye...her bass lines blow my mind!
Megan - Brandi Carlile - I would love to talk to her about songwriting and vulnerability. Music video for the song Daughter of Country by Megan and Shane:If you met your future self, what would you ask?
Shane - Did we do it?
Megan - DITTO And what would you say to your past self?
Shane - Don't forget who you are...EVER!
Megan - You are WAY stronger than you will think and don't forget your value. What would you say to each other right now?
Shane - Thank you for being my partner in crime and girl, what a journey it's been!
Megan - I'm so glad we have jumped off of this cliff together, there's no going back! What are your other interests besides music? What would you do if there was no music?
Shane - I guess food? Music is my passion and obsession. We just gave up everything we had to follow this crazy dream. If there was no music, I don't think I would still be here.
Megan - Oh boy, that is tough. Like Shane, music pretty much saved me throughout different parts of my life. But feeding people makes me really happy, whether it's Shane or friends. We volunteer a lot with Musically Fed (look them up, they do AMAZING work) and that helps us help on a bigger level. So I guess maybe helping is what I'm really into! What question do you have no answer to?
Shane - Why can't we all just get along?
Megan - Why doesn't every human feel a duty to be helpful? Megan talks about Musically Fed
You mentioned earlier that music helped you in certain life situations. How?
Shane - I was bullied really bad in school. I would come home from school crying everyday. I would plop in my favorite tapes and it would all go away for the duration of the music.
Megan - At the risk of being a little dark, I was alone a lot of the time as a kid and I always felt weird and that I didn't really fit in anywhere. Music helped me feel like I had a place. And really all kinds of genres helped me with different feelings. Sad songs made me feel not alone and like other people hurt too, loud punk rock gave me a safe outlet for my anger and country music gave me grit. What was the happiest moment in your life?
Shane - Sounds cheesy...but when I got married with Megan at the Stax Museum of Soul. 2nd best was play a festival with 30,000 people in my old punk band.
Megan - Yup, marrying Shane, that started a tidal wave of love and he gave me the safety and space to do a lot of healing in my heart. And we have the BEST 80s and hair metal dance parties when no one is looking! If everyone in the world listened, what would you say?
Shane - Be kind, have patience and listen to each other. It takes all kinds to make the world go round and just because someone is different, doesn't mean they are bad.
Megan - We all have had a journey in this life and you don't know someone's deepest pain and how it's shaped them...so be gentle with each other. Is there something you want to say, but no one ever asked you?
What are you looking forward to?
Shane - To see how music plays out in our lives.
Megan - To being in this next chapter and being in a place on this next album to TOTALLY let go when we record, I am excited to see a lion come out of me! There´s more lion in you than you showed in "Daughter of Country"???
Megan - JUST WAIT!
What would you like to say to your fans?
Megan and Shane made this video for their fans and for PlaylistSubs followers! Thank you so much for this amazing and sincere interview!
- PlaylistSubs Listen to the song Daughter of Country by Megan and Shane in our "PlaylistSubs - Folk/Country" playlist:
- PlaylistSubs Talk #2 - Interview with Megan and Shane
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