Carolyn Shulman is a Denver-based Folk singer/songwriter who has pursued a lifelong connection with music, writing and playing songs in coffee shops as a teen in her hometown of Mobile, Alabama.
Shulman is now preparing to release a new, full-length album, Heart on a Wire which arrives on September 20th, 2024. The lyrics on Heart on a Wire “delve into character-driven narratives, social issues,” and Shulman’s “emotional world.” She writes about themes such as “believing in one’s self, parent-child relationships, burnout and rejuvenation, maintaining hope and joy in challenging times, and working to create a better world.” The album single “Little Sparrow” is out now.
For the new album, Shulman teamed up with producer John McVey at Cinder Sound Studios in Longmont, Colorado once again. McVey helped shape the sonic landscape of Heart on a Wire, and its sound ranges from acoustic Folk with hints of Bluegrass, to Folk-Rock and Americana. The album also was recorded with a full band of seasoned musicians.
Today, we’re very pleased to premier Carolyn Shulman’s song “Little Reprieve”, from her upcoming album, here at Wildfire Music + News. It arrives on digital and streaming services this Friday, July 26th, 2024.
The energetic track suggests a forthright attitude from the get-go and Shulman dives into all-too-relatable and modern lyrics painting a picture of a “day from hell” revolving around accounts being hacked online. Shulman’s directness about what she most needs from life and from a partner during this time is refreshing, but not only that, it articulates ways to move beyond a feeling of helplessness or suspended animation when something unforeseen has rocked our world. The primary way to do that, she suggests, is through human connection.
But in classic “when it rains, it pours” mode, Shulman has also discovered a litany of other horrors awaiting her in her day, each just as ennervating as the last. We’re all familiar with the snowball effect that multiple snafus in one day can create. The audience is encouraged to pause and wonder, “What comes next? Absolute fury? Giving up?” Well, actually, no, since Shulman cozily reasserts her original thesis that spending time with someone else we love can nudge even the heaviest burdens off our minds. Danceable rhythms and bassline suggest a party atmosphere that can be a state of mind during down-time with others. It isn’t, however, a purely selfish cry of need, since it includes the other person in having a good time and suggests she’ll contribute to the mood. That might be the boldest claim the song makes, that in the right circumstances, we can also make positive strides to improve our own mood, particularly if someone helps us along by example.
I was taking an online songwriting workshop, and we did a stream of consciousness writing exercise. I had experienced a rather bad day just prior to attending the workshop, and so my stream of consciousness writing page quickly filled up with all the little things that had gone wrong and the associated anxiety that was clogging my mind as I tried to switch gears into songwriting. After I began to actually start writing a song based on some words or phrases that popped out from that exercise, I ended up with this fun, flirty tune about enjoying time with a spouse or partner as a means of escape or moving on after a series of unfortunate events. I especially love Eben Grace’s spicy electric guitar performance on this track!
The new song was Produced, mixed, and engineered by John McVey at Cinder Sound Studio in Longmont, CO, and mastered by Mark Fuller at Mark Fuller Mastering in Sebastopol, CA. On “Little Reprieve,” Carolyn Shulman performs vocals and acoustic guitar, Eben Grace plays electric guitar, Christian Teele plays drums, Bradley Morse plays bass, Eric Moon plays keys, and Giselle Collazo and John McVey provide backing vocals.
Schulman wrote and performed music throughout her college years, including the 2001 Houston Women’s Festival along with artists like Susan Gibson, Edie Carey, Patrice Pike, and Ruthie Foster and was a finalist in the University Songwriters Showcase at the Kerrville Folk Festival. However, Shulman scaled back her music while she earned a law degree.
She practiced law in Houston for seven years, focusing on Social Security disability law, and in 2013, became a mother. These major life experiences continue to help shape her worldview and inform her songwriting.
In 2014, Shulman moved to Denver, Colorado with her family. There she decided to stop practicing law in order to spend more time with her young daughter and refocus on her lifelong passion of music. She began writing new songs again, and connected with her close friend, folk singer-songwriter Jen Hitt. They began performing together around Denver as the duo The Truth About August, and the experience of performing live again led her to pursue solo shows as well.
In 2021, Carolyn released her debut full-length album, Grenadine & Kerosene, recorded with producer John McVey at Cinder Sound Studios in Longmont, Colorado. On the heels of her debut album’s success, she earned her a spot in the 2022 Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase.
