Q: Hey, can you tell us a bit about where you come from, and what made you want to start a career in music?
A: I grew up in Upstate New York amidst rolling hills of Maple Trees that turn red in Autumn in an historic town called Elmira that claims the burial place of Mark Twain, old underground railroads beneath the churches of the town and two maximum security prisons.
My Mom used sing to me and my sister when we were very young and I think this stayed with me through my life. I started singing in the church choir when I was almost 5 and have been singing ever since. In grade school I fell in love with instruments — flute, oboe, piano. I loved practicing for hours a day, learning music and even writing my own songs.
My career path as a musician has been a winding road of experiences. Inspired by classic guitar driven blues and rock music, I began learning guitar at 21 and started writing my first songs — mostly with protest and environmental themes.
After studying Anthropology in college, traveling through South and Central America, caretaking both of my Grandmothers near the end of their lives I then traveled 3000 miles by Amtrak train to Oregon to study massage therapy. A year into my practice, I had to quit doing massage due to severe eczema that affected my hands. This reinforced my deep sense that music is my true calling. At that time I met my husband and helped him to raise my step-child. We moved to Southern Oregon where there is a strong folk music community. This is where I really got my professional start. I recorded several self produced, small press albums and began seriously building my solo career. After exploring so many life possibilities and raising a family, following my career in music became a true coming back home to myself.
Q: Did you have any formal training, or are you self-taught?
A: A little bit of both. I studied flute and oboe in school, had a piano teacher as a kid and was in school choirs up through college. I took maybe a year of guitar in total, but am mostly self-taught. I never really studied voice until later in life when I felt my vocal ability had hit a wall. I finally started studying with my amazing vocal coach – Ken Orsow. It’s been invaluable!!
Q: Who were your first and strongest musical influences?
A: My first musical influences were classical music which I was exposed to in grade school band and piano lessons – Beethoven, Bach… When I was 11 my friend and her family took me to see Jean Pierre Rampal – a virtuosic flautist, perform his on flute. This was my first concert and I was inspired by his incredible musicianship. However, when I was in High School I started listening to classic rock — particularly Led Zeppelin. Robert Plant’s soaring vocals spoke to me soul and their songs had an ability to transport me. I soon realized that the musicians from that era were strongly influenced by early American Blues Jazz and Country artists, many of whom toured through Europe where their music much more receptive audience than the more racially segregated
US. I started listening to artists like Billie Holliday and Big Mama Thornton. I deeply fell in love with the Blues. The Blues has had a profound influence on my own songwriting ever since.
Q: You have just released your new single, ‘Rainy Day’. Is there a story behind it?
A: Yes. Interestingly, Rainy Day was co-written with my friend and vocal coach, Ken Orsow, during the early days of the Covid lockdown. The day this song was created, Ken and I were meeting for our weekly “over the phone” writing session. It happened to be a particularly rainy afternoon when the chorus and title was sparked. For hours, Ken and I were on the phone, bouncing around ideas and verses, chords and melodies before the song was finally recorded and produced. For many years my partner and I lived in some exquisitely beautiful and remote places in the forests of Oregon. Rainy Day is inspired by those lush, green mornings when the rain would fall on the cabin, my sweet-heart lying beside me and a feeling of overwhelming contentment and thankfulness for being alive. It’s a song about love and gratitude.
Q: Can we expect a new EP or even an album from you in the near future?
A: Yes! I have just released 4 singles off of my Plenty Of Nothin’ To do album and I’m planning the full album release in the beginning of 2024!
Q: What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
A: As I mentioned earlier, Blues is my strongest influence and at the heart of my music. Even in the songs that are not strictly Blues, there is an element of heart and soul that I pour into the songs. One review of my music wrote, “A little Torch and a lot of Soul.” I feel this is a pretty true description of my sound, especially in my vocal approach.
Q: Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more?
A: Music has always been such an intrinsic part of me and there are so many levels to music in my life. On a purely emotional level, music is my balance. As a child, music helped me cope with the emotions of growing up. If I was having a difficult time, I could spend hours and hours practicing and I’d always feel better. Then there is songwriting and performing. These facets of my music feed me much more than the effort it takes. The flip side is the music business. This I call “work” whereas the other side I call “play.” The drive to grow my audience reach, social media posting, promotion, bookings takes a different kind of my energy and focus. Sometimes I wish this facet was easier and feels like it can take energy away from the creating, emotionally soothing side of music.
Q: Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song?
A: My songs speak to the very personal journey of my heart. I sing about surrendering to love and sensuality, the struggles loving fully, of longing and loss but also celebrating deep connections with those I care about most. Some songs come from my direct experiences — what I’m going through in the moment or something I’m trying to resolve from the past. It’s like journaling but with rhyme and rhythm and a melody that take me deeper into the feeling. Other songs are more experimental. Sometimes a word or phrase catches my attention. I like to see what ideas and emotions follow. Then, I experiment with different chords or riffs on my guitar that help the images be more evocative, visceral, emotional. At other times, I hear musical phrases in my mind and I pick up my guitar to find out where that music thread wants to go and what feelings they inspire — love, sadness, sensuality, longing…. Then the lyrics follow to give voice to the music. The most important part of the my songwriting process is to create a safe space where I can allow the ideas to unfold — regardless of whether it’s perfect or going to be a hit song.
Q: What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
A: On of the most difficult things I’ve endured happened just as I was completing my most recent album. By the Summer of 2021, as Covid was starting to ease, I was getting ready to release my new album – Plenty Of Nothin’ To Do and back to a full schedule of performing at a lot of outdoor performances. 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 started 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. During 2022 I kept performing, but mostly as an instrumentalist. I even had a couple shows while in total silence. Since I was unable to sing, I chose to put together a series of music videos for my new album with my friend and amazing videographer – Antonio Melendez with Heartisan Films.
It was close to a year of modified singing before my vocal cords started to heal but, thankfully, I’m back to singing again, with no surgery. This experience taught me take my voice more seriously.
The loss, healing and regaining of my voice has been my greatest teacher. It continues to teach me how to listen to my body and honor my voice. With every performance I gain a new level of mindfulness in my singing. I feel that I am a better singer after going through this difficult time, but the process of healing and overcoming my own obstacles has been invaluable to help me deepen into my music.
Q: On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
A: I realize that for some this answer might be about an epic stage experience or an award, but for me, the release of this latest album is really a proud moment for me that culminated with my live album release performance last June.
I started writing and recording this album just before Covid hit, then continued putting this together through Covid lock down when the whole world was in such an uncertain place. As I was ready to release, I had to delay further to heal from vocal polyps.
So, last June when I put my new band together – Jen Ambrose & The Mystics and we were finally performing this material for Plenty Of Nothin’ To Do, it felt like such an incredible break-though for me after so much time of waiting and healing. I am really proud of that moment and I’m excited to continue building on that momentum.
Thank you so much to all you good folks at Bored City for taking some time with me. I appreciate all the work and love you give in supporting Independant musicians!!!
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