Words, melodies and stories were my refuge in childhood and they flowed through me profusely as though angels were whispering and strumming in my ears. I was born from the same lineage that spawned legendary guitar player and country singer Glen Campbell. Our family reunions were filled with song and dance and I watched, secretly hoping that one day the music inside of me would come out and play.
The words began with my diary and over time, they evolved into fictional tales and songs. I was shy, though, and scared so I didn’t share what I created with people. Finally I recorded my first album titled “With Vitality and a Poet’s Lens” with the project Belles of Holly. The band name was inspired by the character Holly Golightly from the classic book and film ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’. I was a bit obsessed. The songs have been described as haunting and full of longing wrapped in an acoustic, indie-folk sound. I examined my painful childhood, sense of fragmentation and romantic idealism/disappointment in depth. Friends from all over the country contributed to the album. The recording was low budget and as soon as money falls from the sky, perhaps I will have it remixed and mastered. Still, I like the songs.
While living in New York City, I created the flash fiction blog ‘Stories on the Fly’ and it was there that I got to play in the whimsy of imagination and receive the instant gratification of a story written in one sitting and published immediately. The narratives include a dark comedy about a woman trying to find the perfect place to die with the support of a suicide hotline, a woman who stays pregnant perpetually, a man who is captured and ‘tortured’ with kittens and a couple who spends a summer napping in hammocks that belong to all sorts of strange characters. They are fun and could easily be read in one toilet sitting. One day, I hope to sell some of them and see them translated into film.
I eventually moved to San Francisco where I underwent intensive transformation while studying counseling psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Creative output slowed as my intellect reeled in theories and my own healing work deepened. In heightened states of vulnerability, I struggled immensely to be in the world at all. I grew interested in trauma education, hence the Instagram videos made with Amber the Activist. Songs continued to emerge and my education only added to their quality. I never gave up on the dream even if that’s all it could be for awhile- a dream.
Jennie Says Words is a composite of the songs and fiction written over the years, all of which are similar to reading a page from my diary. The songs are said to contain intelligent, confrontational and poetic lyrics paired with melodies that hook you. I am currently working collaboratively on a screenplay and developing the material for my next album. Jennie Says Words is a promise of many creative projects to come and a way to cast out the net and let the world know that I am here to write, to sing, to love, to feel and yes… to die. Did I mention what a pleasure it is to explore human shadow?
Okay, this will do. Hi, nice to meet you.
Love,
Jennie