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November -
December 2002
Photo by Christopher McCann |
JIMMY
EAT WORLD
For Jimmy Eat World, "the third time's
a charm," says the band's writer and vocalist Jim Adkins.
The band, currently signed to DreamWorks Records, had
released two prior albums on Capitol Records, but despite
some high profile fans such as Blink 182, their first
two records failed to connect the way their third album
has. Success finally arrived with their rousing rock
song, "The Middle," which, according to Adkins, is about
"sticking to your guns."
After
being dropped from Capitol, Adkins says they found themselves
in their hometown of Mesa, Arizona with "no record company,
no A&R guy, no manager -- just us." Not giving up,
they used their newfound liberation to record an album
on their own dime. It eventually led to signing with
DreamWorks and their first big modern rock radio hit.
But that hit had been preceded by years of work. They
had booked a lot of their own shows, including European
tours, and played the U.S. circuit. When their DreamWorks
record was released, the band had already established
the groundwork for success.
Adkins sees no method to his writing. "Things just
pop up in my head." Those things are usually compact
rock songs with a furious melody and a range of topics.
"You do your best work when you skirt your boundaries.
If you like something you've written but you have issues
with it, you're probably on the right track. With this
record, I found it was more challenging to write concise
pop songs than to get really progressive and abstract."
The challenge seems to have been met. The eleven concise
pop songs of their most recent record prove that success
for Jimmy Eat World is just beginning.
- ERIK PHILBROOK
Photo by Kellie A. Swift |
JACK
JOHNSON
There are multi-instrumentalists, and then there are multi-faceted
people who also happen to be musicians. In addition to
being a singer, songwriter and guitarist on tour in support
of his debut album Brushfire Fairytales (Enjoy
Records/UMG), Jack Johnson is also a former professional
surfer, poet and accomplished filmmaker.
If someone's music is an extension of their personality
and attitude towards life, Jack must be an extremely
laid-back person with a tendency to constantly observe
and analyze the world surrounding him. His songs are
striking in their relative nakedness, stripped down
to acoustic guitar, bass and drums with almost no overdubs.
This production aesthetic, championed by JP Plunier
(Ben Harper), seems true to the origin and the nature
of Johnson's relaxed, fluid melodies. Though his understated
and subdued musings are built around the framework of
sparse guitar parts and his soft, unaffected voice,
his performances still provide plenty of visceral punch
and emotional range.
The songs from Brushfire Fairytales are a
liquid blend of blues, soul, and rock with hip-hop cadences
and a rapper's sense of rhyming. It is no wonder that
his music first attracted the attention of bluesy acoustic
stylists Ben Harper and G Love. One can sense that Johnson's
time spent on the ocean had as much influence on his
writing as did the music of Jimi Hendrix, The Red Hot
Chili Peppers and Beck. People are certainly taking
notice. Johnson, who played in an ASCAP Showcase in
1999 before he was signed, has now sold more than one
million copies of Fairytales. The album also
made it into Billboard's Top 200 chart. This
is probably a bigger wave than Johnson expected, but
he's riding it like a pro.
- PARRISH ELLIS
Photo by Statia Molewski |
ASHANTI
For urban R&B singer/songwriter Ashanti, success
has been the result of rare talent, hard work and a
bit of luck. Her honey-toned voice and striking looks
landed her a recording contract with Jive Records at
the age of 14, then again with Epic Records at 17, but
neither of those deals came to fruition. It was when
she was noticed by Murder Inc. mastermind Irv Gotti
that Ashanti began to blossom. Gotti noted her dancing
and acting abilities in addition to her vocal skills
(she had previously appeared in the Walt Disney television
musical Polly). Ashanti's first musical outing
under Gotti was a guest vocal on the track "How We Roll"
by Big Punisher. She then appeared in a series of duets
that made her a stateside star in March 2002. She was
Ja Rule's counterpart on the hypnotic "Always On Time",
provided the chorus to Fat Joe's "What's Luv?," and
married her vocals with the late Notorious B.I.G. for
"Unfoolish." As a result, Ashanti held three of the
Top 10 positions on the Billboard chart in
the same week, including numbers 1 and 2 with Ja Rule
and Fat Joe. The last musical act to accomplish this
feat was the Beatles! As if that wasn't impressive enough,
her self-titled debut album sold 500,000 copies in the
USA in its first week of release. Mostly written by
Ashanti herself, the album was classically soulful,
while retaining a street sensibility that helped propel
it to worldwide popularity.
Photo by Bradley
Patrick/Headpress |
JOHN
MAYER
Not too many young musicians aspiring to guitar god
status make a seamless transition to successful pop
songwriter, but John Mayer is the rare exception. As
a teenager in Connecticut, Mayer worked hard to emulate
the incendiary blues style of his hero, Stevie Ray Vaughan,
until an epiphany about the importance of creative individuality
started him on the track of writing original songs.
A stint at Berklee College of Music helped Mayer realized
that he wasn't interested in the theory of notes; meanwhile
he was developing a passion for the process of translating
his emotions and experiences into song form, and he
quickly attracted a following that connected with his
music. He left Berklee and moved south to Atlanta where
he became a regular at the venerable songwriters' showcase,
Eddie's Attic. In 1999 he released Inside Wants
Out, an album of solo acoustic renditions of his
thoughtful, earnest songs, as well as several tracks
recorded with a full band.
Mayer signed to Columbia in 2000 after an ASCAP showcase
at the Austin, Texas SXSW music conference brought him
to the attention of the music industry. In 2001, the
year he won The ASCAP Foundation/ Sammy Cahn Award,
Mayer moved into the mainstream big-time with the release
of his critically and popularly praised Room For
Squares, produced by John Alagia (Dave Matthews,
Ben Folds Five). His songs "No Such Thing", "Your Body
Is A Wonderland" and "My Stupid Mouth" have received
generous airplay on radio and MTV leading to an enthusiastic
audience. Armed with a talented group of instrumentalists
providing texture for his lyrically clever love songs,
Mayer has been on the road for much of the past year.
At last count, his album has sold more than 2 million
copies worldwide.
John Mayer's ASCAP
Audio Portrait
- PARRISH ELLIS
THE
VINES
 |
It's a long way from a McDonald's restaurant in Sydney,
Australia to the MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City
Music Hall, but that is precisely the journey The Vines
took to rock stardom. The Vines' Craig Nicholls and
Patrick Matthews met while working at said fast-food
joint in 1991. After forming a band and writing and
playing music modeled after their favorite British bands
(Suede, Supergrass, The Verve), The Vines were off and
running. Fast forward ten years to December 2001 when
Capitol Records signs the band based on their "Beatles
meets Nirvana" sound and their snotty attitude. A little
more than a year later, their album, Highly Evolved,
is released in the U.S. and the U.K. In England, they
become the first Aussie band ever to debut in the U.K.
top 5 with a debut release. In the U.S., within just
a few short months, the band performs live on the MTV
Video Music Awards, based on the popularity of their
videos for their songs "Get Free" and "Outtathaway."
In October, back home in Australia, they nab the ARIA
"Best New Artist" Award. Currently, the band couldn't
be hotter. The Vines are APRA members who license
their music through ASCAP in the U.S.
AVRIL
LAVIGNE
Photo by Klaus Bohner |
18-year-old punkish rocker Avril Lavigne's album, Let
Go, is one of the most successful debuts of 2002.
It has sold more than 2.3 million copies in the U.S.
and her label, Arista, predicts that it is on its way
to selling at least 10 million globally. Lavigne has
been hot from the get-go, with her first two releases,
"Complicated" and "Sk8er Boi" both becoming Top 40 radio
smashes. Lavigne's success is a result of solid, melodic
rock songwriting combined with an independent attitude
and spunky persona reminiscent of a young Chrissie Hynde.
Growing up in a small town south of Ottawa, Canada,
Lavigne toughened herself up for the real world by competing
with her older brother, which lead to many "tomboyish"
pursuits, such as hockey, four-wheeling, dirt-biking,
and canoeing. When she discovered she had a talent for
singing, she simply integrated that into her other jock
interests. Ultimately, that combination of toughness
and talent would get her noticed by managers and record
labels. Shortly after turning 16, she signed with Arista
and then struck gold when she collaborated with hit
songwriter Clif Magness and the producer-writer collective
known as the Matrix. Now, all eyes are on Avril as she
leads the next wave of female rockers up the charts.
Avril Lavigne is a SOCAN member who licenses her music
through ASCAP in the U.S.
- KAREN CORREA
NELLY
FURTADO
Photo by Deidre O'Callaghan
|
Although she grew up in Victoria, British Columbia,
Nelly Furtado is of Portugese descent, and her working-class
parents instilled in her a strong work ethic. She spent
summers working as a chambermaid with her housekeeping
mother and learned the virtues of making an honest living.
When it came time to seriously pursue her dream as a
musician, Nelly had the foundation -- not to mention
the drive and the commitment -- to make it happen. She
learned to play the guitar and soaked up mainstream
R&B music from the likes of TLC, Jodeci, Salt-N-Pepa
and others. She also got into the Britpop of Radiohead,
Pulp, Oasis and U2, giving her a taste for music from
across the sea. That led to her seeking out music from
other lands as well, such as Brazil and India. When
she moved to Toronto to work, she joined a hip hop duo,
Nelstar, and began writing her own melodies and rhymes.
It didn't take long for Furtado to get noticed.
After DreamWorks signed her to a record deal, Nelly's
many musical influences came together in the creation
of one impressive debut album, Whoa Nelly!
The album went on to spawn two huge singles (and videos),
"I'm Like A Bird" and "Turn Off the Radio." Furtado
became a global pop star of the highest order when she
was nominated for four Grammy Awards this year: Best
New Artist, Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal
Performance for "I'm Like A Bird" and Best Pop Vocal
Album for Whoa, Nelly! She won the Grammy for
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, joining fellow Canadian
women such as Alanis Morissette, Shania Twain, Celine
Dion and Sarah Maclachlan in making U.S. music history.
Back home in Canada, she won four Junos (the Canadian
equivalent of the Grammy).
Now the world waits for more from this real-life rock
Cinderella. The early word on her new album has her
collaborating with The Roots and Colombian folk/alternative
artist Juanes. Nelly Furtado is a SOCAN member who
licenses her music through ASCAP in the U.S.
Nelly Furtado's ASCAP
Audio Portrait
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