San Diego Reader

Tolan Shaw: Vocals

Genre: Rock

Sound description: Blending the sounds of old soul music (Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Al Green) with new indie/pop music.

RIYL: The New Archaic, Jason Mraz, Sam Cooke

Upcoming Local Shows

• Museum of Making Music — Friday, June 7, 8pm

Related Links

• Tolan Shaw website

• "Strange Stage Stories" · April 8, 2013

Synoposis

Inception: Encinitas, 2009

Influences: Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Al Green, Jason Mraz, Grizzly Bear, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes

Background:

Tolan Shaw, best known as a member of the New Archaic, crafts songs based on travel and life experiences.

The New Archaic won Best New Artist at the 2009 San Diego Music Awards, and were nominated in 2012 for Best Alternative Album, for their debut full-length Movers and Fakers. The band has opened for acts such as Switchfoot, Dashboard Confessional, and Third Eye Blind, though not all gigs go swimmingly.

“I was playing at Soma...I guess I hadn't put on my guitar strap quite right, because in the middle of a song, as I was rocking out, it slipped and fell to the floor. Luckily, the guitar wasn't really harmed, it was just brutally out of tune. The best part about the story though is that it fell at a fairly climactic part of the song and I remember the weird noise that it made, and thinking, damn, that noise actually kinda worked in the song! I tried to play it off cool, but it was a pretty rookie move by me.”

Shaw’s solo work is inspired by travel, spiritual discoveries, nature, and big questions of life. He sees music as a way to delve deeper into his own journey through life and to connect with others, writing
directly from the heart. Though differing from the music of the New Archaic, his solo performance is equally as captivating, exposing raw emotion and soul and brimming with dynamics. Shaw began to refine his solo show in 2009, performing at local coffeehouses and opening for touring artists such as Matt Costa, Jon Foreman, and the Format.

After winning first place as Best Songwriter at the 2011 San Diego County Fair in Del Mar, Shaw took off on a songwriting journey through Latin America, traveling through 11 countries, 72 cities, and more than 300 hard boiled eggs.

In early 2012, Shaw began recording new solo CD with members of the New Archaic and In Motion Trio. He describes it as “A blend of catchy melodies, bluesy tones, and lyrics inspired by that life-changing journey.,”