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Shelly Fraley

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Solid with Alternative and Pop sensibilities, laden with solid influences but paving their own road at the same time…” Donovan Short - Clear Channel Casper

I’d like to say I knew I’d pursue music in one form or another from the time I was in the womb, but let’s be honest, I can’t remember that far back. So, If I have to pick an age, I’d have to say four, which is when I remember writing my first “lyrics.” I couldn’t understand why my mom laughed when I used the phrase “you keep cracking me up” in a breakup song (yes, at four)! From those first lyrics until now, I’ve been a songwriter at heart. I never thought of myself as a great singer, but I always loved the process of writing and creating something that was my own.

I started learning piano on a Casio keyboard with little sticker letters on the keys to learn the notes when I was about eight. Growing up on a farm in nowhere Kansas lent to plenty of “down-time” to learn the piano and create music, silly as it may have been. My first semi “official” recordings were done at my church in my tiny town on an out of tune piano. I still have the cassettes and laugh at them on occasion.

Although I had fun with music, and loved creating it as a kid, I had a pretty sheltered childhood as far as my musical influences go. It wasn’t until my early twenties when I started writing and playing with other musicians that I began discovering music that I had no idea existed. Music from artists such as The Cardigans, Ben Folds, Ben Harper, Beck, Radiohead, U2, Muse, Sheryl Crow, and many others pushed me to want to write better, more interesting songs.