Marc 7
Aqeel AhmadMy Jolie Holland Experience
February 1st 2012 20:14
Have you ever asked yourself what makes people become fans of various artists? In most cases it’s the music and then the physical appearance of the musician(s). Sometimes it’s deeper than that. You develop a connection by listening to their songs and reading their music. There is a sense that you can identify common themes in your life through the music and the experiences that they write about.
Beyond the obvious reasons to become a “fan” there are other more subtle details of a musician that will lure you and contribute to making you a fan of the person as much as the talent and the music they produce.
I always thought that the most fulfilling aspect of being a musician is to know that you have made a difference in someone’s life.That something you created has made an impact and brought some level of happiness to others. What an incredible feeling that must be.
Jolie Holland is the type of artist that exudes so many qualities that it’s difficult to not become a fan. Put aside all the natural talent and at the heart of it you will find a person that is truly passionate about what she does and her passion and dedication can be seen in the relationship she has with her many fans.
My first encounter with her music was about 10 years ago. Listening to a talk radio station, the host mentioned an interesting artist from Texas. He then played one of her tracks called “Old fashioned Morphine” from her Escondida release. The first thing you notice is the voice, beautiful rich and extremely mature. What seemed shocking to me after hearing the song is that at the time she was about 25 years old. I could not believe that someone so young could sound like that. If you ever believed in certain people having old souls then certainly Jolie was one of them.
After purchasing her first two albums and listening to them extensively I was hooked. Her music is a blend of so many styles ranging from blues and jazz to Americana and folk. Above everything else her voice stands out along with her passion for music. This is something that simply cannot be learned. An artist can have amazing talent but they will only truly shine when they are passionate about what they do. Jolie is all about passion and dedication to her art form and if you combine that with pure talent you have the complete package.
I was lucky enough to see her live for the first time at the Salsa Rosa in Montreal a few years ago. I showed up early for the show to get a good seat and while I was sitting at the bar, this young woman in a long skirt walked in and was standing near the doorway.
It took me a few minutes to realize that it was her. How many musicians do you know that will walk in the same way as the audience and just hang out before the show?I’ve never seen that before. I’m still kicking myself for not going up to her and striking up a conversation but I guess I was somewhat star struck. Not something that I was expecting and I vowed to redeem myself after the show.
When the show ended I went over to a table she had set up to sell her CD’s and sign autographs and when my turn came the only thing to come out of my mouth was “thanks Jolie I love your music!!” Oh well, did I mention she was pretty?
There’s something to be said about modesty and true appreciation for your fans. Jolie comes off as being very modest and she really knows how to interact with her fans. She just gets it.
At one point, being a musician myself I was trying to pick up one of her songs on guitar. I had it down pretty good but there was one chord that just didn’t seem right. I did a few searches online but couldn’t find the chords to this song which was a new release off of her latest CD. The song was called Palmyra. I gave up for while but then decided to search on Facebook to see if she had created a fan page.
She did have a page so I posted a question on her wall not expecting to ever get any response from her. A few days later I was stunned to see a response from her in my inbox. She actually apologized for not getting back sooner and sent me the chord pattern to her song. That’s what I mean when I say she gets it.
Since then I have been following her on Facebook and I can’t help but think how refreshing it is to know a musician that is so grounded and shows a real appreciation towards her fans. She is all about passion for music, hard work and modesty..... and she’s also pretty in case I haven’t already mentioned it. ; )
Thank you Jolie for being you and for making me smile every time I listen to your music.
Keep reading below for more information on Jolie Holland.
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[After a brief stint with Vancouver's Be Good Tanyas, that released Blue Horse (2001), Texas-born singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jolie Holland, relocated to San Francisco in 1996. The demo Catalpa (Anti, 2003) introduced the vintage sound of her country-folk-blues-jazz ballads. Alley Flowers, All the Morning Birds and Demon Lover Improv were not so much personal intimate states of mind as tributes to an age long gone.
Her obsession with the likes of Billie Holiday, Woody Guthrie, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Louis Armstrong was better focused on Escondida (Anti 2004), whose Goodbye California, Alley Flowers and Sascha also betray the influence of the Cowboy Junkies.
Springtime Can Kill You (Anti, 2006) confirmed Holland as a modern master of a traditional art that dates back to Woody Guthrie if not to Appalachian folk music: ghostly storytelling within skeletal atmospheres (Crush In the Ghetto, Stubborn Beast and Moonshiner). But only the jazzy Springtime Can Kill You and Mehitabel's Blues showed the cross-stylistic talent that the first album had heralded.
The Living and the Dead (2008) was even more "extremist" in its rediscovery of the white folk and country tradition. Sweet Loving Man is straight out of Nashville, and the mariachi of Mexico City sounds positively old-fashioned in the age of world-music.
Holland toured extensively and collaborated on other artist's recordings for the next couple of years. She also relocated to New Orleans. She and co-producer Shahzad Ismaily recorded her next effort, Pint of Blood both in New York and in her home studio and other intimate spaces.[/LEFT]
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