To celebrate the release of Shannon Curtis's new EP today, we exchanged a few e-mails with the young singer, who's currently on her way to SXSW as part of an extensive national tour. Find her thoughts on life, love, and Amie Street after the break!

I'm sure you've noticed many people on this site have already fallen for your music -- RECs like this don't come every day... How's your Amie Street experience been so far?

Man, Amie Street has been such a fun surprise for me. I only heard about it at the beginning of this year, and within just the last couple of months, so many new people have listened to my music and recommended it to their friends. I've gotten the chance to "meet" dozens of people all over the world who are part of the Amie Street community. It's been really fun.

People tend to mention Norah Jones, Karen Carpenter, and Fiona Apple when describing your music. What artists would you say have had the most influence on you?

Well, when I was little, I spent a lot of time singing along as my dad played '30s and '40s-era standards on our family baby grand. And I'm pretty sure that somehow those songs were embedded into my consciousness and are making their way out through some of the more "old-timey" songs I've been writing lately. And I grew up on a steady diet of Amy Grant as well. As a result, I'm definitely a pop-song-o-phile, too. So, mash those two influences together along with my classical piano training, and I think you arrive at something similar -- in some ways -- to what Norah and Fiona do. Which is fine by me -- I like the music each of them make a lot.

You're heading out on a pretty massive tour soon, playing coffeehouses, universities, radio stations, and clubs... What's your favorite type of venue?

One in which there are people happy to listen to a girl on a piano singing love songs! It doesn't really matter much to me what the venue is -- it's the people in the room that make the show. Performing is a give-and-take experience for me. Everyone in the room contributes to the essence of the show.

The new track Paris Can't Have You is really lovely, and like many of your songs is addressed to an unnamed lover. Do you tend to write about specific people, or combinations of experience?

Yes. And yes! Some of my songs are very specific in their origin, but I'd say that the majority of them are more an amalgam of experiences and/or observations. Which is helpful -- it could be a bit messy if people I've been involved with romantically try to decipher which of my songs is about them! We don't need that happening. That said, "Paris Can't Have You" definitively comes from a time last summer when my guy was overseas for a couple of months. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself, as you might have guessed upon listening to the song. Haha!

This kind review from Out Impact said that Before The Sun is "destined to be a great pop hit on a future movie soundtrack" -- if you could go back and put your music in any existing movies, where would you see it fitting in?

Oh, man. This is an excuse to list all of my guilty pleasure romantic comedy favorites, isn't it? Like Sleepless In Seattle, Notting Hill, When Harry Met Sally, Jerry Maguire, Bridget Jones' Diary, Say Anything -- or, let's face it, anything starring Jon Cusack.

And for the people out there just getting introduced to your music, where's a good place to start?

Hm. I would listen to the title tracks of each of the EPs: "Paris Can't Have You" and "Boomerangs & Seesaws." Then, if you want to get a little deeper, the new song "Don't Call Me" is big and fun, paying homage to '60s girl group production, while songs like "Waking Up With You" and "Before the Sun" are more close and intimate. Whatever you listen to, thanks for listening!

Featured Tracks:
Paris Can't Have You
Push Me Pull Me