New Times December 16, 2009
By Lee Zimmerman

http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/events/cat-shell-998962/


New Times December 8, 2009
By Arielle Castillo

"Miami Music Festival Previews: Sol Ruiz, Cat Shell & Shawn Synder"
http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/crossfade/2009/12/sol_ruiz_cat_shell_shawn_snyder_miami_music_festival.php


New Times July 20, 2009

By Erica Landau

"Girls With Guitars Night" at the Van Dyke

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/crossfade/2009/07/girls_with_guitars_van_dyke_cafe_july_21_miami_beach.php

Excerpt: And one of the hardest-working singer-songwriters in South Florida, Cat Shell sings the sultry blues, her cheeky voice teasing just enough on numbers like "I'm Torn"; though her music seems to be informed from genres across the musical spectrum including jazz and country.

CITY LINK July 22, 2009

By Colleen Dougher

"Kiss Alive"

http://southflorida.metromix.com/music/essay_photo_gallery/kiss-alive/1339821/content

SUN SENTINEL July 10, 2009
By Beth Feinstein

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/sfl-homegrown-cat-shell-g071009pbjul10,0,7913961.story

NEW TIMES June 23, 2009
By Lee Zimmerman

http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2009-06-25/music/one-cool-cat/

New Times June 4, 2009
By Lee Zimmerman

"Diverse & Dreamy"

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/events/cat-shell-1645188/

"Sultry songwriting has never sounded so innocent"
By Jonathan Cunningham
New Times Magazine
April 10, 2008

When you first pop in Cat Shell's debut disc, Cat's Outta the Bag, you can't help but notice the retro sound of the lead-off track, "I'm Torn." It's full of simple and subtle guitar work, winsome sax, and the alluring vocal style that Shell is turning into her trademark. While this singer/songwriter calls Boca Raton home, she's got a sound that seems like it was nurtured in the juke joints of Louisiana or Mississippi. With jazz, blues, and folk-style musicianship, the disc is a nice addition to South Florida's music scene and helps give it some well-needed depth. Songs like "Night at Noon" and "After Midnight" take on love and relationships; the latter is the best song here. But this isn't the kind of pillow-talk baby-baby-baby style crooning that's hard to stomach if you're not in love. The songs hit with aplomb and fit most of the scenarios that love will drag you through. Even the tune "Peanut Butter & Jelly," which sounds like an outtake from a G. Love & Special Sauce track, delves into the joy of first connecting with a true love, but it's funny enough to avoid being cheesy. There's more to this disc than just amor, and "Category 5" is one of the bluesiest hurricane odes you'll ever hear. As a whole, Cat's Outta the Bag sounds like it was written strictly on feel and emotion, which isn't as common as it used to be. There's nothing intentionally poppy about it; you can think of the 10 songs on this disc as bedtime lullabies for adults.

When you first pop in Cat Shell's debut disc, , you can't help but notice the retro sound of the lead-off track, "I'm Torn." It's full of simple and subtle guitar work, winsome sax, and the alluring vocal style that Shell is turning into her trademark. While this singer/songwriter calls Boca Raton home, she's got a sound that seems like it was nurtured in the juke joints of Louisiana or Mississippi. With jazz, blues, and folk-style musicianship, the disc is a nice addition to South Florida's music scene and helps give it some well-needed depth. Songs like "Night at Noon" and "After Midnight" take on love and relationships; the latter is the best song here. But this isn't the kind of pillow-talk style crooning that's hard to stomach if you're not in love. The songs hit with aplomb and fit most of the scenarios that love will drag you through. Even the tune "Peanut Butter & Jelly," which sounds like an outtake from a G. Love & Special Sauce track, delves into the joy of first connecting with a true love, but it's funny enough to avoid being cheesy. There's more to this disc than just , and "Category 5" is one of the bluesiest hurricane odes you'll ever hear. As a whole, sounds like it was written strictly on feel and emotion, which isn't as common as it used to be. There's nothing intentionally poppy about it; you can think of the 10 songs on this disc as bedtime lullabies for adults.

"One Cool Cat"
Boca's Cat Shell channels a classic sound with soul and savvy
By Lee Zimmerman
New Times Magazine
April 10, 2008

On first encounter, the voice actually sounds ageless, a supple, sensuous caress that quietly croons about romance and longing while evoking the feel of smoky cabarets. It would be easy to identify those vocals with a well-known diva or to imagine they came from a weathered soul who's faced too many disappointments. The music is full of tragic tales, and surely they must trace back to some pain nestled deep within the singer.

As a self-described 20-something, Cat Shell is far too young to be have been stung by the bitter circumstances that afflicted her torch-singing forebears like Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, and Bessie Smith. But she does profess that being frequently uprooted as a child to follow her father's radio career, and the accumulated scars of shattered relationships, continues to resonate in her own singing style. The experiences were, at the very least, enough to infuse her material with a soulfulness both credible and clearly heartfelt. As evidenced by live performances that have taken her from South Beach to Delray, and songs well-documented on her aptly-named debut disc, Cat's Outta the Bag, hers is a supple blend of barroom blues, smooth jazz, and mellow middle-of-the-road pop that reflects ageless musical traditions seemingly out of sync with today's trends and chart status.

"So many people come up to me after our live shows and tell me how refreshing it is to hear something other than your typical top-40 cover band," she confides. "I think if you really are true to who you are, people can see that right away, and I really believe that people still appreciate a genuine artist. To me it's like a big bowl of old-fashioned vanilla ice cream... it never gets old no matter how many times you try it."

Originally from Peoria, Illinois, Shell has lived in Florida off and on since the age of 7, eventually settling in Boca Raton. Her interest in music was spawned early on, thanks to the influence of a music-centric family. Her father was a singer, and both her mother and brother played guitar. Not surprisingly, her parents met while they were sharing the stage in an amateur theater production. "My dad introduced me to the greats early on — Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Nat Cole, plus a lot of cheesy 1950s pop," she recalls. "My mom was a big Beatles fan, and she used to bring me to those tribute band shows all the time as a kid. She was also into Patsy Cline and a lot of folk music. My older brother got me into a lot of classic '70s music — the Eagles, Doobie Brothers, Bread — but he also introduced me to the world of jazz, stuff like Diana Krall, Miles Davis, and Michael Franks, and I really dug it. As I got older, I really fell into jazz, neo-soul, and blues, stuff like Bonnie Raitt, Norah Jones, Jill Scott, India Arie, Ray Charles, and John Legend. I really like music that has a lot of soul."

Even so, when asked about her influences, Shell declines to cite specifics, saying instead that her musical fodder is mostly derived from firsthand experience. "The thing about Cat Shell is that she's not just a singer," says Renda Writer, a local poet. "She's an artist. A singer just sings, but an artist has a certain way of looking at life that's a little different — and that's how Cat sees life." That said, the songs contained on Cat's Outta the Bag — all of them originals save a seductive cover of Tom Waits' "Ice Cream Man" and a vintage-sounding remake of the enticing "Dream a Little Dream" — are filled with whimsical reflections unapologetically sexual and suggestive. From the playful duet "Peanut Butter & Jelly," with its references awash in innuendo, to the obvious indulgence of "After Midnight" and "Night at Noon," the emphasis on intimacy becomes a consistent theme. "I guess you'd say I'm a bit on the romantic side," she confesses with a somewhat embarrassed chuckle. "But these songs all come from the same person so it shouldn't be surprising that there's a somewhat similar theme."

Whatever the motivation, Shell's obsession with music proved compelling enough to convince her that she should abandon a health marketing job three years ago and shift her focus to music and modeling. "I was trying to do the nine-to-five thing, and I was miserable," she says. "After going out to open mic auditions and putting myself out there, I realized that people really liked what I was doing."

For the most part, Shell's opted to manage her career on her own, gaining her first national exposure by placing as a top five finalist in the 2006 VH1 Songwriting Contest after submitting "Night At Noon." Mostly, though, she's been focusing on gaining a name on the local club circuit and building a solid base of fans. She's also made her album available online at www.CDBaby.com/CatShell and on iTunes, in addition to setting up her own site on MySpace.

Ultimately though, it's been word of mouth that's served Shell well. Her dazzling good looks haven't hurt either, but it's the mix of music that she and her band — guitarist Kevin Byrnes, bassist Brent Williams, and drummer Jake Beal — purvey in their live sets, a combination that often includes originals, jazz and blues standards, and the occasional country classic from the likes of Johnny Cash and Gram Parsons, that's helped expand her following.

"We'll be playing and people will pass by and stop to listen because they see this young, fresh band with a young girl and a bunch of guys," Shell says. "And even though they may not be familiar with the music, they stick around to listen. On the other hand, we'll have snowbirds, older people that come by, and when they hear these familiar songs, they seem to think it's cool that these young people are bringing back these songs and styles that they remember and relate to. So that's really gratifying as well."

Shell says her goal is eventually to be able to gig three or four nights a week, securing enough steady work to avoid having to rely on a day job. For the time being, she's modeling, mostly at night, allowing her the flexibility to concentrate on writing, rehearsing, and marketing herself during the day. Mainly, she hopes to bring her music to the masses.

"I just want to make people feel good," she insists. "If I can provoke a smile, some finger snapping, a hand tapping on the steering wheel, then I've done my job. I really believe in the power of music to connect people, and it's my hope that the stories in my songs have that relatable quality that makes people feel welcome and understood."

“ALONE AGAIN, NATURALLY”
By Colleen Dougher
CITY LINK METROMIX- MUSIC
February 25, 2009

Being out of town isn't a prerequisite for missing someone. Sometimes it's just about working late. "After Midnight," a song from Cat Shell's debut CD, "Cat's Outta the Bag," is about not having enough time to spend with one's lover. "As an artist, sometimes coming home late from shows means missing out on some quality time with your significant other," says the bluesy Boca Raton singer-songwriter. "I wrote this song from a personal perspective but also as an homage to all the artists out there who can only dream about being with the one they love." To hear "After Midnight," or get details on Shell's upcoming shows, visit Myspace.com/catshellmusic.

©2009 Metromix.com

"Rockers on the storm"
By Colleen Dougher
City Link Metromix
April 10, 2008
 

 

 

"Category 5," by bluesy singer-songwriter Cat Shell, offers a melody that can calm rattled nerves as a storm reaches its peak. In this song, written in response to Hurricane Katrina, Shell sings of a storm she feels in her veins: "It sounds just like a freight train blowing through my windowpane/I scream God's name/But I can't hear my own brain/I'm so alone and I'm so afraid/I'm going insane." By the time she pleads, "Save me, save me, from this hurricane" you know that if there is a God who can hear Shell's angelic yet sultry voice, the singer will be rescued. "Category 5" is featured on Shell's 2007 CD, "Cat's Outta the Bag." Shell has several upcoming shows listed on her Web site, Myspace.com/catshellmusic.