THE REDNECK YEARS

If growing up in a small town, working hard to make a living, and spending all of your free time hunting and fishing help to create a Redneck, then singer/songwriter Shawn Christian didn’t stand a chance of being anything else.

“I was born and raised in Huntington, West Virginia. It’s one of those cool little places where everybody’s quick with a smile and always willing to help out a neighbor. My mom would sit around with friends sometimes and they would pick and sing. One day I ask her to show me a few chords. The next thing I knew I was ordering the Roy Clark Big Note Guitar Songbook and planning how I was going to become a famous country singer. I think I was about eight or nine at the time, and when anybody came by to visit I always had to put on a performance before they left. My favorite song was Rhinestone Cowboy. Thanks Glen.”

Soon it was high school, cars, girls, and garage bands that took up most of his time.

“I played in a lot of bands when I was a kid. You know, dances, roller rinks, parties. Man, I thought I was a rock star. Then I started writing, and the songs just kinda came from everywhere. I had grown up listening to Charley Pride and Conway Twitty, but then came MTV and heavy metal. That’s why you hear so many influences in my music. I was influenced by everyone from Poison to Jimmy Buffett, from Bon Jovi to Waylon Jennings. I just let it all come out and hope it makes sense in the end.”

The next stop was Marshall University and a Bachelor’s Degree in English. “I was doing a lot of writing then, not only for school, but songwriting as well. And I guess that’s when it all kinda came together. You know, learning the value of the words. I also met some great friends there who would later have major impacts on my career in music. Back then I just wanted to be the next Garth Brooks, but now I realize that what was going on was just paving the way for what’s happening now.”
Soon came the harsh reality of Nashville.

“I knew some people from our area who were doing some great things in Nashville, so I thought I could do it too. When I started hanging out at some of the clubs there and going to some writer’s nights it didn’t take me long to realize that there were people with ten times the talent I had that were washing dishes to pay the bills. And God bless them for it. I just wasn’t ready. Yet.”
A few years passed with a roller coaster of career and life changes. Then a change of scenery came along and made all the difference in the world.

THE BEACH BUM YEARS

After moving to Daytona Beach, Florida, Shawn experienced some unexpected turns in his life. He started playing the local clubs and soon found that not only were people enjoying his music, but he was building quite a following as well.

“Everybody asks me where I came up with the whole “Redneck Beach Bum” thing, so here’s the true story. I was playing in a restaurant out on a pier in Daytona, doing country and Buffett and Eagles covers and wearing my boots and my hat, cause that’s who I am. When people would come up between sets and ask me where I was from I always told them “West, By God, Virginia” and it seemed they always made some sort of reference to Rednecks. One day I just started announcing to the crowd that I was their official Redneck Beach Bum, and it stuck. Simple, but true.”

It was a songwriting trip to Nashville, and a conversation with an old friend that really set things into motion.
“I was having a great time in Daytona, writing and playing and selling a few CDs of my original material here and there. But, until that trip I never really thought about how big the concept of The Redneck Beach Bum could actually be. When you think about it, I guess it’s kinda in everybody who ever looked forward to taking that vacation to the beach every year. When I got back home I just started writing, and what came out were the songs that eventually made it onto this new CD.”

During this writing process Shawn, now fully transformed into The Redneck Beach Bum, began looking a little deeper for his inspiration and noticed an immediate change in his songwriting.
“ I always wrote songs for other people to sing, trying to get a cut from some famous artist that would solidify me in the Nashville songwriting scene. I think all that pressure I put on myself made the songs stale. But with this project it was like I was finally starting to figure out who I was. Once I started writing songs for me, and about my friends and the things we do and the places we go the music got real. My voice improved, the songs had more meaning. Everything just started to fit.”

THE NEXT FEW YEARS

What’s in store for Shawn and The Redneck Beach Bum now?
“I just hope the new CD gives me the opportunity to find more people in more places who just want to listen to some good music and have a really good time. Those are the people who become my biggest fans and supporters, Redneck Beach Bums, just like me.”