The Story Of Shawn Morgan And His Passion For Creating Music

“I’m not that interesting.” This is what Shawn Morgan says about himself. But I respectfully disagree. I think he is very interesting. This man has an amazing gift and talent and he shares it with the world. It makes people’s lives better. I’d say that’s pretty darn awesome.

I recently had the honor of having a video conversation with Shawn and my good friend from the rock music world, Jimmie McDonald. Jimmie was a big reason this happened, and I can’t think him enough. I have a feeling there will be future chats between the three of us. That’s how much fun it was to just talk about music and how it impacts our lives.

One thing that struck a chord with me was that Shawn kept saying how lucky he feels “to still be here and to still be doing this” – meaning creating and performing music. I totally understand where he’s coming from. He has been through a lot, including losing two dear friends and bandmates. Despite it all, he is indeed still here due to his strength and perseverance, and now he’s ready to do things his own way, on his own terms. He just wants to create and perform music with his friends and have fun and share it with as many people as possible.

Shawn is a multi-talented guitarist who knows how to play every instrument. He says he can play piano, synths, bass, drums, and various percussion instruments – as he says, “anything I can make pretty noises with.” Shawn studied music and business at University of Memphis. He has knowledge not only of the art, but how to create and promote a brand. Shawn has created Shawn Morgan Publishing, which is ultimately his own record label through which he share his songs, videos, and any music content he creates.

I want to tell some of Shawn’s music story, starting with Joan Red. Formed in 2006 in Memphis, Tennessee, this band toured nationally and gained a big following online. Joan Red’s album Side Effects Of You was released in 2009. Sadly, the potential of Joan Red was cut short when singer and co-writer Anthony Basurto passed away in 2011.

During the recording of Joan Red’s album at 747 Studios in Nashville, Shawn met Joey Culver, who had been the lead singer of well-known Mississippi alternative metal band Atomship. They talked about their visions and conceptual ideas regarding releasing music. This was the spark that ignited not only the band Papercut Massacre, but also a 20-year friendship.

Tragically, Joey passed away December 31st, 2020. As painful as this was for Shawn, he has never stopped creating and performing music. He is honoring the legacy of his dear friends and bandmates Joey and Anthony in everything he does. Shawn admits that he could never put Joan Red or Papercut Massacre back together without them. However, going forward he plans on performing the music of those two bands, as well as his own original music.

Another interesting part of Shawn’s music history is Dead, In The Headlights! (DITH for short). This was a project he created with an electronic style of music that didn’t quite fit Papercut Massacre’s style. After Joey’s passing, all the new music became DITH so Shawn could continue to play rock shows in Hollywood. DITH is his, but he had a live band called Proteus for those shows.

Most recently, Shawn was a member of the band Sons On Fire for about 18 months. The band released two great songs while Shawn was a member, “Rise” and “Collapse”. Even though his time with the band was not long, he is grateful for the experience and opportunities it led him to. One of those opportunities was putting together the Joan Red Memphis Family Reunion show back in March. It was an unforgettable night with a packed house at Historic Lafayette’s Music Room.

Shawn’s passion is song writing. He said he probably has at least 500 songs he’s written since 2020. “Active rock music production is my specialty,” Shawn says. He shares that writing songs becomes “a part of who we are”, and he tried to write a song every day. Shawn says he wants to connect with people and build relationships. I’d say he’s definitely doing that through not only his music, but also his passion, determination, and kindness. He says he is grateful for the listeners. Well, we’re grateful that he shares his music with us.

When I asked Shawn about his music-writing style, he says there are many ways to write and he’s probably done it just about every way there is. But he shared some of the most important keys to writing music:
Be inspired. (Shawn says this is the hardest part.)
Have fun.
Hit record.
Seems easy, right? But I suspect talent also has a little something to do with it.

Creating music with his friends makes Shawn happy, and he’s been getting help from quite a few of them lately. Josh Marin, lead singer of Sons On Fire, writes lyrics and sings on some upcoming tracks that will be released. Art Loomer is another friend who has been lending his vocals to some songs Shawn is working on. Shawn is also collaborating with his good friend Eric Holley (Planet Gears) and his friend Rod Gongora from Baton Rouge. Tex Coakley is the producer, and he’ll no doubt make something already amazing even better.

Shawn shares that he and Josh Marin have developed a writing rhythm that has been quite fruitful and inspiring. They are calling this project MARIN MORGAN. The new single, “Betrayal”, was just released on all streaming platforms. They’re gearing up for the music video and they’re excited for everyone to see it.

What’s next for Shawn Morgan other than continuing to create great music that resonates with people? Well, he’s getting the band together. Literally. Just him and his friends playing music. It will include Josh on vocals, his friend Cody Adams on drums, and “the new kid”, Jordan Havens, on bass. There is no band name (yet). There are no performances lined up (yet). But in all honesty, that’s what makes this so exciting. Shawn is just getting started on something that will surely be great. I know I can’t wait to hear and see what’s next. Stay tuned for the awesomeness to come!

You can find Shawn Morgan on Facebook and YouTube.

PHOTO CREDITS:
Matt Cullom
Spade Image
Holly Roy Photography
J. Charles Thompson Photography