Jasmine Cain Band

Last night, Jasmine and drummer Steve came to break some bread at my house on the river. I opened the door to a gleaming, glowing songstress holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand and her new CD in the other. This precious, sparkling soul was beaming, filled with the promise of success.

She's the incredible bass playin', lead singer of the Jasmine Cain Band. And she is a bold example of earning your fan base and being extremely dedicated to your craft. Jasmine is a no holds barred, balls to the wall business woman, as well as creative genius.

Her manager is herself. When she's not on stage astonishing the crowds, she's "number crunching" and booking gigs out and in...all the while paying for the trip as it unfolds, and paying for the way to go home...all through the keen sense of being her own booking agent and accountant. "There are times when I don't know how I'm going to get the band home because clubs bail out or whatever happens out there...so I get on that phone and book other gigs for the return trip. " So dedicated to her career she doesn't give in to the stress that accompanies juggling so many business duties in addition to being the artist. No, Jasmine excels....she rises off the chart for the ocassion, and exceeds the audiences expectations.

She also drives her Ford Expedition to the gigs with all band members including "Merch" the merch girl packed in there together. Whatever it takes...it's about realizing her vision and she is in the midst of the magic...the journey to achieve the level she's always hoped for...it's right there...

Jasmine released her new record on January 1st and has already sold 600 CDs at her appearances (including other merch that she has). This is a girl who takes her career as serious, literally, as a heart attack, because her heart would be attacked and saddened if she couldn't perform. She truly lives and breathes being an artist.

Jasmine Cain educates herself. Reads about the music business, asks questions, sits with pros in the music industry and carefully culls information. She has amassed a sizable fan base playing the motorcycle rallies and venues in between across America. Just last week the band played BOTH the Viper Room and Whiskey-A-Go-Go and received a warm welcome from both usually difficult rooms to get into....but she rocked them against the wall...and left them wanting more. Then drove 36 hours back to Nashville, crammed in an Expedition with her band mates, pulling a small trailer with all her equipment.

She's been on the road like this for a number of years, building and stretching and attracting all kinds of audiences. I remember this girl...when she began...and since the start she's been all a-fire and brimming with rock n roll that'll stone you from her attention-getting melodies, licks and lyrics. Her new record she painstakingly funded on her own dime all by earning one fan at a time across the USA.

This recording was a four month intense project. Because she's such an astute business woman, she had to push that part of herself aside for a minute so that she could fully enter into the chamber of creativity -- the crayon world of sheer inspiration...listening to the rhythm in her soul and giving birth to the songs that would chase her down the road while on tour. She had to lose herself in the musical moments and sharply focus her talent like a locomotive rolling along the rails letting all this music pour forth and pour forth it does on Locks & Keys.

I leave the track analysis up to the listener. But, let me tell you, she is, by far, the hardest working, hottest rock N roll diva on the planet. All of those sleepless nights, angst about how to get home from a three week long gig, and enduring the dark days of facing music industry people who tried to puncture that vision....have paid off. Her sensual, super high energy performance puts her in a league of her own...her intensity reminds me of the early days of Alanis.

I spun her disc while she was here eating my home cooked chili and drinking some Coppola Rosso, and it was hard to concentrate on any conversation because my ear was constantly craning to absorb the powerful tunes demanding my attention. Truly, this chick blows my mind with her unusual talent. I've seen her evolve over the years into a super star...a performer who deserves to play The Warp Tour, Bonaroo and everything in between...opening for Aerosmith. She's that entertaining.

But this girl manages herself, makes all the business phone calls, maintains the myspace account, books the hotel rooms, keeps the band working, deals with production snafus......all alone. Admittedly, it is hard work. "I've got four lives to take care of," she says about her band, her eyes wide in all seriousness.

At this point I'm wondering....who at The Warp Tour will say to this outstanding artist who is self-managing and self-booking her incredible band, okay, you're booked for the tour! Now a days it's so much about labels and big money deals and having a representative fronting the band. Well, let me say here that if any of the promoters out there want to buck the system and take a chance on this chick dialing you up looking for a spot on a hot rock tour or festival...pay attention.

I hope Warp Tour will take her on because this chick plays to huge crowds at all the major motorcycle events and is on tour with the Easyriders Rodeo...which is a big deal in our biker culture! The fan base is gigantic and not in the manner of having some intern pull myspace friends in, or hypoid conversation from record label people wanting to shove product in yer face without even having a chance to know the artist.

Jasmine's been touring all kinds of venues and every out of the way place in between her rally gigs for a strong and solid whole lotta miles-- and people love her. She's just mesmorizing! They ask her to return.

She tells me, "I'm going to make it!" And I tell her, "Chick you are making it! Your time is now. It's happening." This hard work is paying off for this admirable songstress. She's going to be huge and, you know what, she did it mostly alone, IGNORING the naysayers, IGNORING the heartbreakers and focusing hard on the art of making her dream a reality. Jasmine is the example of living and breathing and dying for your art. She's courageous, and she's a survivor.

Jasmine Cain, with her waist length colorful hair, sexy bass playing, and versatile singing, ...will leave you stunned and a loyal fan. www.myspace.com/jasminecain

This is music. This is truth. This is an artist pursuing her passion, so she can breathe. She sings of the things that you want to say, but you just can't talk about. She sings of things that you feel deep in your heart, she explodes your thoughts into songs.

Ziggy

I'm in love with Ziggy. He's a crooner alright. He keeps himself well groomed. He loves to sparkle. He makes me sparkle too. Patrick knows about Ziggy. In fact, he introduced Ziggy to me.


Ziggy is my new guitar. He's a Les Paul Epiphone Gibson guitar. I decided to improve my guitar skills so that I can play live when I sing, from time to time. You see, I very much enjoy having my hands free and focusing totally on the rapture of vocals and audience, without the interruption of an instrument to play.

But, since meeting Ziggy...this has all changed. I love this guitar. I'm on a journey with Ziggy. We are inseperable now. Patrick asked me last night via telephone from somewhere in Texas, have you petted Ziggy? Meaning, of course, have I practiced? At that time I said, no, because I had not gotten to Ziggy yet. Last night I went into a trance and it was a date with Ziggy. When Patrick called back later after his show I announced that some heavy petting went on between me and Ziggy. And that I knew how to dial him in.


I'm always writing. I've got songs, I've got books inside of me. They are all competing to be shared at once with the world at large. Now-a-days, I have the blessed opportunity to follow my dreams daily and not bartend or work a part-time temp job any more thanks to my wonderful Patrick who encourages me daily to create and be and spend my time as I wish since all these years since I was a young girl I had to work at things that just sapped my creative diligence.


Ziggy is readily available at all times to play and create with. He's my new best friend. I shall take him with me everywhere I possibly can. There's much to learn from a good guitar. They teach you dedication and discipline. They teach you flow and melody. They teach you to come out of your shell and experiment with the arrangement of notes that are already destined for you to invent a song recipe. Ziggy is helping me to focus on my music again. Ever since I moved to Nashville some two and a half years ago, I have not been able to get out there and do silly improv and Miss Motorella style performing. How strange. This is music city after all.


With Ziggy, I feel that NYC boldness coming forth again. Like we want to hit the town like some bad ass Studio 54 duo whereby everyone wants to see our outfits and hang out with us and dance the night away. Even if I get caught up in the rapture of song as a vocalist and I must ask Ziggy to sling to the side for awhile, it feels good to have my boy hanging with me nonetheless.


Oh Ziggy gets his exercise and rightful attention when Patrick comes home. Patrick takes that boy and plays hard ball on that fret board. He wrestles notes and melodically spars with him. Ziggy enjoys that because he digs playing a good came of catch this drift with Patrick. Those boys go at it on that musical playing field. Up and down the fret board, field goals in the difficulty level of shredding the notes and scoring with a melodic trophy line.


When Ziggy and I hang out, he's a patient guitar. Helping me to reach and stretch and slide around his neck to perform a solid verse, chorus without messing up. It's way different than playing acoustic guitar. Ziggy is electrifying and bold. He doesn't care if I crunch out a wrong positioning on a string because he'll cover it up with the overlay of the next finger positioning. Like he winks at me....as if to say, "you'll get it girl, just hang in there, don't give up."