Mary Shaver Band

Picture this…a five year old with fiery curls that shadow the famous Bonnie Raitt, an artist this girl will one day come to be compared to, pulls out an old ukulele to serenade a family audience at her grandmother's house with Hello Dolly. Again and again. The little girl grows up and buys her first record albums. Janis Joplin was a favorite. Later she sees Stevie Nicks in concert and is mesmerized by her sultry vocal delivery. These are the influences that inspire the teenager's passion for blues and R&B - music with grit and soul.

Mary Shaver has been singing all her life. She is first and foremost a blues artist. Local critics and musicians have likened her powerful voice to all her idols. But the road to her first release has not been a particularly straight or smooth one.

Her twenties saw Mary's music confined mostly to acoustic jam sessions with friends. (Remember, in addition to six-string guitar, this woman plays a mean ukulele.) Then, in 1989, Mary joined the rock/blues cover band One Thin Dime. They had a few original tunes and opened for some national acts. But as is often the case in the competitive music business, the band members each had day jobs and other interests. They never got around to recording and Mary grew restless.

Priority for her music had to be juggled with the bill-paying necessities and challenges of everyday life. Mary returned to school to get a paralegal degree and now works full-time as a paralegal for a non-profit organization. Yet she has long had the inner awareness that a solo album was in her future. Inspiration came in the form of family crisis and transformation. Two years ago, Mary's mother was in a near fatal auto accident. Then in early 1998 Mary found herself making the difficult decision to leave One Thin Dime as she looked forward to music on her own terms. Her fortieth birthday was right around the corner.

She had some savings. She had her talent. She had her voice. When friends questioned, "What's holding you back?" the only answer was herself, and she finally answered a resounding "yes!" to her driving desire. So, over the next 16 months of obtaining rights, gathering musicians and finalizing a varied play list of classic and less covered blues and R&B tunes, Mary, with the help of Nighthawks drummer Pete Ragusa as producer, assembled and cut her first disc. This has been a long time coming. It has also been a labor of patience and love.

Born and raised in Prince George's County, Mary still calls Maryland home and has a special affection for playing gigs at evening hotspots on the Chesapeake Bay. To see her play live is to truly experience Mary's music. With complete focus she becomes, in her own words, "entranced. All I know at that moment is what I'm singing."

Mary's future plans include getting her own band together. It is her time to call the shots, and with a second disc soon to follow, she plans on penning many more original songs. How's she feeling about all these changes in her life? The disc's title song says it all, there's "No Time Like Now."

Shaver is at her best when she's capitalizing on her vocal power and grit. Both qualities are evident throughout her new album "No Time Like Now." Produced by Nighthawks drummer Pete Ragusa, it features numerous musicians based in the Washington area, such as keyboardist Tommy Lepson, drummer Big Joe Maher and hawks' harpman Mark Wenner. There's no knocking the tunes, since the album is laced with solid songs by the likes of Little Walter Jacobs, Tony Joe White, and Leiber & Stoller, but even more impressive is Shaver's knack for charging nearly everything she sings with a strong emotional current.

:: Discography ::

1999 - No Time Like Now -

:: Contact ::

Website: http://www.maryshaverband.com/
Email: mary@maryshaverband.com