jenniferjohns

Jennifer Johns

Interview 6 January 2005

http://www.jenniferjohns.com/home.html

Hey Jennifer How you doing

I am great thanks for asking

Wow the album is unusual, diverse, different and eclectic.

Tell me about how you put it together, and what the aims are. What are you trying to project.

thank you :)~~~ the goal was/is just to make great music-

I just put down on wax what I was feeling at that point in my life and the EP that you listened to was the end result

Theres a whole heap of influences in there?

yes! I like a lot of different kinds of music- sounds- I like sounds- genres are not important-

my favorites artists are too many to list- but Sade, Lauryn Hill, Sweet Honey in the rock, Bob Marley, KRS-1,

Mos Def, Jay-Z, Pheobe Snow and a few of my favorites

Whats Electric Soul

music that is electrifying :)~~~

1.    soul music with an electronic bent or base to it

Hows it going down, what reactions are you getting.

It has been amazing- folks have been sooooo supportive-

i get amazing emails and guest book signings- the press that I have gotten has all been very positive...

Are you quite well known amongst your community.

I am not famous yet- but i think that folks in my community know who I am.

I have been singing for a long long time and this last tear touring with Blackalicious

 and opening for all of the folks that I did this year definately helped

Whats your show like. Do you do much live work?

Ummmmm talking about love is like dancing about architecture and I love love performing,

so yes i play out as much as I can- what is my live show like?????

Fun I hope- the people seem to like it!!! I do shows with just me and my DJ - 2 turntables and a microphone stylie

 and I do shows with a live band- I love both!!!-

I would say that the words that best describe my show would be energetic, honest and personal.

Using the same people as on the album? Do you have a team of people around you.

If you mean musicians than no

-Spontaneous produced the record and Josh Evans from Felicia Loud

 and the soul played most any instuments you heard on the record-

I have my own band that plays with me so no

-not the same as the folks on the record but it was produced hip hop stylie

with an ASR-10- reason and a program that Josh wrote.....

I do have a management team though if that is what you mean

and those folks I assembled after the project was completed.

Do you have a strong personality. The album suggests you are your own person

I think I have a strong personality- I am definately my own woman

-         I know what I want and I go after it- I am head strong-

-          you have to be to pull off being an independent artist and get anywhere with it-

-          But having a strong personality means a lot of different things-

-          I know when to say I dont know and how to ask for help when I need it- that is a truly strong person and personality i think

Tell me about Nayo Movement Music. Thats you isnt it. Are you expanding into other projects.

Yes Nayo movement Music is my label- It means 'she who brings joy'-

it was the name of a group that i was in- after one of the members passed in a car accident

 in 98 I decided to keep the name- that way I know that in a way she is always protecting me.

Whats happening now promoing the album?

things are well- the internet is proving to be mad helpful-

performing is always the best promotion- and folks are really receptive

Tell me about yourself, yourebackground , where your from, what you like doing

i am 25- I am from Oakland, CA- born and bred!!!

I have been singing since I can remember- I love doing what I do.

Outside of making music I love making jewelry-

I plan to work on working on a one woman show/acting in the years to come.

I have a lot of love for the industry and how it works so I plan to grow

my company to support the release of other artists and projects-

I want to help bring music back to the school systems here in the states

And musics always been in you. What did you listen to growing up.started in Church.

I started singing when I started talking-

if you ask my parents they will say I was singing first I think

-         my first performance was in church when I was 3 and....

-          my parents listened to a lot of different things- there was a lot of soul-

-          Earth Wind and Fire, Pheobe Snow, The shirelle’s, The Pointer sisters,

-          Whitney Houston, Sade- My Aunt Irene who lived with us as a pre-teen/teen

-          has a lot to do with what I listened too as a youth she is West Indian

-           so there was a lot of Calypso and Reggae Music in my house as well-

-          Sparrow, Arrow, Invader, Bob Marley, Buju Banton, Jimmy Cliff, Maxi Priest

Who do you admire from then, and now. Hip Hop?

Rakim, MC Lyte, KRS-1, Queen Latifah, Doug E. Fresh- Jay Z,

 Mos Def, Talib, Gift of Gab, Zion I, Crown City Rockers,

And you studied music and have had the opportunity of working with the likes of

Nancy Wilson, Roberta Flack and others tell me about that.

I was a part of the Oakland Youth Chorus so we were blessed to have masters

classes with really amazing people like Nancy wilson, Pete Seager-

While apart of Vocal Motion the a capella ensemble we played the souls of Christmas

over 3 days with Peabo Byrson, Melissa Manchester, Roberta Flack and James Ingram

-         It was crazy!!!! They were soooo nice- we played at Davies Symphony Hall-

-          that experience further solidified that I would be doing what I am doing now

Tell me about the move to LA had you made a decision by then that your career would be in music.

yes. I always knew I was to do music- what I didn’t know was that

I wanted to be mogul- that happened when I got to LA

And you cut some stuff with Goodvibe?

Do you know about Big DRO- he is the best emcee that you will probably never hear

 that was signed to goodvibe-

I was introduced to Matt Kahane from goodvibe by Jabari Gray-

who was apart of the group the Anonymous-

if i am not mistaken thier album green and gold was the first release-

I know that it featured Eminem right before he blew up- Goodvibe is how I met both Mystic and Spontaneous-

But you were able to get work and build a career and business? Hard work?

yes- it was not always easy more because it is hard to anything that is not what you love-

 I am also a massage therapist so I did that for a second but was just not into it-

I hosted at Jerry's famous Deli and the best job I had was researching hip hop for a dot com called SCOUR- after that job ended I just decided that I should go for broke-

I was blessed enough to have commercials that I sang on that supplemented my income and sometimes was my income

Where are you living now? Back in LA? You moved away to Seattle right?

I live in the Bay Area now which is where I am from-

 Oakland to be exact :)~ I moved from LA to Seattle last November to record

and after I was finished I just never moved back- I travel a lot so I am there enough to not miss it too much-

And whats the plan for the immediate future

TOUR!!!!! promote this EP- record a new album- secure International distribution

 And the master plan?

Be happy!!!!!!

 Anything else youd like to add.

thank you soooo much for talking your time to be in touch with me-

thank you to your readers in advance for thier time as well

Good luck and thanks for your time.

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