Singing Austin

Austin, Texas---Sheila Spensley moved to Austin from Daytona about five years ago looking for a change and a better place to expand on singing opportunities . And as I had been told, Austin is a full blown music town. It’s everywhere, every day with every type of music you could want…even yodeling as we discovered in SoCo (A really trendy area off South Congress Street I’m told).
Sheila currently sings with a group called the Church Rejects (yes there is a story there and it’s not anti-God or religion). I missed several gigs because I had been sick but rallied at the end of my stay and made it to one as well as going to a gig by the Whiskey Sisters, a two girl super energetic duo with original songs and a country twist.

Sheila lives with a friend who had played his way from pounding the blocks of the line of bars on 6^th street to a professional musician in a very successful regional band who played for the presidential inauguration in Washington, DC when that Texas Governor turned US President.

Seeing the hectic lives of two musicians reminds me that I am amazed that any music ever gets out. It is a hard life, one driven by a passion for their craft. One that can be changed by a single meeting or a twist in fate that puts you at the right time, with the right people. It’s just not enough to have a great voice or be talented in multi-instruments. It really seems like it is the luck of the draw.

In this case, the Texas draw.