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Interview with Jennie Walker
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 Who is JENNIE WALKER and how would you describe your music?
I am an evolving artist who writes about mature themes and the complexities of life as we go through it. My music is a mixture of digging deep and not being afraid to express the honest emotion. I write and sing about topics that people tend to shy away from. I find it ironic that our society has so many rules to govern our behavior and judge what we say and how we say it. It makes the truth fascinating. I can say things through my music I could never say otherwise. I can hide behind the music and yet that invisible curtain allows me to reveal who I really am and how I really feel. Music makes me brave.
When did you start getting into music and were you in other bands before?
I have been into music since I could understand what music is. My mother studied Opera and piano in her youth, so as a child, I was always around music. My mother kept me close to music, giving me voice and piano lessons throughout my entire childhood and into the teenage years and as an adult, I kept that moving forward on my own. I was the child who was always in the school play, or the church choir. My mother viewed music for me as a totally positive influence and I was good at it. It kept me busy and out of trouble. I am really grateful to her for exposing me to music as a young child. I was in a band called Bailey Park for a number of years in the mid to late 1990’s when I lived in Atlanta, Georgia. In the band, it was not about me or my music. I was not the front person. I was there for duets and background vocals. Everyone who knew me well, thought I was misplaced in that band and that I needed to be a front person and I felt there was something lacking also. It was when I moved to New York City in 2000 that I began to develop my own songs, my own sound and my own band. I was finally able to find my unique voice and be at the center of my own musical stage.
What would you say would be JENNIE WALKER's biggest achievement so far?
My biggest achievement so far has been my ability to reach and help others through my charity work. While I have maintained a side career in the charity sector as a fundraising consultant, having stared in the charity sector through volunteer work and later a staff position with President Jimmy Carter’s Center in Atlanta. I volunteered and was later Volunteer President of the Georgia Music Industry Association (formerly the Atlanta Songwriters Association). Through this registered charity, I organized many educational events, panels, workshops and competitions, for artists. I have really deep imprints of those years involved in the organization and helping people. Some singular moments were people coming up to me saying how much my words had inspired them to pursue their musical dreams. It just brought home how you can influence people and not even know the depth of what you are offering them. What stood out to me is that the members were adults, some hobbyists, working to become serious about their craft of songwriting or becoming an artist. It takes a lot of conversation to reassure someone that they have a chance to fulfill their dreams. That was my role - I served as inspiration and therapist! It was all about giving back or better said, giving belief.
I had a chance to feel another side of the depth of music when I was working for Rockefeller founded Synergos Institute and the Global Philanthropists Circe. It was during this time that I organized trips for philanthropists around the word, to include Mexico, South Africa and Mozambique. David Rockefeller’s daughter, Peggy Dulany, knew I was a musician and would ask that I sing on these international trips. During a trip to South Africa and Mozambique, I was asked to sing for a group of teenagers who had greeted our group in song at the LoveLife Center in Johannesburg, South Africa. First, I remember starting to cry for no apparent reason as I listened to pure, a cappella South African music. The wall of sound just shook me to the core. I was overwhelmed. As I sang one of my original songs, I remember them chanting in appreciation during the second verse of my song and not stopping until it was over with. I had a similar experience in Soweto at a Salvation Army Center. Our group was greeted with song and dance and I was asked to reciprocate. A young South African teenager came up to me afterwards and asked me if I was famous. I told her, “I am famous in my family”. I still remember seeing posters of American Pop Stars in their rooms, as we toured the center, like Britney Spears. I sang for rural women in Mozambique, who also had greeted our group in song. A Synergos staff member translated into Portuguese that I would return their greetings with a song of my own in English. They chanted in appreciation after the second line of the verse. It gave me chills. I knew at that moment the pure depth of music, its power and how it connects people all over the word of various cultures. A symbolic conclusion to the trip was being asked to perform on the beaches of Mozambique for Nelson Mandela’s wife, Graça Machel. I still can see the guards with machine guns on the beaches under the night sky and hear the water lapping onto the shore. As an emerging artist, it would be impossible to measure my achievements by radio play, streams, or MP3 sales. The true measure of my achievements are internal and purposeful. Private.
What are your aims for the future?
I am focused on completing my debut album with my very accomplished producer, Tommy Faragher (www.slopestudios.com). When my album is completed, I have plans to move to London, England to pursue my charity work and musical career.
Your favourite music album/influences?
I have been more influenced by music I heard as a young girl then the music I hear as an adult. When I was first discovering music, I was fascinated by harmony. I just adored Karen Carpenter, she had a clarity and purity in her voice that I really could relate to. I loved Captain and Tennille, the Jackson 5, Commodores, Bread, Barbra Streisand, and the Beatles, to name a few. My mother took me to Opera’s, like Madame Butterfly, and every musical that came through Texas. As I grew older, I was drawn to edgy artists like Blondie and Madonna and classics like Elton John and Phil Collins. My most current musical influence is Robbie Williams. There is something about how he writes about his life that just resonates with me. There a strange yet exciting truth with a mixture of black comedy to his lyric writing with a bit of tongue and cheek. I really enjoy the layers of meaning in his lyrics. And, his story is a great one. I am really disappointed his music has not caught on in the States as it has elsewhere. But, when you really enjoy an artist, you will of out of your way to get their music and see them perform. That is what I would do for an artist I like and that is what I do for Robbie Williams.
Last album you bought?
Robbie Williams “Intensive Care” the latest album. I also bought the DVD of “Live at Knebworth” which has been out a while, but new to my collection. I had to turn to eBay to get it!
Favourite all-time film and book and why?
“The Secret” is my current most favorite film to date and as of this writing I’ve probably watched it 50 times (www.thesecret.tv). It’s the most inspiring film I have ever seen. It leaves me with a feeling that anything in my life is possible, if I focus and believe. And that means my music. My beliefs begin and end with me, so anything that is a reminder of what I have the ability to achieve is going to catch my attention. Especially in a creative endeavor.
Have you had any embarrassing moments on stage?
My 2006 New York singing debut included an entire show with my zipper down on my fabulous “Seven For All Mankind” jeans!! Which is hilarious, because I spent a lot of time with my stylist, Adrienne Borgersen of “It Factor Image Consulting” (shameless plug www.itfactorimage.com), picking out the perfect outfit. I had a zipper that was down and the wrong undergarments. Instead of that smooth line, I had lumps, bumps and a zipper gone wrong!
Will we see you gigging in the future or new recordings?
For the rest of 2006, I will be working with my producer, Tommy Faragher, to finish recording the songs for my debut album. I plan to gig on an opportunity basis, using my time mostly in the studio. I have been asked to perform for some charity events. I run an ongoing Indie Artists series in New York. We raise money and awareness for “World Hunger Year”, through its “Artists Against Hunger & Poverty” Program. As an AAHP artist, I ensure that all of my performances have a benefit component.
If you could cover any song what would it be and why?
I really enjoy the music of “The Phantom of the Opera.” While I haven’t studied the more “classic” forms of voice, many a voice teacher has suggested I spend a lot more time in my upper vocal register. I like to vocalize to the music of “The Phantom of the Opera,” because it really drills you through a variety of chord progressions and it’s a challenge to hit the notes every time. Every song is perfect, so I would toss a coin and let it pick for me.
What is your song writing technique?
I write purely on inspiration. Usually, after I have spent time with someone who is really close to me, and have been paying close attention to what they have been telling me, I start writing. I reflect on what was said and that which was most profound to me, I start thinking about it and usually a song emerges. When I care about somebody, I can write about them and what they are going through. I can empathize. I have one friend I call “Mini Muse” because no matter when we talk or get together, I end up writing a song about something that has been said when we are together. Other times, I am inspired by something massive in my own life. I don’t write about the everyday things. Something has to have a profound impact on me emotionally. These are where the initial inspirations for songs come from. I then like to collaborate with my producer or other co writers to fine tune the initial inspiration. I usually come to my producer or co-writer with the full song and a lot of time, we end up using most of it. One song I brought to my producer we did not really change anything and I just about fainted! Being around a seasoned producer and songwriter, like Tommy Faragher, has helped me to really improve my craft.
Favourite chord?
I really enjoy using minor chords and prefer to use them, but of course only when they fit the song. Sometimes I write with irony, so I sometimes play an upbeat tune with major chords against a dark subject. In “The Optimist,” again ironically, it's an idealized subject against dark, minor chords. There is something that I feel I can express better in the minor chords. I like to set a mood or a tone of the music and the minor chords help me to achieve that.
What treats and goodies would you like backstage before a gig?
What I would like backstage and what I should have backstage are two very different things! I would love a large bowl red M&M’s, a large Coca-Cola and a piping hot Pepperoni Pizza! I don’t actually eat before a show because I am trying to focus. I will drink lots of water and if the venue has the capability, I’ll have green tea with lemon. Any alcohol always comes after the show is over!
Have you a piece of advice/tip you could give to an unsigned band?
I believe you should consistently and methodically do your music. Take it seriously and enjoy the process. My experience has been that a break usually comes from the least expected source and more well-worn paths can turn up limited results. You don’t know what person or what event will lead to your next break. Therefore you have to treat all of your musical experiences with the respect they deserve as well as all the people you meet during this process. People who have been the most help to me really are industry friends, who have been following my progress for a long time.
Ok here's a chance to plug your CD or songs you have on sale on
Overplay.
You can purchase MP3s’ of 6 of my songs (Your Father, Your Mother; The Optimist; Night Flight To London; Simon; I Crossed My Own Line) on www.overplay.co.uk/jenniewalker as well as the recording of my London Debut at The Bedford in May 2006.
What question would you have liked to be asked? What is the answer to
the question?
I always liked to be asked about what inspired a particular song. I would like to have been asked about the inspiration for my song “SIMON.” It was inspired by the Tsunami events of 2004 and the tragic love story of supermodel Petra Nemcova and English fashion photographer Simon Atlee, combined with the inspiration of my own good friend Simon who lives in London, England and who I had not heard from for three months, when the tragedy happened. It is a love song. It’s haunting. And I had one prominent A&R person hear it and ask me about the inspiration. I had left out the part about my friend Simon in London. So, she was curious how I was able to write such a powerful ballad about two people I had never met. When I told her the extra ingredient, she then understood. So, I always leave that part in now, as private as it is.
by overplay |
 Visit Jennie Walker page |
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