Former local man gets Grammy nod Tb News Source Web Posted: 1/21/2009 9:18:10 AM
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Former Thunder Bay resident Shawn Pierce will watch the Grammy Awards closely this year after learning an album he worked on made the final list of nominees.
Pierce, a music producer and engineer, mixed and recorded Bill Frisell's History, Mystery, which is nominated for the 2009 Grammy Award in the Best Jazz Instrumental Album ' Solo or Group category. If the album wins, it will join five Juno Awards and 21 Juno Award nominations that the former local resident already has on his resume.
'I'm more proud of my association with (Bill Frisell) and that album, and more proud of how great that album is than I am of the actual Grammy nomination,' he said. 'That really is the wonderful, wonderful part of this whole thing.'
Pierce has worked with Bill Frisell in the past on a number of other projects, however, History, Mystery is the first one the pair worked on together that resulted in a Grammy nomination.
Pierce said he is happy that the album is getting the increased attention that is expected after a Grammy nomination.
Album work makes up half of Pierce's musical career. The former Thunder Bay resident said movie and television work is what really brought him into the industry.
'I've always had my foot in the other side of my industry,' he said about his album work. 'This Grammy nomination is the result of my work on that album-side of things.'
Before the nominations and awards, Pierce moved from Canada to the U.S. where he received a BA in music from the Berklee College of Music in Boston. His career in the industry officially began in 1994 after he left that college, he said.
The music producer and engineer then had hoped to move to Los Angeles after graduating, but a job opportunity took him to Vancouver instead.
He now lives and works out of Los Angeles. Despite the departure from Canada, Pierce said he still has strong connections in Vancouver, Winnipeg and Thunder Bay.
'I still have a presence in Canada,' he said. 'I still have a presence on both sides of the border. I've always maintained that throughout my professional career.'
Pierce has appeared on more than 150 albums as an engineer, producer or performer. Some of his notable achievements include 12 WCMA nominations for engineering and production and a 2002 West Coast Music Award for Producer of the Year.
The 2009 51st Grammy Awards will air on Feb. 8.
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Original article: http://www.tbsource.com/Localnews/index.asp?cid=115167