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It's no surprise that Jessi Alexander was born in a small town halfway between Memphis and Nashville. Her sultry voice expresses the pain, longing, and despair of the music and life of the region.
"Growing up, I had such a wide range of influences," she says. "I remember thinking that Linda Rondstadt was country. So was Ralph Stanley and Earl Scruggs and Dolly Parton. I didn't have the same kind of boundaries you see in music today."
'Honeysuckle Sweet', Alexander's debut album released in March of 2005 on Columbia, introduces an artist without boundaries, whose confidence in herself and her roots shines through in each cut.
Jessi grew up in west Tennessee, spending summers with her father in Memphis after her parents divorced when she was just a preschooler. She remembers walking along Beale Street before it was sanitized for tourists, stumbling over winos, seeing fights, and just taking in the scene and the music. Like many musicians, Jessi remembers the Christmas as a child that an acoustic guitar appeared under the tree. But she showed her stubborn streak early on by refusing to play it. You see, she wanted a bass, having heard one growl on a B.B. King record and asking her father for "that low thing."
"Other kids were into soccer and all I wanted to do was listen to these records. Having my dad's stack of records was a great starting point," she says.
So she listened and absorbed. The Band, Bob Wills, Karla Bonoff, Bonnie Raitt, Little Feat, Bobbi Gentry, Jackson Browne, Hank Williams and, always, Patsy Cline. In fact, when she realized, at age 10, that she could sing, it was Cline's vocals she tried to channel. So much so that young Jessi eventually had to work to stop sounding like Cline. That memory brings a laugh from Jessi.
"Then I started sounding too much like Bonnie Raitt. When I moved here, I really wanted to start to create Jessi."
She moved to Nashville after leaving Middle Tennessee State University, where she studied social work by day and played in bands by night. Instead of playing for tips in the bars along Broadway, she sought out musicians she could learn from, who could help her develop from bar singer to full-fledged artist.
That happened through songwriting, she says, and the results are evident in the 11 cuts of 'Honeysuckle Sweet,' each of which she at least co-wrote. Working with co-producer Gary Nicholson and writing with Nicholson, Benmont Tench (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), Gary Louris (The Jayhawks) and Darrell Scott, among others, Jessi found her musical self. What comes through is a new voice, strong and proud, unafraid to tap into the best of the past while forging its own sound. Kind of what popular music used to be like before it was so strictly subdivided.
"I wanted this record to be very much a portrait of all my sides, all my influences. I wanted this to be a good template. This is Jessi. This is the platform on which I start," she says.
'Honeysuckle Sweet' might never have happened had it not been for some mischievous friends who submitted one of her tapes in a best unsigned artist contest in Nashville a few years ago. To her surprise, Jessi got a call saying she had made the second round of a contest she didn't even know she had entered.
Jessi not only won the contest, she attracted the interest of MCA, which signed her to make 'Honeysuckle Sweet.' Mergers and regime changes are the norm, and Jessi now finds herself releasing "Honeysuckle Sweet" for Columbia.
"I think more than anything, this is the first chapter of a long history. I think success would be to know the songs have touched someone because they've been living in me for so long. Some are four, even six years old. To know the transfer has happened - that I've written songs and someone has heard them. That's success."
By that measure, Jessi is already a success. She spent some time as a Warner-Chappell music writer, and Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless and others on country's A-List have recorded her songs.
And there's one more measure of success she's looking forward to. "I hope some day some little girl goes, 'I want to sing like Jessi.' How cool would that be?"
Cool indeed. And with the release of the sparkling 'Honeysuckle Sweet,' probably not too far off in the future.
Hiya Jessi , Thanks so much for the Add . Huge congrats as the co-writer of The Climb the current #1 single in the UK having sold 580,000 copies in 2 weeks. Yes, 2009 has been a great year for you, hope your enjoying being a Mummy . Be lovely to see you & Jon back in the UK sometime , your music was "Honeysuckle Sweet" Happy 2010 to you both , best wishes from England
Great profile. Peace and progress. Many thanks for adding me and looking forward to your comment.. Any suggestion is welcome. Hope you enjoy and dance to my Music. All the best wishes. Farid. Farid Adjazairi - Rouh Ayithvir- Go Algeria- Algeria World Cup 2010 Qualifier dedication song for our Friends.
Christmas is coming soon. Are you looking for a Christmas present and would like to help handicapped children? Than please request the list of donations in kind from HelpCharity, www.MySpace.com/HelpCharity , by sending me an e-mail at Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de . Many donations in kind are autographed.
If you don't have the chance to request the list of donations in kind, please add HelpCharity to your Top Friends!
Thanks for helping me to support handicapped children!
Christian
Founder of HelpCharity Editor & Journalist for Country Music Christian Lamitschka An der Pfingstweide 28 61118 Bad Vilbel Germany Phone: ++49 (0) 6101 544613 Mobil: ++49 (0) 171 6903352 E-Mail: Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de Internet: www.MySpace.com/HelpCharity Internet: www.MySpace.com/ChristianLamitschka
Today I would like to let you know about two print magazines in Germany I'm writing for.
"Living Line Dance", reporting about line dance and country music, and "Folk Magazine", reporting about folk and country music. The magazines are high respected in Europe. They offer you a good chance to publicize yourself in Europe and Germany.
For more information, please contact me at MySpace or send email to Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de with the headline "Advertise at Living Line Dance and Folk Magazine".
Today I like to inform you, that you can read and watch interviews with your favorit country stars in Enlgish, German and French at http://www.CountryHome.de/Interviews .
Warm regards
Christian
Editor & Journalist for Country Music Christian Lamitschka An der Pfingstweide 28 61118 Bad Vilbel Germany Phone: ++49 6101 544613 Mobil: ++49 171 6903352 Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de Info@CountryMusic-Magazin.de www.MySpace.com/ChristianLamitschka
New pics, new videos and new LIVE tunes going up today! Let me know what you think! Sending some ATX (that's Austin Texas) love out to everyone. Ruby Jane
Will Scott's new album, GNAWBONE is here!!! The CD is available at CDBaby and other online retailers.
Over three years in the making, GNAWBONE is Scott's fully-produced studio debut and features a crack team of hand-picked musicians as well as guest performances by Jan Bell, Jolie Holland, Samantha Parton, and Preacher Boy (the album's producer).
CountryHome Forum have more than 5,000 members. Each news you submit to CountryHome Forum will released to my weekly Newsletter with more than 50,000 readers.
Please submit your artist news and events to CountryHome Forum to help your artists to get well known better in Europe. If you do not have the time to submit your artist news and events by yourself, please send it me to: Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de and I will submit them by myself to CountryHome Forum.
I know that many artists from North America don't have their music videos uploaded to German video websites. The most popular websites are MyVideo.de and ClipFish.de. That means your European audience does not have the chance to find them.
I understand that most of you don't speak German and are not able to upload videos because of the language barrier. If you would like me to upload your videos to the German video websites, please let me know.
Thanks
Christian
Editor & Journalist for Country Music Christian Lamitschka An der Pfingstweide 28 61118 Bad Vilbel Germany Phone: ++49 6101 544613 Mobil: ++49 171 6903352 Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de Info@CountryMusic-Magazin.de
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