Behind the Writing: Shannon Baker
Updated: Aug 24, 2023
Bluegrass singer/songwriter Shannon Baker of Shannon Baker & sometime soon agreed to be the first interview in my Behind the Writing series. Why? Because she's the kindest person I know.
When I met Shannon in a media writing course last January, I was told two things: she would probably be a minimum of five minutes late every day, and her voice is reminiscent of Alison Krauss.
If you're suffering through the injustice of meeting Shannon through this post, then here are three things I think you should know about her before we get into the writing of it all:
Shannon inarguably has the voice of an angel; she will go out of her way to help complete strangers; and every time I've dipped my toes into a new venture, she has been one of the first people to support it (RIP my sticker business).
Despite spending most of this interview in stitches, I actually managed to ask some questions. After spending a short lifetime cringing at my own voice while transcribing, I've come to terms that her responses were way better than I deserved.
Q: How long have you been a musician? What's your origin story?
So, my origin story—let's see, I was probably five or six. I sang for the first time in church. I sang "Jesus Take the Wheel" by Carrie Underwood because I had just fallen in love with her.
That was kinda the start of it, and then my mom and I started putting together little 30 minute shows where I would sing with my CDs for churches.
It took off from there.
I don't know, I just fell in love with singing for people, singing for church, singing for Jesus, and then I moved onto country music because my granddaddy took me to this place where a bunch of local musicians get together. It used to be called Temperance Hall Opry House, but it’s closed now. It was this old country store and there was a stage, and chairs and they would all get up there and just play whatever they wanted to—I mean, familiar songs that they knew. I learned all of these old country songs and I found a love for the history behind them.
I got into bluegrass next. I was at a birthday party, and they hired this band to play and it was a bluegrass band, and they were having a really great time. The people hosting the party told me to go sing with them, and then they [the band] invited me to this place in Wilson called The County Line Bluegrass Barn.
I spent every Tuesday night there—I was 12 when I met them, so eight years. That's where I met my current bass player, and that's where he met our banjo player, and that's where our banjo player met our guitar player.
Q: How would you describe your relationship with songwriting?
Sometimes, the words just come. Sometimes it's like I can't write fast enough to get everything I'm thinking on paper, and I'm like, “Oh my gosh, this is really, really good.”
I'm in this frenzy, and I'm writing, writing, writing, writing. Sometimes, when it’s like that, you can pull a song together in 30 minutes and send it off to whoever is going to produce it or work on it with you, but sometimes you're in that frenzy and you look at it the next day and you're like "Why did I put this on paper? Why did I make this a tangible thing? I need to destroy it immediately."
I mean, that's writing of any kind. I'm the same in my other writing, too. It's hit or miss. Sometimes you get something really good, and sometimes you just have to go back to it. I've got two shoeboxes full of napkins and notebook clippings that I’ve written stuff on, and there’s probably some good stuff in there, but I’m currently using those shoeboxes to press out flowers from graduation.
I can't really describe it as a good or bad relationship because it really is dependent on my day, my creativity level, or what I have been through that week, and what's weighing heavily on my heart.
Q: What was the first song you ever wrote?
I can't even remember the name of it, or any of the words right now. I could probably find it, but it was about chasing rainbows. It still needs some work, but it was decent. Of course, I wrote some little things as a child and through middle school and high school, but I didn't get serious about writing my own songs until the last couple of years. The first song is kinda the one you look at and you're like, "Oh, look how far I've come."
Q: What is the best song you've ever written?
Oh, that's easy, “Where the Weeping Willows Grow”. It didn't take any time at all to get the words down. I let go of the whole "trying to make it make sense" when I was writing that and left things up to the imagination or interpretation to whoever's listening because it's not about me.
I can have my opinion all day, every day, but for someone else to interpret it the way they see it is what's most important. For the first time, I threw everything else out the window and stopped trying to make it make sense and rhyme everything. I found a way to say what I wanted to say that made sense to me and could mean something totally different to someone else.
I think that's the reason that's the best one I've written so far and that's why we recorded it. It turned out so good because I stopped trying so hard to be a songwriter and just decided to be me instead.
Q: What has been your biggest challenge as a songwriter?
Time. You never have enough time for anything, but making myself take my time and use it wisely, and actually sit down and do stuff, and write, and play the guitar has been my biggest issue. I can tell when I've been writing, and when I haven't been writing, and I'm not as creative when I haven't been writing.
Q: What's the best writing advice you've ever received?
Write what you know. You can put yourself in someone else's shoes, but only so much. You are not going to receive the same lessons or learning experiences from a situation someone else has been in. You are not going to be able to interpret what someone else feels without feeling it yourself. Write your experience. Writing music is not the same as writing the news or a non-fiction creative piece. It's about you getting your story across, and about how you view the world. If you've never been heartbroken, how are you going to tell me what it feels like when you've loved a boy for three years and finally decide to see what would happen?
About Katherine Lindfors
Katherine Lindfors was born in Summerville, South Carolina. She currently resides Holy-City adjacent. Her writing focuses on experiences within her young adult life and the lessons that she learned in discount therapy.
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