Shannon Tehya – An Xperience Interview

Shannon Tehya – An Xperience Interview – by Niki Chaos.

Shannon Tehya reminds me of an exquisite rainbow flamingo mermaid. Elegant and quietly fierce. Stretched to the sky, crooning songs with her flock. We bond over what it’s like to be a musician in the 518 and supporting women in all spaces.

RRX: What inspired you to play music, and how do you balance your duo work with your full band?

ST: I’ve always wanted to play music. Before any adult instilled in my head the idea that it was unachievable to be a musician, I knew I wanted to be a musician. All the instruments landed on piano, guitar, and voice. Then the adults came in and told me to abandon that: “you need to have a backup plan.”

It crushed my dreams, and I was like, I’m going to do something else. Nothing was really inspiring, and music was my “backup plan” all the way through to the end of high school. I actually did not walk for my graduation because, in my senior year, the guy who I was in kind of a situationship with, he died suddenly, and it upended my life. I dropped out of school.

I became the most unwell person, and I realized in that moment, everything in my entire life fell away, and all that was left was music. And it saved my life. It saved me from substance abuse. It was clear to me that music was the only thing holding me together. I knew that that’s what I had to give back to the world because it had given me so much.

RRX: That’s really brave and self-aware at such a young age, especially going through something so emotional.

ST: Absolutely. I had some support. I landed in a mental hospital. I was just completely broken. At the end of the day, music is the thing that reached out its hand and lifted me up. But really, it was myself through music that saved me. It was the tool that I needed to pull me back.

RRX: Now you’re figuring out how you’re going to be a professional musician. You start writing songs, you’re doing covers. How do you weave that into building your music career?

ST: There are so many amazing venues in the Albany area. We love to play duo shows because certain venues cannot accommodate our six-piece band, the Troupe. I feel lucky to get to play them anyway, because I have such an amazing duo partner, Hunter Frost.

My hope is to open doors for the Troupe. All roads lead to a bigger sound for me. I want to play with my band everywhere I can. They are my best friends and my family.

RRX: In the Capital Region, there are plenty of cover bands and original musicians. You do both well. How do you decide the cycle between writing the original stuff and pulling in the covers?

ST: It’s definitely changed over the years. We do cover music that inspires us and is ultimately fueling our fires toward writing more original music. So we choose Chappell Roan to cover because she is a pop-star-divalicious-drag-queen who supports LGBTQ rights. And we feel that by playing her music, it is a message to any queer person: “Hey, you’re safe with us.”

We also write original music. That music focuses on light and love; groovy dancing sing-alongs with the crowd. The goal of our original music is to create a really unique community of creatives where everyone can just get together, feel safe, and feel included.

RRX: The authenticity of your writing about the human condition is endearing. You connect with your audience because of that.

ST: I write songs that I needed to hear when I was in my darkest place. That encapsulates the inspiration, and why I write songs that would have helped save my life back when I was teetering on that edge.

RRX: I’m so excited you’re headlining WAMM Fest (Women Are Making Music), which is a first annual music festival on September 14 at the Hangar in Troy. Why is supporting women so important to you in this scene and in life, in general?

ST: Women have given me everything I have. A little background on my journey: six years ago, I had just turned 18. I had dropped out of high school and was completely alone, couch surfing around Albany. I had no way to support myself, and had just kind of figured out that I didn’t want to die. So I was starting fresh, and I started dancing in a strip club.

The women who I worked with and connected with in this industry (that I still work in) – they’re so inspiring. They’re so strong. They’re some of the most genuine people I’ve ever met.

Why is supporting women important to me? Because there’s so much that goes on in the shadows, behind the scenes, with women that people don’t talk about. I’m being kind of stripper-specific in my women’s support. I support all of them, and I think all women are the shit! I love girls!

My music is for the girls, the gays, and the theys, but the women that I really want to target and want to pay homage to are the house moms that raised me. My stripper sisters who supported me, and the women who paved the way for other women to grow into whatever industry and whatever kind of workforce they want.

RRX: Some people think sex work is demeaning to women, but for you, it’s the opposite. You’re with this tribe of sisters, and you are protected and empowered. Is that fair?

ST: It’s fair, and people forget this is the first job women were ever allowed to have. What year did women earn the right to work for wages? Very recently in the grand scheme of history. But centuries before that, this was the job that first gave us freedom. If you couldn’t marry into money, you became a whore. And that is fucking awesome.

If I were alive in the 1600s, I absolutely would have chosen to not marry some stuffy guy who was like 45 years older than me. I 100% would have been shaking my ass to fiddle music in a tavern and I would not change a thing. I would 100% be a brothel worker, because that’s the origin story for all of women’s work.

RRX: Here’s a challenge. People who struggle with their own sexuality and pay for sex work can be dishonest in their lives outside of it. How do you see overcoming that, so people get comfortable with the idea of being honest about sex work?

ST: A big part is defining what sex work actually means. I’ve heard many people say sex work is bad because you shouldn’t have sex with just anyone who’s paying you. People don’t understand that sex work often has nothing to do with actually having sex like that. I’ve been in a monogamous relationship for two years. I work in a strip club. I’m not having sex for money, but I am a supporter of full-service sex work if you can do that, and that’s what you want to do.

But I’m still a sex worker, even though I don’t have sex with anyone for money, because what I’m doing is sexual. Sex work can encompass exotic dancers. It can encompass OnlyFans. Pretty much anything that is aligned with any sexual feeling, right? I think a big part of overcoming it is defining it really clearly so people don’t have to be so scared of it.

And that’s why people are so afraid to use that term. It’s because they don’t know what it means, and I think that’s scary for a lot of people. I even heard someone in a medical field say that strippers aren’t sex workers, and I was like, no, they actually are. We are giving a fantasy. We’re dancing sensually, and therefore it is sex work.

RRX: Your advocacy for the sex work field, and translating that to being a powerful woman musician after you were told this is a dead-end career, is inspiring! Any last thoughts?

ST: If I had one message I could give people who are thinking about transitioning – whether it’s music or exotic dance, literally whatever it is – just don’t be scared of your own freedom. Be brave, it’s worth it.

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