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'Whisper' Roars With Ring Of Truth
Photo from The Beauvilles
"Whispering Sin," the latest CD from Tampa's The Beauvilles, draws on the personal experiences of singer-guitarist Shawn Beauville, front.
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Published: September 11, 2008
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TAMPA - Shawn Beauville demands authenticity in his music and he'll go to the ends of the earth for it.
So when he says "Whispering Sin," the debut full-length album by his band, The Beauvilles, has "the feel of travel," you can rest assured his passport has the stamps to prove it.
Beauville spent part of the time between "Whispering Sin," and the band's debut, 2004's "Singapore" EP, visiting and performing in Japan and France.
He says the experiences, good and bad, were vital to him as an artist.
"I had never really traveled abroad," Beauville says. Japan "initially was strange, but when you're there for more than a few days it starts to get awkward and lonely. The culture is so different."
He returned home briefly and then headed to France.
"At that point I was trying to finish writing some songs, and I wanted to see some great art and see some friends," Beauville says.
He also worked in a bad romantic breakup and a drunken bar brawl.
Being in an unfamiliar situation, Beauville says, "forces you to pay attention to it. If you're an artist you can't help but write about it, whether it's horrible, beautiful, tragic or uplifting.
"I've never preferred to make something up from my imagination," Beauville says of his writing. "I'll live it. I'll be there. It's what I need to feel like I'm an authority on the subject. I don't want to listen to an artist pulling things out of something they read five years ago."
That intensity is reflected in the album, which proves that "indie" and "epic" aren't mutually exclusive terms.
The guitars of Beauville and Christopher Tolan coupled with the rhythm section of bassist Johnny Barker and drummer Craig S. Holmes combine for a sound that's both raw and soaring, gritty and mesmerizing.
The Beauvilles are heading out to promote the album, including a show opening for Drive-By Truckers Saturday in Ft. Lauderdale, and a slot at Gainesville's Real Big Deal Festival on Sunday.
The Beauvilles have a deservedly strong live reputation, but it's the albums that determine the band's legacy, Beauville says.
"People can still experience that physical manifestation long after you're gone," Beauville says. "We sell records in Japan and England. There's no way I can go over and play a ton of shows. The only way to do it is make great music that people can take wherever. It's a powerful thing.
"Spend ten bucks and have someone's soul? I'm down with that."
Curtis Ross can be reached at (813) 259-7568 or cross@tampatrib.com.
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