Shannon Hayden

"Few sets start off as strong and as determined as Shannon Hayden's did on Friday night. An overlapping recording of Edie Sedgwick stood as the introduction to "Silver Superstar," leading the way for what is probably the best introduction to Hayden's music. There was an immediate grandness to her electric cello, which she loops over and over to create even more depth than the beginning moments promise. It was actually breathtaking seeing her bowing with such finesse all the while creating timed loops. The second song only added to her skill, replacing the recording of Sedgwick her own voice as an added sound to loop along with her cello and sprinkles of crackling filling in the background. At time the sounds of sparks turned more menacing, becoming loud mechanical cranking that only subsided to allow Hayden's intricate musicianship to reveal itself.

Her performance was all the more impressive with the technical difficulties Hayden faced. She mused on how some people's nightmares are about school or work, but hers are encapsulated in her effect machines and pedals breaking down in the middle of show. Luckily, she recounts her effects and pedals broke down earlier during soundcheck and she was lucky enough to find a music store that outfitted her reasonable replacements. After the song "Baggage" she revealed the guitar she used for the song was borrowed from an audience member. She waited to the end of the song to even mention it just in case the song sucked. Even with mostly untested equipment, Hayden was able to keep her humor up and produce a beautiful set.

Throughout her set Hayden was joined by Kate Siefker on drums. Together they crated the Little Dragon cover "A New" into an ornate center piece of the set. Hayden's voice intertwined with her cello and Siefker's magnificent drumming into a warm intimacy that truly stood tall against the original song. A similar intimacy was readily apparent in "1960s Black and White" where Hayden's voice was inline the faintest of whispers, sounding breathy and lovely as it barely escaped her body. She end her set with "Building Not Burning," certainly leaving a good portion of the crowd as newfound fans." - Gapers Block

Sometimes ‘multi-instrumentalist’ just doesn’t say enough. Shannon Hayden is one such example. On first glance, she’s a classically trained cellist, but only moments into her music listeners are thrown for a loop…literally. Hayden utilizes looping devices and sampling machines, along with her cello and voice, and occasionally other instruments including guitar, mandolin, percussion, found sounds, and whatever she can bang on her cello to create the sound she needs.

Today, Shannon Hayden releases her second album Solid State Cello to online audiences. The ten-song collection was again recorded at her ‘off-the-grid’, solar-powered home studio in Martinsville, IL, and showcases her vivid creations that are a mix of classical, electronica, rock, and folk styles. A young and extremely talented musician and composer, Hayden has an ear for manipulating sound, building a theme, and dissolving boundaries in her compositions. Although, she uses looping devices and effects to layer and combine various instrument voices, Hayden seems very skilled in playing on top of the loop and capturing the bold cello sound, so that you can barely pick out where the live lines begin and when they become a part of the loop. A great example of this is in “1960s Black and White”, a daring cello piece full of light and dark passages which are illustrated carefully through the high and low voices of the cello and a meticulous use of dynamics.

This album proudly showcases how beautiful and diverse the cello voice can be, fitting into all the musical nooks and crannies that are often ignored. On top of that, Hayden happens to be a proficient singer as well, lending her own voice when she can find enough space between cello playing and pedal tapping.

Recommended Tracks: “1960’s Black and White”, “Blown Away”, “Bus Trip to Mars”, “Sketching in a Lonely Park” - Hipster Spinster

I had the pleasure of seeing Shannon Hayden at the Hi-Fi in January opening for Mike Adams at His Honest Weight. Just one glimpse at the equipment she used on stage I knew she would be great for an installment of Gear and Beer.

We sat down at Chilly Water Brewing on Virginia Avenue to enjoy a couple of Built to Last pilsners. The beer was tasty and Shannon was kind enough give me the details of her equipment.

NUVO: How old is your acoustic cello and what can you tell me about its history?

Hayden: It is from the 1890’s. The previous owner was from the Indianapolis Symphony. I have a luthier in town that builds amazing cellos and does my maintenance. A couple brought it to him after it had been hit by a car. He put it back together and did an amazing job. And, I knew the whole story and got a really good deal on it. I was able to visit the tiny village where it was built when I was fourteen. It was the last cello this guy built.

NUVO: I noticed you also use an electric cello. Is that a pragmatic choice?

Hayden: Yeah, for a lot of shows. It depends on the show, on the venue, how I’m getting there. If I’m flying it’s just so much easier with the electric. My acoustic cello is a really amazing instrument. I want to take it out on more special occasions, like concert halls and theaters. With an electric cello it can get banged around a little more and thrown into the back of a truck.

With my acoustic cello [I use] various pickups and clip-on mics. It’s pretty high maintenance, a bit difficult to travel with, so this year I began touring with an electric cello. It’s a Yamaha and I use a Barbera bridge. It has to be custom made for that instrument. It’s got two pickups per string. I run that through a series of pre-amps and mic simulators to get the best sound.

NUVO: At what point did you start experimenting with pedals and effects?

Hayden: I played lead guitar in a rock band when I was fourteen or fifteen. All the while I continued very serious classical training. I really enjoy the world of guitar because there’s no limitations placed on your instrument. I got more involved in that world of sound effects, sound manipulation, recording and writing. After a while it was like, “why don’t you try some of these effects on the cello?”

NUVO: What are you using to layer your parts? Are you using a looper pedal?

Hayden: The looper is the Boss RC-300. It’s so flexible. You can fade in and out of things; each loop can be a whole different length. It’s more like a quartet than an individual. I actually started with an Electro Harmonix 10 second delay. I didn’t want to get a low-end looper, because I didn’t want to get frustrated right off the bat with what I could do with it, so I went for a glorified delay pedal. Eventually, if I liked the minimal amount of looping, then I could move on to something bigger. And then I would still have an awesome delay pedal.

NUVO: Are there stored loops in your RC-300?

Hayden: All instruments are looped live. I have recorded sounds from my studio [sampled] in my machine. All vocal loops are live. A lot of people are confused about what’s live and think some of that is backing tracks. I keep it simple, no backing tracks. If you hear a percussive sound, then that can be sampled. Even still, I try to do a lot of that on the cello [live].

NUVO: What effects are you using?

Hayden: My effects unit is the HD500 POD. It’s my go-to in the studio. It’s so customizable. I have so many different patches. I was running my keyboard through the POD yesterday.

NUVO: What are you using to record?

Hayden: I record with Logic. I like Guitar Rig, Mainstage for my own recordings. With Margot [and the Nuclear So and So’s] we had some fun. I was running through a guitar amp in a bathroom and that was daisy chained to an amp somewhere else. It was super cool. Almost like old school orchestra recordings, a little distant. A little issue with that is when you have an amp in a bathroom with a mic on it, you do hear when someone is using the restroom. I heard it [in my headphones] when I was about to do my track. “Hey guys, what is that?”

NUVO: I heard that your home studio is self-sustained. Can you tell me about that?

Hayden: I have an off-the-grid vegetable farm over in Illinois about 50 minutes west of Terre Haute. We grow our own food and it’s all solar powered. That farm has enabled me to do what I want to do. If I want to pay rent in New York for the summer I can. If I want to head to LA I can. But I can always come home. It’s an advantage because all my friends have to work at Starbucks. I’m always available and can always schedule tours. I’ve been recording in Bloomington for a month and I brought a flat of lettuce and a ton of frozen strawberries, produce and canned veggies. It’s awesome.

NUVO: Was it long process to set that up?

Hayden: Not really. It’s a lot easier than people think to be self-sustained. It’s pretty simple to purchase a couple of panels, a battery bank, a good sine wave inverter to keep it quiet for music recordings and you’re pretty well set. We can run a projector and huge sound system. It’s easy to do on your own. - Nuvo

"Shannon Hayden is a very impressive young woman: she sat in a chair the entire time and commanded our attention like a pro. No ridiculous theatrics were needed, no animated movements. She paused rarely to speak and only a few songs out of her set had vocal parts, but her skills made believers out of us that a cello is more than just a classical instrument to be used during operas. She manipulated her instrument to create sounds we never knew could emit from such a piece. Ranging from heavenly to almost demonic, Shannon Hayden transported us through this one instrument to several different planes in a fascinating way. She opened up our minds intellectually so when Lily & Madeleine took the stage, they could teach us everything they know." - No Country for New Nashville

When we first arrived deep cello tones had encompassed the whole room, which, on establishing myself at the front of the audience I was able to decipher as the creation of Shannon Hayden. Shannon is what I determined as an evidently superior talent in the music world, her ability to entrance the whole room with her single instrument’s eerie sounds and clever use of a loop pedal (or several, not precisely sure) was an incredible feat and one to never forget. - Lippy Mag