ShutDownTown - ShutDownTown - News

2011 Bitches!!!

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Getting ready to hit it hard in 2011. Check the calendar for tons of new dates and hopefully we will be in your area soon! Sometime at the beginning of summer we will be heading back into the studio with ole Mike McClure and Joe Hardy and throwing down the 2nd album to follow "Flush." See ya'll out there!

Shiner Rising Star!!!!

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

We just found out we were picked to compete in the 95.3 Shiner Rising Star competition for 2010!! We are super excited and can't wait to give it to those judges ShutDownTown style!! Stay posted for our performance date...we will need all our "entourage" to come out and support us!

Write up in the Mesquite Newspaper

Mon, 17 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Mesquite resident part of festival music lineup
By Kenny Green, kgreen@acnpapers.com

Published: Wednesday, May 5, 2010 3:53 PM CDT

Saturday afternoon festival-goers were treated to music from ShutDownTown. The group is comprised of Mesquite resident Amanda Graves and Cari Smith. The duo met in high school in Edgewood and have been playing together since 2005.

Ã¢â‚¬Å“I sent an e-mail to Cari and asked if she wanted to play together,Ã¢â‚¬Â Graves said. Ã¢â‚¬Å“We met for one practice and clicked.Ã¢â‚¬Â

Graves and Smith consider their music to be Ã¢â‚¬Å“alternative country.Ã¢â‚¬Â

Ã¢â‚¬Å“It is country based ,but we added a little rock to it,Ã¢â‚¬Â Graves said.

The duo competes in a category of music that is typically dominated by men.

Ã¢â‚¬Å“You donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t see a lot of females,Ã¢â‚¬Â Smith said.

Graves and Smith write most of their own material.

The duo played in their third Real.Texas.Festival. this year and felt this was the best one yet. They were not at the event last year but played in the first two festivals.

Ã¢â‚¬Å“We love it. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s great. The people treat you really good and make sure you are taken care of,Ã¢â‚¬Â Graves said.

Ã¢â‚¬Å“This is the best one they have had,Ã¢â‚¬Â Smith said.

The duo usually plays most of their gigs in bars that cater to Texas country. They list the Dixie Chicks, Cross Canadian Ragweed and Heart among some of the biggest influences on their music.

Ã¢â‚¬Å“We like to keep it upbeat and put on a good show,Ã¢â‚¬Â Smith said. Ã¢â‚¬Å“We do try to look good.Ã¢â‚¬Â

The duo had some advice for anyone looking to start out in the music business.

Ã¢â‚¬Å“Develop a tough skin,Ã¢â‚¬Â Smith said. Ã¢â‚¬Å“Be fearless. For every one person that loves you, five hate you.Ã¢â‚¬Â

As far as a key to longevity, the duo said that you have to be passionate about the music.

Ã¢â‚¬Å“If you love what you are doing it makes it easy,Ã¢â‚¬Â Graves said.

Facebook

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Back up and running!!

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Hey everybody! We just put the site back up and we will be making some changes. While we are in the process, you should still be able to use the site to buy OUR NEW CD - FLUSH which is available now!!!! Enjoy!

NEW CD!!!

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Just finished up recording what will be the new CD with Mike McClure in Ada, OK. We think it's gonna really be something unlike anything else out there! Definitely a true representation of ourselves and our vision! We are shooting for a December release, but these things never can be tied down to a certain date, so just hang in there with us!

WELCOME to the new site!!

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0800

No more www.amandagraves.com...
That's right!The new website is up and running! Be patient and we will get new stuff added as soon as we can. Thanks for all your support these past couple of years! We hope 2008 will belong to ShutDownTown!!!

Featured Artist

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Don "TexasDirt" Haney chose Amanda to be the Featured Artist on his Texas/Red Dirt Music Scene Blog for the week of 6/24. Amanda was happy to answer his questions and very humbled that of all the great talent out there, he would chose her! Thanks Don!! You can check it out here:

Texas/Red Dirt Music Scene!

Radio Free Texas

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

You can now listen to Amanda's CD, Nobody's Fool on http://www.RadioFreeTexas.org
You can request any song from the CD, so get to it!

Texas Music Times article

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Amanda Graves is a north Texas native who grew up with music in her blood. The daughter of touring musicians, Amanda grew up touring with her parentÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s band. Because of stage fright, Amanda became an accomplished golfer instead of a musician in her formative years. With her fear of the stage long gone Amanda is fully into the Texas and Red Dirt music scene as a well known studio and live harmony singer. She has shared the stage and added harmonies to the likes of Mike McClure and Tyler McCumber. Out with her own CD titled NobodyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Fool and a band, Amanda is gigging around Texas and turning heads with a voice and pipes that stops people in their tracks. Her in-your-face attitude and ability to belt out vocals with perfection have given her a cult following among other musicians in the area. She is also gaining fans everywhere she sings. No one can listen to Amanda Graves and not say, Ã¢â‚¬Å“Wow what a voiceÃ¢â‚¬Â!

View the article here: http://texasmusictimes.com/profile-five.php