Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: I grew up in Elmira, NY, a historical town tucked away between rolling hills of maple trees and the Finger Lakes region. I was a shy, socially awkward kid but fell in love with music when I started singing in the church choir at 4, then studied flute, oboe and piano throughout school. At 8 I began competitive gymnasts, so much of my early life was filled with practicing music and training gymnastics – I loved it! When I was 11, I had to quit gymnastics due to illness. The loss of one of my early passions triggered a wave of depression that followed me through most of my teen years. Although I felt loved and encouraged by my family, there was a strong undercurrent of emotional intensity in our home life that my younger sister and I were exposed to. Mom struggled with mental health issues and Dad worked long hours to build his business. Our folks fought a lot and their marriage ended when I was still in high school. My formative years laid the basis for my love and learning of music, but its also helped me cope with the emotions of growing up. These feelings are at the core of my songwriting, especially my more blues
driven songs that I write and perform now in my adult life.
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “Jen Ambrose”?
A: My plan is to release about 4 new singles from my album — one about every month until I release my entire album – Plenty Of Nothin’ To Do. I’ve started with Under Your Spell, next is the title track – Plenty Of Nothin’ To Do. Third is Love & Money, then Rainy Day, then culminating in full album release with additional releases of videos from most of the songs from the album. I’m building my reach to people on my social media platforms – Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube with live clips and posts of events and releases. Finding the time to do has been a little hallenging, but I’m learning! I have a pretty full performance schedule this Summer – both as a solo artist and with my new band: Jen Ambrose & The Mystics. I’m sharing some older originals but really highlighting my new material. I’ll also be following up with radio promotion too — especially targeting local, regional and Public Radio stations.
I’m excited to be on a number of Spotify playlists with my first single: Under Your Spell, and already starting to build on that momentum. I realize that it’s pretty difficult to do all of this alone, so I have some terrific PR support that is helping me reach new opportunities, like Bored City, to increase exposure to my music through interviews and a number of other outlets. I’m also actively pursuing Sync opportunities and reaching out to music Supervisors and Editors to find placement for my music in shows and movies. It’s inspiring to find new music when I watch my favorite shows. This is a terrific way to reach a new audience of listeners.
Building a Dream takes persistence. It’s my passion to make music and desire to share it that inspires this work. My message to anyone discovering my music for the first time is – Here I Am! These songs are my medicine, my heart and soul. They’ve seen me through some tough times. So, my dear listener, if this music brings you any solace, connection, inspiration or stirrings of emotion, then tune in and please enjoy the tunes! Keep the Flame Alive!
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A: A super inspiring rising star artist is blues guitarist and vocalist Samantha Fish. She keeps releasing music brimming with soul that just draws me right in. She’s on a new release tour and sharing the stage with legendary Buddy Guy! What an incredible talent and inspiration! Check her out: https://www.samanthafish.com
The inspiration for most of my songs come from life — what I’m going through or what I’ve been through in the past. It’s like journaling but with rhyme and rhythm and melody. The songs are my coping mechanism, they take me deeper into myself, and help me express my feelings. My husband and family have been the inspiration for a lot of songs, but so is the world around me — especially learning about people who find resilience through turmoil. Their stories really speak to me and my music.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “Under Your Spell.”?
A: My latest release, Under Your Spell is from my Plenty Of Nothin’ To Do album. It’s a tribute to my roots and the memories associated with a local bar in my hometown called Kingsbury’s. It’s an upbeat song that speaks to the struggle of trying to move on and make a new start in my life, only to be irresistibly drawn back to the grasp of an unforgettable person from an unforgettable place. Like me, Kingsbury’s has long since gone, but sometimes I feel a bitter-sweet nostalgia for that place, for the smell of stale beer and for the people who used to be there.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
A: Soul
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “Under Your Spell”?
A: I wrote the Under Your Spell after stepping away from music during a difficult year to be with my parents as they were dying. The uplifting tone of the song became a balm for me after so much personal loss. When I returned to Oregon, I started collaborating with my co-writer, Ken Orsow, who inspired many of the signature guitar licks throughout the song. This became one of the first songs we recorded for the new album.
Recording the album was a challenge, since most of it was done remotely, during Covid. Plans for its release were also slowed due to countless Covid complications — which we all faced in, our own ways. By the Summer of 2021, I was back to a full performance calendar and finally gearing up to release my new album.Then, I lost my voice…During that Summer, the West Coast was consumed by blistering heat, intense wildfires and smoke. Since I was regularly performing outdoors in hazardous smoke conditions, it impacted my health to such a degree that I developed vocal polyps. I was forced to cancel all upcoming performances, quit my bands and delay my album release. I was devastated.
I’ve been working with an amazing Otolaryngologist (Ear, Nose, Throat specialist). Through lifestyle modifications, voice therapy sessions and guidance from my vocal coach – Ken Orsow (who is also my songwriting collaborator and producer), I started healing. Now, as we enter the Summer of 2023, my vocal cords are almost fully healed, I’m back to singing and finally releasing my first single – Under Your Spell.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
A: I’m a woman trying to live the best life I can while trying to make sense of it all. My songs have themes of love and heartbreak, struggle and healing and finding connection in a world that can sometimes feel broken, angry, sad and disconnected. My goal is that this music can help people go deeper into their own feelings and stories and can speak to the core of our shared human experiences. Regardless of my career with music, as an artist, I am always reaching to grow stronger in my musicianship and to be as authentic as I can be in my songwriting. I strive for my music to be more like a Zen painting or unforgettable Blues song where each musical phrase or verse conveys the rawness of emotion.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A: Nina Simone. Her deeply evocative voice expressed the profound poetry of her timeless songwriting and interpretation of other artist’s songs that is still relevant to the struggles of our human experience. This is a woman who spoke to the world from a place of absolute authenticity and self possession and faced the challenges of injustices of the times with this powerfully beautiful and moving music that inspires me to reach deeper into my own soul.
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
A: Reach for your passion. Luck and talent can go a long way in a music career, but committing to this path also requires countless hours of practice and training, soul-searching, failings as well as the successes. Let your passion for this work feed your desire to keep honing your craft. Humility. Putting yourself out in the world with your music can be a very vulnerable and humbling experience. Honor yourself for facing your fears and taking a risk to do something you love. Give yourself license to make the mistakes necessary to learn and grow. This is the only way to become more skillful and natural with your talent. Collaboration. No one is an island. We lean on and learn much from each other all the time. The good will, expertise and kindness of others are essential to building a career in music. Each musician, every sound engineer, venue coordinators, coaches, heck, your partner, family, friends…. Really, every person along the way will have a hand in your success.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
A: As a young person, I was so shy and insecure that I was literally afraid to speak in front of other people, but I loved music and I loved to sing. For part of my life I denied my music career. This negatively impacted my physical, emotional and mental health. I was afraid of not being good enough and afraid of failing, but throughout my life, music always made me feel better. Music was too much a part of me to let go. As a young adult, I started overcoming my fears and let myself become fully immersed in my passion again and came back home to myself. So to my 10 year old self, I say, “Kid, do your music! You’ve got this! Everything you need right inside of you so believe in yourself. You deserve to do what you most love in the world – Music!”.
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