E is for East Coast

very once in a while you come across a music artist who just seems completely different to anyone you've heard before, and they just blow your mind. That's kind of what happened to me when I discovered Jenny Owens Young's song, "Fuck was I". It was a song that spoke to me for its simplicity and its sheer truth. It came at a particularly poignant time in my life (see "D is for Divorce".) It was also the song that lead me into discovering a whole new movement of music, primarily coming out of the East Coast states of the US -- New York and New Jersey. Check it out:



I was watching a show called "Weeds", from Showtime. It was fairly big in the States at the time, and all the cool kids were watching it. The first show of Season Two contained J.O.Y.'s song, "Fuck was I", and its haunting and anguished refrain just had me hooked. I immediately found out who the song was by, and listened to the rest of her songs (on Myspace, I think, such were the times!). That song came from her first studio album, "Batten the Hatches", which was an independent release back in 2005. I ordered it, along with her "The Scrappy Demo" EP, and received both from the fair hand of Jenny herself. In 2007, she re-released "Batten the Hatches" under the Nettwerk label, and then in 2009 released her current studio album "Transmitter Failure". I have to say, I didn't like it at first. It was a lot more poppy and upbeat compared to the stripped-back, relaxed tone of Batten. I think I probably listened to it a couple of times, and then let it fester on the shelf. I went back to it later that year, though, with fresh ears, and was just blown away. The songs are definitely growers, and the whole album is really packed full of gems. I think it is probably one of the most listenable albums I own. Check her out playing some old and newer songs, courtesy of the SXSW music festival and Roxwel.com:



Jenny, along with many of her modern singer-songwriter kinfolk, plies her trade extensively through the internet. As well as being active on Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, Ustream/Livestream and I daresay, Myspace, she uses the internet to her advantange, advertising shows and merchandise, and even raising money for her next album. Through Kickstarter, Jenny asked her fans for $20,000 to record and release a new CD. Within *28 hours* she had that, and more, such was the devotion of her fanbase, and the power of internet-based word-of-mouth. On day 2, she upped the goal to $30,000 and that was reached too. Currently, the project has been funded to the tune of $38,543 by 646 people. Most of these people will receive a copy of Jenny's new album, effectively buying it in advance and easing the financial nightmare it must be to record and produce an album.

But Jenny Owen Youngs is not out there fighting the good fight for singer-songwriters on her own. Oh no, she is surrounded by a veritable commune of folky friends... Brooklyn is bursting at the seams with blossoming talent. A similar tale of success belongs to Ingrid Michaelson, who found fame through an episode of Grey's Anatomy. Her songs are now heard all over the US, she has performed nationwide TV and she even wrote Cheryl Cole's recent UK hit, "Parachute", widening her renown. She recently duetted with Sara Bareilles at the White House, for President Obama. Ingrid's regular band contains two talented artists in their own rights, Allie Moss and Bess Rogers, both of whom have solo releases. Her drummer (Elliot Jacobson), bassist (Chris Kuffner) and keyboard player (Saul Simon-MacWilliams) also play with other singers, including Allison Weiss, another internet phenom who has raised money for her musical projects through her fanbase. Of course, musical collaborations abound. The last couple of years have seen joint tours by Jenny, Bess and Allison; Allison, Bess and Lelia Broussard; Allison, Lelia and Lauren Zettler. Allison also plays with the band Field Mouse, comprised of her roommate, Rachel Browne, and friend Andrew Futral (who is also known as the solo act, Age of Rockets). Jenny, Bess, Andrew and Saul make up The Robot Explosion. Lauren often teams up with (accomplished solo) guitarist Cameron Mizell. Many others have cameo roles: Hailey Wojcik, Julie Peel, Mercy Bell, Amanda Duncan, Joanna Burns, Dannielle Owens-Reid, Alexa Wilkinson, Maryanna Sokol, Katie Herzig, the list goes on. The endearing, and enduring, thing about all these talented musicians is that they're personable, they're personal, they're regular people with amazing skills, all willing to share them with you via internet updates, online webcasts, or if you're really lucky, at a show near you. Oh, and by the way, their music ROCKS!!