Posts filed under music

Nashville Preds Semi-Finals recap! (And Reba)

Okay, before I get started, I need to do something real quick...  

WAHHHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

30th Annual American Music Awards

That's Reba. She's cheering for me.

WOW. Reba is so excited about me winning the Preds game Smash Hit semi-finals! She can't believe I made it to the finals that happen Friday April 12th, 2013!

Thanks, Reba, for all your support!* (please note SMALL disclaimer at end of this post)

I am so thankful for this opportunity. That's so cliché to say/write, but I really mean it. To be able to play for 19,000-something people for two whole games, and now a THIRD!

I'm VERY tempted to wear a billboard somewhere on my body with my website and contact information on it for the next game. I ain't above it.

For this last performance, I sang Dolly Parton's "Jolene," and it was a blast! It's dark, it's twisted, it's soulful-ish, it's the south, it's everything.

There was one other guy I was competing with - Mitchell Tenpenny. He was awesome. And SO cool. Oh, Competition, you try and divide us, but it ain't gonna work. People are awesome, and we singer-type need all the support we can get.

I somehow managed to get the highest amount of votes, and I will be singing one more time for this competition.

BAH, I really hope I get this.

April 12th. Friday. 2013. Tickets are cheaper right now. StubHub has 'em, Craig's List has 'em, the world is your hockey puck(oyster)! Why don't ya grab some and come vote for me? *bats eyelashes*

I leave you with a couple more pictures from the game. Yeehaw!

2preds3 2preds1 2preds2

*Technically, Reba does not know me from Adam, nor does she know I am using this picture. TECHNICALLY, I might have just googled "woohoo!" and this picture popped up, and I just ganked it off the Internet, blah blah....

 

 

...It's Just a Shot Away (Preds game recap)

Most of the time, life runs in a pretty predictable pattern. You eat your breakfast, go out and till your land for the day, pay some bills, buy some dish soap, have a few thoughts of wishing you could buy the more expensive dish soap, eat dinner, and then go to bed, wake up, and do it all again. ...Then every once in awhile, something really crazy and interesting happens, and in about 10 seconds, your life goes from organized and predictable to messy and AWESOME!

Apparently, it was my turn to have the random-awesome moment this week! Sa-weet!

A long time ago (it felt like a year!), I submitted a video into a singing contest. It was for the Nashville Predators' "Smash Hit" singing competition. They held live auditions in downtown Nashville. I had missed them and saw something about it on the news that evening. They then said videos were also being accepted. That night, about an hour before the deadline, I sent in a video and forgot all about it.

Fast forward to this past Friday night. I get this email:

"Jessie:

 

You have been selected to compete in our Smash Hit vocal competition.  I wanted to check with you to see if you were available Monday the 25th for a 5pm sound check and 8:30 performance during the second intermission at our game.

 

Once I know your availability, I'll send you the details for the day."

 

What?! What did I sign up for again? Is this a scam? I was confused. After a couple more emails, I realized what was going on, and it started to sink in.

They want me to sing at a Nashville Predators game? In front of 19,000 people? In 3 days?! In a COMPETITION?!!I didn't think I'd actually win. I'm not very good at winning things. I've tried out for every tv show, variety show, school ensemble, you name it, and I NEVER "make it."

(Although, for one competitive-singing-tv-show-that-shall-remain-nameless, I made it to the top 15, but I wound up rolling my eyes at a comment the judges made about my performance, a moment which was focused on in the episode, and then "suddenly" I was cut. Oops... teehee.)

Now, on to the night of the game/competition. Long story short, we got up on the "band stage" at 2nd intermission, each sang our one song, and afterwards the people at the game texted in who their favorite was. Then after about 5 minutes, voting stopped and they announced the winner.

Somehow, I managed to win this particular singing contest and advance to the semi-finals.

...Which will be held NEXT TUESDAY, APRIL 2ND.

Did you see that? I'll type it again, just in case.

NEXT TUESDAY, APRIL 2ND.

And cheap tickets can be purchased here. And then you can come and vote for me. Come on, you know you wanna see me on a Jumbo Tron. A JUMBO TRON, for cryin' out loud!

If I win the semi-finals, I will advance to the final round. If I win the finals, I will get the most incredible blessings I could think of right now. Like a fully paid-for showcase in Nashville provided by William Morris Agency, as well as William Morris Agency representation, as well as studio time. Oh my good grief, knowing how difficult it is to have such great representation, and how expensive it is to have a showcase, this would be a dream come true. Especially since I have an album coming out soon!

Also, I just want to say (write)... Ryan, the guy whom I was competing against, was really awesome.

It is so hard to "accurately" JUDGE someone's music.

...Which is why I hold very loosely to things like competitions.

But I still wanna win. :P

I never said that.

I leave you with some photos and low-quality video footage of the events of last night. If you get dizzy watching them, just close your eyes. :P

[youtube=http://youtu.be/EIZUvxkC4XM]

[youtube=http://youtu.be/gyfA36i7iNs]

photo 1photo 2photo 3photo

Weekend Update

movin' and shakin'

This past Thursday, my husband and I drove to Georgia to have a creative meeting with the producer and his team.

On the way there, we stopped in Chattanooga and went to the Tennessee Aquarium and Cheeburger Cheeburger (a famous burger place). We went in honor of our 1st wedding anniversary that happened yesterday (Sunday). aaaawww :P I have one picture from it. You really don't wanna see it. It's very lame.

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See, I told you. Moving on...

We made it to Georgia. Valdosta, GA to be exact. Home of the - well, I'm not real sure yet. We did find a $2.50 movie theater and a few pawn shops. And we found one of those parking lot fairs, too. But we didn't do any of it because we have no money we're extremely fancy.

We met Mark the producer, Jim the business guy, and Steve the assistant, at the new studio.

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Yes, this is it. This is what a Grammy winner's studio looks like. Okay, maybe not ALL of them, but swampy, soulful, southern ones can make this old building a bad@$$ music-making hub.

'Don't judge a book by it's cover' would be an appropriate reminder at this moment.

Anyways, My husband played guitar, and I played a little piano, and we played through my songs. We re-worked a couple of things, but every song is being kept the same as I had written them. Pretty awesome. :)

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That's Mark there on the right. :)

After the meeting, we left the next day to play a show at The Rookery in Macon, GA. We like them there, and it's a good place to try out new songs.

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Then, we got up the next morning, visited with my cute lil Nana Banana,

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...and then went back home to recoup. I'm still recouping. I'm sleepy. Somebody gimme a Red Bull. No, please don't give me a Red Bull, that stuff tastes like ABC bubble gum dipped in dirty Koolaid.

K, bye!

"Talking About Music is Like Dancing About Architecture."

Elvis Costello said that. I have come to the conclusion that this should be in the Constitution. Okay, that's a little overboard. But still... I could tell you how much I write, what my songs sound like, brag to you about "all the ideas that float through my head" (I've heard this too many times from artists, as if they're the only ones whose brain works.). I could tell you what my music sounds like 'til you're blue in the face, and you're still not going to REALLY know until you hear it.

I can tell you that this album will be swampy, soulful, southern music. But I'm sure most of you don't even really know what that means. Of course you don't! You haven't HEARD it yet. Heck, I don't completely know what it's going to sound like yet! I have to RECORD it first. (In April. 2013. Shameless plug. I digress....)

So... If someone asks me again to describe my music, I won't be upset, and I will understand their wondering, but I think I'm just going to say, "you'll have to wait and hear it." Because there is no way I can answer that question to the satisfaction of the questioner. Plus, we all have different interpretations of a song anyways. Am I right? Yes. I am.

So, I'll write about funny stuff and about pursuing dreams and such on this blog, but you won't hear me talk much about the music. You'll have to just wait to HEAR that.

Behind The Scenes

Hooray, hooray! I have a few more hours to celebrate this newest step forward in my music endeavors, and then it's back to work. I still have a long ways to go. I just signed a production agreement with a producer named Mark Neill. Thanks to the funds raised on my Kickstarter campaign, and a sweet Lord taking care of me, I am able to work with a Grammy-winning producer like him. I feel honored. I also feel motivated to work my butt off to prove myself to this guy and to everyone who donated. Before now, this music process has been slower than a turtle. But now, it's going to go CRAZY fast. WooWEE!

I thought I'd share a "behind-the-scenes" look at how I picked this producer. I like to document this stuff, so when I'm 80, I can come back to this blog and remember what a crazy person I was. :P

The search for a producer felt a bit like grasping at straws at first. I realize that I live in Nashville, where every other person you meet is a producer, so I shouldn't have a problem finding one. But finding THE one was a bit trying. There are so many different ways one can go, and there's no one right way to do this business. Many people had many different opinions about what route I should take, and that grew slightly daunting. But I knew it was a decision I had to make with MY gut, not anyone else's.

I started with one producer I was really hoping would work with me. I spoke with him some, and he was interested, at first. It became obvious that my interest in him was far greater than his interest in me, so that fizzled out. Yes, the music business IS a lot like dating.

So I made a few calls to some other Nashville-based producers who I knew had great reputations. While I was doing that, I also was doing something kind of ridiculous. My "Hail Mary pass," if you will. I decided to Google some albums that I really like and see who produced them. I would then search for that producer's contact information online. If I found it, I would send them info about myself and see if I'd get a bite.

I didn't really expect anything from this. I was emailing the most fancy producers I could possibly find. And as a general rule, fancy producers produce fancy artists with fancy budgets on fancy record labels. Basically, not me.

I sent out about 10 of these emails, overall. Two people responded. The first one was an email from an assistant of an assistant who said, in a nutshell, "I'm sorry, you will not be able to afford him."

I hadn't even given him my budget yet. THAT'S how expensive he was.

Then, I received a call from a guy named Mark Neill. I had found his email address because I was looking up who produced The Black Keys' "Brothers" album, one of my favorites. I also found out that he's from South Georgia, same as me. And then I read some interviews he did where he talked about loving and understanding southern music and southern culture and history, and I thought YEAH! THAT'S my dude!

To make a long story short, he called me 2 hours after I emailed him. We talked about South Georgia and farming and soul music and lots of other awesomeness. He then asked me how in blue blazes I found him, and I had to admit to him that it was through Google. ha. He then told me that he is moving his studio (Soil of The South Studios) from San Diego, BACK to South Georgia. Sa-weet!

I then sent him some more of my songs, talked with his business partner, talked a little more about vision and ideas, talked money, went and met them in person, got offered a contract, took contract to my lawyer, after lawyer approval, we both signed it, and then well, there ya go. It was quite quick, the whole process.

I've already said this a gazillion times, but I am so excited. Creative meetings start this month. Recording in April. Release should be this summer.

Here goes nothin'!

Posted on February 12, 2013 and filed under kickstarter, music, new album, song, swampicana, swampy.

Sweet Fantasy, Baby

I have a place in my little brain that is just for me. It's filled with so much ridiculousness happiness.

At night, I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and dream...

Scotland I dream that I'm off in Europe somewhere, it's cold and cloudy, and I'm wearing an extra large matching sweat suit cashmere loungewear, sipping Earl Grey tea next to a fire, cuddling up next to the love of my life, as he whispers this into my ear...

Downton Abbey

Bliss.

Then I make my way to the workout room, where my personal trainer leads me in a rigorous yoga practice, and I remain beautiful and desirable at all times. And it's not hard at all!

1006-yoga I proceed to the master suite where I read an educational, slightly pretentious novel atop my Tempur-Pedic-Cloud-Supreme-Gold-Woven- Diamond-Dusted mattress, whilst high-fiving a million angels.

Winning.

                                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Then, with the cursed sun ball of morning, I wake up. And reality sets in.

I start the day with a bowl of pure energy. Off-brand Frosted Mini-Wheats...

35958496996736643_V4Hh0L4a_c Then I feed the @$%#@ cat...

173318285631651707_PD8VvcMr_c I write a really bad song...

[youtube=http://youtu.be/XNXIZuIBJKs]

Butt-kiss all the music venues I can possibly find...

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Try and come up with my own Zumba moves at the apartment for my cheaper-than-a-gym workout...

[youtube=http://youtu.be/yJ_AU6tYYbg]

Babysit some kids...

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And end the day with writing an epic blog post that is sure to inspire millions, if not billions of people.

bored-jester-in-empty-stadium-uid

Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all night folks, try the veal.

My Love Letter to Macon and The Rookery

Oh, you sweet, sweet Maconians. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways... 1. You know how to lay back and let loose. You're just fun people. 2. You have good taste in burgers. (The Rookery's burgers are pretty ridic.) 3. You're super cute. Every single one of you. 4. You thought my jokes were funny (some people don't, can you believe it?! hehe).

And best of all, most wonderful thing of all is...

YOU CAME!! YOU CAME TO HEAR ME SING!!!

I'm honestly so amazed at how many of you came to hear and cheer and bob your sweet little heads to the music. You allowed me to do my most favorite thing in the world - be a totally obnoxious ham entertain. I am working on getting down there again in March. Yeehaw!

I leave you with this lil cute picture of y'all from my point of view. :)

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Not a sad sack in the place. I heart you.

With Love, Jessie.

Holimusidays!

I hope your holidays were glaaahrious. I hope you were able to rest and laugh and get lots of hugs. I had the privilege of playing for a good many Christmas parties this year. And then I spent actual Christmas with my in-laws at a lake. It was fun. I ate some turkey. I slept a lot. I even read a book. I forgot to take pictures. Got some pretty sweet gifts. Yep. That's about it.

Wow, this blog post is really starting with a bang....

Well anyways, right after Christmas, my husband and I took a trip to Ft. Walton Beach, FL to get away and write some songs, thanks to my aunt and uncle's gorgeous beachside condo. Good lord, it was heaven.

photo 1-1 photo-1 photo 2-1 I really wanted to post pictures of the inside of the condo, but every picture I took looked like our suitcase exploded on it.

Aw, heck. We're all friends here.

photo 1-2 photo 4-1 photo 2-2 photo 3-1 photo 5-1

Woowee! What a treat we didn't deserve in a million years. And we wrote new songs that you can hear at my shows!

So we drove back from Florida on New Years' Eve, just in time to hang out with these n00bs:

photo 1

We hung out, ate soup, drank some sherry (and by sherry, I mean I tried the sherry and then proceeded to cut it with a large amount of Mountain Dew), and then drove to downtown Nashville to "watch the music note drop."

In the freezing rain.

And the chick on the left in the last picture wore her pajamas.

I love my friends.

So anyways, we stuffed ourselves onto Broadway like sardines, running into each others' umbrellas, and feeling the water seep through our clothes. This picture really sums it up nicely.

photo 2 I kid, I kid. Well, not about the rain part. I kid about the insinuation that it wasn't fun - okay, so it wasn't the BEST time I've ever had, but if it wasn't for good company, I believe I would've been the cranky so-this-is-what-it-feels-like-to-live-in-an-ice-cube lady. Instead, I was the joyful mute, glaring at the intoxicated many who ran into me with my laser beam eyes. Wow, Jessie, you're lame.  But I digress... how cute are my little friends?!

photo 4 photo 3 photo 5

Yay, adventures. :)