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Jenai

By Alex Teitz

FEMMUSIC: Can you describe your songwriting technique?

J: Oh boy! There's no rhyme or reason, sometimes an idea just pops into my head or sometimes it's just the title, sometimes it's just the melody. It just happens different ways at different times and I just grab on to it when it comes, you know?

FEMMUSIC: What was the biggest challenge making Cool Me Down?

J: The whole record? (laughing) There wasn't any challenge. There wasn't. I had a blast. I had so much fun. There really wasn't anything that was challenging at all. All of it was good and I had a blast making it.

FEMMUSIC: Is there any particular experience that sticks out making Cool Me Down?

J: I think the thing that I loved the most about the whole process is when we would go in and just start and do the beginnings, like the rhythm section, we'd start, what we call "tracking" and that's like the first day. We'd take our little song we had on a boom box and with a little guitar on a local boom box and we'd go in there and play it for everybody and we'd sit and rap and talk about what we wanted to go for, and the moment that everybody starts playing it, it is just the biggest thrill. It's like your creation comes to life at that moment.. Nothing can beat that.

FEMMUSIC: What was it like working with Brent Maher?

J: He is the best. He is so laid back and so positive and so caring and involved and let's the artist be the artist. You know I had a lot of involvement. We were all like a big family, a big team.

FEMMUSIC: As a woman in the music industry, have you been discriminated against?

J: No. I really haven't come up against that so much. I think the only thing for me that…may be a….well I'm a musician as well and I play bass in my band which is kind of against the grain so to speak. There's not too many artists out there that actually play. I think at first…I wasn't discriminated against at all but I think people were wondering for a little bit if I could actually do it. You know I kind of sensed that, "Ohh. Is she going to be able to it?" Once they found out I could do it, it was no big deal. But that's about the only thing that I've come up against. Is this sort of wondering, "Is she going to be good enough?' and all that…You know. Most people who play they play.

FEMMUSIC: What one thing would you change about the music industry itself?

J: Um…(laughing) I think…boy, there's a few things but I think….I think the way…the whole dealing with radio. I think that's the biggest obstacle it seems like because radio is so… and I don't know if there's an answer. I think it's just the nature of the beast. It's not like old days when people would just play the cool stuff. Now it's so formulated and they have to play songs that are kind of middle of the road because they're really not selling…Radio is not there to sell music. They're there to sell advertising and they just want stuff that is kind of in the middle, blasé, kind of, it seems like, so they can sell their ads. That's kind of the truth of it. Kind of sad, but…Yeah. I wish that was kind of different. I don't think we have any control over that though. I don't think the records companies have control over it and I don't think the artists do. That's why I happy that Satellite Radio is coming 'cause they just play everything. It's like the old days. They play cuts that aren't the single. They just play stuff that they like which is really cool.

FEMMUSIC: What advice would you have for an artist just starting out?

J: Believe in yourself. Never give up. Learn from criticism. I think that's the biggest one. Don't take criticism and then give up. Learn from it and keep learning 'cause if you've got something to offer, it's going to shine through eventually.

©  FEMMUSIC 2002

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