I was here

Presenting Simon Le Bon with his cover song request!

Check another dream off my bucket list: Meeting Duran Duran

I first heard them when I was 11. My band director used to bring a couple high school jazz students to tutor the jr. high band after school and I remember very clearly one of the tutors (hi Scott!), was always playing the bass line to Rio. I had to know what the rest of the song sounded like so the next time my parents took me to the mall, I bought my first cassette tape: Duran Duran Rio. I had previously been given two other cassette tapes in my young life, and Rio quickly replaced Madonna's Like a Virgin and Prince's Purple Rain. From that point forward, I listened to Duran Duran religiously and bought cassette tapes with my allowance until I had them all. At one point, I literally carried their sheet music books around with me EVERYWHERE. I never put them down and I had piano versions of every song memorized.

One summer I visited my grandparents and we went to a mall (because that's what you did in the 90s!) and I walked into a record store carrying my DD song books. The store owner said, "You look like a gal who could appreciate this" and handed me two DD fan club folders FILLED with fan club zines, posters, official membership cards, lyric sheets, pictures... as you can imagine, I nearly cried. I still have all that stuff, safely stored away at my parents house. I was so excited, I showed it all to my grandmother and I remember her saying, "Janice, honey... do you know what this song is about? Skin Trade? Do you know what that means?" haa haa! I had an inkling (not much!), but I could care less. It was all about the music and way Simon sings.

On my 18th birthday I went to my very first Duran Duran concert. August 18th, 1993. I had just finished school and made it to the other side of a 2-year long battle with a rare and debilitating muscle disease. Just the fact that I was once again strong enough to stand (and even kind of dance!) was HUGE for me. When Simon sang Come Undone, "Happy birthday to you..." I remember welling up because it was seriously a very happy birthday for me.

Fast forward.... Last year I did one of my tweets to the twitter gods asking to work with a list of my male vocalist heroes. Of course, Simon was on the list. To my surprise, he RESPONDED. I told him I had just worked with Curt Smith from Tears For Fears, I sent him a link to The Smiths Project. He listened and tweeted his followers about it and STARTED FOLLOWING ME. You can imagine the happy dance in my kitchen at 2am as this was happening while my family was fast asleep!

I asked him if I were to do a DD cover, what would he pick? and he chose "We Need You." I was currently in the middle of creating Patchwork Life so it took me nearly a year to complete his song request. Creating an entire song with just my voice takes a LONG time. I was already staying up til 3am every night and simply could not move any faster on it. Simon was so nice though. I apologized for taking so long and he told me, "Take all the time you need, dear." He let me send him all my CDs to his house in England and, in general, has just been a very supportive guy over the past year. He even tweeted his followers when Patchwork Life came out. I can't say enough nice things about him. He's just a truly stand-up guy.

When I found out DD was playing in my city, I asked if I could give him the finished cover song in person. As luck would have it, he went off twitter for a few weeks while on tour so I wasn't sure it was going to happen. But the day before the show, he told me he had tickets and passes for me. OMFG! So last night my boyfriend Josh and I went to the Mountain Winery, got our passes, called the number to find out where we meet (Oh hi Janice, you're Simon's friend, right? *dies*) and attempted to breathe as I waited in a converted wine cellar waiting room. When Simon came in, he walked straight to me and gave me a big ol' hug and my nervousness disappeared instantly. We talked for a bit and I gave him my cover of We Need You. This is a special song to him, so I hope I did him proud with my cover. (I know you all want to hear the song and, believe me, you will get to... soon. I just want to know the band has listened to it first. OH, the suspense!)

Then we got to take pics with the band. Simon introduced the band to me and told them that I've worked with Curt Smith and created The Smiths Project. It was so amazing to meet Nick, Roger and John and shake their hands!

The rest of the night was spent singing and dancing at the show. One week shy of 19 years since my 18th birthday Duran Duran concert, I welled up again when Simon sang, "Happy birthday to you.." Never in my wildest dreams, in all the years that I've listened to them, did I ever think someday THEY would be listening to me.

Thank you Simon for making all this possible!! I love yo forever. XOXO

Tears For Fears

Just had an amazing time at two Tears For Fears shows! They are truly an amazing band and I feel so honored to be able to see Curt Smith when ever they are touring. (If you haven't heard our song together, check out Trees off his Mayfield album right now!) He is quite possibly the nicest human being on the planet! Here are a few shots of the past few days. One of which makes me blush every time I see it. You'll never guess which one.

My personal goal as I contemplate my live performances is to someday be worthy of opening for TFF. Even if that particular opportunity never happens, it's positive energy in the right direction. If there's something I've learned well over the past few years, it's this: if you concentrate on a worthy goal, and put in the hard work for it, good things will happen. They might be unexpected good things out of left field, but they will happen. Guaranteed.

Yay, Curt!

Our docs are here:

Curt and Janice, sitting in a tree...

New hair color

Specs Blog

Thank you Adrian for this amazing blog entry!

"Those of you who keep an eye (probably from a safe distance) on the music, photos etc that I place on Facebook, Twitter and the like will probably know the name Janice Whaley already. If I keep posting her songs - and I do - it's because I think she's genuinely extraordinary. And now I have a blog, I can go into more detail about why. (Mu-ha-ha, *twirls moustache*, *ties wife to railway line*...)

I won't include too much biographical detail here, because Janice has written and blogged extensively - and fascinatingly - about how she got started on her highly individual way of making music. Suffice to say, that when she decided to give it a try, she was armed with two key weapons: a gorgeous and heroically versatile voice, along with a devillish way with a laptop home studio.

The voice is crucial, because Janice's speciality is 'a cappella' - that is, music performed without instruments. Some of you may think of barber-shop quartets, others human beatboxes. This is something else entirely. Giving full reign to her genius for electronica, Janice bends, shapes, loops and layers her voice into an orchestra - to the point where, even though you KNOW the sounds you're hearing are all vocals, you just can't quite believe it."

Continue reading article and check out his pics of my music and videos here:
http://adrianspecs.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/janice-whaley.html

Housewarming gift for Red Dog Squadron

I was talking with fans of the show Psych on twitter about Red Dog Squadron, Brad Raider and James Roday's theater company in LA (James and the cast of Psych are always so supportive in sharing my music with Psych-os!). RDS recently bought the historic El Centro Theater, they've gone back to its original name, The Circle Theater, and are currently having it renovated. I wondered if anyone had plans to do a "housewarming" gift for the new theater. Everyone jumped at the chance to do something, and here's what we came up with:

Send a small handwritten note of congratulations, (just 2-3 inches like a business card, so there's room for everyone!) I will collect them over the next few months.

No deadline yet. Once RDS announces the re-opening, I'll let you know of the deadline and then I'll get a few Psych fans to affix the notes on a poster that we can send to RDS.

Be as creative as you want with your note! Any kind of paper is fine, just keep in mind the poster might be rolled into a poster tube and/or framed so rigid/textured paper or objects glued on paper might not work well.

Send you note to:
Janice Whaley
P.O. Box 51405
San Jose, CA 95121

I volunteered my po box so that you could post it anywhere you want without worrying about sending out a fan's actual mailing address. Feel free to share this post!

I love watching people come together in a positive way. I'm a big fan of theater and the sense of community that surrounds the art form so am thrilled to be a part of sending some positive juju to RDS, a deserving group of people who are doing great things to strengthen and build up the LA theater community.

XO Janice

Carrot Cake Ice Cream

Many of you know I'm also very passionate about cooking. I developed this recipe yesterday and man, is it good. Not only that, it's vegan and good for you! I'm entering it into the Galaxy Ice Cream contest. I'm so happy with how it turned out, I don't really care if I win, because, according to the fam (even the picky 5 year old!), I already have. :)

Carrot Cake Ice Cream
Creamy ice cream that tastes like carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. YUM.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup raw cashews, soaked over night to soften
2 8-ounces Galaxy Vegan Cream Cheese Alternative
1 cup carrot juice
1 cup of soy milk
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbs lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tsp imitation butter extract

Directions:
24 hours prior to making ice cream, put ice cream maker's canister in the freezer and cover raw cashews with water to soak in fridge.

Next day, drain cashews and put them in a food processor. Process until they turn to fine crumbs. Add brown sugar and half of the carrot juice and process again until smooth and creamy. Add remaining ingredients and blend until completely smooth. (If using a small food processor, blend in half the cream cheese and soy milk at a time, pour the batches into a bowl and stir to combine.)

Place the ice cream mixture in the refrigerator and let it chill for 2 hours.

Freeze the ice cream mixture according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Place the soft ice cream in the freezer and chill 2 hours before serving.

Enjoy!

This one is for all the Psych-os out there! Happy 4th, everyone!

Where I've been spending all my time

My 5 Year Old's First Loop Recording

Jaden wanted to sing something into the microphone so I worked the looper and he improvised. Then I mixed it into a little song for him. :)

My First Microphone!

When I was about 5 years old, I loved to sing along to a the Broadway musical Annie on record. I'd bring all my stuffed animals to the living room, line them all up on the couch, and sing to my captive audience every day. One day, my dad came home with a little box. He handed it to me and I opened it to find this microphone inside. He showed me how to plug it into the stereo so I could hear my voice over the recording. I must have used it every day for years.

This was also the first mic I used when I started creating my "multi-track" recordings as a teenager. I'd sing into a tape recorder, then *using a second tape recorder* I'd record myself playing the first recording while singing another. I built up lots of interesting layers that way. Lots of white noise. Lots of love.

I'm really grateful my parents acknowledged the things that were interesting to me and it's something I'm now doing for my son. Who knows which of the things he likes now will be the thing that sticks. It's interesting to think he may already know exactly what he wants to be when he grows up. I know I did. I started plunking out the melodies I heard around me on the piano when I was 2. There was never a doubt that I would be a musician from even further back than I can remember. 35 years later, the desire burns brighter than ever.

A response to the guy who told me downloading my music for free is not a loss because it's imaginary money I never had in the first place.

I bring something to the universe that is all my own. Just because you like my talent, doesn't mean I should have to give it to you for free. My music has a set price. If you're taking it without paying, you are stealing my music.

Sure, digital files don't seem as tangible as physically stealing an item from the store, but is it lawful to download company's digital work files without their consent and/or upload them to the internet without consequence? Wouldn't you be "stealing information?" STEALING.

The future that awaits me is a very real END TO THE MUSIC if everyone takes my music for free. Even if I want to just "do it for the love of music" it won't be an option if I have to spend all my time doing some other job to survive. In my precarious case, if I can't be paid for all the work I've done, it absolutely stops any more music from happening. It's not selfish to be compensated for the thousands of dollars spent on equipment and thousands of hours I worked over the past few years to create that music.

Album sales are what I use to feed my family. I'm not a record company, I'm not rolling in money like Gaga, I'm just a real person who spends real time on my real art. If you can look me and my 5 year old son in the eye, reach into my wallet and take out $10, while at the same time telling me you really love my music, you are no fan, you are just a selfish person.

To put it simply, how would you feel if people expected you to work very hard on something FOR FREE forever? How many facebook "likes" would it take before you got resentful that none of those people actually bought the music or gave a shit about how hard you work for THEIR benefit?

Music theft is bleeding the body dry and still expecting the heart to beat.

Requests from the audience?

Over the past few weeks, I've been spending more more time contemplating live performance. I'll be starting out with a very stripped-down, MTV-Unplugged-style scenario with just voice, a piano and a looper for creating all my layered vocals (strings, drums, etc!). Live performance will consist of new arrangements of Smiths Project/original tunes and be a unique experience unto itself.

But here's the BIG question-

Out of 71 Smiths Project songs to choose from, which ones would you like to hear live?

What's on your Top Ten Smiths Project Songs List?

Comment below and there's a good chance your requests could become a reality. :)

This made my year.

Thank you Alexandra @1praiseJesus on twitter for this!

Current projects

As of the wee hours of the morning today, my version of Duran Duran's "We Need You" requested by the man himself, Simon Le Bon!! is really starting to come together. This song is EPIC, you guys.

Having the chance to record 2 hours worth of new material to work with yesterday (courtesy of my son being content to quietly draw pictures while I recorded), the missing pieces of the arrangement have fallen into place. Everything is where I want it, but now the "clean up" begins.

Clean up means I go through every layer and take out breaths, coughs, & neighbor's mariachi music, then I EQ/pan the whole song to add space and clarity. With 50 layers of voice competing for the same frequency range, EQ is a critical step. Once it's all cleaned up I can do more mixing add a little flare with drum fills, and fun little extras.

Lots of hours to go, but I'm really excited to show it to you. My god, last night I was literally jumping for joy when all the pieces came together.

Here is Duran Duran's We Need You:

One of the kickstarter rewards for Patchwork Life at the "Producer" level was a cover song of their choice. I'm thrilled to say two people took me up on it and I'm now working on Memories Fade by Tears For Fears for Rebekah Soboski, and Mary Jane's Last Dance by Tom Petty for Arielle Roberts. So far, I'm just getting the basic structure down but the style is starting to take shape. I've had months to mull them over in my head while Patchwork Life was in its final stages of manufacturing and being shipped out. I have great things planned for these songs!

I want to thank Arielle for giving me an excuse to sing "Oh my my, oh hell yes, honey put on that party dress" Super sexy.

And yes, I HAVE noticed this is my second Tears for Fears cover request off The Hurting album. I do believe people are trying to tell me something. :) Here's a wonderful live version of Memories Fade. Look how cute those boys are!

A MOMENTOUS OCCASION!

For the first time ever, I recorded vocals today-LEAD vocals- while jaden was awake. Normally he wants to stand outside the studio door and talk to me, ask for things, etc. but today, he was content to quietly play video games, draw pictures and play with toys. I nearly cried. I checked on him every so often and he just seemed to understand I needed to record. Crazy. I got a combined total of 2 hours of recording done. That is the most I've been able to record at once in probably more than a year. Trying not to get TOO excited in case this was a one time thing but... if my recording hours could be something other than midnight-3am that would be super fantastic.

Patchwork Life album release and music video debut

Patchwork Life is released today! I just wanted to say thank you all so much for your sweet comments and emails, and for helping me spread the word about it. I’m so proud of how it turned out and I’m so glad that you all love it as much as I do. Click here to buy your copy TODAY! It's also on iTunes! (Pst, you can also ask your local record shop to order it for the store!)

The first review of Patchwork Life hit the internet yesterday courtesy of Adrian Ainsworth who sent in a review to UK's The Word. In it he says,
“On the first few listens, you wonder how she does it. And by then, the fact that it's mostly a capella takes a back seat to the sheer power of the songs. Each track is intricate and hypnotic."
Read the rest here. Thanks Adrian!

For the release of Patchwork Life, I decided this past weekend that I should make a video for one of the songs. Dontcha just love last minute ideas? I chose “It’s Not You, It’s Me” because of how well it's been received by early listeners. It’s definitely one of my favorites from the album and one of my favorites to sing as well.

This song is very much about singing my inner thoughts and feelings, so for the video, I wanted to have a "silent me" and a "singing me" projected onto my face as if you are seeing my inner thoughts. The only problem was: I don’t have a projector. Or a dedicated video camera, for that matter. But what I DID have was a Cannon G7 camera w/ video capabilities…. And believe it or not, I had everything I needed to make my own projector. I made it out of a cardboard box, my son’s magnifying glass, and my cell phone. Technology is a wonderful thing. Over the course of two middle-of-the-nights and armed with a few simple tools, I made this video. Enjoy!

Behold the projector! You can make one, too.

Patchwork Life Pre-Order Starts Today

To pre-order, click the buy link above and select Digital or Eco-Friendly CD Wallet from the Pre-Order page. Bandcamp will give you these five songs right now and the rest on May 24th. Physical CDs also ship May 24th.

Today starts the official pre-order for Patchwork Life. I'm so excited to share it with everyone. It's been over a year in the making and I'm so happy with how it has turned out. Most every track was composed with nothing but my voice as the sound source, although I did branch out a little and use a few other samples like piano and drum stick clicks present in the song below called Megalodon.

Many of these songs were ideas that have been floating around in my head for years, some actually have previous recording attempts but were never completed. As with The Smiths Project, I started with the recorded track or musical seeds that I had, and began building off of them. After a few layers of voice, I turn off the original recording so that the real creative process can begin. Each layer of vocals adds a new twits to the recording and takes it further down a path that I could not have imagined. It's really interesting to me to listen to the music take shape because, even in it's most thought out form, it always ends up somewhere new. It's a very organic process, building upon each previous thought until I have something that I feel is done.

There is a general pattern to the songwriting process where I start out very enthusiastic for a few days, get lost in the wilderness for months, and then suddenly the path is found and I realize I'm in my own back yard. There is always a moment where I know the song is done. It's not anything I can put my finger on, I just work on a song until I get that "it's done!" feeling.

Last year, I was able to create 71 songs in one year because I had the luxury of childcare, this year was a different story. The entire album was created while watching my 5 year old. Comparing the process of completing the 71 songs last year to the new songs of Patchwork Life, I'd have to say these 12 songs were much more difficult. The stress of completing songs on a deadline is very different than the stress of not being able to work on the songs. The music was recorded in the wee hours of the morning and the editing/arranging took place at the dining room table, on the front porch, on the couch, where ever I could edit and keep an eye on my son. Honestly, the thing I am most proud of about these new songs is that they got finished at all.

The music is a little bit more experimental and polished than The Smiths Project, although I'd argue that much of it is very similar to last year's work, just with new melodies that you've never heard before. With The Smiths Project, I think I was able to bring people into a more experimental genre than what they would normally listen to, but the familiar melodies were there to ease the shy into the experience. With Patchwork Life, there are no familiar melodies to cling to and I feel there is a little bit more of a leap of faith people need to take in order to give the music a listen. I have faith that these songs can and will grow on even the least experimental of listeners. I have already received great reviews from the kickstarter backers who received advanced copies of the music. I know there is nothing like it. It is filled with true emotions and my passion for music. The strong melodies will take your imagination to new places. Walk around for a bit and soak in the landscape.

xo
Janice

Calling all Psych-Os and fans of James Roday & Tears For Fears!

I need your help putting my duet with James Roday on my new album. This is a 10-day kickstarter to fund the licensing of the Tears For Fears cover song Ideas As Opiates that James Roday and I created as a gift for Curt Smith. Curt so very graciously granted me permission to put it on my new album, so please check it out! You can even listen to the song on the kickstarter page!

Do it to support DIY musicians. Do it for super-creative projects. Do it for the love of Curt Smith. Do it because James Roday wants you to. Do it for baby porcupines.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1616392208/patchwork-life-album-from-the-smiths-project-vocal

Here is the latest embroidered art piece for the album, an embroidered ProTools session:

Contemplating live performance

Last night, thanks to iTunes sales, I was able to purchase the missing link in my live setup. It's this lovely little gadget:

These songs were constructed in hundreds of layers in a computer over months and months and I've been trying to wrap my brain around how might accomplish performing these songs live. Not an easy task. So, this piece of gear will connect my voice to Ableton Live and give me instant access to effects and -a big one for me- it will let me instantly drop my voice down several octaves for bass lines. Ableton is meant for constructing loops and arrangements on the fly in a live setting. Between all this new gear, I'm hopping to be able to work up some interesting arrangements for live performance. Now all I have to do is figure out all this new equipment!

Here is my current gear for live performance:

Kaoss pad:

Looper:

Ableton Live: