Telegraph Journal
May 14, 2009
By Kate Wallace
Music Saint John songstress Jessica Rhaye says she's in a good place
Jessica Rhaye is perfectly capable of writing a song on her own - she's been doing that for years - but it's nice to have some help sometimes." Certain songs, I'll sit down and write them all in one sitting," she says during a recent interview. "I'll have the idea, the thought, the mood, I'm feeling it, and I can finish the whole song completely by myself."And then there are other times where I'll start it and I'll get distracted, so it's those songs that I'll take to my co-writers."
On her latest album, Good Things, released this month, the Saint John singer-songwriter turned to Atlantic Canadian musicians Dave Gunning, Ken Tobias, Ed Woodsworth and Asif Illyas, with whom she has worked in the past, as well as enlisting Canadian songwriting heavyweight Ron Sexsmith to share credits on the title track.She calls her co-writers "song doctors."They operate on songs," she says with a laugh, helping her tighten up what's she's written, developing a second verse or adding a bridge."I usually always have a verse and a chorus, and the verse is usually the idea of what the song is going to be like, and then the chorus is the hook, it's the melody."Rhaye calls co-writing with Sexsmith "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. "They first met about three years ago, at a songwriters' circle in Toronto."I just saw him in the audience and I thought, 'Oh my God, I have to say hello,' so I did."They kept in touch by email; a couple of years ago when he was in Saint John for a gig at the Blue Olive, Rhaye dropped him a line to see if he had time to help her finish a song she had started and tucked away. He had a couple of hours to spare before the show, so she hopped in a cab for his hotel, where she sang what she had for him."He really liked it, and so he helped me finish that song. It was perfect."
The result, Good Things, sets the tone for the album, which is, as the title suggests, upbeat for the most part. The mood is well-suited to Rhaye's sweet, clarion-clear voice. The album's warm, pared-down sound features a more relaxed instrumentation than her previous releases, Short Stories (2006) and Jessica Rhaye (2000), including stand-up bass, acoustic guitars, mandolin and piano. While her band - Matt Grey, Jon Goud, Mike Carroll and Chris Braydon - will accompany her on a three-show New Brunswick tour that kicks off tonight in Saint John, she could easily hit the road with just her guitar and her voice and promote Good Things.
Mark Marshall, her manager and husband, is busy trying to line up other shows. "We've got a lot of other things in the works, it hasn't been solidified so I can't really say, but I hope to do some more extensive touring late summer, early fall."
The album grew out of a series of successful live shows she played in England last year while on tour with New Brunswick bluesman Matt Andersen and Halifax musician Dave Gunning."I guess I was playing a lot of solo acoustic shows and they were going over really well with audiences, and I think they were looking for something that sounded like I sounded live," she says. "My other two records, they were produced so that it really goes over only if you have a band or if you have more people playing with you. For this record, I really just wanted to go back and record something that sounded like how I sound live." She also wanted to make a fun album." I think it's where I am right now in my life. I look at Short Stories and I think I questioned a lot of things," she says." The period in between Short Stories and this album, I got married, I'm really happy with where I am in my life as far as my personal life and my work, as well. I just love being a graphic designer."
Her musical talents and her design skills have not gone unnoticed. Over the last few years she has been nominated for eight East Coast Music Awards, including five for her work as a musician and three industry awards for her work as a graphic designer. Most recently, her website www.JessicaRhaye.com was nominated for website of the year at the 2009 East Coast Music Awards.
"I feel like I'm doing what I've always wanted to do, and that is be an artist," she says. "I think I'm just happy."
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Jessica Rhaye's New Brunswick tour starts tonight at the Blue Olive in Saint John at 8 p.m. Tickets, $15, are available at the restaurant. Visit www.medrestaurant.com for details. She plays the Arena Complex Theatre in St. Andrews on Saturday at 8 p.m. with special guest Clinton Charleton. Tickets, $12, are available at Cockburns Drug Store, by calling Jamie Steel at 529-4585 and at the door. She plays Sunday at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre in Fredericton at 7 p.m., with special guest Clinton Charleton. Tickets, $15, are available at Tony's Music Box, Styl'n Moma, Baby & Tot and online at www.JessicaRhaye.com.