________________________________________________________________ Mem is a former 15-year New Orleans cab driver who\'s since released 6 albums worldwide (2 on Rykodisc, 2 on Shanachie and 2 on Northern Blues). Mem Shannon & The Membership are from New Orleans and while their music is rooted in the blues, it\'s soaked through with that Big Easy syncopated sound, oozing with funk. They\'ve played the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival at least 12 years. They\'ve won or been nominated for a ton of \"Best Of\" awards for Louisiana music and national blues - including 2 W.C. Handy Award nominations (\'96 and \'02). Mem emerged onto the scene in 1996 with his first release, \"A Cab Driver\'s Blues\" on Hannibal/Rykodisc. The breakthrough buzz album led to national media coverage from folks like ABC World News, CBS Sunday Morning, CNN, E! Entertainment Television, The New York Times, NPR and a much anticipated/celebrated performance at SXSW. Fast forward to Mem\'s last release, which included the song \"S.U.V.\" The catchy rant against SUV\'s and their drivers became a mini-hit at blues radio, syndicated and specialty shows, and even a few Triple-A formats. It was named Song of the Year by Living Blues Magazine in 2002 and received a Handy nomination for the same. Not to mention being added to NPR\'s great show \"Car Talk\" and their most recent music compilation. Mem has shared bills with John Scofield, Toots & The Maytals, Gov\'t Mule, Josh Kelley, Junior Brown, Kim Richey, Branford Marsalis, Paul Cebar & The Milwaukeeans, Buckwheat Zydeco, Walter Trout, Karl Denson, Taj Mahal, Galactic, Robert Cray and many more. He tours constantly and has played most of the premier blues and roots festivals (King Biscuit, Montreal Jazz Fest, Kansas City Jazz & Blues Fest, Monterey Bay Blues Fest, Kerrville Folk Festival...), while headlining clubs night after night across the US and into Canada, Europe and Australia. He was also presented in Hong Kong by the House of Blues and in Venezuela by the U.S. Embassy, and was part of an all-star tribute to Muddy Waters at The Kennedy Center for a televised special for PBS and NHK/Japan. He has played the huge Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle featuring diverse bands like Nickleback, Nas, The Pixies and Koko Taylor. They also played the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, an event that included B.B. King, Gov\'t Mule and Greg Allman. Not bad for a former cab driver. ON FEBRUARY 03 2008-BLUES CRITIC.COM\'S ANNUAL READER\'S POLL FOR 2007 awarded Mem Shannon \"Live: A Night At Tipitina\'s\" (Northern Blues) \"Best Live Or Compilation Album\" quote:\"Four live albums and two compilations to choose from and Mem Shannon bested the popular Johnny Winter Muddy Waters James Cotton release by 18 votes\". MANY THANKS TO ALL WHO VOTED ON JANUARY 12, 2008- MEM SHANNON AND THE MEMBERSHIP RECIEVED OFFBEAT MAGAZINE\'S -\"BEST BLUES BAND AWARD of 2007\"-AS A RESULT OF VOTING BY THE BAND\'S FAN\'S AND READER\'S OF OFFBEAT MAGAZINE -MANY THANKS TO ALL WHO VOTED - MEM WAS NOMINATED AGAIN FOR 2(Two) 2008 BLUES MUSIC AWARDS! (formerly known as the W.C. Handy Awards) ONCE AGAIN FOR SOUL BLUES ALBUM OF THE YEAR!!-MEM LIVE \"A NIGHT AT TIPITINA\'S\" AND SOUL BLUES MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR!! Latest album out now \"Live at Tipitina\'s\" on Northern Blues Records Other recent news: Mem was nominated for (2)Two 2006 Blues Music Awards (formerly known as the W.C. Handy Awards): Soul Blues Album of the Year and Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year This is a huge honor. Mem was previously nominated in 1996 NEWS ITEM: \"BAD MOON RISING\", the final book of the Pine Deep Trilogy by author Jonathan Mayberry (which began with 2006’s Bram Stoker Award-winning GHOST ROAD BLUES and continued with 2007’s DEAD MAN’S SONG) will be released everywhere on May 8. And Mem Shannon will be in the thick of the action, kicking some undead ass!--- \"One of the best supernatural thrillers of recent years.\" --John Connolly, author of The Unquiet \"Jonathan Maberry writes densely layered prose full of real characters and plenty of eerie atmosphere. He\'s in tune with both the dark side of human nature and the simple goodness that can redeem us all.\" --David Wellington, author of Monster Island: A Zombie Novel The book also features a fun twist: real horror industry celebrities appear in the story as themselves, and they get caught up in the bloody action. So, expect to see TOM SAVINI (make-effects wizard); STEPHEN SUSCO (screenwriter for the Grudge flicks); JAMES GUNN (screenwriter of the new Dawn of the Dead); gorgeous scream queens BRINKE STEVENS and DEBBIE ROCHON; KEN FOREE (star of the original Dawn of the Dead); JIM O’REAR (stuntman and haunted attraction consultant); and JOE BOB BRIGGS (drive-in movie critic and actor). Also making the scene is blues legend MEM SHANNON. ---These stars aren’t just doing walk-ons --they actually get into the action. Question is...will they make it out of Pine Deep alive? “This is a fat rich gorgeous tale that demands to be paid attention to. Maberry is not fooling around.” --Cemetery Dance FOR U.S. AND NORTH AMERICAN BOOKINGS: Contact Marie Walker email: bookMEMwest@gmail.com, ph.248.275.3959 or 504.616.3570.