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October, 2006
 
Through the Valley
Tumultuous Events Dominate New Jennifer O'Connor CD by Chris M. Junior Any songwriter can draw from personal experiences for lyrics. But it's the ability to take those real-life events and make them relatable or slightly vague that separates the pros from the pretenders. Singer/songwriter/guitarist Jennifer O'Connor, who by her own account had a "very, very bad year" in 2005, used some of her unpleasantness as source material for Over the Mountain, Across the Valley and Back to the Stars (Matador Records), although it's not always apparent. Take the somber "Dirty City Blues." She describes it as "a collage of memories and proclamations" for her sister who died after battling brain cancer, as well as the end of a long-term relationship, even though there's no specific mention of either loss. "It's mostly about my sister, but it's about what I was going through [at the time]," says the Brooklyn-based O'Connor. "It's not about the outcome of either situation. It's more about how I was dealing with it." She's quite comfortable using songwriting as catharsis. "It's so natural to me," O'Connor says. "Instead of sitting around and thinking about these things and getting upset, I like the idea of making something with that." She adds, "I tend to write two kinds of songs: ones that are really direct and straightforward, and ones that are a little bit more lyrically elusive. I like both stylesbit depends on what mood I'm in that day." Some positive events did occur last year in O'Connor's life: Her show at 2005's South by Southwest music festival/conference led to a deal with Matador. And it was a label employee who introduced her sometime later to Spoon leader Britt Daniel while he was in New York. That opened the door to having Daniel sing on Over the Mountain, Across the Valley and Back to the Stars, which was released in August. "I guess he's not someone you would automatically look to for background vocals," O'Connor says, "but I was such a huge fan and I just happened to have met him, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask." She presented Daniel with four song choices, and he decided to put his vocal stamp on "Dirty City Blues" and "Exeter, Rhode Island." "It was really easy," she recalls of their time in the studio. "It wasn't too planned out." O'Connor's touring plans for this month include an Oct. 13 show at the Mercury Lounge, 217 E. Houston St. Tickets are $12. Visit www.ticketweb.com for more information. Jennifer O'Connor's official site is www.jenniferoconnor.net. Road Warriors Married minds often think alike, and that certainly is the case whenever Pete and Maura Kennedy make song compilations for their tours. "We found out that some of the same songs would turn up on each collection that we made for ourselves," says Maura Kennedy. "We thought that since these are perenniaarried minds often think alike, and that certainly is the case whenever Pete and Maura Kennedy make song compilations for their tours. "We found out that some of the same songs would turn up on each collection that we made for ourselves," says Maura Kennedy. "We thought that since these are perennial favorites of ours, we might as well do our own versions of them." The result: Songs of the Open Road (Appleseed Recordings), an all-covers album by the Kennedys. The folk-rock duo performs familiar and obscure songs by famous and under-the-radar artists, including renditions of the Byrds' "Eight Miles High" and Victoria Williams' "This Moment." "It's something we've wanted to do for a long time," she says, "but for us, if we wait until we stop writing, we'll never do a cover album, so we finally decided to put out this album." The disc features two songs written by Dave Carter, who prior to his death in 2002 made a handful of acclaimed albums with Tracy Grammer. "Dave was a fantastic writer," says Maura Kennedy. "He would get down into a subconscious level with his songwriting as far as images go. He could tie in everything from old folk music things to mathematics to a basic love song and make it work." She adds, "We covered one of his songs on a previous album, and up until that point, I think we did one other cover before. So when we decided to do this album, we thought we had to do at least one Dave Carter song, and we couldn't decide between the two, so we put them both on there." The Kennedys will be on the open road this month, making a stop Oct. 5 at Joe's Pub, 425 Lafayette St. General admission tickets, priced at $15, are available at www.telecharge.com. The official Kennedys site is www.kennedysmusic.com. Worth Checking Out Gomez, on the road in support of How We Operate, has a three-night stand at the Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey St., starting Oct. 5. Tickets are $27. Call 212-533-2111 or visit www.ticketweb.com for more information. To contact "Manhattan Sounds" columnist Chris M. Junior, e-mail chrisjr@mindspring.com. |