Official Blog

Welcome to The Januariez blog! You can find news and other information about the band here! Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Happy Holidays! Tour Re-cap and Confessions


Well hello everyone! I am finally getting around writing about the last few months, which included the release of our debut full length album, AUTHENTIC (and I am unable to express how exciting this has been), the supporting shows (even more exciting), and all the cool bands, people, and venues we met along the way (by far the best part). Special thanks to all the new folks who joined the mailing list!

So last time we talked, it was October. (That seems light years away from me now…) We were in the building up phase, I guess. (Recording, mixing, and mastering the album feels like last year.) And it was so easy compared to the stress of getting the timing of everything else right. See, I've have never done this before. Ever. 

Sure, I've recorded and released stuff before, but I've never actually planned anything out. In fact, I don't think I've ever truly planned anything. As I'm writing this right now, I have no plan for what I'm going to say. I just go with it…

This album was the most collaborative thing I've ever done. I have to be honest about myself here, but sharing, collaboration, and compromise have never been my strong suits. I prefer to tell people what they should do, simply because I think my way is the best way. I know I have run a lot of people off intentionally and inadvertently. I don't regret any of it; my mistakes are only that. I am what I am, and no one can change that except me. 

That all said, if I don't know how to do something, I will ask for help if there is someone clearly more qualified than me. I know this sounds funny, but it is appallingly true. (I used to try to hide this from people, but I don't think I had anyone fooled.) And what's worse is that I really do want to collaborate. I love the idea of it, but I digress. 

When this band started (and I suppose you could say it started in 2007, since we are playing some of the songs my previous control freak of a project played), these were my songs. I wrote the lyrics, the bass, the melody, the harmony, the guitar, (I have pulled people in to play lead or add a part here or a backing vocal there, but those were all works for hire.) It was a way for me to get a sense of potential collaborators without feeling obliged. 

Over the years, these songs have evolved, but I didn't realize how much they could change by sitting back and letting a drummer play. Every drummer I have ever played with took the music home and studied it before showing up to play. Reno is the total opposite. He listens to what is happening right then, and plays what he feels. It is the most awesome thing ever. These songs are no longer only my songs; they have become Reno's songs. They have become The Januariez songs. 

Right after we recorded, Tony rejoined us. Tony and I have been playing together since 2007. I think his records say 2008 (cause that's when I released the EP for that band), but I distinctly remember playing the Skylark November 2007 with him and his band Mofius backing me up. Seeing Blind was on the bill, too! That was my first show after taking a SEVEN year hiatus to have babies and go to college. Not only had I not been on a stage in 7 years, but I was singing and playing guitar, whereas in the past, I had always played bass and sang backups. 

Mofius never played with me again, but Tony stayed on for the next  two years until it was clear to me that I needed to kill the project and figure out something else. I quit drinking and focused on recording an EP that would not only help me find some solid people to work with, but also might garner a little attention. That was the January 16,91 EP. By the time it was released (June 2011), The Januariez were a four piece band with shows on the calendar. By the time of our first shows, we had become a trio. After our SXSW trip, Josh quit, and I asked Tony to sub for a few shows and step in on the recording. Tony filled in until we found Brian. Brian was with us only long enough to record, whereafter we begged Tony to come back. 

(Part of the deal was that we would help out on Shai Azul projects… I am actually working on lyrics and vocals for one of their songs now! I will share the details when it becomes more detailed. )

So Tony is back, and he has asked to play some songs from the old band. And Reno has requested we play some of those songs, too. But it's crazy, cause they aren't the same songs anymore. And then we've written a good handful of new songs. We already have enough material for another album! And what is so awesome is that the new songs are truly collaborative. There is no planning! They just happen! 

Back to the album...The recording process, the mixing, the mastering, the manufacturing, the artwork, all of that, came together pretty easily. There was no stress. We set reasonable deadlines with lots of flexibility. We hired Blue Shoes Media to help us with PR. And the booking of the out of town shows was relatively painless. The only show that was really difficult to book was our CD release party. It was kind of an anomaly. We wanted to do something different, and well, it was different! Note to self* in booking a CD release, stick with the venue you know! That all said, I'm glad so many of you came out to support us! And I'm super stoked we got to play with The Black Tones and Three For T. Check them out!



We also played a pre-release show in Tacoma at the New Frontier. For some reason, I thought it was on 6th Ave, and I went up and down 6th Ave until Reno told me it was down by the Tacoma Dome. doh! But it was fun! We played with Sources in Code and Sleeper Cell which are made up of Tacoma guys I have known for a long time, some of which share long sordid histories. It was cool, we swapped CDs with Cody Foster Army, we played a fun set, and a ton of friends came out, including my old restaurant pals. 

The rest of our gigs were in towns we're never played. They were our best shows! 

FRIDAY NOV 2 @ EAST END





This show kicked ASSS! It felt like we were playing in a basement! All the bands we played with were awesome, and JAmie Stewart from a local radio show Emotional Weather Report broadcasted live. I wish we had photos of all the bands we played with, cause the show was stellar. I have a crapberry, and aside from no memory, the photos wouldn't be worth it. Check all these guys out!  

FRIDAY NOV 9 @ RAY'S GOLDEN LION





Ray's Golden Lion is a monument to music! I didn't know what to think when we got there…it's a Mongolian Grill with a bar and a stage. Word is that the likes of Ike and Tina Turner and Frank Sinatra have played here, as well as the Reverend Horton Heat. As of last month, The Januariez have, too. The show was all age, and we played to an enthusiastic crowd and shared the stage with some killer bands! I'm just glad we played before Leona X, cause they killed!


SATURDAY NOV 10 @ THE CABIN



Playing The Cabin was like playing The Poggie Tavern in West Seattle. We didn't start until 10pm, and there were quite a few colorful people in the bar, esp a regular we re-named Sparky. I don't have a picture of him either. The other band, Old Mutt, were a bunch of minors doing these Black Sabbath style songs. They were really good! 

SUNDAY NOV 18 @ BLACK FOREST



This was the last show for the season. The Black Forest was super cool! We were really stoked for this show because the guys in Bobby Joe Ebola are good pals with my friend Fluke who puts out a fanzine. I love it how small the world is! I wish I had some shots from the show… if someone does, please share! 

So what's next? We will be releasing an exclusive Xmas edition of Authentic, sometime next week (see first few paragraphs). All the songs are backmasked. It is titled: FAKE: What the Songs Really Mean. Or something like that. We haven't really given it a title yet. We'll share the title when it's released next week. In the meantime, gotta figure out what I am really saying. The free album download will be available via bandcamp. 

Also, our SXSW documentary video has been delayed. We had a goal date of the album release with a deadline of March 2013. We intend to have it out by then, but for the moment we don't have a real date. 

And finally we have begun booking our spring tour! (The madness never stops). We will hit the towns we just played and step out a little with dates in SF and LA. SF date will be in March, and the LA date will be in April. We should have more details after the new year. Keep checking our website for details! 

Thanks again for reading! We love you!

PS Keep an ear our for our single "Dying Man" on your local college station or college hour. We've been getting radio play across the nation. If you have the inkling, call and request us!

And one more thing...I am going to be deleting most of the content on my personal profile on FB before the new year. I really need to ditch it. You can find me on Twitter or Google+. 

Have a great holiday! 



Monday, October 8, 2012

The Album is Here!


Okay everyone! I know I've not posted anything since June. And the last time I posted, I said something about recording an album. I also spoke of a new bass player. Prior to that, we were traveling, playing shows, and shooting random/not-s0-random video. 

An entire season has gone by. Now it's time to show everyone what we've been working on! Firstly, our CD release party for our debut album, Authentic. 

The Januariez CD Release Masque!
feat Three for T and The Black Tones
special prizes for peeps in costume!
Drink Specials

SATURDAY OCTOBER 27th 
El Corazon Lounge
$8 advance/$10 day of show
8pm all ages 


We spent a chuck of July with Jack Endino. Recording, LISTENING, mixing, LISTENING, mixing, and more LISTENING. And I think we got ourselves a good CD. 

We are super excited!

But wait! There's more!  We have set up something of a small tour. Here are the dates so far:

Oct 20  Tacoma, WA 
@ The New Frontier
with Sources in Code, Shrouded in Veils, and Midnight Graves

Oct 27  Seattle, WA
@ El Corazon Lounge
with Three for T and The Black Tones

Nov 2 Portland, OR
@ East End 
with Pink Slip, The GoodSons, and Right On John

Nov 9 Richland, WA
@ Ray's Golden Lion
with Leona X, Static Box, and Tragedy Within

Nov 18 Eugene, OR
@ Black Forest
with Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits. 


We will be adding shows throughout October, so stay tuned to Twitter or Facebook. 

Now, onto bass players. As you know, my old friend Tony Rivera stepped in to help on some gigs while we found a replacement for Gorilla. As it turns out, we all reached the conclusion that the three of us are a really good fit. So Tony has officially joined us as the permanent bass player! Yay Tony! In exchange, I will be providing vocals for Tony's solo project, Shai Azul. 

And now the bit about the video….

We had planned to make a short documentary about our travel to SXSW last March. Well, the direction of the video has somewhat shifted. With Gorilla's departure, the new album, and everything else, well, a shift seems to be in order. We plan to have some footage ready to go with the official CD release. 

So that's it for now! It's been a very busy summer! We're really excited to share our work! 

Until next time!
xoxo
J-kNee

Sunday, June 3, 2012


Hello everybody!

We hope this newsletter finds you happy and healthy and well. May was quite the month for random craziness. Just last week, some fellow musicians in our community were shot and killed at a local cafe/venue here in town. Though I didn't know the victims all that well, many of my friends did. The location of the shooting is an awesome local joint where many of my friends play music, eat, and drink together. I'm over there twice a week. I'm still processing much of it. It was so random. 

There is so much change happening now, and some of it has been quite painful and confusing. I don't even want to pay attention anymore. But I suppose this is the nature of life. There are no guarantees. But once something has been completely destroyed, there is only creation ahead. 

I felt that way when Josh left the band at the end of April. It seemed like destruction, but it hasn't taken us very long to recover and begin creating. In fact, we just found our new bass player. We hope you will welcome Brian Cruzan to The Januariez. We began rehearsals a few weeks ago, and he will be recording with us on the album in July! We are soooo excited! 

We want to thank Tony Rivera for filling in for us while we auditioned people. We couldn't have done it without you! Tony will join us on bass for one last show tomorrow night June 4 at the High Dive. Take Warning Presents The Januariez,  our friends In Cahoots, and the amazing Nico Vega! This will be our last show until after the recording! 

We also want to thank JT Hooker and 12hr notice who handled visuals for us at the Hedwig show. He is supposed to join us again tomorrow night as well! 

And finally, we want to thank all the people we met last month who joined our mailing list, bought shirts and CDs, sent their love and support, and made the shows! We wouldn't be doing this if it weren't for you! We're gonna post some video from the Hedwig show here in the next few weeks, so keep your eyes open! 

Until next time!

much love,
J-kNee

Monday, May 7, 2012


It's May already? It's been a year (almost) since the formation of The Januariez. And looking back at everything we've done in this time, I'm thinking we're moving right along. 

April, as always, is a transitional month. I don't know why that is, but crazy shit goes down in April. Tax Day, the sinking of the Titanic, Andi the Pandi's birthday (and I still need to mail her a check for helping The Januariez with T-shirts), volatile weather, allergies, jobs change, people move, etc. In the case of this April, for The Januariez, we've had some changes, and we played two super fun shows with some great bands

Check out the video from April 22nd. 



In the realm of changes, our bass player Gorilla J., has decided to leave the band. As many of you know, he has been busy with his other band and he works a lot, and there just wasn't anymore time in his full schedule. Reno and I wish him well in his endeavors. 

So at the moment, our pal Tony Rivera has stepped in on bass for the next few months, at least until our recording is complete! Tony has been playing bass for longer than I should say, ahem, and he has some cool projects going on, one being his solo project, Shai Azul. Check em out if you have a moment!  In the interim, we will be auditioning bass players. If you have any suggestions for good bass players, please pass them along! 

For this month, we have 1 super cool show coming up! 

Saturday, May 19, we have been invited to open for none other than Hedwig and the Angry Inch! We are joined by Portland band, The Quick and Easy Boys! Stoked is an understatement. 



After this show, we will be focusing on auditions and pre-production for the studio. 

Until next time!

J-kNee

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

April Newsletter!

Is it really April? Did we really play all those shows? Are we really back home getting ready to play another good string of shows? I think the answer is yes! 

March had to be one of the most exciting months I've experienced personally in some time. Beginning with all the awesome shows we did with Alice Bag and ending with our trip to the Mid-South. I think the best way to illustrate our shows is with some good old fashioned video footage! And thanks to everyone who donated to our Kickstarter project, we are in the midst of editing our documentary. At the moment, we are not sure when it will be finished. We're still waiting on some other footage. And there are a couple of you who are slated to be in the documentary, but we have not filmed you yet…

In the meantime, here are some highlights from last month:

Women Who Rock Conference

Women Who Rock Oral History Project

<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/38791040?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="400" height="295" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/38791040">Women Who Rock Oral History Project Preview</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1848471">Angelica Macklin</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

The Babylon Death Party 



Downtown Music Hall on St Paddy's Day





The Jackalope





Hardtails





The Mid-South was great as always! I got to see so many old friends and family at every single show! And it was so warm… springtime is so hard for me in the PacNW, because the days are getting longer, but it's not really getting warmer. It's like a bad joke. This is the time of year I long to be in Texas or Arkansas or Southern California. But not Florida. I never yearn for Florida. Sorry mom. 

Next time we fly South, we will NOT play a show the very next day. The band really needs a day to adjust to the weather. It was in the low 80s and very humid out when we played The Jackalope in Austin. When we finished our set, Gorilla went outside for fresh air, and there was none! It was cooler in the venue than outside. He started feeling really bad and his face turned white and his eyes were going dark. We think he was a bit dehydrated, so we had to leave the venue before all the other bands were finished. When we got back to Natasha's apartment, Gorilla took 6 or 7 hours to recover. After that, we were gold! We hung out in Austin checking out the local scene at Trophy's, and then I hit the MEOW lunch, and then we drove to Hot Springs, then to Little Rock, then drove to Georgetown, TX the next day, back to Austin that night, and then we flew home the following day! 

When we got home from our trip, I was thinking, wow, cool, we have a couple of weeks to relax before we start playing out again. WRONG! My friend and videographer, John Dorman, emailed to let me know he was going to be in town the next week and wanted to shoot video! Remember that Kickstarter documentary we were pushing? Well, we finished filming just last night! John headed back to Boston this morning.

So? What's next, you ask? 

Well, while John is editing footage for our documentary, we have some great shows coming up this month! Here are the flyers!





We are also preparing to record this summer. As I mentioned in our last newsletter, our recording had been postponed due to my bicycle accident. I am mostly recovered, and my voice is mostly working. So we are scheduled to record with Jack Endino in July. We are totally stoked! And the timing couldn't be any better! By that time, we will have been together over a year and have over 20 shows under our belt. What a perfect way to celebrate! At the moment, we are aiming for an October release. We'll keep you posted. 

Until then, we want to thank everyone who contributed to the success of last month's events:

Alice Bag
Medusa
Women Who Rock Community
In Arts NW Collective
Tony James
Kook Teflon
Steve Dave
Starr Harris
Ashanti
Sarah Huxold
Scott Walker
Luke Papineau
Linda Scott
Thomas Valle-Guatemala
Christina Radocha
The Mabry Family
Melody Danford
Heather Pierce
Ron Mabry-Smith
Gloria Staggs
Jay T Conrad
Texas peeps
Arkansas peeps
Natasha Marilyn
Bircho Birch
Melissa Lane
Kristen Counihan
Shannon Harris
Samantha Allen
Witchburn
Transfer
LIFTOFF!
Glittercore
The Many Persian Z's
Seeing Blind
In Cahoots
Furniture Girls
Sightseer
Darrius Willrich
Rob Marcus
Lucifer
Darrell's
Critical Sun

Home Alive Documentary
Steven Sterne
Tony Rivera
Julia Hensley
Marcy and Ed Harrington
Tim Daniels
Richard Reynolds
Kari Asadorian
Fluke Fanzine
Scott Reynolds
Rob-O Connor
Andi Stracner
Ana Mae Cupcakes
Kyle Caldwell
Jonathan Seeber
Neil and Nancey Martin
Brenda Scallon
Amy Denio
Heather Ward
Troy Lund
Tanya and Devin Briggs
Steve Goodin


Much love! 
J-kNee

Sunday, March 4, 2012

March Madness (and I'm not Talking About the NCAA)


March! You're here!  I wasn't certain we were going to make it. The days are growing longer, 3 weeks away from the equinox, plants are budding, I feel more alive, and The Januariez have A LOT going on! 

I meant to get this email out Thursday morning, but I've been so swamped! As mentioned in the last newsletter, The Januariez were slated to back Alice Bag on her Violence Girl book tour. Those dates began March 1rst, when we were her backing band at the Babylon Death Party at the INartsNW Collective! I'm still reeling from the event! Big thanks to Kook Teflon and Tony James for putting on the event!  And it was awesome to share the stage with Gaydolf Hitler, Jackie HellThe Witches Titties, ArtStar, JT Hooker, and of course, Alice Bag!

 

The next night, I joined Alice and her friend and former bandmate, Angie, for an acoustic set at Left Bank books. It was a completely different vibe, but amazing and fun nonetheless. Gorilla and Reno were playing with A Sic End, so they missed out. 

The following day, we backed Alice again for an afternoon show at the UW Women Who ROck Conference. I don't think I've ever been this nervous before. There were no lights in my eyes to hide everyone, and the folks in front of the stage were sitting down. And then, right before we were supposed to start, we learn that Medusa was going to get on stage, too! IN the middle of the show, I look up and I see Ann Powers from NPR taking a photo with her phone and then tweeting it! OMG! 

It was a really cool event, even if I did almost shake apart on stage. Perhaps this is just a precursor of bigger things to come…

WHEW!     and then….

We get ready for SXSW!  

March 8th we play the Critical Sun SXSW send off show at the Sunset in Ballard, and the next night we play NOT NXNW in Bremerton at the Hi-Fidelity Lounge! All you Tacoma and West Sounders will have a chance to see us and wish us well before we head out of town! 

Then LOOK OUT AUSTIN! 

We play the Critical Sun Showcase at Jackalope the afternoon of Wednesday March 14th. The show already has almost 1500 rsvps. I'm not sure what to think of all that…I'm trying not to think about it. I made a little mantra to help me not think. Anyway, the show is benefitting the Williamson County Regional Humane SocietyCritical Sun has also released a compliation CD to raise money to support the all the artists while in Austin. You can download it here! 

Now we've left the 15th and 16th open for the unexpected. Throughout my life, I've found that if I leave room for chance, opportunity finds me good and well. And I'm at a point emotionally, physically, and spiritually where I believe I am ready to create and establish a space for myself and The Januariez in this industry. I've spent years watching other people make mistakes as well as make success. I've taken notes. I've practiced. And most importantly, I've learned how to work with other people without compromising myself. And now I'm ready to follow through. Ready to walk through that door! So we're headed to Austin, and we're gonna play, we're gonna hang out and relax, and we're gonna document the whole thing. 

We've set up a kickstarter page to help us fund our documenting of SXSW! So far we have reached 25% of our goal! We have 15 days left! Every little bit counts! We even have rewards for $5 pledges! And you don't have to pay now! All you need to do is make the pledge! 

LITTLE ROCK HERE WE COME!


Next, we're headed to my hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas. We're playing St Paddy's Day at theDowntown Music Hall with the sparkly Glittercore and one of my oldest and best friends Jon Teague and his band The Many Persian Z's. This event is ALL AGES! 

For our final show down South, we head out to Hardtails in Georgetown, TX where we will meet up with Critical Sun for another showcase benefitting the Animal Shelter. This is a Sunday, so all you folks that couldn't make the Jackalope show cause it was on a Wednesday can make the drive and see us here!

A word on our album: 
I'm not sure if you all know or not, but I was in a bicycle accident in late September. I was riding my bike through a green light when a van ran the light and I hit him. I hit the ground pretty good and suffered some severely bruised ribs. The compression on my ribcage has made it difficult to sing, and so I've been unable to record. The doctors believe I should be recovered by the end of April, at which time we will re-schedule our recording. I hate that we won't have a new CD with us while we're out of town, but we have the remaining copies of the EP, which when they're gone; they're gone. There will not be a re-print. And we'll have T-shirts. 

I can't tell you how much we appreciate all the love and support we've seen from everyone! My hope is that we repay it every time we play!

Until next time!
xo
J-kNee

Saturday, February 11, 2012

February NEWS!

Hello All!

We want to thank all the new peeps for joining our mailing list and all the messages we've received! Been trying to keep up with all the mail, but as we mentioned in our last newsletter, we are prepping for a big trip! We will get around to answering everyone, but first, let us fill you in on our trajectory!

TONIGHT! We are playing the WhereHouse in Wallingford with Seeing Blind. Here is the event link:

Mermaids vs Dragons? There's just too much going on for us to spell it all out here! 

The next order of coolness begins March 1rst! The Januariez will be the backing band for legendary and ferocious Alice Bag at the Babylon Death Party presented by KOOK Teflon and Tony James! For those of you who don't know, Alice Bag was the lead singer of The Bags, the first female fronted punk band to play the Masque during the West Coast punk revolution of 1977. These early punk visionaries starred in Penelope Spheeris’ documentary The Decline of Western Civilization.

Here is the event page for Babylon Death Party
$5 all ages --$1 off with striped socks or a bag
The Witches Titties, Jackie Hell, Gaydolf Hitler, Artstar, and //HOOKER// 12 Hour Notice

The fun with Alice Bag continues March 3rd at the Women Who Rock Conference at the University of Washington. The event is FREE, but you will want to register to reserve your spot! Here's the link:

The following weekend, we begin the Critical Sun Recordings send off shows for SXSW! We will be playing with Furniture GirlsSightseer, and In Cahoots on the following Puget Sound dates:

Thursday March 8 @ the Sunset Tavern in Seattle
Friday March 9 @ Hi Fidelity Lounge in Bremerton

And then, March 13th, The Januariez hop a plane to Austin, TX. We will accompany the Critical Sun Recordings folks, featuring Furniture Girls, Rob Marcus, Sightseer, In Cahoots, Seeing Blind, Darrius Willrich, and maybe a few others for a couple of shows in the area:

Wednesday March 14th @ The Jackalope
Sunday March 18th @ Hardtails Bar and Grill

Werd!

In addition, we will be traveling to J-kNee's hometown of Little Rock, AR for a special St Paddy's Day show! We will play with our good friends in Glittercore and The Many Persian Z's at Downtown Music Hall. Here's the event page

Needless to say, we're totally stoked about all these events! We're still trying to raise money for the trip, and we are working on a Kickstarter video to help us reach our goal. Please consider donating! We should be launching the official Kickstarter video in the next few days! 


Until next time! 
The Januariez