Dear Diary,
Artscape today!
If you're in Baltimore today, come on out to the Artscape Festival! The full band will perform at 3 p.m. on the Festival Stage. We also have special guest Tommy Lepson on keys!
You can also find me at noon hanging with the good folks of WTMD passing out all kinds of great stuff so stop by and say hi! WTMD rocks, people.... www.wtmd.org
Janine and her big Zucchini!
Hey, are any of you out there city farmers? I am and I thought I would show you my big zucchini! Here it is with the back drop of my fav beer, PBR! You can see how huge this zucchini is compared to the can. I was celebrating the 4th of July in West Virginia with some gal pals and we marveled over that zucchini for a long time before we enjoyed it.
Farming is good! Talk about shopping locally - I can just walk out my kitchen door and pick a squash, tomatoes (although they are taking their sweet-ass time to ripen), bell peppers, loads of herbs and I'm dying for the watermelon and cucumbers to hurry up. With all that extra zucchini I made zucchini bread for the first time and well, it is pretty dang good, if I do say so myself.
If any of you have pics of your bounty, or interesting farming stories, please share!
Yeehaw!
Janine on GoGirls Music Radio Hour!
It Should Be Me got a spin on the GoGirls Music Radio Hour yesterday. Thanks, Madalyn! I had a great time hanging out in the chat room talking to fans and other musicians all over the country.
For those of you that missed the show yesterday you can listen to it and past shows archived here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/gogirlsmusicradio
The show airs every Monday at 6 p.m. Eastern Time.
Cuz Chicks Rock!
Music Cafe tonight!
I am so geared up for our show tonight at The Music Cafe in Damascus, Maryland. This is our first time there and it's such a great listening room. They have great food and relaxed atmosphere. Just the thing you need after a hard day's work. See you there!
CD Release/Bday Show at IOTA
Oh my did we have a killer time at the CD release which happened to be the night before the first big dump of snow on the DC area. Some of my high school classmates surprised me by driving all the way from Ohio to be there. I think the drive back was challenging between the snow and hangovers...thanks Carlo, Kathleen, Mike, Margie and Mary!
Melissa Giges sounded great reprising her great backing vocals from the record as well as performing some of her own tunes. We closed IOTA down, I had breakfast at Bob and Edith's with my pal, Margaret, and went to sleep at 4:45 a.m. Thanks y'all for coming out and making the evening so much fun. It was a great birthday...
Janine Does Las Vegas
I hadn't been to Las Vegas in years so was I smacked in the face with all the changes! I went out with some friends especially to see Bette Midler's last performance at Ceasar's Palace and meet some other "Bette Heads." Here I am with the Harlettes, Bette's trio of bad girl back up vocalists! Check out www.bootlegbetty.com - the best Bette fan site commandeered by the fab Mr. D! I had so much fun at the show, especially with my $13 gin and tonic not to mention the very cute bartender calling me honey! The performance was incredible and Marie Osmond dropped by and then Gladys Knight came on stage and sang The Way We Were! Afterward some of the Bette Heads and I headed over to the Paris Casino and took a ride up the "Eiffel Tower." Tres amusant!
Vegas also has great thrift stores, beautiful mountains and I won twenty five bucks at jacks or better! Yeehaw. I love Vegas. Oh, and I certainly can't forget Elvis. He was everywhere!
26th Annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest Awards Ceremony
The tune, It Should Be Me, written by me and Max took home the Gold Award in the Rock/Alternative Category of the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest. Wakin' Up in Texas and The Grass is Always Greener also received Honorable Mention. Here I am with Max and Fred Cannon of BMI. Twas a night of fun, indeed!
Check out the video of our performance on You Tube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJuhCZXmZ3c
16th Annual Night of 100 Elvises
Did you miss the Night of 100 Elvises weekend? Too bad for you as it was a blast of epic proportions. Duff from Ace of Cakes was there Saturday night and I got to cozy up to him and Rodney Henry of Baltimore's Dangerously Delicious Pies. Aren't you jealous?! You should be... here's the proof. Rodney and Duff did an in yer face set of Elvis tunes that had the joint rockin'.
We did an AC/DC'd up version of Dirty, Dirty Feelin', the Fabulettes were my dream girl back up vocals on I Shall Be Released and then our usual rocked out Viva Las Vegas. Partying continued up in the Jungle Room with Danny Beissel and then the bus ride back to the hotel I had everyone singing Viva again! I think we did Elvis proud.
Friday night Billy Coulter (and his excellent band) and I did a duet of You're the Boss. What I'd Say and Viva Las Vegas had the showgirls dancing about in all their loveliness.
Always the first weekend in December - don't be a square and miss next year!
To Shop is Divine!
Miracle's do happen at Macy's on 34th Street! I was in NYC in August and decided to take my niece to Macy's. I came across an area called Beautiful Planet with lots of organic skincare. Well, I had to check it out and boy, what a serendipitous day! First I met Betty, who used to be a DJ in Nashville, then I met Patricia Elliott aka Renee Divine Buchanan of One Live to Live! I've been keeping up with the show since I was a kid (thanks, Grandma) and I couldn't believe it when I saw her there. I also met the founder of Farmaesthetics, Brenda Brock, and we all had a wonderful time chatting and realizing a lot of coincidences between the four of us.
Farmaesthetics became a sponsor for our new eco-friendly shopping bags which I hope to have soon. Their products are fantastic - lots of lavender which is my fav.
Check out Beautiful Planet at Macy's when you visit. I believe they are in the Pentagon City Macy's here in the DC area.
Wakin' Up is Getting Closer!
So Ruthie (most excellent graphics designer and front woman to Ruthie and the Wranglers) and I got together over the weekend and went over the photos for the cover and we are on the road to the finish line. We got some great photos from Frank Turner and Graeme King. Can't wait to see the finished product and get it into your hot little hands! This photo is by Frank and yep, I'm lounging on my bed with a PBR.... so close yet so far.
Montreal Jazz Festival
My good pal, Michelle Walker, and I spent 4th of July weekend in Montreal. We had a blast, despite getting rained on our first night at the festival. We ran into Branford Marsalis in the press/radio room of the festival. It was my first time spending the 4th out of the country but I did manage to see the NYC fireworks and see a bit of the um, ever young looking Barry Manilow perform at the DC festivities on the Canadian PBS station.
I had so much fun practicing my French and meeting so many cool folks during our visit, especially the very handsome guy who swallowed a 4 foot balloon - now that was a sight to see. Mon dieu!
Michelle and I sat in at the jam session the Sunday night of the festival, oh, along about 2 a.m. after which we chugged our pitcher of sangria. Sangria is very popular up there. I like that or j'aime ca!
The Baby Has a Name!
Max and I have christened the new album, "Wakin' Up." We took this from the song "Wakin' Up in Texas" as well as the general idea of waking up to a new world full of promise and lots of love. Waking up to taking responsibility for our earth and ourselves and having a kick ass time doing it!
I am so excited that things are falling into place. We are planning a September release with parties here in the DC area and New York. Stay tuned!
Les Tomates Chaudes
Les Tomates Chaudes' appearance at the 219 was a blast as predicted! Even though some of my birthday surprises for Cindy were found out too soon (Cindy's best pal Justin Lees coming down from NYC to play his most excellent guitar and a birthday cake) I was able to surprise Cindy by getting her Mom to come up from Asheville. Mary Shaver, Dave Sherman, Steve Wolf and Barry Hart helped make the evening one swell time. Lots of old friends and we made some new ones, too. Thanks to everyone who came out and hopefully there will be another reunion in the not too distant future.
Stephen Bruton
I am heartbroken to report that one of my fav songwriters, Stephen Bruton, left the earth this past weekend after a long battle with throat cancer. He was based in Austin and performed with his group The Resentments practically every Sunday night at the Saxon Pub. I met him several times over a few years and while I didn't get to know him well, I was definitely in awe of him and his wonderful songs. I recorded one of his tunes, Against My Will, on Save Me From Myself. It's an absolutely lovely song.
You can read about Stephen here...
http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/music/entries/2009/05/09/stephen_bruton_rip.html
My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends, he will be greatly missed.
Rain over Riverdale
Thanks to everyone who came out to the Riverdale Park Arts Festival in the rain May 3rd. Everything was moved underneath the East West Highway Bridge and we rocked on despite the damp atmosphere.
Ira Gonzalez performed a set of mostly Brazilian tunes which made me swoon. Keep an eye peeled for Ira around the area - he is definitely a must see!
2001 Washington City Paper Pop Quiz... ah the memories!
I found this link to a Pop Quiz I did with the Washington City Paper in 2001 and found it an amusing read and hope you will, too. Oy, the memories! If anyone has any fun or crazy stories that you remember (or can be repeated) that you may have had at a gig of mine or, hell, even one of your own, please share! There is a statutory limit on getting in trouble, you know. I've told my Mom some stuff I did when I was a teenager that would have gotten me killed, but now we just laugh... haaa, ummm, yeah. She can't ground me now!
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/archives/indc/popquiz/2001/pop0921.html
Warren Zevon Tribute blows the roof off of The Barns of Wolftrap!
Friday, November 21st was so much fun I wish I could do it over and over again. Being part of such a wonderful roster of musicians to pay tribute to Warren Zevon was nothing short of heaven.
I sang "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" and "Disorder in the House," the latter as a duet with John Jennings. Max and I were backed by Mr. Jennings, Greg Hardin, Robbie Magruder, Bill Starks and Chuck Sullivan. A girl can get used to that kind of attention, let me tell you!
All the performers were brilliant and the finale of "Werewolf in London" was a blast. We even had a werewolf show up! Thanks, Ronnie and everyone at Bandhouse gigs.
Photo: Linda Parker/http://lindaparker.zenfolio.com/
Werewolves of London at Wolftrap!
The finale of Werewolves of London at the Warren Zevon tribute. Ahh-oooooo, baby!
Photo by Linda Parker
DC Green Festival
The DC Green Festival was much bigger this year than last year and despite the sound problems (the music apparently interferred with the speakers at times so we practically could have gone strictly acoustic!) Max, Tommy and I had a lot of fun. I walked around the festival later and came away with many ideas to continue on my quest of being more green. My pals at Peak Organic Beer were there and they had a very tasty espresso beer. Beer was so good that they totally ran out at one point which was the only sad part of the day...
Guitars are done and boy are they kick ass!
October 13, 2008
Max and I hit NYC this weekend so he could finish up his fine guitar tracks on the CD. Y'all are gonna freak when you hear these new tunes. I am so excited - it just keeps sounding cooler and cooler. Blake (He is crazy!) and Max also kept me in stitches, and I love the sparkly guitar. Next up, keyboards!
I was walking around the West Village taking a little break and I'm pretty sure I saw Steve Earle walk past me. He looked mighty different from when I met him in Nashville - uh, more hair in his beard and less on his head. I managed to keep shopping at bay but why oh why does DC not have any bakeries!?
Stay tuned for more...
Me, Max and Blake
More October 13, 2008
Max, Blake and I are very happy after wrapping up all of Max's incredible guitar playin'! I was a little sleepy from the overly-tequilad-up margherita I had at lunch. Rock on!
Takoma Park Street Fest
October 5, 2008
Our first time performing at the Takoma Park Street Fest and what a fun time that was! The weather was gorgeous and our stage had a great lineup all day and I got to be MC, too! I believe you'll be able to see all the performances on Montgomery County Cable... so check us out when you have a chance. We also have a video up on YouTube of "It Should Be Me." Rock on!
Northern Virginia Brewfest - Rain and Beer!
September 28, 2008
I was hoping for enough rain (since it rained anyway) that there would be a major mud slide and folks rolling around in it but alas... We still had a great time serenading everyone while they tasted all the yummy beers available. And, oh yes, I had my share afterward. It became a beautiful afternoon and we had a blast. Check out Peak Organic Beer - that was one of my favs!
JWB Rocks Rockville
July 24, 2008
Yes, indeed. We came and rocked out in Rockville, MD. We turned the kids on and they went crazy! No, I did not bribe them to wear those JWB stickers...
July 22, 2008
Today Max and I drove up to Conshohocken, PA, to meet up with Blake Morgan, Jonathan Ellinghaus (drums) and John Turner (bass) to lay down drum tracks at Phil Nicolo's studio for the CD. It's now 7:30 p.m. and we have one song left to do. I'm gonna cry it sounds so good. These guys are crazy, too, making me laugh my ass off constantly but even though I'm the only chick, I can hang, my dear. Now mayonnaise has entered the conversation.... time to stop! more later. P.S. Pabst Blue Ribbon sold by the case across the street. Janine is happy...
Herndon '08...
If you were with us on Sunday, June 1 at Herndon Festival, you know what a good time we had. If you weren't, too bad for you! Here are the photos I promised so take a look for your smiling face! Thanks to all of you for watching the performance, getting on our email list and buying up those CDs! You made my Grandma proud!
CD Pre-production begins!
Saturday, June 14 - Max and I are on the 8:20 a.m. train to NYC gearing up for our first pre-production meeting with producer Blake Morgan. Woo hoo. Blake's studio is in the West Village just a few blocks from my cousin's apartment which is just a wonderful thing, especially when Max and I are walking back later that evening after dining at the infamous White Horse Tavern and the heavens open again and we get drenched. Umbrella anyone?
We spent about 7 hours working up arrangements and cutting demos for the rhythm section. We just had a blast! I can't wait for y'all to hear these songs. Hanging with Blake and Max can have a girl laughing til she cries and blushing intensely... Okay, okay... I know I started a lot of the trashiness, but hey, we all need a little trash now and then and I can hang with the best of 'em.
There were some NYU film students outside the window making a film of some kind. I wonder if they'll be able to see in the window!? We return in mid-July for the next set of tunes.
June 2008...
Well we survived Celebrate Fairfax and over 100 degree weather. Here we are after our set – Clark Matthews, Scott Mattern (who stepped in for Max while he performed best man duties for his brother's wedding), me and Tommy Hannigan. Thank God we were on the Budweiser stage!
April 20, 2008...
It's the GoGirls music jam at Union Jack's in Bethesda and did we ever have fun. Annie Sidley and her husband, Steve, Laura Baron and Max and I perform. We had much fun even though it poured rain the entire day and night. This will be a monthly girl throwdown (boys are allowed, too) and should be a good time on a Sunday night.
April 12, 2008...
I head up to my pals', Ed and Tobi, rent party up in the beautiful countryside north of Baltimore. Loads of bands (I got to sing a tune with a fine bunch of fellas before the nuptials began), friends, beer and chow. Hold up...Ed and Tobi get hitched in front of us all! One of the sweetest weddings I've ever attended. I also managed to do a little shoppin' while at the party because they have their "showshack" open. Ed (www.forkman.net) makes incredible jewerly from antique silver flatware and Tobi slings the pottery. I had to contribute to the honeymoon for Pete's sake! (Just who is Pete, anyway?)
Could it be Red Suits Me?
I walked the Red Carpet and got my photo snapped. But that's not all. I also got a wide-eyed hug from Grammy nominee and country/bluegrass songwriter, Jim Lauderdale at one of the many partys during Grammy week in Los Angeles. I can't tell you any more than that! What happens in LA stays in LA!
Me with Grammy winning producer John Alagia who told me no way was John Mayer having a lunch date with Lindsay Lohan earlier that day when we saw her in a restaurant in which we were dining on Sunset Boulevard. She caused quite the crowd of papparazzi and bad rumors!! --J9
Hollywood Holy Hell
My first full day in Hollywood and look what happens...
Holy hell, I thought he was dead but NO!!! Rip Taylor is alive and well and raising all kinds of trouble. I met him while attending the gathering for Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara when they received their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Michelle and I also got to pose with Anne Meara . . . I know, it looks as if I'm sleeping on her shoulder but so what I'm still getting a picture with her! It's a long story but we then get invited into the private luncheon being held at the Roosevelt Hotel! And then we met Jason Alexander. I told him I had been accused of having the "George Costanza" wallet. He asked where I keep it and said it resides in my purse! He said it doesn't count if it isn't in a pocket! So HA! And that was my first day. -- J9
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