A Beautiful Inheritance

Sunday, February 8th, 2009

Just thought I would share a few pics of my 1940s acoustic electric Gibson, 1950s Fender amp and Hohner harmonica that I inherited sometime after my Grandpa passed away a few years ago. These are among my most treasured belongings. He was in a band and also played clarinet and saxophone (like me). I always wished I would get his sax and clarinet, but I’m not sure whose hands they ended up in. I’m more than grateful to have these items though!

gibson-acoustic-electric3

fenderamp

hohner-harmonica

Sophie & Seasons

Saturday, February 7th, 2009

Finished writing another song last night, tentatively titled “Sophie”. I guess you could say I’m feeling inspired to write but I have so much other work to do and just don’t feel right spending too much time on it. Sometimes you just gotta flow with it though.

So, everything is starting to come together. The artwork for “Seasons” will arrive soon and then I can work on the CD inserts and such. It’s beautiful too, but I won’t say more. Don’t want to spoil it. :)

Other than that, just enjoying the weekend. It’s been raining the past couple days and even now it’s overcast, so we probably won’t do much for outdoor activities. We were supposed to go to a BBQ tomorrow with a married group were in, but we might get rained out so who knows. It’s funny because it rarely rains here but seems to whenever there is an important event! Still, I’ve never experienced such magnificent weather!

Soliloquy

Friday, February 6th, 2009

I’m so excited because my new guitar came today. It’s so cute and I am sure to get a lot of use out of it. In fact, I was able to finish writing a new song titled “Soliloquy”. I am very pleased with it. Most likely it won’t show up until the album following “Luminous” though. I hate to think I have to wait that long to get it out there, but maybe I’ll record an acoustic demo of it soon.

Back To Basics

Thursday, February 5th, 2009

Not too much to blog about at the moment, except that my mic did come today. The USB connection is so pristine, but now I’m having issues with my playback devices on my laptop. I’ll have to spend more time tomorrow getting that squared away.

For now I thought I would share a bit of what I’ve been up to the past few months. Some of you may not be aware that I moved to San Diego last September. For a year leading up to the move I was really wrapped up in getting my house ready to sell. This was extremely time consuming because it took major purging on my part. Not just with physical belongings, but priorities as well. It was a time of narrowing everything down to the basics and through that experience I got to discover what was most important to me. Of course this cut into my music making time, but I think in the long run it will make more time for me to do what I love most.

This move has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I have a real sense of peace and enjoy the laid back atmosphere here. I feel a new sense of inspiration, which was exactly what I needed. The biggest lessons I’ve learned is to fight for your dreams. If you sit around and wait for them to just happen, you will be disappointed the majority of the time. It takes a strong will to leave your comfort zone and venture into the unknown. That is when everything will come against you the hardest, but nothing is more rewarding than being able to push past it and get to your destiny. It also helps you to appreciate it all the more. It may seem cliche, but for anyone who has ever experienced it, it’s absolute truth.

New Toys

Monday, February 2nd, 2009

Well, I’m paring down to some essentials. As I began preparing to record the vocals for my projects I was put off by the hassle of hooking up so many wires to my computer and still not getting a 100% clean sound. I decided to take the plunge and invest in a USB condenser mic. It has built in phantom power, which eliminates the need to use any other equipment. This is my idea of convenient! It will make recording easier than ever, and more portable. Perhaps I will even move into doing some podcasting. Not really sure what format to use at this time, but it could be a lot of fun. The only thing I can’t help but wonder is if people would really be interested in hearing me ramble on. Only one way to find out!

In addition to the mic, Jess also ordered a new guitar for me. It was intended to be a Christmas present but the one he originally got wasn’t what I initially thought it was going to be so I’m in the process of doing an exchange. It’s pink and really cute, but just meant to be a cheapie for me to play around the house and tote to the beach or park. I need something I can beat up whilst writing songs and my Luna or vintage Gibson won’t do.

Believe it or not, I’ve already gotten a head start on the follow-up to “Luminous”, most likely because I’m itching to write again. I feel so consumed with technical aspects that I don’t get much time to do what I love most, writing songs. I definitely want to dedicate more time in 2009 to songwriting, no matter how tempting it is to get wrapped up in other things. It’s too easy to get sidetracked and before you know it you start to wonder why you’re doing it all in the first place. Never forget your first love!






Meet (the real) Jakki Jelene

Sunday, February 1st, 2009

It’s been quiet around here lately but that’s all about to change. I must admit that for some time I have felt it was better to hide in the shadows. Perhaps it’s just my nature to hang in the background, but I also feel I needed to go through a time of renewal. So many things have happened over the past two years, some good and some not so good. I’ve certainly struggled a lot with finding proper direction musically and personally. I believe I am starting to make out my path in the distance and I can only hope it will be made more clear as time goes by.

My goal for 2009 is to be more open with my listeners. To allow a window into who I really am and what goes on inside this obscure brain. A great deal of my desire to do so stems from the fact that my ultimate goal is to touch people through my work. I feel I can achieve that more greatly if you are able to relate to me on a more personal level.

I am especially excited about my upcoming releases. I am in the process of finishing up the vocals for my EP/Mini Album, “Seasons”. I’ve struggled with the feeling that this should have been done months ago, but as I see things come together, I am reminded that there is perfect timing for everything. I believe the time is right for this year. This project has meant a great deal to me and I knew I would have to take steps to ensure it was done properly. How could 6 tracks be so emotionally draining? I guess when you have such a specific vision you want to see it come together just the way you envision it. Even if no one else in the whole world appreciated it, I would know I was true to myself.

My next full length album, “Luminous”, will be released not long after. They are quite different from each other in that “Seasons” will feature only organic instruments and “Luminous” is heavily electronic. It will be a bit of a departure from “Reflections”, but should still appeal to the same audience. I will certainly delve more into the thoughts behind those releases in time.

It’s a New Day!

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

Welcome to my new blog!  First off, I just want to say Happy New Year to all my listeners.  I hope that 2009 will be even more blessed for you all than 2008!  Things are beginning to change so I thought it was appropriate to start anew.  Overall you will find that the new blog has the same look and feel as the old one, but now you can add comments.  I also plan to utilize it much more than I did in the past, so be sure to check in again soon!