men need a revolution...

is it the nice weather that makes men crazy? is it the appearance of a shoulder? or a bit of back? seriously, i cannot go outside without being harassed with the most ANNOYING comments (and insulting...what, am i supposed to take these sentiments as compliments!???). guys do this to girls to impress their guy friends. they never yell out "hey baby", "nice boots", "nice shoes" when they are by themselves (what is it with their obsession with commenting on my footwear!?? maybe it's because i have small boobies!!! which i am grateful for!). anyhoo, i felt the need to confront one of these harassers the other day. he called me a stripper!!!! a stripper!!!! i was walking by the restaurant next door, it was mid afternoon and the patio had a construction worker manly crowd out there...then the one guy felt the need to comment on, yes, my shoes, my tattoo and called me a stripper!!! i was only walking by to go to my car to grab the wrapping paper i forgot in my trunk (for my cousins baby's gift) and i had to turn around and walk by the jerk AGAIN! i walked up to the patio and asked him if he thought it was OK to make comments like that to complete strangers....in front of a whole patio of people. he said "have a nice day, keep walking"...but i continued...i told him the only girls he could get were the ones he paid for! to which he actually said "yeah, cuz i can't get girls like you". what a LOSER! i was fuming. i was shaking and really angry. now, don' get me wrong, i have been confronted w/ this scenario over and over. especially when i was touring with TUULI...we got it every night...and there were actually some VERY VERY bad encounters over the years, from verbal to physical abuse (but i'm saving those stories for the book i'm gonna write!). anyway, this sunburned typical goon really got my goat and even though it was 2 days ago, and i tried to refrain from writing about it...i just had to. maybe because as i walked to starbucks to get my coffee about a half an hour ago....some guy on a balcony across dundas yelled out "hey baby i like your boots!". HONESTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! unless you're a judge on project runway, keep your friggin' comments to yourself.

creative juices

are a flowing. that saying always grosses me out. we are finished recording vox for "landslide" and it's sounding great. sometimes i don't really looooove a song until it's done. i was afraid to do vox on this song as i feared it was going to be another one of my tracks that i later think is "too poppy"...but you know what!?? that's what i do. i write pop songs. and by pop songs, i mean GOOD songs. people are always copping out calling things "poppy" when really it's a good song, with hooks and structure and delightful ups and downs. people sometimes think it's not cool to like a "pop song"...but nirvana wrote pop songs. the buzzcocks definitely wrote pop songs. the cure- pop songs! i could go on and on but you get the point! so we worked on vox for 3 days. that's how long it takes sometimes. sometimes longer. it's a matter of getting amped and just DOING it. i really go into my head when i'm recoding vocals and outwardly i appear so emotionally neutral, or apathetic almost. but my brain is racing a mile a minute with all sorts of emotion and contemplation. a lot of comtemplation.

here's our studio. it's nice and sunny today!!!!



i smell dryer sheets.

i dumped off a bin of clothing at value village today. i love getting rid of stuff but that only happens a few times a year. and of course i managed to buy 4 things. 3 dresses. one damzels in this dress in glittery aqua- which i couldn't believe was hanging on a value villlage rack. one cute floral H&M drop waist number and another floral black and white vintage-y looking dress. oh yeah, and a racoon fur hat. HEY- it's used...already in existence and my $ ain't going to support the fur trade...just these mysterious "charities" that value village supposedly supports. i wonder who they are!???? here's one of my dresses with an H&M vest and vintage boots.





in other news...i had a training session yesterday with the amazing jane clapp at her studio URBANFITT. my butt hurts today!!! she also told me not to do any cardio!!! which is amazing. go to her website for more on WHY she told me to avoid cardio. i will of course still rollerblade and jog to enjoy the outdoors, but when i am putting time in at the gym from now on, i must focus on my strangth training, stability and alignment. a whole new outlook on ghetto fitness (my not so beloved gym)...after diesel closed down.

the summer days just keep on coming...

and i can't believe how much better i feel. i may even buy into "seasonal depression" as an actual disorder.

i got the sandals i wanted!!! i found them in black at BROWNS...and they were only in silver at french connection. it's strange- they are the same shoe, with different coloured buckles and a different label. i really wanted to break them in before i go to vegas next month so i walked all way to dundas and ossington from the eaton center.

now i have blisters.

i also went to the passport office to get my documents in order before my trip.

i am going to go pick up a congratulations card for my cousin and his wife who just welcomes baby gavin macisaac into the family. i bought him a CUTE CUTE CUTE vintage onesie made out of a JAWS t-shirt!!! i got it at the MAD GYPSY, a great vintage store around the corner, unfortch, they don't have a website.

now it's time to be a sailor to go get that card!!!! my hair is a bit windblown from being out and about ALL DAY- but here's the fantastic dress....from eBay seller LOLACOPA.

ask jenny part two

since you didn't ask...a word on getting your band OUT OF YOUR HOME TOWN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!!

Get the live show solid and happening which will only come from a playing a string of shows. Consecutive dates my friends! Many of them. You can rehearse all you want at home or in rehearsal spaces, but nothing replaces the live show experience. Any chance to perfect your stage craft is so important. So get out there and PLAY- no excuses. At the end of these shows the band will be like a well oiled machine. Forget about worrying about "playing to only 2 people"...this is the ultimate opportunity to travel, meet people, make connections, build relationships, get press in different cities, and most of all- the chance TO PLAY for real...and, at worst- you can always feel good about a FREE rehearsal...on a STAGE...in front of PEOPLE. You want to appear as seasoned and professional as possible for those showcase/higher profile gigs in the future. These industry people have been around the block and they can tell a band who plays once a month from a band who plays all the time in about 30 seconds. Labels, big wigs, managers, publishers and anyone else in the biz you hope to finance you is looking for a band that already has its shiz together and booking your own shows and playing consistently is KEY.

from the personal tuuli files...a pic of me and a sweet girl in the back of our van ("vanula") in wisconsin. i don't remember her name but she gave me this awesome cotton candy perfume!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the perks of touring- meeting nice people!!!!!

Teaming up

is fun! yesterday erin and i made out way to kensington market to look for vintage scarves and summer dresses and found ourselves with margaritas and guacamole on a patio. finishing up those mexican goodies we sauntered down augusta and ran into alana on another patio enoying corona and an empanada! great minds think alike- separated by two patios. alana plays guitar in a fab band called MACHETES and we are teaming up with them to rock the east coast this july. fun fun fun. there's nothing i love more than motivated artists. to quote a good friend (and successful as they come artist) "there is no such thing as a successful LAZY artist". does drinking on patios for 8 hours count as laziness????

one of the patios we visited.

Objectives....

step one in any business plan is to have defined goal- literally a VISION. you need an objective and although it might be clear as mud to you in your mind, you need to write it down....start that business plan. for example:

Objective:
PLAY MUSIC, TAKE OVER THE WORLD, MAKE MONEY, TRAVEL, PLAY MUSIC.
Have the music heard by the biggest audience possible.
Generate income.
Support band members financially.
Promote Canadian Music, arts and culture nationally and abroad.

this may sound like a really vague outline, but it's just the start. we will get to the meat of the plan soon my pretties.

Rehearsal last night

was good. the two new songs are coming along nicely. rehearsal is always nice because we have a beautiful space. it's about a block and a half away from both our apts. and it's private- belonging to our friend jay this place has killer gear, a killer vibe and no stress of bands loading out before you go in or bands at the door while you pack up. i guess a downside is that our "load outs" can be painfully slow processes as we take advantage of this fact.

when i started this blog, it was to be a "band blog" and i see in my first day i managed to ramble about both fashion and music....i guess i can't help it. it may morph into a music/fashion blog. it maybe already has! one cool thing i decided yesterday is to add my own bits of advice to young bands or people in bands wondering why things haven't landed on their lap...or why the labels haven't miraculously busted into their rehearsal space, garage or basement to offer them the big bucks. there are two things in this...labels don't have big bucks anymore and they sure as hell ain't gonna FIND YOU. you have to knock on doors, bust them down. it's a BUSINESS. a lot of artists forget that. beyond the creative duties (that are satisfying and the reason we play music) there are many boring, tedious business tasks that you need to carry out to propel you in ANY direction and get your on your way to a CAREER in music....so i will offer advice on all of this....hmmm....where to start.

I RECOMMEND COLD CALLING FOR DUMMIES.

and while i'm at it, i think i may TAKE my own advice. :)

xo jenny

PS: erin and i are going to apply for the red bull music academy thingy. take those 35 page applications (the longest, most obscure and detailed applications i have ever seen) to a cafe to fill them out and enjoy this weather.

for interests sake (i hate blogs with no pictures)...here is me, claire and erin from THE VICIOUS GUNS first show at holy joe's...also known as the shittiest night weather wise of the year.