CINCINNATI.COM: Shannon McNally measures success on her terms
Shannon McNally has planted herself in many places on her music-playing journey, and learned to enjoy the process instead of focusing on the elusive pot of gold.
However … “Would it be nice to make gobs more money? Sure,” says the singer-songwriter who plays the Southgate House Tuesday, four days before her new album, “Black Irish,” hits stores. “Would it be nice to be bigger? Sure. But if I’m going to be a cult (favorite), fine. As long as I get to do it forever, as long as people are satisfied when they hear the record.”
McNally has been making albums since 2002. She has worked with guitar slingers Charlie Sexton and Luther Dickinson, was a close friend of New Orleans songwriter Bobby Charles and is a confidant of Dr. John. “Black Irish” was produced by Rodney Crowell.
“I sang on his (2014 “Tarpaper Sky”) album before I went out on tour with him,” McNally says. “Everything was sort of getting to know each other and led to making this record. He has been such a good point of reference for so many things, he’s a good buddy.”
Crowell is also a Nashville heavyweight whose participation adds luster to any project. “(McNally was) this dark-eyed beauty who wrote grown-up songs, played a pretty mean Stratocaster and, at times, sounded like Jessie Mae Hemphill,” he says in the album’s notes. “From our first meeting, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was the right man for the job of shepherding (her) next record into existence.”
McNally co-wrote three of the album’s 12 songs – one with Crowell – and he wrote two others. She covers Stevie Wonder, Robbie Robertson and J.J. Cale, reflecting the ability to interpret great tunes like one of her heroes, Emmylou Harris, who sings harmony with Elizabeth Cook on Susanna Clark’s ode to Townes Van Zandt, “Black Haired Boy.”
“It’s all cumulative, it all helps,” McNally says of her collaborations with higher-profile folks. “I’ve had some great opportunities to play some great music with all kinds of people. Each time raises your visibility.
“I think how hard you work and how prepared you are also count. But a lot comes down to timing. I think (“Black Irish”) has all the necessary components, but (its success) is beyond my control. It would be nice, I’m ready to be an overnight success.”
The last line is accompanied by a laugh. McNally is proud she made the best record she could, but willing to accept whatever happens in the marketplace. Numbers count, certainly, but don’t measure success for her.
“We get preoccupied with overt, obvious success, which can come with a big downside,” she says. “It’s just like medicine: chemo can cure cancer, but the side effects can just about kill you, too. Same thing, success can be like chemotherapy.
“I just look to live a balanced life and a mindful one. I want to enjoy the things I am able to enjoy as much as I can.”
That is good advice for anybody on a journey.
Bill Thompson is co-host of “Blue Snakes & Banjos,” 6-8 p.m. Wednesdays on WAIF-FM (88.3)
IF YOU GO
Who: Shannon McNally
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Southgate House Revival, 111 E. Sixth St., Newport
Tickets: $10, $8 advance
Information: 859-431-2201; southgatehouse.com; shannonmcnally.com