Country singer plans to go the distance

View larger image Singer Eleanor Sheaffer, 24, of Winchester is on her way to Nashville. — Rich Cooley/Daily View larger image The cover of Eleanor Sheaffer and the Midnight Walkers’ CD is shown. — Rich Cooley/Daily

Lead vocalist of Eleanor and the Midnight Walkers prepares for Nashville, influenced by Patsy Cline

By Josette Keelor -- jkeelor@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- People are not too sure about Eleanor Sheaffer when they first see her approach the microphone at concerts. It's the tattoos and the clothes, she said, and it might also be that she's only 24, while her band mates, Russ Ritenour, 51, and Phil Tinsman, 56, are both better traveled in the music community.

Then she sings, and any preconceptions the audience had disappear. She wins them over with her renditions of Patsy Cline's "Crazy" and Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Were Made For Walking."

The lead singer of Eleanor and the Midnight Walkers is more country than rock and roll.
"Eleanor's got a really strong voice," Ritenour said. "She's a strong singer."

"She's different," Tinsman said, which is why Sheaffer might make quite an impact in Nashville later this month when she sings at the Nashville Palace.

"It's not about the band at this showcase," Ritenour said. "It's about the artist."

Still, if it weren't for the band, Nashville might not even be on Sheaffer's horizon -- at least not yet.

"I think we're doing pretty well," she said on a recent morning at her Winchester home. The band played its first official notes last summer, but already the trio is making a name for itself around the Northern Shenandoah Valley, having played at American Legions in Strasburg and Woodstock, the Elks Club and VFW in Winchester and Charlie's in Strasburg.

"We've performed at those places multiple, multiple times. ... They get down," Sheaffer said.

"They're great people, I mean they love the music we do," she said.

"We like to have a little something for everybody," she said. "I don't like to box myself in."
The band hasn't struck it rich yet, but they're doing all right so far ... so well, in fact, that Sheaffer has been able to focus on making music her career, in spite of the tough economy, she said.

"I would say getting going in this area really depends on what kind of music you're doing and how long you've been around," she said.

"It just depends on where you want to play and what you play, honestly," Sheaffer said. "That's been my experience."

The Midnight Walkers have not been treading the valley for very long as a group, but its members have been.

"I've had an interest for any musical possibilities, because I'm always searching for good talent," said Ritenour, who has been performing for 35 years.

Formerly a music teacher for Hampshire Music in Capon Bridge, W.Va., he met Sheaffer after finding her ad online for a band she hoped to form.

"It just caught my eye," he said. "I'm just trying to help her, to pursue her interests."

Tinsman, too, has been playing guitar and singing lead for a long time -- since he was 17. He wasn't in a band when Ritenour asked him to join up with Sheaffer, but, having performed years ago in the band New Morning, he was excited about the prospect.

He's written over 400 songs over the years and plans to start including his and Ritenour's songs in the band's lineup.

As for Sheaffer, she studied art and childhood development in college, but it didn't take her long to realize music was her destiny.

She has performed in bands since high school and she played briefly with the band No Drama before joining the Blues Gate Jams Musicians Co-op.

"It's this huge co-op of music, I would say, in the tri-state area," she said. The co-op, which according to its website has over 150 musicians currently participating, gave her more connections in the music world than she might have made on her own.

"It's like mixing and matching, and it's like a different sound each time," she said.
"I decided to form my own [band] because, not that I've had bad experiences ... but I felt like I wanted to form my own group," she said.

"We get along great, they're like my second family, and we're on the same page musically," Sheaffer said.

The name they chose for the band comes from Cline, one of Sheaffer's big influences.
"I'm a huge, huge, huge Patsy Cline fan," Sheaffer said. "One of my band's favorite Patsy Cline songs that I do is 'Walkin' After Midnight.'"

When they were thinking about band names, it seemed natural to turn to Cline for inspiration, Sheaffer said.

"I like it a lot because it has that whole '50s vibe," she said. "I think it's really neat and catchy."

The band's first album, which came out last month, includes "some of our most popular songs that we do and some we don't do yet," Sheaffer said. All the songs are covers.
"It turned out really good, so I like it," she said.

The Midnight Walkers have been going nearly nonstop so far, but they have no intention of cooling their heels any time soon.

"This is one of my biggest passions in life," Sheaffer said. "If you have a gift, you need to share that with the world, and you shouldn't keep that to yourself. And I feel happiest when I'm performing on stage."

Judging by the audience, Ritenour said, the feeling is mutual.

"They act like Crystal Gayle is up there," he said.

Whether or not she makes a long-lasting career of performing, Sheaffer intends to keep at it as long as she can.

"I'm still going to do it," she said, "no matter what."

For information about Eleanor and the Midnight Walkers, visit the band's Facebook page. Its CD is available for purchase at its concerts.