Love and Loss in 2018

Like most of us, 2018 dealt some hope but also a lot of pain. For me it was the loss of a very kind friend named Kelli Archer, from Austin, Texas.  She stuck her neck out for me more than once and supported hundreds of musicians through the shows she produced outside her former vintage store, Roadhouse Rags.  I wrote a tribute song in Kelli’s honor; you can check out a quick DIY live video of the song “The Last Austin Cowgirl” below.

This fall I also lost the lease to my apartment in Minneapolis unexpectedly. Since I didn’t have a day job lined up, my dog Banjo and I traveled between Nashville and Minneapolis, bouncing from Airbnbs to artist cabins to hotels to friend’s houses . Between September and November we stayed in 15 different places (!!!!), trying to find full time housing…without a job it was no easy task.  It was off-the-charts stressful and a bit depressing, but a few good friends came to the rescue during this time. Thank you, GOOD FRIENDS!  I love you and you mean the world to me. 

Release of Deathfolk Magic 

In the midst of all this housing chaos, I finally released the first EP for my side project Bye Bye Banshee. ‘Deathfolk Magic’ came out on October 5, 2018.   At its heart, Bye Bye Banshee is new-age-meets-old-world-funeral music.   I’ve been researching and writing music based around death culture and mythology for about six years…and we captured four folklore-inspired tunes on this initial recording. The EP was expertly co-produced by Jeff Crandall (Swallows, J.Briozo) and it was recorded/mixed/mastered by audio guru Tom Garneau (Prince, Sting).  I also had an amazing band backing me up on this production, including Chris and JT Bates, Aaron Kerr and Brett Hansen.

‘Deathfolk Magic’ has garnered some nice reviews so far. Here are a few quotes...

"She inhabits every line of the song with unique ferocity and demonstrates all-encompassing vocal control with her ability to vary her voice from hushed respect to muscular, elongated lines seemingly dredged up from fiery depths of her heart...Jezebel Jones has written and recorded an EP release no one else could have..." - No Depression

"The music is jazzy, dark, mystical and I thought it would work perfectly in the first season of True Detective...That being said the vocals are the star of the show. Jones is dynamic, sleek and mysterious when she sings..." - Divide and Conquer

"The whole thing sounds like a New Orleans jam designed to raise the dead, a shamanic ritual and soundtrack in a ballroom beyond time. But for all its bleak subject matter the music is gorgeous in its understatement...and beautifully soothing." - Dancing About Architecture

You can read more about the project, see the reviews and listen to/download the music here. 

I've Moved Again...this time to Nashville

In December I signed a lease just outside Nashville.  I won’t say exactly where but it’s very close to the cabin where my hero—songwriter Townes Van Zandt—died. For a nerdy nomadic introvert like myself it’s helpful to be in a friendly city where people actually look you in the eyes, smile and even say hello. It’s very easy to meet people here…and those little southern charms warm my chilly northern heart. But I won’t lie, it’s the music and the mild winters that makes me most excited to be here. I like walking my dog in the January rain, grass still lush and green.  I’ve seen some amazing music here and will start playing live shows again soon.

To keep in touch, be sure to sign up for my NEW AND IMPROVED monthly newsletter, which will kick off in February 2018. New music, videos, poetry, illustrations and more!!!  

 

Death is all around us. Mostly in America, we avoid it.  For some reason, it's comforting to acknowledge Lady Death and make peace with her. 

When I write a song that confronts my fears...when I sing and breathe out that fear, that ominous presence--a kind of exorcism happens. And the fear is banished. Or at least slinks away sullenly into a dark corner somewhere.

That's what happened with this song: healing magic. (Also, it's kind of badass, as acoustic songs go.)

A recurring nightmare.

A nightmare no more.

Exorcism.
 

Update: Check out the song "If I Die in My Dreams", by Jezebel's new side project Bye Bye Banshee.

Masters of Performance: Chris Cornell, Part 1 – Seattle ‘Higher Truth’ Show

 
Note: I just woke up this morning to find out about Chris Cornell's death. He was a music hero to me, mostly because of his phenomenal, expressive singing voice and partly because Soundgarden was one of my all-time favorite rock bands. RIP, Chris Cornell. The world won't be the same without you. 5/18/17 -JJ

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I’m in my overpriced, moldy Fremont living room listening to the hazy, warm sounds of The Cult’s ‘Love’ album on vinyl, trying to decide what you tell you about last night. Damn. What a show.
 
After my recent move to Seattle, I found out Chris Cornell was going to playing a solo acoustic gig at Benaroya Hall, in the heart of downtown. Since I was on the mailing list (and if you’re a fan you probably should be on it), I got the early box office deal and splurged on 3^rd row center.
 
Now I’ve seen Cornell perform with Audioslave a few times, mainly due to my ex-boyfriend David, aka ‘the Minneapolis Mensch’. For many years, he was a sound guy/tour manager for Chevelle; I went to a few shows the two bands did together back in the day. I really dug Cornell’s smoky, multi-octave vocals, so I started listening to a shitload of Soundgarden, digging beyond the few hits I’d heard on the radio as a kid. Truthfully, it turned me into one of those annoyingly un-hip post-band-breakup fans. Looking-forward-to-the-reunion-‘cause-I-never-saw-them-live-before kind of deal. I apologize profusely for any pain this may cause real Soundgarden fans.
 
Fast forward {x?} years and I’m in Seattle, stoked about seeing Cornell’s solo show, strolling through a HUGE CLOUD OF POT SMOKE—some of which I may or may not be responsible for—and into Benaroya Hall. Some ridiculously nice older-lady ushers point the way to the “good seats” and I settled my leather dress-dressed self into the roomy third row, a mere 20 feet from the stage.
 

With Mike McCready. Photography: PeterDervin.com

At this point, if I were a Chris Cornell fan-freak, I would launch into some annoyingly-detailed play-by-play, citing every goddamn thing that happened during his set, including analysis of each song he played, the exact order he played the songs and how Cornell kinda-sorta clammed halfway through this one particular song but it was still SO amazing and blah, blah, fucking blah. 

Well, I’m not going to do that.  It sounds like a fairly tedious post for someone else to write. Probably some pale bearded hetero-man, who happens to have Mr. Cornell on his ‘allowed-to-be-gay-for’ list. Actually, if you must know some of these things, you might want to reference Dusty Henry's review on Consequence of Sound; it's detailed but not tedious. 
 
I CAN tell you this: the return of this Rain City son to a sold-out crowd of fans and friends was a beautiful thing to experience. He played almost everything I wanted to hear (except Mailman) and almost everything EVERYONE wanted to hear (except Outshined) because HE PLAYED FOR 3 MOTHERFUCKING HOURS, much of it solo. He played and played and sang and sang until some of the 40 and 50-somethings who had kids waiting at home with teenager babysitters had to leave.  And then he did an encore. 
 
SO instead of lulling you to sleep with a detailed analysis of the drop-D or drop-(insert favorite here) tunings on Cornell’s 9 or 10 guitars, in a few days I’ll publish a follow-up piece called Masters of Performance: Chris Cornell, Part 2 – 7 Ways to Make Your Next Live Performance Shine. Maybe there will be 10 things if I get all Irish about it. I think we can all benefit from the interesting creative decisions and killer performance skills that went into making last night’s show a memorable experience.
 
In the meantime, I’m packing my things. Moving day looms once again, like the approaching clouds of winter.  




-JJ
 

Read Masters of Performance: Chris Cornell, Part 2