When you think of masters of the Blues guitar, certain names come to mind. Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Keb’Mo, and Shannon Curfman. Who is Shannon Curfman, you ask? She is a master of her craft at 25, the next great blues guitar legend. Shannon grew up in Minneapolis, where she honed her skills following in the footsteps of fellow Midwesterner Jonny Lang. At the age of 14 she recorded her first album "Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions" and shook the genre to its core. Now, eleven years later, she has done nothing but get better.
To see her, she looks like your average 25 year old with a rather attractive smile, and beautiful long red hair. She’s very sweet and approachable and she takes her time chatting with fans of all ages. When she gets up on stage, however, this beauty becomes a beast. Her voice is a throaty, bluesy, and quite sexy growl and her guitar work is a marvel to behold. Clear running riffs and chords that sound near perfect to their recorded counterparts. Her long hair swings and swishes wildly as she plays “Playing with Fire,” and “Few and Far Between,” two of her signature songs. Then she reverts to a young woman again for “Never Enough,” a song imbued with such emotion it never fails to bring a tear to the most jaded audience member’s eye, and apparently caused her mother to want to send the young Shannon to a therapist.
Ending her concerts, as she usually does, with her unbelievable cover of the Fleetwood Mac classic “Oh Well” simply blows the roof off the place every single time.
She is a master of her craft at 25, the next great blues guitar legend. And she’s currently on tour with Kid Rock – don’t miss it!
Hi, it's me again. Bet you thought I forgot all about my blog. The honest truth is that I've been up to my eyeballs in crap these past few months.
I've been doing some serious soul searching as I officially begin a new chapter in my life tomorrow. It's very frustrating to be a writer who can't seem to find time to write. But I'm not an excuses kind of guy. I could blame it all on my job, or my situation, or the general cloud depression I've been living under for the past several years. But it's all those things, and it's none of those things. It just is. And it just has to stop.
Ever feel like you've been living the life that other people seem to think you should be living? After graduating college with a BA in Theatre and a minor in Writing I was promptly advised to "get a real job." Well, 13 years later, I don't have a whole lot to show for it.
Well, that's all about to change. I officially shed off the last bits of negativity in my life. There's no one to tell me my writing is crap. There's no one to tell me that my dreams and desires are stupid and a waste of time. There's no more mental abuse and there's nothing holding me back.
Everyone - Meet Zen Bradley...
****
Well, I've never been shot before.
Zen lay curled up in a fetal position clutching at her stomach. Raindrops fell in her upward facing ear as she attempted to be still enough to make the shooter, whose pacing steps made soggy little splashes on the wet pavement, think she was dead. Fat lot of good Monica was, passing out as soon as the gun was fired. Some detective she'll make. As long as the shooter, Gregory King, doesn't think she's a threat, though, she'll be fine. Zen on the other hand; what's two bullets in the stomach?
Bang.
Three bullets.
Damn it! Kidney. Be still... he's still near enough. I wonder if the bullets will stay in or pop out?
Zen drew a slow, deep breath as she waited for just the right second. Suddenly, in a swift single motion swung out a leg and swept King off his feet and was on top of him. The pain in her side was excruciating, and she could feel the bullet go deeper into her kidney. But she knew what she had to do. Gritting her teeth, she tore off her gloves and plunged her reddened hands onto King's face.
"What? What are you doing to me!" King shouted as she felt the palms of her hands burn into his skin. "No!"
"Who's the 'little doggie' now?" Zen asked with a disgusted grin as the pain in her stomach began to ease. Suddenly with two pops, King's stomach burst in the same place where the bullets had penetrated her pale skin. Then his kidney went.
She stood and stretched, leaving King writhing on the ground in agony. She was still covered in blood, but her wounds were closed. She couldn't feel the bullets anymore so hopefully they dissolved or melted, or vaporized, or something. Who cares? As long as they weren't floating around inside her abdomen, she didn't care either.
Quickly, she picked up her gloves and put them back on. Time to tend to Monica, get her out of there before anything else happened.
****
I'd like to take a moment, before I sign off tonight to thank all my family and friends who have listened and allowed me to vent my troubles to them over the last few years. Things will be better. This year is going to be epic. Why? Because I'm going to make it epic.
Candie, you've made me so happy over the last few months. I really feel like I've met a kindred spirit in you and I hope we have a long and happy future together. Thanks also to your family for being so welcoming.
Patrick, my brother from another mother. Friends for nearly 25 years, we've been through it all. Thanks for being there and sticking by me, even when circumstances separated us.
Cory, I know we haven't spoken much lately, but you and your family mean a lot to me, and I'm happy to call you friend.
Kim, you are so talented and amazing - don't ever let anyone convince you otherwise. You always manage to help me stay positive!
I'm so grateful to have all of you in my life, but I promise you now, the best is yet to come!
For many, many, many years friends have been suggesting to me that I should give blogging a try. But, you see - I have this annoying habit of tending to not do something, especially if lots of people recommend it to me.
So, why did I finally decide to start? Well, I just experienced a wonderful creative fantastic event this past weekend that is beginning to relight the creative fire that's been burning way too low for too many years.
I'm a writer, at least I was. I was a writer who hasn't written in a too long a while. So, I'm going to start doing this. Putting my thoughts down here for you to read, along with bits a pieces I write, have written and will write. (That'll make sense, trust me)
And now, without further ado - a little bit about me: I'm from Illinois, originally. I'm currently author/director/producer of several audio dramas produced through Dream Realm Enterprises (DRE) http://www.dregold.net
I am also a part of the radio comedy series "Robotz of the Company." I play Brisco, the cleaner robot! Visit the DRE website to listen to all 50+ episodes produced so far! For free!
In an earlier part of my life, I managed to become an an award-winning Doctor Who short-story author as well. Most of my stories featured my original character Grae, who became very popular in her own right among readers and writers. As of my writing this blog, the young female Time Lord has appeared in a total of 24 short stories, a comic, and several audio dramas (through DRE, of course)!
I'm developing an original audio series (which hopefully will be available early next year), which features my long-time character without a proper home, Zen Bradley. But, more about her later...
Anyway, it's getting late and tomorrow's a big day. Well, not really that big of a day, but it's still an important day to me. Who says 36 is too old of an age to start over? I've been forced to start over several times over the past few years due to job loss, divorce, etc. This time, it's the restart of my creative life. With a little bit of luck, a lot of work, all my friends - old and new. And Zen Bradley.
