Payo-tea

Hello There!!

So I am happy to report that yesterday I just got the MASTERED VERSION OF MY UPCOMING EP!!   Yes, I am shouting that.  It’s taken a little longer than I had anticipated, but art happens on its own time.  It’s also very exciting to step into a new sound that actually feels like home.  This city girl’s gone country.  It feels so right.

This summer I’ll be playing the Ravinia Festival (http://www.ravinia.org/ViewDate.aspx?show=571) with 3 women that I have idolized, studied and covered back when I just starting singing and performing.  Joan Osbourne, Paula Cole and Melissa Etheridge.

I used to sing Joan Osbourne’s “(What if God Was) One of Us” in church with my dad when I was 14. 

I learned how to tell a story through song with Paula Cole’s “I Am So Ordinary”.

When I was at Boston’s Berklee College of Music I was chosen to sing Melissa Etheridge’s “I’m the Only One” at Singer’s showcase…and then years later I actually got to sing that song with Melissa herself as she was getting her star on the Walk of Fame.

You know, this year’s been an interesting one.  There’s been a mad whirl of changes.  My heart was broken by the man I thought I’d spend my life with, I ran out of all of my money and living on couches but now I feel like the pendulum is swinging upwards.  It has to…I’ve gone down and now there’s always up.

Happy Tuesday my friends!

This week I hit the road up Northern Cal with Toad the Wet Sprocket!  I got a few new songs written over the past few weeks that I’m stoked to play for you all.  Also, my new EP is almost out of the oven for you to taste.  I can’t wait for that.  I’m really proud of how it’s all coming together

Also, on Monday 4/15 9am I will be doing a live in studio performance at Santa Rosa’s 95.9 KRSH (Krush) radio!  So tune in for that (www.krsh.com).

Upcoming dates:

4/11 Slo Brew, San Luis Obispo, CA

4/12 Rio Theatre, Santa Cruz, CA

4/13 Harlow’s, Sacramento, CA

4/14 McNear’s Mystic Theatre, Petaluma, CA

4/15 Krush Radio 95.9, Santa Rosa, CA

Hello lovelies!

I just spent a week in a cabin in the woods shooting new photos, reading poetry and writing new songs.  I’m nursing a broken heart which is an opportune time to dive into music to find my way out of the dark.  In this new stage of my life, I’m looking forward to what’s beyond the life I knew.  Sometimes I want to quit.  But that is a passing thought and at the end of the day, there’s a song in that…and there’s people that have experienced the same thing that want to hear these songs.

So there’s that…thanks for reading.  I’ve got some shows coming up for you.  So come out and let’s feel it all…FEEL IT ALL!

3/7 Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach, CA

3/8 The Canyon Club, Agoura, CA

3/9 The Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, CA

4/11 Slo Brew, San Luis Obispo, CA

4/12 Rio Theatre, Santa Cruz, CA

4/13 Harlow’s, Sacramento, CA

4/14 McNear’s Mystic Theatre, Petaluma, CA

Happy Monday my friends and online socializers!

I’m stoked some of you purchased the single “Heaven Help Me”!  Share it with your friends…there’s a message in there for all of us.  I use it as a constant reminder to ease my restless, reckless mind.  Alright enough poetry for now:  Click below to download the song!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/heaven-help-me-single/id593960470

Also, I’m playing a bunch of shows this Spring with Toad the Wet Sprocket! Check em out:

3/7 Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach, CA

3/8 The Canyon Club, Agoura, CA

3/9 The Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, CA

4/11 Slo Brew, San Luis Obispo, CA

4/12 Rio Theatre, Santa Cruz, CA

4/13 Harlow’s, Sacramento, CA

4/14 McNear’s Mystic Theatre, Petaluma, CA

6/29 Ravinia Festival with Melissa Etheridge, Joan Osbourne, Paula Cole http://www.ravinia.org

Click on the link below to purchase my single “Heaven Help Me” produced by Andy Clockwise!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/heaven-help-me-single/id593960470

I’m happy to announce that I’ll be playing the Ravinia Festival on June 29th.  Yesterday they sent me a few questions to answer prior to the show.  I thought I’d share my answer to question 8.  

8.  Who was the most influential person in your music career and why?

The most influential person is by far my dad.  I really wasn’t planning on a life of music.  I thought I was gonna be a go-go dancer or a painter (all very practical careers).  My dad played in many bands growing up.  I thought it would be fun to sing a few tunes with his friends.  So, he assembled a band with some musicians from church and booked me a gig at a coffee shop called the Hot House.  I picked out my favorite songs by Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin.  After a few shows, we got some attention because I was so little, young and loud.  So my dad started writing the songs.  We played in a band from when I was 13 to 18.  During this time, he taught me how to lead a band, how to write a song and played me music that inspired my contemporaries.  He had a passion for artists that could channel emotion in a simple riff or a one line phrase.  He introduced me to the great blues players like Koko Taylor, Buddy Guy, Willie Dixon and such.  If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be doing music like I am today and I have him to thank.  He’s passed on now but I still feel like he’s guiding me throughout my life’s decisions especially in music.  I am happy to know that in someway, I am carrying out his legacy.

Happy New Year!  (Yes…7 days late in saying so)

But it seems to me that TODAY is when the year starts for a lot of folks.  We’re now back in the grind with a clean slate and a list of resolutions under our belts (mine is a little tighter after the holiday food and drink).  

2012 was a wonderful year.  Granted there were some pitfalls but the victories are never as sweet without those valleys.  I’ve been so grateful to finally be in a place where I’m playing music that is 100% all me and to have people resonate with it, has been the cherry on top!

Of course, in this very moment there’s a mixture of true excitement for what’s to come and a whole lotta “holy shit, Jessie, don’t mess it up”…but I’ve always worked well under pressure.  The scary thing is, if I may be totally candid, is that usually if I feel like I’m gaining any sort of momentum, I tend to back down out of fear…I’ve been a self-proclaimed self saboteur…

I haven’t made my list of resolutions but as I write this, it’s apparent that I RESOLVE to let go of that part of me and really take this road as far as I can take it.  I fully believe that where ever it takes me, I was destined for it.  I think, in the past, I wasn’t quite ready.  The beautiful part between my wins and losses, there’s always something valuable to walk away with.  

I hope you can read this and take away something for yourself.  Much love and good fortune to all of you in 2013!

xo

Jessie

I’m sitting backstage after my set in Ridgefield, CT. The crowd was warm and loving despite the horrible tragedy that happened in Newtown. I’m happy that apart of my job as a musician is to entertain, thus creating an escape for those in need of a happy distraction. Or to feel like they’re not alone.

As the tour comes to a close, I am filled to the brim with gratitude that I can share my love, desires, laughs and uphill battles with strangers every night and there’s always at least one person who can relate. We are not so different.

But I’m not done yet!!
Monday Dec 17th
Pianos (Lady Gaga’s old haunt lol)
158 Ludlow, NY
9pm

Aaand….the legendary
Joe’s Pub (two shows)
425 Lafayette st., NY
6:30
9:30

For those who can’t get to the Big Apple, I’ll be live broadcasting on Livestream.
Dec. 18th 9:30 EST
Http://www.livestream.com
(I’m featured on the first page!)

Sending holiday love!
Jessie

So far the tour has been just wonderful and I’m loving all of the new friends I’ve been meeting along the way!

Looking forward to coming to the Big Apple especially since I will be celebrating my birthday when I fly out on the 14th!

I’d like to invite you to two fun shows:

City Winery Dec 15th
155 Varick St., New York
7pm

Pianos Dec 17th
158 Ludlow street, New York
7:30pm

Sending love from Nashville!!
Xo

This will be THE first time I’ve ever been to Nashville…and first time playing there!

I can’t wait to get back on the road with Eric Hutchinson for his Almost solo Tour.  I’ll have two new songs to work out and some new covers.  So far, Hutch fans are nothing short of awesome so I am looking forward to meeting more!

3rd and Lindsley (818 3rd South Nashville, TN)

December 2nd Doors 7pm

ME: 8PM

This will be fun…I might pull out my favorite Gillian Welch song “Tennessee”

Cuz you’re the only Ten I See (wink wink)