Artist Spotlight: Shane Grenert

Shane Grenert is a country singer/singer songwriter born, raised, and based out of Fairfield,
California. When talking with Shane about his younger years and how he first got started playing
music, he said, " I first started playing music when I was 10 in my elementary school's concert
band playing percussion, I did that from then all the way through college with some marching
band and drum line thrown in." From there, Shane went on to tell me about what drew him to it,
saying, "I started it because my mom wanted me to join the school band like she did, and I chose
percussion because it didn't require breathing techniques, but ended up learning way more about
how drums/percussion help with the backbone of music. "One thing I've noticed through talking with artists is that everyone has their own way of describing their sound". For Shane, he said, "I would describe my sound as a mix of 90s/00s
country and the Texas/Red Dirt scene, along with some songs having influence from the 80s rock
scene like Def Leppard and Guns N Roses. I even consider my song "Head on Home" as if Def
Leppard went country." Every artist is inspired by either someone or something. For Shane, he
said, "I started writing music when I was 13, around the time Hunter Hayes was starting to pop
off in the mainstream, and told myself I wanted to be like him, write and record everything on
my records. The guy is crazy talented, plays almost 30 instruments." I had forgotten about
Hunter until this interview, and I went down a rabbit hole of his music. I agree he's very talented,
so I can see how he inspired Shane.

Now, that was Shane's inspiration, but what about some artists who influenced him? Well, Shane
said, "When it comes down to it, I would say Toby Keith, Garth Brooks, John Michael
Montgomery, and Brad Paisley are the guys that really made me want to write and play country
music; those were my family's favorites to play when I was growing up, especially the Letters
From Home album. As I got into college I found the Randy Rogers Band online and that got me
heavily into the Texas scene, through them I found Aaron Watson, Koe Wetzel, Charlie Robison,
Roger Creager, Kyle Park, the list goes on. Made me realize that there's still a scene out there
when it's not all about beer, trucks, backroads, and the same 5 topics over and over again with
banjo over snap tracks. That there's still guys doing country the right way." I love and relate to
this. I used to listen to those "older" artists all the time, then one day accidentally found a Texas
music radio that made me realize there was a different type of music out there.
Every artist has a show or venue they've played that sticks with them, or is their favorite. What
about Shane? Well, he told me, "I've only played a handful of venues due to the limited venues in
my area that will actually bring local bands on, and while there are more and more country
shows coming out my way, there's still a limited number. However, I'd probably have to say
Goldfield Trading Post out in Roseville, where I opened for Triston Marez. That was my biggest
crowd as a solo artist, and I had 5 days' notice when I got asked to hop on. I put together a
10-song medley of '90s country and got the whole place singing Shania Twain and Alan Jackson.
And I can't forget the Main Grape in my home area of Vacaville. I just played there this August

for the first time, and it was a great time, great people. The owner, Tanya, is amazing to work
with."
Now, just like every artist has a favorite or memorable show or venue, they all normally have a
dream one too. Shane told me, "My dream venue switches up on the daily. I would probably
have to say 2 different ones: 1. Is definitely the Ryman. I mean, it's the capital of country music,
the mother church of the genre. It's been a dream of mine to stand in the Opry circle and sing my
songs. And then 2. would have to be Billy Bob's in Fort Worth. My Texas heroes have all played
there, and I want to be able to say I played the same stage as those guys for some of the best
country music fans."
Almost every artist can look back and see the turning point in their career; sometimes it's a
project, a show, or something else. And for Shane, it's that something else he said, "I guess the
biggest turning point in my career wasn't a show or the day I released a song. It was July 28th,
2023, the day my Nana passed away, unfortunately. She was the one that gave me my first guitar,
showed me all these bands from the 60s through the 90s. Some of my fondest memories in life
are sitting on her front porch talking about life and showing her my songs, or sitting on her couch
listening to her CD player loaded with Garth Brooks' discography. Garth and Alan Jackson were
her favorites, so she had every CD of theirs. The day she passed, it made me realize life is way
too short, and I've been sitting on these songs too long, waiting for "the right time" to drop them.
The day after she passed, I decided to drive out to Roseville and play an open mic, played one of
her favorite Garth Brooks songs while fighting back tears. The next month, I got booked for
Goldfield Roseville with Triston Marez. Since then, whenever I feel like I'm not doing something
right in my career, something comes along to tell me I am, and I like to think it's her guiding me
and helping me, telling me this is what I was put on Earth for. I wouldn't be where I am without
my Nana and my parents, of course. But she's the one that helped me start my career."
What's something about Shane people might not expect? He told me, "There's quite a few things
people don't expect about me. I guess the first is that before I jumped fully into country, I used to
play in rock and metal bands in college with my best friend Darius, who is now a rapper that
goes by YBI Darius. We were in a band called Nail the Casket that did an EP, did a small tour,
played Ace of Spade over in Sacramento, which used to be the second biggest venue in
Sacramento underneath Golden One center. We were getting scouted by a label when COVID
shut the world down. Everyone ended up moving and started new lives. One day, I do want to go
back to it. That band was like my child, and I had a lot of fun writing those riffs. Not sure if I'd
fit in those skinny jeans again, but hey, we'll see! And then second would be I actually have a
speech impediment. I was born with underdeveloped tongue muscles, and I did speech therapy
for 6 years in elementary school. Plus, with the way my brain works, I think faster than I can
talk, and when I get really excited or nervous about something, my stutter will come out. But

nobody ever expects it after I sing because I don't stutter when I sing. Because of that, my
grandma started calling me her 'lil Mel Tillis."
What does Shane hope people feel when they hear his music? He said, "When I started writing
and releasing music, I was in a bad place mentally, like a lot of people when they become adults
and have no clue what they're doing. I found comfort in life with music, especially Gary Allan.
That man has been through so much I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy, but he still makes
music, he still goes out and plays shows. When I listened to his Tough All Over album, I realized
nobody really knows what they're doing in life, everyone has shared experiences, and we're
going to get through it. That's what I want people to hear and feel with my music. Through the
good and the bad, we're going to get through this. If you're feeling like life isn't worth it, reach
out to someone. Don't be afraid or ashamed of what you're feeling. Don't look for life's answers
at the bottom of the bottle because you're not going to find them there."
Success looks different for everyone in life, and I think that goes deeper when it comes to a
musician's life. So, what does it look like for Shane? Well, he told me, "Success. That's
something I've always heard in my life, especially with trying to pursue music: how am I going
to be successful, it's hard to be successful, etc. But really, Success is different to everyone. For
me, I've never wanted to sell out arenas and stadiums. I don't need 20 number 1 songs in a row
and platinum records covering my walls. Would that be cool? Hell yeah, it would. I would not
complain or take it for granted. But to me, I just want to be able to make a living with my music.
If I never have to work a job again because I make enough from my music and performance,
play shows and meet fans and hear their stories, then that's how I know I've "made it"."
Balancing life on its own is hard; I can only imagine how hard it is to balance life, then add a
music career on top of it all. So, when I asked Shane how he does it, he said, "My life balance is
out of whack every once in a while, not going to lie. I work 40-hour weeks like a normal person,
I've worked in kitchens since I turned 18, been a dishwasher, been a sous chef, whatever I can do
to make ends meet. Right now I work a great job 6 am-2 pm that allows me to have more
daytime to spend with friends, family, and work on music. I try to spend at least 5-6 hours a
week on recording music. Sometimes that doesn't happen, and I just end up playing video games
with my friends, but sometimes that's what you need. On the weekends I also try to spend time
with my girlfriend, try to decompress for the stress of life."
What's a piece of advice Shane would give to someone just starting out in music? He said, "It's
hard to narrow down advice to just one thing, so I'm going to have to give 2 pieces. 1. If you're a
singer, invest in a vocal coach. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain with a great
coach. I've been taking singing lessons for the last 3 years, and it's helped me so much with
techniques and learning what other successful singers do for their melodies. And then second,
don't stop. Even if you have people telling you that you suck and should just quit, don't. I had

plenty of people telling me when I started that I should just quit, but I didn't listen. I did what I
needed to to get better, whether it was writing, singing, or playing. If you don't have haters, then
you aren't doing it right."
What can we expect in terms of new music from Shane? He told me, " I have an EP I'm working
on right now, it's been in the works for the last year. This is my first release in a while that isn't
self mixed and mastered, had a guy reach out to me from Germany that believes in what I'm
doing and wanted to work with me. This record is more country than anything I've ever done. He
helped me find a fiddle player for it, has lots of steel guitar riffs and licks. It's heavily inspired by
80s and 90s country, like Steve Warner and Randy Travis; hell, I'm even covering Conway
Twitty on it (won't say which song, though). We're in the home stretch of the mixing and
mastering, so hopefully I'll have a new single out in the next 2 months. Plus I've already started
writing and demoing the next record, so I have lots in the works."
Shane said, "You can find my music anywhere you stream music, just by looking up Shane
Grenert, just don't listen to anything pre-2020, unless you really want to hear how much I've
changed as an artist. 2018-2020, I was still figuring things out, production-wise and voice-wise. I
had plenty of ideas, but could barely carry a tune in a bucket at the time. One of these days
(maybe for the 10th anniversary), I'll go back and redo my first EP, but who knows? I wrote
those songs when I was 15-20, and I don't play them anymore; it's not my sound anymore, but
sometimes people still ask for them live. As for my socials, you can find my shows usually on
Facebook or Instagram @smgtwoshanezzz. TikTok, which I'm still tryna figure out, is
@ShaneGrenertMusic. If you want to read my day-to-day unhinged thoughts and takes to follow
my Twitter (I'm not calling it X, it'll always be Twitter) @smg_twoshanezzz."
Thank you for reading this artist spotlight! I hope you enjoyed getting to know who Shane
Grenert is behind his music. Go check him out, and catch him at a show. As always, be good to yourself, and as always stay Western and stay tuned!!