Tag: jolie holland

BGS 5+5: Jolie Holland

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Jolie Holland
Hometown: Houston-bred, LA-based
Latest Album: Haunted Mountain
Personal Nicknames (or rejected band names): They say you can never nickname yourself. Ones that have come to me fair and square are Soup Kitchen, bestowed by the great author Vanessa Veselka, because every time I stayed in her basement on tour I’d cook for the household. And I had the nickname Jewelweed for a minute, because some friends standing nearby pointed out some jewelweed growing, and I thought they’d called my name.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

There are so many beautiful moments to remember. I enjoy being a “sideman” more than being in the spotlight. I’m a musician and a writer, and never was interested in performing, per se. I remember doing free improv on violin with a small trio at a flop house in Austin, Texas while some circus performers played with fire and danced. It wasn’t a show, just artists being together. My Wine Dark Sea band was really fun, a loud, chaotic band, but full of some of the most sensitive and wild musicians. I recently got to play a three-night residency with Jim White on drums, Adam Brisbin on baritone guitar, and Ben Boye on piano. It was like being a little tornado in a hurricane. So much motion and power.

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc — inform your music?

I came to music after I was deep in visual art, which really centers originality. So I came to music with that lens. It literally took me decades to understand that not everyone is interested in that kind of ethos. A lot of people are happy staying in one or two related genres. But for me, I always have more questions.

What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?

I have basically received no advice in my career. It’s been almost impossible to find trustworthy mentors. So I’ve just watched other people I admire and tried to learn from them. I love seeing how open-hearted and generous both Boots Riley and Marc Ribot are with their audiences. Both of them are political organizers, so that makes sense. They regard their position on stage as a place from which they inspire action and movement. I regard my audience as my collaborators, in many ways. We need each other.

Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?

I love to cook with or for the musicians I love. I’m imagining making a jelly roll for Jelly Roll Morton. My great uncles were pimps who lived 6 blocks from Jelly Roll Morton at the same time he was pimping. So I always imagine they must have known each other. Their little sister, my grandmother, passed for white and moved to North Louisiana to get away from the mafia. I wonder if he would have liked this jelly roll I once made with a genoise sponge, orange blossom water in the whipped cream, and a bitter marmalade I made with Seville oranges from my neighbor’s yard.

How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me”?

I feel like this question is important, but I’m answering it sideways: Why do a lot of people assume all songs are autobiographical? I come from the perspective that lyrics are literature, and a song can be a one act play. Songs can be fiction, drama, and not just memoir.

Photo Credit: Chris Doody

Ask Jolie Holland: Finding Your Space

Posted on by Editor

Dear Jolie, 

I’m going on a huge sailing trip next year with my man. We’ve known each other 21 years, but have only been in a proper, beautiful, committed relationship since last Christmas. I want to know how I can withdraw and feel alone to rest and recharge when we are together 24/7 on the boat. I know my pattern is for my energy to be “out there” scanning the environment for threats, preoccupied with the other person’s moods. I’ve been a people pleaser who, in middle age, has learnt the nourishing qualities of solitude. I haven’t a clue how to maintain this on the boat. I’m scared of losing myself.

Thank you, Jolie, for all the music and wisdom.

*   *   *   *   *

Dear Sailor, 

Congratulations on your exciting trip coming up! 

This is a great opportunity to develop some important skills that will aid you both on this trip and for the rest of your life. Anything that gets you “out of your head” is going to help — anything that disrupts linear thinking. No matter if you make strides with these skills now or during your trip, you will learn some amazing things about yourself on this journey. I bet you’ll discover all sorts of new tactics to maintain inner grounding aboard ship, even without preparation. 

I suggest starting any number of practices right now, so that they’re available to you when you need them. Meditation, a stretching or yoga regimen, art-making, and learning songs might all be helpful. Here are my thoughts on these different routes:

1) Sitting meditation isn’t for everyone. It can even be harmful, in some cases. But if you think it sounds like a good path for you, choose a style and find some reliable instruction. There are so many different types of meditation, some more inherently religious than others. I’d study up on different traditions and modalities, and see which ones resonate with you. 

Personally, if I were going to study meditation, I would find instruction in Chögyam Trungpa’s tradition. I love his writing, plus I know a few people who learned to teach meditation through him. He taught Pema Chödron how to teach meditation, for instance. His is a lineage that makes sense to me.

2) Having a daily physical regimen on the boat could be helpful — anything that sets aside non-negotiable time for yourself. This doesn’t have to be yoga, but it could be a series of yoga poses. 

I had some guitar-related rib injuries 10 years ago, and a chiropractor gave me a series of stretches to do every day. It took 20 minutes to do all of them, and there was something really peaceful about the process. Even after the injuries healed, I would do the series daily during periods of high stress. 

3) My friend Gill Landry says that painting is the best tool he’s ever used for fostering inner peace. You could get a nice little set of colored pencils. It might be possible to bring one of those beautifully designed, miniature watercolor sets (the ones I’ve seen are Japanese) and a small book of watercolor paper on the boat. I’m thinking about bringing something like that on tour with me. Check out my friend Mayon Hanania’s Instagram page, to see the beautiful seascapes that she paints almost every day. If you have no practice with art-making, now’s the time to find a beginner’s class, so you can see if it might work for you. 

4) I think singing, playing music (ukulele?), or even the process of memorizing lyrics or poetry could be helpful. It might be fun to learn some sea shanties! If you’re not too self-conscious, any of these activities can be potently centering. All of these can be useful tools in the overall process of allowing your inner awareness to eclipse linear thought. 

Wishing you a beautiful journey,

Jolie Holland 

Have a questioni for Jolie? Email it to [email protected]

 

Over the span of her career, Jolie Holland has knotted together a century of American song in jazz, blues, folk, soul, and rock ‘n’ roll. A founding member of the Be Good Tanyas, Holland has released a half-dozen critically lauded albums of her own material over the last 12 years. She recently rejoined forces with Samantha Parton — her former Be Good Tanyas bandmate — for a new duo project simply called Jolie Holland and Samantha Parton. Holland currently resides in Los Angeles.

Ask Jolie Holland: Keeping the Family Ties

Posted on by Editor

Dear Jolie, 

I used to live near my brother and his family, and we had a great relationship and saw each other pretty frequently. I moved to another city a few years ago and, ever since I moved, it’s like he doesn’t know I exist any more. He never, ever gets in touch, and barely will respond if I contact him (one-line e-mails, etc.). I found out that he actually visited my city a couple of times and never told me he was here. We never had a fight or falling out, and I just don’t know how or why this happened. The only time I see him now is at big family holidays with my parents. Any advice to salvage this relationship? 

*   *   *   *   *

Dear Sister in the City, 

I’m so sorry. I can imagine it must have been terrible to get the news that your brother was visiting your area without being in touch. It puts you in an awful position when you see each other at family events. It’s not as if those times are set up to facilitate difficult conversations. It sucks to feel like you can’t be open-hearted and natural around your family.

You’ve reached out over email and he’s responding with one-liners. Have you tried to just reach out and set up a phone call with him? That way you can set up a time where you’ll both have mental space, and phone calls can be a good venue for difficult conversations rather than in person. I recommend directness here. Ask your questions. Say how you feel.  

As I write this, I realize how hard it sounds. You don’t ever want to have to ask family why they’re disappearing. It’s not something you expect to have to do with your family. But maybe through reaching out, you can usher in a new era of straightforwardness and honesty in your family? 

I’ve set off truth bombs in the past, when I felt squeezed into a weird spot with family or close friends. I definitely lost some “lite” friends over my directness. But the real friends came back, even a couple years later. Our relationships are so much stronger now that they’re based on more openness. I must add that women are often leaned-upon and conditioned to do more emotional labor than men. Men can really get frozen into rote behavior because they’re socialized away from self-reflection and awareness of others’ needs. He might be doing that thing that some people do — clamming up when people move away. He might be jealous of you for moving to “the big city.” It might be a big dark ball of emotions he doesn’t know how to express. 

If your brother puts up higher walls over your direct questions, I hope you can realize that this is his problem. I hope he doesn’t foist further emotional work on you. I hope you can find a way to “just say no” to this crazy-making dynamic. People can go through periods of weirdness and then re-emerge into clarity. It’s a rare soul who can be aware of what they’re going through and be able to communicate clearly about it, too. I saw a few people in my family go through transformations: Grouchy dudes turned into the sweetest grandpas; flighty scaredy cats turned into solid, dependable pillars. Family is all about that long-game. 

Love to you and yours, 

Jolie Holland 

Have a questioni for Jolie? Email it to [email protected]

 

Over the span of her career, Jolie Holland has knotted together a century of American song in jazz, blues, folk, soul, and rock ‘n’ roll. A founding member of the Be Good Tanyas, Holland has released a half-dozen critically lauded albums of her own material over the last 12 years. She recently rejoined forces with Samantha Parton — her former Be Good Tanyas bandmate — for a new duo project simply called Jolie Holland and Samantha Parton . Holland currently resides in Los Angeles.

Ask Jolie Holland: Loving an Addict

Posted on by Editor

Dear Jolie, 

This is a long story, so I’ll try and give you the short version: My sister is in an acute care facility where she is being treated for pneumonia for the next two months. I haven’t seen her for 12 years which is when she started using hard drugs. She has now been clean for 27 days and she wants to stay clean. We’re both nervous. I’m the first family member to visit. I know the big sister role is not what’s needed now. I’m looking for advice on what to say or not say and, most of all, to encourage her to get better and seek recovery after she is released from the hospital. Any advice appreciated. I want her to know she is loved and that her family is here for her. We don’t live in the same city or even the same country. This is an opportunity I didn’t think I would get and I don’t want to screw it up. 

*   *   *   *   *

Dear Anonymous, 

My thoughts are with you and yours as you ready to welcome your sister back to sobriety, back to your family. Don’t forget to reach out for support during this sensitive time of transition. Make sure your most stalwart friends are on hand to help you process all the feelings that are coming up. If you have any close friends that you’ve been too busy to contact in the past few months, try to make time to re-establish connections and let them know what’s going on. I’d consider getting a therapist, if you don’t already have one. 

The situation with your sister is going to rely so much on what she is able to handle. You won’t be able to anticipate her needs. Showing up, being loving and honest, both with yourself and her, is the first step. But showing up is also the culmination, the flower, the end goal, as well as the process of being a good friend, being a good sister. 

In terms of what to say and what not to say … I think it’s okay to be real with her, though of course be gentle and supportive, as you would with any person who has been sick. If you want to let your sister know she is loved, all you have to do is tell her and just be there. 

You mention that “the big sister role is not what’s needed right now,” and I think that’s wise. She’s been through hell. She’s going to have a lot of struggles and she’ll likely stumble on her way to sobriety. I’m not exactly sure what “the big sister role” means to you, but I’d be wary of getting into territory that could be taken as “overbearing.” You want to encourage her to stay sober, to stick with her program — that alone will take a surprising amount of self-work.  

It’s heavy and really tricky to love an addict, whether they’re your peer — like a sibling or a lover — or an authority figure to you, as in a parent. People who love addicts can find themselves doing crazy things, like giving of themselves to the point of pain, emptying their bank accounts on behalf of the addict, enabling abusive behaviors, making all sorts of excuses to protect the addict. Even if your sister can consistently maintain sobriety, you’re still dealing with all of these problems in finer, trickier shades. That’s why I’m emphasizing the importance of relying on your support systems. Meditation and/or therapy for yourself might be helpful. It can be difficult just to show up and be real. That’s the extent of the job, as simplistic as it sounds. It’s not going to be easy, but it will be incredibly rewarding, no matter the outcome. A lot is going to come up, and you and your sister and your family have this amazing opportunity to heal together right now. 

Love to you and yours,
Jolie

Have a questioni for Jolie? Email it to [email protected]

 

Over the span of her career, Jolie Holland has knotted together a century of American song in jazz, blues, folk, soul, and rock ‘n’ roll. A founding member of the Be Good Tanyas, Holland has released a half-dozen critically lauded albums of her own material over the last 12 years. She recently rejoined forces with Samantha Parton — her former Be Good Tanyas bandmate — for a new duo project simply called Jolie Holland and Samantha Parton . Holland currently resides in Los Angeles.

Ask Jolie Holland: Getting Bogged Down by the News

Posted on by Editor

Dear Jolie, 

Since the election, I have been despondent. Maybe depressed is the right word, I don’t know. And I realize that Trump voters could say, “Oh boo hoo, get over it,” and that’s fine, but I think what I’m asking here is not really partisan and maybe applies to everyone. The thing is, I’m normally what I would call a voracious news consumer: I read the newspaper every day; I read magazine articles; I listen to news radio. I’ve never had much patience for people who say, “Oh, I don’t read the news, it’s too depressing.” I’ve always felt everyone should make an effort to at least be aware of what’s going on in the world — no matter how bad it might seem — otherwise, how will we ever change anything for the better?

But lately, this is me: For two weeks or so after the election, I couldn’t pick up a newspaper or turn on the radio. It would just disgust me as soon as I did. Now I’ve swung back the other way. I’m devouring every article I can, spending stupid amounts of time reading and listening to all sorts of news, but it’s not really helping. I feel more depressed, in general, not less, and I don’t feel empowered by it. I think it’s making me less productive in other areas of my life, too. Last night at dinner, my wife suggested I stop reading the newspaper, maybe just read more in-depth magazines every now and then, but just take a break. I’m sure she’s right, but I don’t know. I’m trying to figure out how to balance my desire for information and wanting to stay active politically with the knowledge that all this information is likely making me less active and less productive and more discouraged. Any advice?

*   *   *   *   *

Dear News Consumer,

I really respect people who have the stomach to stay on top of the news. I’m definitely a voracious reader, and I can overdose on news. The experience could be characterized as an angst hangover. 

I think it all depends on what you do with your angst hangover. How will you mine your angst hangover? Will you pull diamonds out of it? Will you create works of art out of the information you’ve absorbed? Will inspired social action arise from all this turmoil you’re putting yourself through? 

Or will you abstain from over-indulgence in the news, and give yourself angst withdrawal instead? 

Which is more painful? Which one would make you happier? Which one would make your wife happier? 

I’ve taken news-breaks before, and I’ve found that word-of-mouth is surprisingly reliable. Most news subjects can be summarized in a series of brief questions, usually only three at the most. During one news-fast I was taking, my boyfriend at the time chided me for being “irresponsible and uninformed.” I told him to quiz me on news stories, and it turns out I knew the answer to every question he posed. You will hear most angles of most news stories simply by being an involved and thoughtful member of your community. I found that it’s not always necessary to even talk to strangers to get this kind of news. You’ll just hear it.

Certainly, this technique doesn’t apply in very complicated situations. But if you want to know about something ongoing and very complex, you can always talk to friends who are involved. My Syrian-American buddy and another friend who runs a charity to support Syrian refugees help me understand what’s happening in that terrifying quagmire. There are so many plus sides to this approach: You don’t have to plough through a bunch of poorly written or chatty articles looking for the answers to those three questions you have about the subject, and making room for peace in your life gives you the wherewithal to respond meaningfully to current events. 

Give it a try and see how you like it.

Love,
Jolie

Have a questioni for Jolie? Email it to [email protected]

 

Over the span of her career, Jolie Holland has knotted together a century of American song in jazz, blues, folk, soul, and rock ‘n’ roll. A founding member of the Be Good Tanyas, Holland has released a half-dozen critically lauded albums of her own material over the last 12 years. She recently rejoined forces with Samantha Parton — her former Be Good Tanyas bandmate — for a new duo project simply called Jolie Holland and Samantha Parton. Holland currently resides in Los Angeles.

Ask Jolie Holland: Bearing the Brunt of Ignorance

Posted on by Editor

Hi Jolie,

I have a question I’d like to ask for your advice column: I am a female musician who is surprised by the number of negative voices coming at me as I turn 40 because I don’t feel diminished. When asked or interviewed about my art, the first inquiry anyone leads with is some variation of “How could you possibly still think you are relevant?” 

I, and my music, are improving with age, like most people and things do. But now my work is suffering because I am failing to ignore these outside voices telling me I am now irrelevant. I would like to ask you for advice on making music and art. I never wanted to trade on youth or sex. But now I feel like I’m screaming into the void. Thank you for your work, and for reading this.

*   *   *   *   *

Dear Quatrogenarienne, 

I am so appalled. I am so embarrassed on behalf of humanity for this nonsense you have endured.

You have to cleave to the source of your creativity. Your work is important, no matter what these fools say.

My first thought is that these people are projecting their fears onto you. One way you could respond is to ask them if they think they will be obsolete by the time they turn 40. We’re part of a culture where white men are generally perceived as “the norm.” Journalists will rarely mention the gender or race of musicians if the band they’re writing about is composed of white men.

The president of my old record company talked about how hard it is for Black rock groups to make it. The culture is so racist that Black bands don’t tend to thrive outside of Black-dominated genres. He was saying it’s not just that record labels don’t know how to market them; the general public doesn’t know how to receive them, either. Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio once told me about an embarrassing white fan who was raving at the (mostly Black) band, “Y’all really bring the funk!” TV on the Radio is not a funk band by any stretch of the imagination.

Performers who are not white men end up doing a lot of emotional work, a lot of convolution in reaction to the fantasies of the dominant culture.

Grimes doesn’t work with engineers because she knows that, if she were to hire someone, the press would attribute all her production work to them. I don’t think she’s being paranoid. 
Björk talks about how she hired a male artist to contribute to some of the beats on one record, and then the press stated that this man had produced, or done, all the beats. He had done some tiny percentage of the percussion on the album, and the rest was Björk’s work.

I have done production on all my albums, and I was the main producer on Springtime Can Kill You. I walked in the door with a male friend, and the house engineer presumed that my friend was the producer. These kinds of indignities are constant and on-going for every single female artist I know.

White male performers have a much broader cultural leeway to define themselves than other performers. Just because you’re a female musician doesn’t mean that you’re a dancer. You don’t have to be a sequined diva. Not every woman who plays music has the desire to present themselves as “ageless” like Madonna, Dolly Parton, and Mariah Carey. 

I admire Freakwater for their unapologetic brilliance as songwriters, for their wildly moving sound. And, I gotta admit, I love how they’re not all dolled up to hell. I admire the forthrightness with which Marianne Faithful, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and Patti Smith are foregoing plastic surgery. I wish it weren’t so rare to see our icons age naturally.

Obviously, a lot of people are sincerely confused by stereotypes — these journalists included.

A wonderful friend of mine shot the last video I released, “Waiting for the Sun,” and he asked me, mid-shoot, if I’d written the song. What he meant was that it sounded so “classic” that he assumed it might be a cover. I have to see that it’s the sexism inherent in our culture that led him to wonder if someone else had written the song. People have been asking me if my songs are covers ever since I started playing. If I can contextualize the question as a symptom of our culture’s sexism, then I don’t get my feelings hurt, and I can see my friend for who he is. I know that he works with very talented, famous, high-achieving women, and even he is not immune to an assumption that could be seen as sexist.

We’re suffering through sexism, racism, and ageism. We can do the work of naming the wrongs and working collectively to right them. And, at the end of the day, if we bear the brunt of ignorance, the only way to make it through unscathed is to just keep being as big-hearted, as real, as brilliant as we really are.

Love,
Jolie

Have a questioni for Jolie? Email it to [email protected]

 

Over the span of her career, Jolie Holland has knotted together a century of American song in jazz, blues, folk, soul, and rock ‘n’ roll. A founding member of the Be Good Tanyas, Holland has released a half-dozen critically lauded albums of her own material over the last 12 years. She recently rejoined forces with Samantha Parton — her former Be Good Tanyas bandmate — for a new duo project simply called Jolie Holland and Samantha Parton. Holland currently resides in Los Angeles.

Blitzen Trapper, ‘Flyin’ Shoes’

Posted on by Editor

"Fall is just a feeling that I just can't lose," sang Townes Van Zandt on "Flyin' Shoes," a track both about a soldier's acceptance of his inevitable death and our mortal reality that someday, no matter how hard we may try to deny it, we too will eventually see our last season, sigh our last sigh, and tie on those flyin' shoes. In true Van Zandt fashion, he performs the song with a mix of sweet solemnity and eerie resignation — and apart from the lyrics that cut deeper than anything just based around easy tears, it's that delivery, where those very tears rest atop a stilted smile, that hurts even more.

Thus, it's not an easy thing to cover Van Zandt, but it's done more out of gentle appreciation that anything else on Days Full of Rain, a new tribute to the master which was released last month and includes Townes takes by the likes of Jolie Holland, Blind Pilot, and Barna Howard. One of the LP's standout tracks is the album's opener, which finds Blitzen Trapper offering a version of "Flyin' Shoes." There's a lot of the same forlorn rasp in singer Eric Earley's voice — a tone that hovers in that same gray area of emotion, set to a slightly sped-up time, spare guitar strums, and delicate echoes of harmony.

"There was a time my old man would listen to Rear View Mirror on repeat while he was working on cars," says Earley. "Those songs are forever entangled with the smell of motor oil and exhaust in my mind.  'Flyin' Shoes' was on that record and it shows Townes's ability to write with such beauty about impending death, about suicidal thoughts … about tying on them shoes and leaving for good."

Blitzen Trapper has always been excellent at capturing the restless feeling of knowing that most things are ephemeral — whether it be a love, a life, or a state of mind. So, here, they're artfully adept at preserving Van Zandt's same lonesome song, while reminding us that there are some things — like the power of a beautiful lyric — that truly live on.