EILEN JEWELL – The Queen of the Minor Key
TOURING AUSTRALIA in MARCH
Fresh from the ecstatic reaction to her most recent album, “Queen of the Minor Key”, Ragged Company Touring is thrilled to announce the imminent arrival on our shores of Alt Country Chanteuse Eilen Jewell.
As well as special appearances at Bluesfest, announced today are shows for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Eilen will be accompanied by her regular touring band of guitarist Jerry Miller, drummer Jason Beek, and upright bassist Johnny Sciascia.
Americana fans, blues fans, folk fans, country fans and rock fans will all find elements within Eilen Jewell’s music to relish. Eilen writes classic songs drawing on the influences of honky-tonk, rock ‘n roll, rockabilly, western swing, country blues and sixties rock and pop.
Since her official 2006 debut, “Boundary County”, Jewell has surveyed a wide range of traditional musical styles, from the folk and jug band leanings of those early recordings and the heart-achingly intimate grasp of alt-country, folk and swing on the rootsy “Letters From Sinners and Strangers”; through the album-length homage to Loretta Lynn of “Butcher Holler”; right up to recent albums “Sea of Tears” and “Queen of the Minor Key”, which range from the electricity of ’60s UK garage rock and Chicago blues to fiddle-driven classic country, the bump-and-grind exotica of vintage Southern California suburban saloons and slow, jazzy numbers that feature torch and tenacity that linger long past last call.
Sad songs are Eilen’s wealth and finery. Lend her your ears, and you will quickly hear why fans from all over the world admire and adore her more with each passing year.
Don’t miss your chance to see Eilen Jewell when she tours Australia in March 2012
Thursday March 22nd – The Corner Hotel, Richmond
www.cornerhotel.com (ph 03 9427 9198 between 10am-8pm Mon-Sat)
Saturday March 24th – Meeniyan Hall, Meeniyan
www.lyrebirdartscouncil.com.au (ph 03 5664 9239)
Sunday March 25th – Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh
www.caravanmusic.com.au
Wednesday March 28th – The Vanguard, Sydney
www.thevanguard.com.au (ph 02 9557 9409)
Thursday March 29th – Clarendon Guest House, Katoomba
from the venue (ph 02 4782 1322)
Friday March 30th – Brass Monkey, Cronulla
www.brassmonkey.com.au (ph 02 9544 3844)
Saturday March 31st – The Vanguard, Sydney
www.thevanguard.com.au (ph 02 9557 9409)
Sunday April 1st – The Vault, Windsor
Thursday 5th and Friday 6th April – Bluesfest, Byron Bay
www.bluesfest.com.au
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AMERICAN SONGWRITER INTERVIEW
It is the battered cassette jammed in the tape deck of the getaway car, the music Ida Lupino cues up on the roadhouse jukebox as she counts the till after close. This is Queen of the Minor Key by Eilen Jewell, a smart cookie with a heart of burnished gold and enough stories to keep even the rowdiest crowd hanging on her every word. Though its long shadows and dark corners make her kingdom feel intimate, her sovereign domain stretches as far as the imagination. Its denizens seek refuge in padded rooms, abandoned automobiles… and strong spirits. They defend their territory by any means necessary: weird voodoo, sawed-off shotguns, broken bottles.
But beware, savvy observer. There is more to Eilen Jewell than meets the ear. Do not confuse the singer and her songs. The drama and darkness that give Eilen Jewell’s songs their gritty texture are in short supply in the Boston-based songwriter’s personal life. And in a curious twist, many of Eilen’s originals actually take shape in sunny, idyllic locations that contrast strikingly with the moody, film noir atmosphere of her repertoire.
When writing, Eilen has no set game plan – her sole objective for new material is refreshingly modest (or incredibly daunting, depending on your point of view). “My goal as a songwriter is to always improve,” she demurs. “Every time I make a record, I want it to be even more real, more heartfelt, than the one before it. I want the slow songs to be slower and the fast songs to be faster.” Drawing on a connoisseur’s love of roots music and a writer’s eye for detail, Jewell fashions her musical vignettes with impressive economy. Each turn of phrase and chord change is executed with an élan that belies the measured precision behind it.
Jewell is wary of repeating previous success by following formulae. “But I also don’t want to change things just for the sake of changing them,” she adds, never underestimating the public’s ability to recognize calculation masquerading as inspiration. “You always want to ride the creative process to new territory, without being overwhelmingly novel.”
Eilen Jewell is the Queen of the Minor Key. Sad songs are her wealth and finery. Lend her your ears, and you will quickly hear why her humble subjects admire and adore her more with each passing year.