Jess Klein – Backstage

Was just learning my friend Randy Weeks’ song, Summer of Love.  I’ve been crashing on the couch at Randy’s house this week while he is on tour since my ‘day job’ is to sublet my house out to visitors to Austin.  Strange economic times call for strange tactics.

I’ve wanted to learn this song since I sang harmony with Randy at a couple shows in Austin a few weeks ago.  When I finally learned it, I was amazed to see how naturally different my take on it is than his.  Words – what they imply can change so much depending on whose mouth they issue forth from.  I’ve been watching the DVDs of Joseph Campbell’s “The Power of Myth” – his conversation with Bill Moyers from 20 years ago.  He talks about the idea of having to build up energy through some kind of custom before one can break through to a new plane of understanding, how people in various situations embrace death as a reunion with something greater, how to sacrifice oneself to a greater cause is the highest honor.  Not sure where I’m going with this, but in some small way, in the best moments of making music, it feels like giving myself over something larger – I’m sure the flak team who like to attack my blog and itunes won’t agree, but then again, why should I care?  Something larger…

Randy’s writing is so brilliant and it’s feels both new and like part of a lineage to put myself into someone else’s words – the cure for writer’s block, or just writer’s molasses…Looking forward to debuting this version of Summer of Love either at the Hideout Theatre in Austin tomorrow night, or at Uncle Calvin’s in Dallas later this week.

Bound to Love was officially released September 15th.   Actually we don’t necessarily have ‘official’ release dates anymore, but tonight in Austin, I’m playing an album release show at the Cactus Cafe, a legendary room where you can hear a pin drop.

We set up a system on the website (maybe you clicked through that page to get here) where people can donate to the Bound to Love tour and get free tickets and albums in return.  I’m amazed by people’s generosity.  One fan even leant me her car for a month so I wouldn’t have to rent one for the September tour!!

In the coffeeshop I haunt, Snap just snapped “I’m the lyrical Jesse James.”  He’s got the power.  My neighbor is offering an improved version “I need a shower!  I need a shower!” Although he’s complained about it, they seem to have cued it to play again.  But not in an antagonistic way.

The September tour, though I didn’t blog about it along the way because we were still working on the site, was an incredible parade of friends, fun shows and lots of fans whom I hadn’t seen in a long time.  Man, it felt good to be out there, playing for people.  And I finally realized that if I ask for requests, then it feels like I’m playing the show for the people in the room and not just for some idea I have of what I’m supposed to do.  I want to feel connected to people, which is why I started playing music.  Some things take me forever to learn.

I feel overwhelmed and have to go catch my breath and rehearse for this show, but I just wanted to drop a few lines.

I don’t usually like to use this forum for business stuff – maybe that’s foolish, probably so – but it occurred to me there are some of you out there who may not be on my email list, so here goes…

My feisty new booking agent, Tom Baggott, is in the midst of booking me an ambitious national tour to help promote the release of my new album, Bound to Love, which comes out this summer on UFO Records. (I’m so excited! More on that soon…)  Hopefully this tour will bring me face to face with each of you!

The summer tour is shaping up to start around the second week of June and continue with a small break here and there through August, after which I’ll be heading over to Ireland and the UK to do the same.

I love making music, and wouldn’t trade my job for anything in the world.  However, *sometimes* (I use the term loosely) being a musician doesn’t provide a person with a large store of capital, i.e. enough for a car downpayment.

So, the deal I am proposing, more or less, is that if you, or your close, trustworthy friend, has an extra car or van they are not using – or are wanting to sell, but having trouble doing so, given the economic climate – I would potentially like to ‘rent’ it for a couple months.  I would like to be able to do so for either the cost of the insurance, or some weekly or flat rate which makes it worth your while, but saves me more than a rental agency would.

Ideally, your vehicle resides in either central Texas, or in the Southeast, Northeast or Midwestern United States (early stops on the tour).   Non-negotiably, your vehicle is reliable and comfortable for long drives by 2-3 people and a couple of guitars.

Included, as thanks for your extremely generous offering:

*An advanced copy of Bound to Love
*Lifetime guest list for you and a friend for all my shows

*** If you find yourself in the position of being able to actually donate a car for the duration of the summer tour, I will also gladly offer to give a performance in your home, or that of a friend with a big living room (!), no charge, for yourself and your friends.  (If this is a brand new concept to you, you can read more about House Concerts at www.concertsinyourhome.com)***

If you are interested in making a deal (!)  please drop a line to jess@jessklein.com and my management will forward it to me!  Then we can start haggling : )

I am really looking forward to seeing you all on the road, and maybe pulling up in your car!

Thanks again for being such warm company for this travelin’ troubadour.

Love,

Jess

Walking today down S 1st, trying to fend off the crankiness that comes over some people, like me (!) when it gets really hot out, my visiting friend and I ducked into a secluded garden shop/artist space called Happiness – immediately cooled us off.  Out back was a ‘bottle house’ made with loads of glass bottles in the walls to deflect light, a recycled mosaic.  This tile mosaic was on the outside:

Since moving to Austin, I’ve learned to have a sort of a reverence about the venue Antone’s – it’s a legendary club which was the stomping ground of Stevie Ray Vaughn and continues to be the place to hear great national acts coming through town.  I’m so excited I’ll be playing there this Wednesday night (Tax Day)!  A big supporter of the Austin music scene, Duggan Flanakin, recommended me to Chris Brecht, a great songwriter who’s putting the night together.  Also playing will be Tiny Tin Hearts, www.tinytinhearts.ning.com, whom I’ve heard fascinating things about, and their album was produced by George Reiff, who played bass on my new album.

I’m just really excited to be part of a another night of great Austin music.  Every time I have some time off here and get to go see people play, it hits me again how special this town is.  Saturday I was up at the Art Authority at Matt the Electrician’s Island of Lost Souls Festival, watching Sean Hayes, whose music (accompanied by Matt’s band) was like a gypsy travelling show or some kind of Sufi adventure (to my mind).  Sean is actually from California, but I thought, another reason I love to see music in this town is that the people making the music all seem real to me.  They seem ordinary, quirky, beautifully imperfect.   And they make incredible music.  And because they seem real, I feel like I can relate to them and that maybe I could make incredible music without having to be something I’m not.

At any rate, I’ll look forward to doing my best to make something incredible out of my real life Wednesday night.  I hope if you live in or near Austin, I will see you there.

A friend sent me a link to this new Springsteen song from his album coming out next week (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99173117&ps=bb3)

Had an incredible birthday this week.  We were working in the studio when I glanced out the back window and saw my friend Charlie Faye, who is currently on crutches due to a sprained ankle, trying to navigate the dog poop (Mark, one of my producers, whose farmhouse the studio is in, has 4 dogs!), and my other friend David Holmes, who is not on crutches, but was carrying a blue pinata!

Suddenly there were six more people in the studio and a the pinata, which I discovered, after they rigged it up and handed me a blunt intrument, was filled with apples!  (This might not be everyone’s ideal birthday gift, but I can’t eat candy, so I was pretty touched).  Following that mayhem, we all rolled down to Flipnotics and played a crazy show where there were cell phone signals coming through the speakers and all sorts of technical tomfoolery.  I wouldn’t have had it any other way.  It ended with my band and producers singing happy birthday.  I just feel so blessed.  Below, me, and the decapitated pinata, which Scrappy (producer/guitar player) suggested I put on a post on my front lawn as a warning to all the other blue bears.

Once I'd wacked the crap out of it

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In the studio. Matt the Electrician just came in to share his brass stylings with us. He has brass instruments of all sizes, like some old-time peddler of wares he kept pulling out cases of different sizes and shapes. It’s a warm day for January 3, 2009, about 80 degrees. Peanut the studio cat is using the opportunity to nap per usual. There is now a horn section on my song When the Time Comes. It sounds like Louisiana just walked into the room when that moment in the song comes. There’s a warm breeze blowing through the control room out here in the countryside 15 minutes south of town. Freedy Johnston just moved to Austin. He lives out here by the studio so we get the benefit of his presence. I landed in the right place.
Here’s a shot of Peanut, the studio cat:

Peanut

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Blogging to you direct from Aerie Studio in Austin, TX – we’ve just finished the basics for seven of the tracks for the new album. The players: Rob Hooper on drums, George Reiff manning the bass, Scrappy Jud Newcomb on guitar, Mark Addison and Scrappy co-producing. There is a mood and real energy and feeling to every song. Everything’s been broadened, lifted to a new level. I feel like the songs have real lives of their own now, bigger than me, which is the best. And all these great ideas lifting them up makes me feel like I’m really part of something. I don’t know how articulate I sound saying all this, but life is good in the space of making music with gifted players. Just now I was so relieved to hand over my guitar part in one of the songs to Scrappy – just to be able to say, this would be better for the feeling of the track – relieved to not have it be about me having to make my mark in that particular way. We have a couple more days of overdubs and then I head to Nashville to write with Phil Madeira who plays in Emmylou Harris’ band! I came into the studio this time with about 25 songs and now in Nashville I hope to write a few more. I’m interested to see how many I can write in this streak, in this space and time in the world, or my experience of it. It’s been a good streak since moving to Austin. I put myself on a mission this time around that if I could see an uplifting end to the story of a song, I would head for that. I was tired of beleaguering anything, feeling that a greater challenge would be to find the love in any situation. I think we’re calling the album Bound to Love, which was the title of the first song I wrote when I moved into my little cottage in South Austin.

The Austin-American Statesman published a story about the (successful) fight to save our cottages and maintain affordable housing for artists/recycle housing here in Austin:

http://www.austin360.com/music/content/music/stories/2008/12/1203cottages.html

This project has been like a joyful beacon that lots of creative people have been drawn to.  In addition to the exciting chain of events detailed in the Statesman article, 3 local filmmakers are now working together on a documentary about the project.  Maybe we will also go on tour together, and this will eventually be our own O Brother Where Art Thou (film/concert of musicians whose music was featured in the film/documentary about the concert tour).  It could happen!

My cottage, spared from the wrecking ball, and slated for relocation and a contract saying it will always be affordably rented to Artists

I woke up this morning with a complete song in my head.  It was a song I started 3 months ago and got too frustrated to finish.  Today it was fully formed, like a baby, or pillsbury dinner buns.  It’s called, ironically, ‘Am I Making This Hard on Myself?’

After that, I tiptoed into my living room where my friends MC Frontalot and his bassist Bl4k Lotus (he insists I spell his name this way – for those of you who don’t know, it’s pronounced ‘Black’) were sprawled out on my futon and floor after their film screening and show last night here in Austin.  The film is a documentary about them called Nerdcore Rising.  MC Frontalot is a founding father of Nerdcore hip-hop.  Maybe you’ve heard of it!  www.frontalot.com  And if the film is playing in your town, go see it – it’s fantastic.

Sleeping they looked like little babies!  Very cute.  I know them from when we all lived together in Brooklyn and took part in a musical Frontalot and Gaby Alter (their keyboard player) wrote called Young Zombies in Love.  I played a Zombie doo-wop girl.  Shake that booty.  Hope it doesn’t fall off.  Also, you can hear a live version of a collaboration Front and I did where he rapped on my song Soda Water here: http://frontalot.com/index.php/?page=lyrics&lyricid=38

After they woke up, Front insisted I join Twitter, so they hooked me up with that while I made them some tea.  You can ‘follow’ me on there: MsJessKlein is my Twitter name.  Then, incredibly (or not), he also fixed the long-broken playback function on my computer, so I have sound.  I should hang out with nerdcore artists more often.

Life is good.  Off to give Walter, my neighbor, his oven gauge back.  Then I’m hopping on my bike to get the lead out while the sun is still high.  Love!  Jess