the please, please me

lyrics on the cutting room floor

2012-01-27T12:25:00.000-08:00

In journalism school, there was a common saying, "Kill your babies."

What it means is, no matter how brilliant that line you wrote is, all that matters if how it fits into the whole. If you want the whole thing to be brilliant, it's about flow. It's about order, and importance.

You just can't cram all the good ideas and expect for it to radiate awesomeness. What it'll radiate is cobbled together'ness.

I'm working on a new song this week. After several frustrating hours of coming up with cool parts that were going nowhere, this great melody jumped into my head.... and the thing that's most important in the writing process clicked into place: I knew what I wanted to say.

It's a song about feeling lost inside yourself, and knowing if someone outside yanks hard enough, they can bring you back.

Here's the thing though. Of the 6 or so stanzas I sculpted, listening back, they're not quite right. The sentiment is right, but the images are wrong. I need something more physical, more forceful, more tangible, less metaphorically poetic. So I'll throw these ones out.

But I couldn't bear to do that without at least printing them here first.

So here are the lyrics I'm leaving behind & some of my thinking about the true direction this song needs to go in.

Just hit me with your sureshot

I need a dose of what you got

Take your aim & I’ll be ok

Just hit me with your heartbeat

Stronger ‘til I move my feet

& I’ll be ok

Just lend me your anchor

Before my ship drifts under

Be my Milky Way & I’ll find a way

Just show me your sweet side

If I could, I’d give you mine

Take me inside & I’ll be revived

Just give me that one thing

The one that keeps me dreamin’

& In spite of everything,I’ll be ok

here's the new direction.

Smile

Stomp

Heartbeat

Arms hands

Louder stronger harder tighter all connote intensity

Do you all struggle to leave some of the good stuff on the cutting room floor? II'm with you.
And thanks for reading.

~jessie

* * * * *

the power of a good dance song

2012-01-20T11:03:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about dance songs recently... For one thing, I'm nearly done writing the Please, Please Me's very first dance number. To help get unstuck with that last verse, I've been doing some research. I asked many of you to send me your fav dance songs and have been listening on youtube.

Reaffirmed, I hate dance music! Soo shallow & that terrible drum sound.

Songs about dancing, however, are a different story. Mostly, I've come back to old favs -- Bruce Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark & Billy Idol's Dancing with Myself... I'm even partial to Nouvelle Vague's remake.

Also, I feel this pull -- perhaps we can blame it on how normal & stereotype-affirming a lot of music being blasted on the radio & in stores is today -- to find something that speaks to the feminist ethic. The way a woman is able to have power by claiming her own pleasure, losing herself in music, moving in a sexual way for the mere sake of having it, owning it, showing it, but not sharing it.

Have you ever danced alone in your bedroom to your favorite song, shouting at the top of your lungs?

How do you feel after?

REBORN

WATCH BRUCE -- Dancing In The Dark (1984) by GMRedskins

Of course, men can derive power or a sense of self by giving themselves to the music too. Just watch Bruce swivel his hips and beg for salvation.

But I keep picturing it as a scene in a 1970's Dolly Parton movie, and wonder why I can't find it any films today.

There's that one image I'm looking for that's just out of reach. The one I need to finish this song.

A working class woman who toils to pay rent, for her kids, parents, boyfriend, or just to keep it together -- no fancy clothes, no fancy car. But once she steps on the dance floor, the beauty and power and sexuality she possesses is undeniable.

If you asked me what the Please, Please Me is trying to convey, what makes us unique... it's this.

We ain't rich, we ain't always beautiful, and we may not be the best at everything -- but when we do it, we own it. And rock 'n roll can lead the way.

ps-- this is why I love the Arcade Fire. they stand up for the not rich 'n beautiful.

pps-- that's totally Courtney Cox in the crowd scene. Love you Bruce!

WATCH BILLY IDOL -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG1NrQYXjLU

i always wanted to be a comic book hero...

2012-01-13T09:51:00.000-08:00

... & now, thanks to Wayne Bertsch aka Barfly at Nuvo.net, I am!!!

The Please, Please Me immortalized in comics

From Wayne Bertsch's column at nuvo.net found here.

If any of you are lucky enough to come visit Austin this spring, a print will be hanging in our practice studio, aka my kitchen next to the drums.

I met Barfly one year ago at a show... he promised me if we came back to Indy, he'd do a writeup on us. Thanks for remembering, Wayne!

ps-- Indianapolis is a tricky city & we are looking for suggestions of places that a) kick ass, b) pay, c) are not loud rock venues, and d) where other cool musicians like to hang out. If you're friends w/ the My Old Kentucky blog crew... please let 'em know how much we'd like to play one of their parties in spring.

* * * *

Is there a science to musical hooks?

2012-01-11T13:09:00.000-08:00

All morning, I've been singing The Decemberists' new single, Calamity Song. Here's the thing: I don't even like this song. It annoys me. But it gets so stuck in my head, that at a certain point, I'm actually craving hearing it.

I'm sure you've all been here..... The Proclaimers' 500 miles... Cee-Lo's Crazy (yes it's a great song, but overplayed)... anything by Adele right now.

So I've been wondering What Makes a Hook?

Now I know you can't exactly program a hook... good music is art, meaning it gets its power from life experience, spontaneity, there's an X factor. I know hooks come from a greater purpose than making some fat-cat artist, record exec, or radio promoter a shit ton of money. How else do you explain all those songs that technically have hooks, but make you feel nothing?

Still, I remember a Rolling Stone review of Tristen, one of my fav rising arteestes, that said she'd spent a year dissecting her fav old pop songs before writing her record. (Her song Baby Drugs has got it!) And I bet scientifically, according to the laws of music theory -- which is really just the math of music -- you can find some common elements to hooks.

The Decemberists' hooky Calamity Song -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJpfK7l404I

Cee Lo's Crazy-- http://youtu.be/bd2B6SjMh_w

Has anyone seen any stuff out there breaking down hooks?

Stuff that examines the intervals they use, what chords they start on, or what notes in a chord tend to be the sweet spots. And let's not forget rhythm -- most of my hooks have a swagger to them that ain't about the notes but where you place them.

I did not go to a music conservatory, but I am constantly finding ways to learn this shit -- and right away, I know the first three notes in Calamity Song land in a cool, weird place. (i'm guessing the 7th, but need an instrument, not just my head to confirm this.) I bet you can't find a tonic note in that whole verse melody.

And don't worry, I am not going to use this information to try to generate some great pop machine. More so that, when I am knee-deep in a half-written song & chasing a feeling, I can stay on track better... I can find my way back faster when I start to get stuck.

How do you know a hook? When you hear it.

To quote another pop guy, our own Bob Schneider.... None of it matters, "'til someone catches a feeling."Bob Schneider, 'Til Someone Catches a Feeling -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O991CGNvCfc

If you find any resources, hit me!thanks.

~jessie

* * * * *

from the 2 to the 0 to the 1 to the 2

2012-01-09T11:45:00.000-08:00

A little check-in to find out how all you are faring so far in 2012??

Here's a website where you can peruse others' resolutions & set your own... check it out.

My year did not exactly start out the best... On the heels of an awesome holiday and birthday party (burlesque, oh yes!) (and a pinata), I fell outrageously ill on new year's eve.
   Then we in Austin woke up to the news that a young woman was brutally murdered walking home the night before in what we all think of as a totally safe idyllic place to live.

Somehow though, I remain very optimistic this year.

Resolutions: dance more in my bedroom
   yo-ga yo-ga (perhaps hauling amps in 'n out of the van does not count as exercise afterall)
   style it up a notch (thanks mom for the sparkly christmas sweaters)
   pay off my credit cards by April
   practice my ass off
   lazy brunches with friends
   meet the XX

And then there are the serious goals. The ones I wished for on the birthday cake... and since I'm superstitious (read: born Italian Catholic), I can't tell you here.

But suffice it to say, with Alissa & Agustin as my co-pilots, I am feeling lots of momentum -- like this year is ours for the taking.

WHAT ARE YOUR 2012 RESOLUTIONS? OR NEW YEAR'S WISHES?
   AND ARE THEY STILL IN PLAY?

Remember, it's never too late to live the life you wished you'd had.

xo
   ~jessie

* * * * *

what do you want for the holidays?

2011-12-19T09:34:00.000-08:00

Inspired by a cool new New York Times personality test, I've decided to visually map out gift ideas.

My family has decided to swear off the normal gift-giving. But somehow "no gifts" really means "one cool gift" -- and so I am wracking my brain trying to come up with something meaningful, and fun. Personally, I like experience gifts (tickets, trips, dinner out, an adventure) more than things....

Which of these reflects your wishes? Or throw your own desire into the picture pile.

Disco party.

Add caption

Go to a show.

A new look, complete w/ crazy sweaters.

A little surprise.

Gag gift.

Tickets to something surprising.

New music.

Take me away.

Fancy food. Beam me back to NYC.

Tell me what you want, what you really really want.

Tell me what you want, what you really really want....

ps-- Try the New York Times's personality test, one of the coolest I've seen. It's called visual DNA.

TAKE THE PERSONALITY TEST

* * * *

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

2011-12-13T13:12:00.001-08:00

Ho ho ho, it's that time of year again.

Put on your Sexy Santa outfit.... cry your heart out into your stocking.... whatever route you choose, we're with you, as long as it's not traditional.

And on that note, we have a little video for you. It's the Chipmunk Song redone -- a track I recorded with Mark Addison at Aerie Studios in Austin, TX. The video was made by Anna Mumford in NYC.

I was totally obsessed with Alvin, Simon & Theodore as a kid. Carried their dolls with me everywhere.

Fast forward 20 years. Throw a little Brasilian guitar in there. A naughty streak. Some updated lyrics about blue jeans & iPhones... and voila.

Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdV7jgjlAHk

Our free download: http://www.jessietorrisi.com

On an interesting side note, Ross Bagdasarian, the composer of this tune, passed away nearly 40 years ago. But when I called him estate to get permission to sell this, they turned me down. They did not appreciate my lyric improvisation or sexualizing of the old classic.

Hey boys, have a sense of humor! Or imagination!

   It's a cartoon afterall.
     And if you won't let me sell it, I'll give it out.

So Please, Please Me foot soldiers.... go forth and spread the love. Or music as the case may be.

   Forward the link, post it to Facebook.... Alvin, Simon & Theodore would be proud.

ps --- Get over to our website & you can download the track fo' free. Along with another original holiday tune.
                That's right...... FREE!
          We could use a little more of that this time of year.

pps --- My birthday is christmas... no joke! What i want is another year of rock 'n roll awesomeness. And a little financial help making this next record.

              *                                  *                                  *                                      *

our fav food on tour

2011-12-07T14:38:00.001-08:00

There have been some highlights.....

But the winner is the SWEET POTATO PUFFS at TOLLY HO in LEXINGTON, KY.

Sweet potato tater tots.... Need I say more???

* * * *

how do they kill all those hours in the van?

2011-12-07T12:32:00.001-08:00

With so many new songs in the repertoire for this tour, we've been practicing in the van.

Harmony central.

Here's us finetuning our "ooh ooh's" for Tennefuckin'see.
Afterall, got to make that f*ck you song sound purty.

We rewarded ourselves with a high-class dinner when we got to the gig.

Apparently, this is where John Paul Jones eats his sushi when he's in Lexington, Kentucky.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Green Lantern. We got to sleep in a recording studio... and not just any studio -- These United States & Ben Sollee recorded their latest album here.

We got discover an amazing new songwriter -- Reva Willams (check out tunes at http://www.myspace.com/gretelmusic).

And let's not forget breakfast the next morning at Tolly Ho.

A wrap on our fav food from the Freeze Freeze Me 2011 tour coming!

* * * *

almost ran out of gas in kentucky

2011-12-07T12:04:00.001-08:00

check this video out!

   .... but we didn't.
   (the please, please me pulls through again.)

   * * * *

chicago & the ghost of jeff tweedy

2011-12-07T11:34:00.001-08:00

Ever since I moved to Austin, I get a particular rush when I hit Chicago on tour. It's just that after living in New York for 10 years, you have pretty extreme standards of what a big city feels like.

Buildings that reach to the sky. Cool architecture. Amazing food, of every ethnic variety. People who don't have time for your shit & seem the cooler for it.

You have to earn your stripes in a city like New York or L.A. or Chicago. That's what drives you forward!

I've found that performing in big cities can seem rather disenchanting. You try to offer someone a kazoo and they give you evil eye. You get 10 people to sign the mailing list and think, "At this rate, I'll conquer this city by 2067."
So I was pumped to start this tour by going to hear someone who not only conquered Chicago as a songwriter, but become one of the city's artistic mascots.

Jeff Tweedy, the man who wrote "I am trying to break your heart," which boasts some of my favorite lyrics of all time.

Jeff Tweedy, Wilco's lead man, spoke to a small audience at KLRU's Overheard in Austin Wed, Nov 30th.

Here are some of the gems from what he said. I was taking notes in Twitter... But if any man can be reduced to one-liners wit out losing his dignity, it's Tweedy. Afterall, he's responsible for lyrics like: "All my lies are only wishes."
   "You were so right when you said that I've been drinking."
   "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't easy. I am trying to break your heart."

Perhaps 1-liners are a perfect forum for him.

From Jeff Tweedy:
"I never made a conscious decision to be a musician."It always just felt like something I needed to do."

"Our model was always centered around touring, playing live shows, doing things you can't download. People will pay for an experience."
On running his own label: "All along, we've trusted putting the music, putting the things that got us here first."

"Rock n roll is a contact sport." After a show, he's got 3 fingers that're numb, people are being iced down backstage. Smirk, "it's embarrassing."

"Rock criticism isn't what it used to be. You can either have someone tell you about the river, or get in it."

When asked about up-and-coming bands he's listening to, he mentioned White Denim. Not only are they from Austin, but their drummer's my neighbor!

"That's really the toughest process -- to stay inspired. I consider that my job."

"People romanticiz struggle and torture in artists... I still maintain that things are created in spite of that." (Not because of it.)

Other interesting Tweedy facts:
--He plays in a band with his two sons where they can't have any lyrics. It's all primal expression... The Raccoonists.

--Wilco's been around for 17 years.

--He was wearing an Albert Einstein t-shirt. They have the same haircut... or lack thereof.

During the Q&A, I asked how the members of Wilco manage to stay in sync with eachother with so much evolving and changing their sound across albums. He responded, "It's just short of miraculous. We have a deep sympathy for eachother's ideas." Also, "Growing up is underrated." There's nothing like truly respecting and pulling the people you play with night after night.

                Anyone heard the new Wilco album? Or catch this latest tour? What you think???

*                         *                         *                       *                     *                    *                    *

can the rhythm section have some?

2011-12-03T16:03:00.001-08:00

Why is jessie torrisi the one who always get to monopolize the blog, and the emails, and the mic?
Doesn't she know it's not all about her???

oh really...

Here's Agustin Frederic (beatkeeper, thundermaker) & Alissa Schram (cello mistress) telling stories about the first 48 hours of tour. afterall, if you haven't met them yet, IT'S ABOUT TIME.

But seriously, how is the tour really going???

See ya out there friends! Be sure to check http://jessietorrisi.com/tour for our remaining Kansas City, St. Louis, Evansville IN, Indianapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee dates on this run.

* * *

is victory meaningless w/o the struggle?

2011-12-02T11:43:00.001-08:00

Dr. Paul Benjamin hard at work.

I am stuck at a music shop in Tulsa, hopelessly shuffling through their sheet music bin, staring at Mariah Carey's Christmas Through Her Eyes, waiting for Paul Benjamin to arrive.

Paul Benjamin is the guitar doctor. You see the first night of tour did not go as planned. Planning on the jinky little stage in the beloved Colony (which has vibe but shittier equipment than most garage bands), my Epiphone tried to commit suicide.

10:25pm - I leaned over to adjust the falling mic stand with stripped nuts, and... KABOOM!

I have dropped guitars in the past, but never heard a crash quite so loud.

Ironically, this was supposed to be my guitar's big debut. After lengthy discussions w/ Agustin about how I need a better guitar & my counter-argument (I can't afford a Gibson 335 right now), I decided to put $500 into my $350 guitar to install fancy pickups. I won't lie -- I LOVE the way my guitar looks. That's why I bouight it. Fire engine red has always been my thing. And it feels right. And sounds good... unplugged.

But last night, this was all going to change. These new pickups make each note ring from the heavens. And suddenly bands that I love but thought I had nothing in common with... the XX, Beach House... I realized, I could play like that.

And then
           yet
                however
                       oh no
                 the one thing South Austin Guitars forgot to do when they upgraded my baby was to put the strap locks back on after they finished working on it. (Strap locks keep your guitar from slipping out.)

KABOOM! And just like that... one pickup was dead. Nada. No sound.

We fumbled through the set me playing all treble, all noise, all distortion, none of the beautiful gliding over ice we had practiced in rehearsals all week. It's like if you ordered a trombone and a penny whistle showed up.

So now we are doing the Hail Mary pass, standing over Paul Benjamin, Tulsa's premier guitar doctor -- and begging, pleading like a mother waiting to hear if her child will walk again.

He is dismantling switches & pulling off nobs... It looks like that childhood game Operation, watching him pull out the wires 'n guts of my guitar.

All the innards laid bare.

No wires cut; need resoddering.

Is it the switch? They don't have any of those in stock....

Nope, not that.

What then? What?

I won't tell you how the story ends. All I know is that somehow or other, we will leave Tulsa & end up in St. Joseph, Missouri this evening, and get onstage and do something.

And last night's show was so painful -- all I could think about was what was not -- that tonight's will be beautiful. Even if we will it so with our hearts and desire to move people, not the sounds from the strings.

I thought Blog Post #1 on this tour would be about getting to hear Jeff Tweedy (Wilco's frontman for those who don't know) do an interview in the intimate PBS studio. Lots of inspiration there.

But no... instead, we'll start w/ a lesson about the indie DIY touring world. Vans break. Expensive guitars break. Shit gets stolen. Hearts break sometimes. You come home tired & mostly broke & if all goes well (somehow, against the odds, it usually does), excited to do it again.

ps-- Tulsa, invest in your fuckin' sound systems. A decent PA ain't that expensive. And delicate pretty indie bands like us don't want to write you off. But the music comes first.

* * * *

how will you spend your turkey day?

2011-11-21T09:52:00.001-08:00

We are hosting a batch of East Coast & Cali orphans in our Austin, Texas backyard.

I recruit whenever possible. That way, I also feel surrounded by my people here in the heartland.

I am asking people to bring a kick-ass poem to read before dinner... not quite as cheesy as the Torrisi family rituals, but still something besides gorging ourselves to commemorate the holiday.

What are we grateful for this year?

GOOD ART
BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE

SQUEEZING 12 PEOPLE, 1 BABY & 1 WILEY PUPPY INTO A 1BEDROOM APT.
i imagine it'll look something like this....

Our landlord is the quintessential South Austin hippie... he's deep frying turkey -- we will most definitely get in on that. (Using our winning puppy Penny Moon to lead the way if necessary.)

Here's the menu so far.

Turkey
Shrimp cornbread stuffing
Zucchini watercress soup (mama torrisi's recipe)
Squash stuffed squash (i call it squished squash)
Mango spinach salad
Tim's upstate NY apple pie
Pumpkin pop tarts
Hot toddies to drink

What's on yours? What're we missing? Post any decadent photos to www.facebook.com/thePleasePleaseMe

Make me jealous. Happy happy happy. I love spending this holiday with friends.

~jessie

* * * * *

TOM WAITS, SONGWRITER’S SONGWRITER, PUTS OUT 20TH ALBUM

2011-11-08T15:52:00.000-08:00

I’ve never been the hugest Tom Waits fan, partly because Closing Time is so goddamn good, few of this other records have hit me that way.

However, I can’t help studying Tom Waits… because he is undeniably authentic. And that guy hiding behind songs & peeking out at shadows is quite fascinating.

So I listened to the 45-min interview on NPR’s Fresh Air about his new album, Bad As Me. A few gems.

To get the throwback sound of vinyl on one song, he stuck a microphone up to fried chicken. Sounds identical to a record player, he says.

Songs he used to study obsessively:
Julie London's 'cry me a river' & James Brown's 'it's a man's world'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByUOFV5TusE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Fd8_gojNXc

He talks about figuring out how to sing songs he wrote… something I’m only now tapping into: just ‘cuz you wrote it doesn’t mean you’ve unlocked its mysteries of how to put it over.

“I bark my voice out through a closed throat, like a dog almost.”

And then there’s great audio of him doing vocal exercises to undo the damage that style of singing creates. (about 10 min in.... http://www.npr.org/2011/10/31/141657227/tom-waits-the-fresh-air-interview)

When I was writing a story on performance anxiety for a science magazine, I learned that Waits’s gruff voice was a construct – a character, an alter ego, a mental trick to separate the real sweet-voiced Waits from someone who would be fearless onstage. He says, as a young man, he was always eager to be an old man.

Another of my favorite Waits’s stories: Elizabeth Gilbert, in her Ted talk on creative genius, talks about how Tom Waits is haunted by his creativity. He went through decades thinking every great melody that hit him was a fluke & if he didn’t literally careen the car to the side of the road & run to the nearest tape recorder or studio, the muse would never visit him again.

Watch it here, included in a blog post I did recently on the Art of Living Dangerously. http://jessietorrisi.blogspot.com/2011/09/art-of-living-dangerously.html

Or listen to Tom tell it all in his own words. http://www.npr.org/2011/10/31/141657227/tom-waits-the-fresh-air-interview

How do you keep making great music for decades???

“You are still mystified at the construction of songs. You don’t ever really get to a plateau where you feel like, ‘Oh I’m done. I know how to do this.’ You stay curious & puzzled by the whole affair.”
-- Tom Waits

* * *

my fav tom waits song, "the piano has been drinking"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUeKDtMV1gA&feature=related

On the Virtues of Strays & Orphans

2011-10-27T13:48:00.001-07:00

They are gorgeous & vulnerable & full of soul.

* I mean isn't this exactly what we crave in our songwriters & artists.

I present to you exhibit A.

He comes in black 'n gray stripes too

(two kittens left... while supplies last) & needs someone JUST LIKE YOU to take him home and love him.

I present to you exhibit B.

Miley & Millie.
Two shelter dogs we fostered through Austin Pets Alive.

Fostering is perfect for non-committal bleeding hearts. (Contact them - it's easy to do!)

You've got a perpetual puppy & an endless string of new friends o n the stree t just dying to talk to you.

& Exhibit C, our very own Penelope Moon.

(she's learning the tambourine & will be making her Please, Please Me debut soon!)

Another foster through Austin Pets Alive, but goddamnit, we couldn't give her back. She stared up at me with those soulful eyes, lined in coal black eyeliner (like Duran Duran), put on her white tuxedo shirt... and what could i do?

I told her to cozy up by the end of my bed, started writing my very first doggie love song & wondered how I'd made it so long without her.

Mutts always make the best dogs. Obama said so in a speech I saw... joking about how he's a mutt. (We're so obsessed w/ him being black, we forget he's half-white Kansan too.) Perhaps w/ pets and presidents, the maxim holds true. I'm a mutt. Aren't most of you???

So if you're looking for love.... try the kittens above.

(Seriously contact me at rockstar@jessietorrisi.com)

If you do your research you'll see a lot of pet mills have blood on t heir hands.

And spending a couple hundred dollars on a pet is soooo 1995.

So get in bed w/ the masses, the abandoned, the waiting to be loved, the superhero

es of the future. Stray Cats, Dogs, Humans Unite!!!!

* * * * *

In the Stu stu studio

2011-10-23T12:52:00.000-07:00

Very exciting news....

We've gotten the band in the studio.

The first song is done & you can hear it on our fanpage -- www.facebook.com/thePleasePleaseMe.
(Existing fans must click the "R" Bandpage tab. New folks must click "like" to access the tune.)

But here in blog-land, I'm gonna take you a bit into how the studio of being in a process works.

The tune we started with is...
There Must Be Something I Been Dreamin'

It's an ode to living a life when you feel like you're underwater, you're there but not there, you see/feel that thing around you but it's just out of reach.

For me, for many of you reading no doubt, this was about having a creative vision, but being trapped in a job, a box, a world where that painting, song, show, life you crave might as well be on Mars.

For the longest time, this song existed as a chant, a feeling, the ah ah melody you hear at the beginning, but I couldn't put words to it.

This spring, I went into the hole w/ Mark Addison to start seeing what we could do with it. Mark plays bass, keys, guitar -- like a maniac -- & makes a mean drum loop. With me singing, playing guitar & them drums over the programmed beats, we started building a framework one sound at a time.... we could almost create a whole track.

Almost.

It ain't magic - it ain't ready - it ain't seeing the light of day without my secret wea

pons, Alissa Schram on cello & piano and Dave Gironda on trumpet & bells.

The result is a menagerie of horn 'n cello duets, harmonies which fall somewhere between Edward Sharpe, Fleet Foxes, Mazzy Star.

Some photos & video for you. I can't describe the feeling of sitting back and watch Mark, Alissa & Dave hum, sculpt, mess around, stack triads, build harmonies 'til what was a pretty good song started soaring. It's like taking a mountain and making it into a volcano.

Here they are layering a piano, bellos & voices onto the bridge. To those of you music lovers who haven't ever been part of the recording process, it's wild. Put on your headphones and enjoy the ride.

Reminder: you can hear the finished recording of There Must Be Something I Been Dreamin' at www.facebook.com/thePleasePleaseMe. Just be sure to click on the BandPage tab.

We'll be giving you many more chances to glimpse into the making of this music. Soon, we're launching a Kickstarter campaign to get together the money to finish these songs. The result will be 2 ep's called Turn it ON, Turn it OFF. Please stay w/ us for the ride.

ps-- If you don't know Mark Addison, he's a fixture here in Austin. He's recorded & produced the Band of Heathens, Matt the Electrician, Patrice Pike, Freedy Johnston, Jess Klein and mo'.

* * * * *

MY FRIENDS ARE GROWING UP & SHOWING UP ON LATE NIGHT TV

2011-10-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

First it was my friend Baron Vaughn on Conan O’ Brien. Baron was always a comedian who was going places, but I just remember him cornering people in my living room in Brooklyn to try his jokes on them. Maybe he still does this at parties. But suddenly, he looks like a man comic instead of a boy comic.

Then Stephen Squibb, another fixture in my Brooklyn apartment, showed up on Keith Olbermann this week. Stephen was always super academic, heart-on-sleeve, with fly-away hair.

Here he is talking about the arrests in Occupy Boston. Despite what I’m guessing is a pretty high stress, high emotion, low sleep situation… he sounds unbelievably articulate and thoughtful. Lead my revolution!

STEPHEN DISCUSSING OCCUPY BOSTON ON KEITH OLBERMANN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Os4oxWbGXv0

Suddenly, he’s gone from a guy who could talk about political movements and social theory to someone who’s doing something. I’m so proud of my friends!

It’s strange. I leave New York to pursue my dreams, and my friends did too. And within just two years they start popping up in really awesome places.

It’s like they’re laying the rungs of this awesome ladder that I too will climb up.

Fuckin’ hard work & a lot of heart. That’s what it takes.

Ps—You know why they’re arresting people in New York & Boston? Because they’re afraid the message is actually taking hold and starting to spread. They were willing to indulge a bunch of kids getting their yah-yahs out, but now it’s getting a little real.

Think about the cost of education, healthcare, and how many jobs in this “strong Texas economy” are really minimum wage jobs, then ask yourself if we as a country are really investing our money in ourselves, our people, our futures?

Watch In the Time of Butterflies (free on hulu) if you’re feeling the revolutionary spirit – based on a book by Julia Alvarez about three sisters who helped topple the Dominican dictator Trujillo.

But we’ll leave you with a laugh…. Thanks, Baron.

MY FRIEND BARON VAUGHN ON CONAN

http://teamcoco.com/video/baron-vaughn-wishes-he-was-in-plane-crash

* * * * *

MACY GRAY & COMMUNITY SERVICE

2011-10-06T13:26:00.000-07:00

I’ve been on a Macy Gray kick recently…. And so Saturday, in the Texas sun, when I found myself hellbent over a shovel, dust flying into my face, and turning up old patches of dirt, her song jumped into my head.

Get up, get out, and do something. How will you make it if you never ever try??

Saturday, I was helping to turn one women’s front yard into a community farm for the whole neighborhood.

But I went because Obama’s team of young upstarts – Organizing for America – asked me to go.

And because I love gardening, but only sorta know what I’m doing, and I’m not sure that hauling amps over my head counts as actual exercise.

Lessons learned.

1) It’s fun to sweat, and build stuff, and meet your neighbors.

2) Learning how to do something that most people turn to a fix-it guy for makes you feel bad-ass.

3) We can sit here all day and debate economic policy, or how Obama has failed to create the revolution we were hoping for, or how the Republicans will destroy the country… Meanwhile, some people are out there doing stuff. Truth is, a lot of change happens from the bottom up.

Take it from Macy Gray….

Here’s the link if the video does not appear on your browser, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OHPY3MyUlI

Honestly, I would devote one Saturday a month to helping people I respect make something happen. Austinites, wanna recruit me??? Tell me ‘bout your project.

AUSTIN, TEXAS – THE MUSICIAN FREE HEALTHCARE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD

2011-10-03T09:19:00.000-07:00

Tuesday is HAAM Benefit Day. HAAM is possibly my favorite nonprofit ever – it offers free (or really cheap) healthcare to musicians in Austin.

As the rest of the country goes ballistic debating whether people ought to be entitled to health insurance – which often doesn’t even get you decent care – Austin just give its artists, otherwise known as the poor and politically forgotten, what they need to stay healthy.

It is such an awesome program that you think, “No, it’s a mistake, they can’t.”

But they do.

Since I lived here, I’ve gotten physicals, allergy check-ups, cavities filled, saw a specialist all for less money than when I had actual health insurance in New York City... And, I’ve seen awesome people. People who seem to care what’s wrong with you & have the time to see a conversation through.

So join me ‘n the please, please me in celebrating & supporting HAAM.

TODAY at 4pm, we’ll be on Keye TV, Channel 42, Channel 5 on Cable, http://weareaustin.com/lifestyle/austinlive online

TUESDAY at 5pm, we’re at BD Riley’s, 204 E 6^th at Brazos

*we’ll be doing the special stripped down show we brought to Cincinnati last weekend… & Google’s picking up a round of drinks

There’ll be musicians all over town trying to raise awareness tomorrow…. 5% of whatever you spend on food, drinks, records, t-shirts, etc. etc. at THESE BUSINESSES all over the city will go towards HAAM. So go forth & spend!

And learn more about HAAM …. myhaam.org

As someone who’s lived in New Orleans, Bahia, New York and traveled to Central Africa and India, I would never call Austin “the live music capital of the world.”

But as a branding strategy, I respect it. Especially when it’s a slightly arrogant wish that Austin’s city government and activists are working to make happen: We can build a city of art.

Because even though it’s hard to make money at music today, art makes life beautiful, cool, worth living. And there’s a million ways to attract artists and make a place for them in our city. Or yours.

Rock ‘n roll HAAM. We heart you!

* * * * * *

THE ART OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY

2011-09-29T13:40:00.000-07:00

Any of you nerd out smartypants kids out there are wellfamiliar with the Ted Talks. My favorite is Elizabeth Gilbert’s talk on Creativity.

With humor & great Tom Waits stories, she breaks downthe ancient and destructive myths we have about being an artist.

#1,Unless I’m a raging alcoholic, I can’t be a good artist.

#2,Unless I’m an asshole to my boyfriend/girlfriend, I can’t be a good artist.

#3,No matter how good I am, I’ll probably never be good enough.

(Before it was a bestseller, I’d bought Eat, Pray, Love for 10 people – friends struggling w/ creativity,self-transformation, my aunt who was trying to beat cancer. No matter howOprah’ed out it got, that book is awesome.)

Last night, this Ted Talk caught my eye…. “The Art of Living Dangerously.”

Now I was hoping I’d learn to set myself on fire, wrestle a shark, flip off a policeman without getting a ticket. But it’s slightly more cerebral.

The thesis goes like this – it’s been scientifically proven that PEOPLE WHO TAKE MORE RISKS ARE HAPPIER.

I like this… because I knew there was a reason for the crazy things I do, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Because let’s face it, whenyou break off from the pack & get rid of the safety net… life can sometimes be HARD.

But yes, MORE REWARDING. Especially if you keep going.

The talk is cool – many of our groundbreaking inventors were so entranced by discovery, they didn’t even realize they were playing w/explosives ‘til they lost a finger.

Of course, if you fall off the cliff completely – end up dead, homeless, addicted to heroin – you probably won’t be more happy. The art is how to live dangerously safely.

So at the end, William Gurstelle give ideas for “living dangerously” in regular life. Only one problem: does this guy (who I bet really wanted to wear a bowtie for the speech) look like he knows danger????

So here are my suggestions:

Dress up like you would never –wigs, leather pants – and go dancing.

Skip work and go swimming… surfing, hiking, skydiving.

Leave your cellphone at home. (this isn’t danger, so much as salvation)

Go to the highest point you can get to & SHOUT AS LOUD AS YOU CAN.

Ride on the back of someone’s motorcycle.

On the front of the roller coaster.

Dress up like you would never –wigs, leather pants – and go to the grocery store.

Have sex somewhere that’s not your bed.

Next time you go on a date, say all the things you never say out of politeness, shyness, to meet someone else’s expectations.

Dress up like you would never –wigs, leather pants – and go to your parents’ house.

If all else fails, join a band.

At least jump onstage & kazoo w/ the Please, Please Me.

What’s yours????

* * * * *

WHAT IS IT ABOUT CINCINNATI?

2011-09-27T15:37:00.000-07:00

I know that artists have this habit of closing every show by outing, over rollicking drums and guitar fuzz, “We LOVE you Wichita/Waco/Cleveland/Detroit.”

But really, truly, after my 4^th pass through, I gotta tell you…. I LOVE Cincinnati.

Exhibit A – driving 19 hours there, and then back in one weekend to play their Midpoint Festival.

I really really love this place. I’ve heard people say it’s rundown or “ghetto” or a has been place. But screw ‘em. They just don’t get it. It’s under my skin, it’s the feel of my feet on the pavement, it’s the unintimidating but awesome hipster vegan indie rock cafes. And the way 20-somethings and middle-aged folks alike could give a shit about Fader and Pitchfork, but come OUT for shows.

I’ve been trying to pin it down, turn it inside out. So here it is… my list of reasons Cincinnati is the bomb!

1) The old brick buildings. I live in Texas, but as I don’t told, “You don’t seem like a Texan.” The wave of relief that hits me when I see the clock towers, old brick buildings, I feel this wave of relief. Like COMING HOME.

2) Findlay Market – a bustling historic market where you can buy the world’s best waffles, beer, organic teas, leg of lamb, fancy candles…. It’s not the stuff, but the feeling that this is a place where you come to people watch, and on a lucky Saturday, jam out with the Please, Please Me.

3) Midpoint Fest….. which is like South by Southwest. But way smaller & way more fun. 15 or so venues stacked w/ great indie bands & plenty of carousing, dancing, socializing in the middle of sidewalks as you go from show to show. Kicking myself for missing Tristen & Jessica Lea Mayfield… but Asobi Seksu’s drummer is my new archangel. (Baby, remove that loveless tattoo off your back… I love you.) And glad we finally got to check out Bright Light Social Hour. (team Austin, you make us proud!)

4) There’s something in the water – & by water, I mean the attitude of the people we meet. Of the festivals, we play, this was the first & is still my fav! It feels light & free & raw & simple like rock ‘n roll is supposed to be… which is why Douglas & I were easily cajoled into wearing wigs for our showcase. Pictures puhlease (Thanks to E PayneArts Photography for this great shot)

5) A special shout out to Dan McCabe, who makes Midpoint happen, whose club MOTR is awesome (& serves amazing veggie food), who sends you to his family mechanic when your van shakes & happens to be at the front of the stage just as we pushed our way to see Asobi Seksu. And Sara Beiting, Tracy Walker…. All testaments to the fact that, it’s never too late to make a city cool, or cool again. If people want culture, art, food, diversity, a city that feels alive as you strut down the streets, they can make it happen!

6) Last but not least, JT & Amanda – the awesome dancing couple in the front row of our showcase.

‘Til we meet again. Which is looking like December. We’ll bring our space heaters if you bring your swagger.

Xxx oo Ohio

~jessie & the please, please me

* * * * * *

MY HEART STRETCHES FROM NYC TO TEXAS

2011-09-11T09:04:00.000-07:00

Today, at 12:30 at Paddle Zen (1620 E. Riverside, ATX), I'll be playing at a fundraiser to help people fucked over by the Texas wildfires.

This has been the summer of natural disasters.

It began August - when through thick & thin & the perils of Craig's list - I bought a van with only 85K miles on it in my price range just in time for tour. Trying (just this once) to be responsible, I got the brakes replaced. And coming home from the brakes place, that's when the shakes started.

(In that headstrong Capricorn way, we made it. 3 mechanics and $650 later, the van's cruising over highways across the country.)

Then the real disasters hit. The *earthquake!* in Pennsylvania?!?
And the hurricane that almost took out New York City.

Wednesday, I came home to smoke in the air & 1,400 homes burned down from wildfires in Bastrop, TX, about 30min from Austin. This is the worst drought possibly in history for this region.

And today is the 10th anniversary of Sept 11th.

One thing I've learned as an artist is to be grateful -- for my survivor streak, for the ability to persevere, to navigate the emotional boulders in the road, to keep one's eyes on the prize. And no matter what shit you're facing... if thousands of people can go down in the towers, and a whole city lives on.... if thousands w/ no money can lose their homes (upstate NY, New Orleans, Bastrop)& find a way to build again... then so can I. So can we.

So light a fire in your heart today for everyone going through it. Do what you can do... even if it's a little eentsy thing, like send a card or pick up the phone or drop $40 at a fundraiser or become a Red Cross member or volunteer 1 afternoon.

And don't forget to make some beautiful music art food poetry along the way.

WHO'LL BE OUR HOMECOMING KING & QUEEN SATURDAY??

2011-09-11T09:01:00.000-07:00

This week, I drove 30 hours straight (through torrential rain in NY, VA, TN, NC) to get home to you sweet Texas.

Lenny Kravitz said it, It ain’t ‘til over it’s over. Summer, that is.

So TONIGHT, Agustin, Mandy & Duncan – my fearless road warriors – will join me for the final show of our summer tour at Hole in the Wall. We made it through earthquakes, hurricanes, grumpy soundmen, & the van shakes…. So please come support. Lotsa new songs from the forthcoming record.

SATURDAY at HOLE IN THE WALL

24th & Guadalupe, 11:30pm, $5

w/ Petals & more

* there’s lots of great parties happening this weekend to raise money for people hit by the wildfires. Check out this list & Go spend some $ to help your neighbors.

**please note the Beauty Bar show Sunday is not happening (sorrrrrry for the change up)…. Anyone looking for in honor of 9/11 & new york city Sunday night, get in touch! I’m going pudding wresting.

MORE TOUR PICS & VIDEOS COMING... HERE.

Highlights:

1) Chicago – vegan eggs benedict at 3am outside the booty shakin’ clubs

2) Cincinnati – buying new used tires from ex-cons for $30 each

3) Milwaukee – NPR taping, the best sounding club & my fav new band Delta Routine (think Citizen Cope meets Robert Johnson) who I hope to do some writing with soon.

4) Philadelphia – mom’s homecooked pasta

5) Boston – hurricane!

THANK YOU to those of you offering us car advice from the road. You’re lifesavers… literally.

Xoxo ~jessie

LIVE FROM WKRP IN CINCINNATI!

2011-08-20T11:12:00.000-07:00

The van's been shaking so hard & we've been rocking so hard that I haven't had much time for updates.

The last few shows are up on our show calendar.... Stevensville, MD & Pittsburgh, PA. (I've never been to Pittsburgh which was a source of pride even growing up in, but my favorite book is The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon, so I'm going in with an open mind.)

Other new places for me.... Williamsport, PA. Some of my old LM friends are getting grad degrees nearby so this should be an awesome reunion.

& BOSTON... fuck yeah! Especially looking for to Duncan's birthday at the show in Jamaica Plain thursday, then Toad's on Friday. Lots of youngsters climbed up through the scene there.

Read this rad review -- TERRIFIC TORRISI COMES TO JAMAICA PLAIN

Currently in Cincinnati.... MOTR is a very cool club opened by the guy who runs Midpoint Fest. Besides a kick-ass portobello burger, the staff rocks. The opposite of last night at Ma

rtyr's in Chicago. The sound guy was definitely a martyr for the cause of grumbling and making us feel like assholes for even wanting microphones.

Pics from the road!

#1, the band by millenium park in chicago

#2, wrigley field

#3, in the Lake Effect studio at Wisconsin Public Radio

#4, agustin, our glockenspiel-wielding superhero

Hope to see you East Coasters at an upcoming gig. Note: Banjo Jim's on Sat 8/27 is relocated to Googie's above the Living Room at 11pm that same Saturday.

We miss you Oklahoman, Kansas City crazies, Milwaukeeans, Chicagoans already.

xoxox ~jT & the pls pls me

WE'VE CROSSED THAT LINE

2011-08-20T10:53:00.001-07:00

The van shaking has gone from a 1.5 earthquake when we're driving b'twn 35 & 50 mph to full out van-shaker all the way up to 60mph.

So here we are at a mechanic outside of Cincinnati.

Dan McCabe, who runs MOTR (sweet club here) send us to his guys... but of course, we felt obliged to run down the street and buy used tires to save a few bucks.

Duncan & Mandy with the new USED tires... debating how obvious it is that the t

ires were stolen & the guys who sold 'em to us just got out of jail.

Will this fix our van shakes??? Stay tuned for more updates from the road!

Dear God, where the F is my van???

2011-08-03T15:27:00.000-07:00

Let’s see if I can tell this story in 10 lines or less.

1. Have spent the last 10 days furiously scanning Craigslist for a vehicle that will get us through our next tour…. Austin à Kansas City à New York

2. After wavering between cars, vans, pimped out trucks, keepin’ it simple…. Saw this guy and fell in love.

3. Holy shit, it's in my price range!

4. Took a day off of teaching, grabbed my trusty guitarist/car expert Duncan & went to New Braunfels, planning to unload $3,500 from my bank account & drive home w/ a van that night.

5. The owner, a very nice straight-shooting responsible perhaps even booooring man, takes us for a tour. Van drives beautifully. And so so cute. Does not smell like cigarettes, rock bands, mold or old man. Extra plus!

6. Duncan & I spend 4 ½ hours & way too much money staying caffeinated at a Starbucks all afternoon while the van is inspected by a local mechanic.

7. 4:38pm… finally a call from the mechanic.

8. The verdict: brakes (front & rear), U-joint going, flush the coolant, replace original fluids, blah blah “I am speaking a language that you don’t understand & not trying to translate, but if you pay me $2,800, I can fix it all.”

9. $2,800?!! F(*&(, Sh)(*9

“I think they’re conning us, I can get that stuff fixed cheap, we should get it,” says Duncan.

10. Mulling over the next move, I ask the owner if I can drive it back to his place, test the brakes, feel it out some. A block & a half from his place, CLUNK! And there we were, stuck in the middle of the street… van not moving, reason not known.

Jessie still vanless (and perhaps lucky I killed that car when I did)

My fav cop shot. "sir you can't leave that thing in the middle of the road..."

Has anyone else killed a car while test driving it?

This is a first! Even for a Torrisi.

I'm Going Nocturnal

2011-07-17T17:36:00.000-07:00

I’ve always thought of myself as a sunshine girl. Perhaps the best compliment I’ve ever gotten was from ex, who as we were breaking up, said, “You’ll always be my good-time girl.” (It’s not that I’m the wildest partier, but given the choice, I do tend to prefer light to dark.)

So I find myself in a very strange predicament. Here in Austin, Texas, it's mid-July & I can’t take it anymore!

It’s not the heat so much as the light, the sun constantly beating down – no change of mood, no air of self-reflection. I remember my first summer here; halfway through, I’d convinced myself I would never see a cloud or ever write a song again.

Midnight and music. Cloudy days and new songs. Why do these things seem to go hand in hand? I don’t know. But for me, they always have.

So before I become a raging alcoholic, a boring grump, or self-destruct (& not in the fun punk rock way)… I’ve decided to try an experiment. I’m going nocturnal.

This is no time for a shutdown. I’m recording my new record & no matter what you think you know about your songs or your style, it’s all thrown into the air, turned into questions marks in the studio. There are a 1,000 small decisions to make… it’s lead or be led. And I don’t want to wake up to a record that doesn't sound like me.

Texans, puhlease tell me.
HOW DO YOU BEAT THE HEAT?
SURVIVE NEVER-ENDING SUMMER?

Look for me at Momo’s ‘til closing time. Or swinging in the hammock at 2am. Working on songs way past bedtime.

Look for me bleary-eyed on the streets at 8am. Ready to crawl back into bed at noon.

I’ve tried to look on the bright side… but it’s not working.
From now ‘til August 12 (when we leave on our next tour), I’m looking for the dark.

what in the world does cancer have to do w/ rock n roll?

2011-05-04T09:29:00.001-07:00

I've been taken by this idea of putting kazoos, the lure of breaking the Guinness Record, our best ballad, & fighting cancer into the band business plan for 2011 / 2012.
Why?
I could give you reasons.

*My Aunt Dot (one of my fav people in the universe) passed away after a long drawn-out battle.

*Early detection is the thing that saves lives.

*Just as I sat down to write this, I got an email about a friend's friend, whom I met w/ her 1-yr-old son at a birthday party recently, who's having emergency surgery for what appears to be stomach cancer. We're keeping our fingers crossed.

These are all great reasons... but not the whole reason.

I don't know how much you know about being an artist, rock star, self-promoting entrepreneur in today's economy.... but it's a lot of *Look how great I am!*

So I want to tell you about how great someone else is. Lots of someone elses.

The more I get to know cancer survivors, I find their courage amazing. And their lust for life awesome -- it's a blueprint for how I want to live.

So we're doing two projects. About courage. Supporting eachother. And remembering what we can accomplish when we band together, get educated, & demand better health services.

1) The first is an homage to cancer survivors by making a video for our song the Brighter Side.
the song

these are all photos of survivors who'll be in it.
If you're a survivor, it's not too late to take part: email me a pic at rockstar@jessietorrisi.com

If we can raise just under $3,000, we'll give a copy to everyone who participates in the Livestrong Challenge this August in Philly (*my hometown). That's ~6,000 people.

It's a way of saying thank you for fighting the good fight & giving to something greater than yourself & raising money & running 23 miles... When the video gets passed around youtube, hopefully it will give others the motivation to get tested.

2) Let's round up enough people in 2012 -- at a cancer walk, run, or mustache-shaving bash -- to kazoo their hearts out that we break the record! Last I checked, it was 5,800 people kazooing to Take Me Out to the Ballgame. (We think Cannonball's a better song.)
If raising awareness can be fun quirky n creative... Why not?

Most of these ideas came from my friend Walking Eagle Burr, who lost her mother to cancer last year. And I'm running with them.

Are you with me?

* * *

More cool stuff to check out:
Cancerpants ... the trailer for a great survivor documentary being made here in Austin
Livestrong Cancer Navigation Center .... whatever you need, they can point you in the right direction

& we're off... southby has begun

2011-03-16T12:07:00.001-07:00

Last night was our first gig – a music for film showcase – at Skinny’s, the newest venue in town. I knew it was going to be a good night when after making a 10-point strategy for parking (Alissa biked, Dave walked, Colin fit everyone’s instruments in his trunk), we snagged two spaces right out front.

Those SxSW Interactive kids did not disappoint. Slowly they trickled in – with their sun-kissed, last night of vacation smiles on – ‘til it was pretty packed by time we hit the stage. A mixed crowd, the best kind.

Revelation: I love being on a high stage. It just gives me that rush of confidence that we belong there. A few songs in, our new crazy fan Hiram was parading around with Please, Please Me panties on his head. (Don’t ask me how he got them off of Alissa.)

The crowd leaned closer where I first got behind the drumkit. As we played She Leaves Notes on, a few disco dance’y New York hip kids waltzed and got everyone dancin’. (The only true marker I use to gage the success of a show.)

Of course, I still needed to beg & plead to get people onstage to kazoo. My mom, who happened to be in the audience, shoved kazoos in two girls’ hands and pushed them onstage. Go stage mom, go!

The ladies danced like never before. Later, a friend overheard them in the bathroom. One said, “I always wanted to do something like that.” The other, “I can’t believe you dragged me up there. So humiliating.”

Happy southby y’all! One may be humiliation. But fifteen’s a party.

& even Kid Rock's done it.

I may never see those girls again: I had to hand out blank kazoos at the show…. Tragic! The jessietorrisi.com stickers only showed up this evening. Maybe they’ll find me if they google, “who’s that girl with the kazoos?”

But the party’s just getting started. & I’m pumped.

Discoveries so far: the egg white omelet at the Four Seasons, the sound system at Skinny’s, looking for a parter-in-crime to see Ximena Sarinana and hurl my body into the crowd at the Strokes.

Take that Bob Lefsetz

2011-02-28T10:13:00.000-08:00

Not sure how many of you follow Bob Lefsetz's blog on the music biz....

He's a blowhard for the revolution; he has a lot of great ideas on why the industry's broken & what it'd take to fix it. He LOVES music.

Only one problem. He seems to think those who live for the art of it, to write a great song, chase the muse, or bring an audience to its knees died off around 1985.

We know he's wrong. The world is fuckin' overflowing with talent, amazing young artists coming of age in a DIY world.

So here's my response to his blog on creativity & James Taylor. (his original rant here.)
* * *

Dear Bob--

People still write like this...every day.

They stay up 'til 3am, even though they have to be at work 'til 9am, because they know there's something longing to be said if they can just be patient enough for it to emerge.

They show up late to important business meetings and dates with pissed-off boyfriends or girlfriends because they were obsessed with nailing down that last line to the bridge, because the hook took off good but didn't land quite right.

I just spent 4 days in a Marriot hotel in Memphis for the Folk Alliance. Hundreds of artists (a few agents, labels, promoters, but mostly artists) cramming into bedrooms & jamming, usually unmic'ed, 'til 4am every night. The whole time, I hardly left the hotel. I got to sit in a song circle with Ron Sexsmith, and he was just as humbled by the talent of young New York, Texas, California writers there as we were by him.

I am not a folk artist but damn am I glad I went. Because now I know I'm not alone in my madness. And that 90% of what I worry about when it comes to "making it" (read, building a career), while important, doesn't matter to me half as much as BEING GREAT.

There's a lot of us out there who are hustling and sweating... ticking off the 10,000 hours... wanting nothing more to write a great song, make a great album... one that captures all the whimsies and soul and comi-tragedy of life, of us.

There are a lot of us out there who think Nashville is bullshit... who constantly devour music and have no clue what's up in Top 40 world. And we pour out songs that would make James Taylor, or you crack a smile and lose the everything-great-happened-30-years-ago speech.

I wish you would talk more about us. We're out there. We do it because we can't not. And we're trying desperately to connect with you, with all the great music lovers still out there.

~Jessie Torrisi

2010-11-11T17:33:00.000-08:00

For booking: Partredge Productions, Walking Eagle Burr, (715) 851-5671

“A voice that matches Emmylou for sly, lust-tinged smokiness & rivals Neko Case in the gorgeous-as-hell-&-can-chop-firewood-all-day department.” --Metro Spirit

“Swagger & sexiness.” --WXPN

“An attention-grabber.” --No Depression

“Aches in all the right places. Best of '09.” --Amplifier

“1 part vintage torch singer, 1 part fierce rocker chick.” --Uncommon Music

“Mischievous, playful, sexy.” --Performer

“Equal parts sexy New York swagger & doe-eyed Americana.” --The Examiner

“Speakeasy pop!” --Smile Politely

“Ryan Adams, you married the wrong girl!” --NYC Village Voice

“The most exciting debut of the year.” --The Swamp Record

“A wrecking crew...Beautiful soulful voice, subtle songwriting.” --What's Up

“There is nothing typical about Jessie Torrisi. Music that roils, rumbles & wriggles.” --Midpoint Fest

past shows ***************************

Midpoint Fest*SxSW*Folk Alliance*Rock the Republic*Festivals *Martyr's*Reggie's Music Joint*Chicago *Frank's Power Plant*WUWM Public Radio*Milwaukee *Arnold's*Cincinnati *Blue Arrow Records*Collinwood Arts*Cleveland *Rumba's*Columbus *Birdy's*Melody Inn*Indianapolis *The Parish*Stubb's*Emo's*Hole in the Wall*Lambert's*KVRX* La Zona Rosa*Antone's*Momo's*Austin *The Moon*Fort Worth *The Stafford*Village Downtown* Bryan,Texas* WWOZ*The Circle Bar*New Orleans *The Living Room*Mercury Lounge*Rockwood Music Hall*Zebulon*Pete's Candy Store*New York
*The Tin Angel*WXPN*Kung Fu Necktie*Philadelphia *The Woods*The Kenton Club*Portland,Oregon *Green Frog*Bellingham *The Den*Tacoma,Washington *Avogadro's Number*Swallow Hill*The Meadowlark*Laughing Goat* Road34*KRFC*Colorado *Amnesia*San Francisco* Room 5*Los Angeles

Go Midwest Young Band

2010-10-07T23:28:00.000-07:00

Wow, our 1st Midwest Tour was off the hook.

A picture of the boys in the van.

And a boy & a girl on the bridge.

Midpoint Fest rocked our world.
Quote Dave, "This is a big fuckin' deal."

Personally my favorite moment was the next day in Cincinnati. We were playing around with our beatbox pedal on the sidewalk when we were joined by a surprise guest. "i'm just a lonely boy, you're just a lonely girl."

We'll leave you with an original song.

More soon. Thanks a gajillion.
~the Please, Please Me

The Please, Please Me hit the Big Easy

2010-08-26T23:30:00.000-07:00

Mementos from our last trip: June 15-17

Alissa w/ beignets at Cafe du Monde (while talking on the cellphone & balancing her cello against a trashcan)

Getting ready to play Cannonball live on WWOZ

Bloody Mary's (how else are we to wash down the beignets??)

Loney Abrams's birthday bash at our Circle Bar show

The tradition of pinning dollar bills to your shirt on your birthday never fails to crack me up

Wild crowd. We do our best to whip up the energy; they took it & ran with it so fast, we weren't quite sure what had happened after. Never seen so many broken kazoos.

Wish i had pictures of us climbing the statue in Lee's Circle and looking out at the city after.

ps-- Alissa's new wig & the necklace I got off the mannequin are to die for.

Thanks Zack Smith (host with the most), George Ingmire (radio DJ who let us crash his show), Lu Rojas (the one & only... be back to record soon), Luke Huddleston (Silent Cinema & our guest trombonist) and Jason Songe (the Circle Bar) for making magic happen.

New Orleans: Five Years After

2010-08-26T23:09:00.000-07:00

This is a love letter to New Orleans.

Five years ago, a not-so-bad storm with a pretty bad-ass name swept through a magical, magical place. Levees broke, people in high places made no decisions & then terrible decisions.

But you know what, the best city in the U.S. (possibly the world) still stands, sways, swings harder than your mama after listening to 3 Marvin Gaye records & downin' strawberry daquiris.

Life would be so boring without purple houses & pickled okra Bloody Mary's (that you can walk down the sidewalk with, or stagger down the aisles sipping while grocery shopping... i can't recommend this enough).

It would be capital L lame without tubas & trombones & men in rabbit suits strutting through the streets a dozen times a year.

And too-rich-for-my-blood gumbo. And park benches littered with crawfish shells. And old men with top hats, languid accents, and catcalls that make you feel impossibly sexy and classy, no matter how attractive you may or may not be.

Don't even get me started on the drummers.
(check out this video.)

New Orleans, thank god you are still here. And THANK YOU to all the people who have stuck out the terrible times and are rebuilding the city, house by house, block by block, dream by dream, school by school, family by family, one street parade at a time.
~Jessie

Back in Action: New Rolling Stone Q&A

2010-07-03T15:55:00.000-07:00

David Fricke/RS: Dear jessie, what's up? Why no blogs recently?

Jessie Torrisi/PlsPlsMe: Well David, ironically, the better things are going, the less time i have to blog. I've been a busy rock 'n roller as of late. Doing shows in Bryan, New Orleans, we finally broke into the Parish in Austin. Demo'ing some new stuff with the band. And, get this, I'm also a college professor. I've been teaching an Intro to Mass Media class at ACC.

David Fricke/RS: Inculcating young minds?

Jessie Torrisi/PlsPlsMe: While I've been playing rock star & trying to make sense of how the whole world is charging, I'm also getting to study the digital revolution in communications, new business models and teach students how to make the most of how the world is changing. *Blog all about it.* But sadly, or apologetically, by time I get home at night, the last thing I want to do is log on. I'd much rather strum a few chords and finish that new song that's been nagging. Or have a beer with friends. Or read a good book.

David Fricke/RS: Did I hear you say studio? Do tell... what's brewing with the band? Are you working on the 2nd record?

Jessie Torrisi/PlsPlsMe: Well, let's start with the good news. We've been recording four brand spankin' new songs out of Carlos Mendoza's living room studio the last few weeks. These are songs that have really evolved with the band -- having the drummer decide to give the whole thing a James Bond soundtrack twist, or having the cello & trombone come to me with harmonies that make the hairs on my neck stand up. And 6th & A, the one heartbreaker ballad, an ode to New York City, being lonely & drunk in the East Village (think Ryan Adams) would have probably never seen the light of day had Carlos not helped me rewrite it. So for once, it's a real band effort. I mean, I came up with The Please, Please Me as a name because I wanted people to think of me & the whole experience we create as that of a band, not a singer-songwriter. But now it's happening. As a result, I think I'll measure up to some of my indie songstress heroes with these in a whole new way.

The Impromptu Please, Please Me Kazoo Chorus

RS: What are you going to do with these recordings???

JT: That's the $20 million question. We're still waiting to see if the results will sound hi-fi album ready, or that we need to go into a fancier studio or grab William Berlind (my producer in NYC), and find a way to lure him out here to record it. I would really like to go that route, but it seems I've spent all my money on touring and kazoos as of late. Am hoping that by having these demos a few interested labels or possible sponsors of the arts might come forward and decide to really make this happen. Y'know what Prince says? Money changes everything. I'd like to start working on a 2nd record, but if it's not in the stars, we'll release an EP, or give away new tracks one by one in exchange for fans support/email addresses/help in other arenas.
*** like if you can silkscreen Please, Please Me panties or make a cool video, we'll prob show up at your house every morning for a month and serenade you.

RS: Does the uncertainty worry or frustrate you?

JT: Definitely. But when I lived in New York, I had not near enough time to really live art, make music my life. In just a year in Texas, I feel i've truly become a musician & a performer, not just someone who wants to be one. I'm a much more masterful songwriter. I have a kick-ass bands, fans, songs I'm really proud of. But I had more better ways to make money in New York, and here, I'm still trying to find my way in the marketplace.

RS: But you'll be back in New York soon, I hear.

JT: Oh well yes, one summer in Texas was enough for me. 60 days over 100 degrees last year. Besides you can take the girl out of the city but not the city out of the girl. Last summer, I happened to be in NYC when they did a 20th anniversary sing-along screening on Purple Rain in Prospect Park in Brooklyn. These kinds of things -- the experience of shouting Purple Rain into a night with 10,000 other New Yorkers from all conceivable walks of life -- they change you. They make you feel unity that can only come from art & diversity & a certain electric current that runs through the city. I can't live without that completely.

RS: Ok, yes yes, I get that. I mean, sometimes you think the price of working at a major magazine is having to live in a crowded, dirty, noisy city. And other times, you think Thank God, I'm stuck here.

JT: Yes, it's the question that never answers itself. If i can't find peace of mind in New York City, can I manage to feel fully alive elsewhere?

Jessie Torrisi & the Please, Please Me at The Parish

RS: So you're hitting the road again soon. What do you want to leave readers with?

JT: Well, to everyone I've met this year.... in Colorado, Portland, Philly, and TEXAS, especially all those dancing easy-going fools here Austin who turned out at SxSW, who kazoo their hearts out, who show up to the Parish on last-minute notice, THANK YOU.

(If you want to hear the new EP, or catch us live, just drop a line to rockstar@jessietorrisi.com. Our new website's not up yet, so for now, this is the best way. If you have a vote for what song we should make a video for, or live somewhere we should come play, we'd love to hear that too.)

The record's only been out 6 months, but it feels like more. And y'know, If a rock 'n roller gives the show of her life & no one's there to hear it... it doesn't make a sound. It might be perverse to measure success in comments on my Facebook page, or fans who send me annoyed emails b/c I didn't send an invite out in time & they missed the show, or how many kazoos I need to rush to print, but I do.

2010-05-06T07:06:00.001-07:00

Ha, figured it out. 2day's the Nat'l Day of Prayer. All those billboards by my house--not 1 had the date on it. Think they were trying to evade me? Guess you gotta be in on God's secret to know.

2010-05-05T09:50:00.001-07:00

Need you all to settle a debate. Best cheap tacos in South Austin to send my outta town yankee friends in These United States to??

Apparently, Mexican food in Washington DC & Lexington, Kentucky leaves a lot to be desired....

Torchy's won! But Bouldin's already challenging them to a rematch.

2010-05-05T08:44:00.001-07:00

Emo's is the only place in Austin that smells&feels like an old New York rock club. But the staff's so friendly. Kinda can't wait to play there again.

2010-05-05T07:27:00.001-07:00

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Austin, Texas where's the party at? I want music, costumes, drunks & time-honored Mexican traditions.

Tour Photos: NYC- As Dark Lit & Lovely as Ever

2010-03-31T18:33:00.000-07:00

We here at Please, Please Me headquarters are finally recovering from the SxSW plague, sweeping that scruffy indie rock boy (crashing in the living room by the amps) dust out & reveling in SPRING in TEXAS.

Over the next few weeks, we'll be rolling out the awesome footage we collected on the Winter '010 tour. If you missed it...East Coast, Pacific Northwest, then Colorado en route back to Austin.

It all started in New York City! Where else...Neither blizzards nor back pain from hauling guitars onto subway platforms could stop the rock.

Thanks to David Bowles from MTV for capturing the magic at the Living Room.

(Will Berlind-piano, Ryland Kelly-upright bass, John Brodeur-drums, Matt McDonald-trombone, All of You-kazoos!)

Photos: 1) setting up, 2) audience kazooing on Cannonball (nyc still holds the record for # onstage), 3) me drumming & singing on Runaway Train (how long before a reviewer compares me to Levon Helm??), 4) the band, incl. Josh Wise (electric guitar on record) 5) Me showing off a red-shot kazoo (matches the Living Room walls!)

THANK YOU NYC! SEE YOU SOON.

SxSW!

2010-02-18T09:00:00.000-08:00

My southby ssssucked last year.

My Aunt Dot died. My scooter (which belonged to a friend in Nicaragua) was towed & took some fancy forgery to free. My best friends from New York came but I'd just started this crappy waitressing job & couldn't hang. I had a wristband & hardly got to use it.

I missed all my fav artists. I'd just moved to Austin & didn't have a band yet... or gigs. I had to sit there & absorb the noise assault while riding down 6th St. every day to shitty job.

But this year I vowed it would be different. And it will!
The Please, Please Me have been on a tear... & there are no signs of slowing down. So get ready for our SxSW assault.

1) Friday, March 19, 7pm, Botticelli's
The full band will take it to Austin's prettiest wine garden, right on South Congress across the streets from Jo's Coffee in case you need a pick-me-up

2) Saturday, March 20, 2:30pm, Rethink Pop Music Showcase
At Chupacabra, run by Couch Professor Entertainment, 400 East 6th St. by Trinity

The Couch Professor crew's got their shakin' booties on the pulse of everything hip & rockin' in Austin these days. Party line up's here.

3) Monday, March 22, 1pm, Waterloo Records @Airport
... And they all go home. If you're killing time at the airport (& you should get there early - i can tell you horror stories of years past), Alissa & I will be doing an unplugged set at Waterloo, Austin's indie record store. Bring yr fav musicians home with you. (Otherwise, you're gonna have to explain to your gf or bf what you were really doing during southby.)

we'll be in the Hear TX listening station at the regular Waterloo Records as well

*other hot tips: don't miss Xo Publicity's Thursday party @ Stompin' Grounds, 3601 South Congress w/ American Songwriter & WOXY (maybe you can help me convince ben sollee we should go on tour together; at least don't miss him; Yo Yo Ma for the hip-hop generation.)

& Dart Music's global pop round the clock showcase @ Mi Casa, 503 East 6th St. i've heard that White Denim is especially worth your time.

Bring on the hungry masses! We're ready.

Hello 2010!

2010-02-08T16:06:00.000-08:00

I've been a busy rock star-in-training in 2010....
*booking an east coast, northwest, colorado, then SOUTHBY tour.
*trying to master the mechanics of web television.
*designing please, please me panties -- his & hers.
*& experimenting with writing on keyboard.

So stay tuned for new songs -- live & about to be recorded -- along with other goodies.

After going to cali over the holidays & then being stranded more normal parts of texas for "work" for a few weeks... I have come back with a newfound LOVE of AUSTIN.

The city's not perfect, hell it may not even be a real city, but it is starting to feel like home.

I hosted Steve (philly throwback, hip-hop maven) for new year's, then old Bklyn friends Anna Bliss (freshman wesleyan roommate) & Michael Schaeffer (yamaka-wearing head-shrinking indie rocker), last weekend.

I've been racking up a list of Austin must's. Here they are.

1) The Jazz Vipers @Lambert's -- Sarah Sharpe, as always, knocked it out of the park with standards like "When I get low, I get high" and "Our love is here to stay." The white sangria is the best I've ever had. The foot-shimmying dancers turned up en masse... doing the lindy hop & the balboa, changing shoes between songs & making us feel like we'd been sent back to the 1920's, speakeasy-style.

2) Dessert @theEastSideCafe -- cherry cobbler & silk chocolate pie, hmm hmm good. Try the acorn squash if you don't believe in having dessert first.
And traipse through their backyard garden on your way out.

3) Sunset walk in the Greenbelt, to be followed by grazing at Whole Foods

4) An after-hours romp at the St. Cecilia -- This is the newer, fancier, more secluded & exclusive hotel run by the people who own the San Jose. You need to know someone staying there to get made-to-your-tastebuds cocktails & lounge by the fire by night or pool by day. But it is heaven! White peacocks on the mantels. Record players in each room with a vinyl library at the front desk. Spoon was doing a photo shoot in the vintage car perpetually parked out front while Steve & I were shooting some impromptu videos... this place is capital f Fabulous.

Go if you can! And stay tuned for the videos. They'll be part of an upcoming lightning bolt arriving from the rock 'n roll future (i've been sworn to secrecy 'til they're up)....

Thank you Austin for finally throwing your arms open 1 year after i left the big bad city behind.

i won, i won

2009-12-08T10:26:00.001-08:00

I distinctly remember sitting on my grandfather's lap as a 7-year-old, explaining that i was the 2nd smartest kid in my 2nd grade class. I often see myself as a strong contender, but never the front runner. Which is why, at this particular moment, i am jumping up & down, yelling *i won, i won!*

Every december, i read rock writer Tom Semioli's Best of list. This year, to my surprise, i was on it.

BEST AMERICANA ALBUM FROM AN ARTIST BORN IN PHILADELPHIA

JESSIE TORRISI – BRÛLER BRÛLER (Wild Curls Music)

Ryan Adams, I think you married the wrong girl. You knew her as the ace glam-rock drummer in Unisex Salon, Les Fleurs Tragiques, and Laptop. On her debut solo outing (which translates as “burn burn” in French) Ms. Torrisi reemerges as a roots rock goddess. Loaded with hooks and a hazy behind-the-beat croon, cuts including “Hungry Like Me,” “X in Texas” and “Storm Clouds” ache in all the right places. Lucinda Williams, Shelby Lynne and Patty Griffin eat your heart out.

for your further entertainment:

Tom's Annual Best Of: Volume 13:

Friends, Roman Polanski, and Countrymen: loan me your ears! As a “distinguished music journalist,” (as per Grammy Award winning recording artist Jon Secada), voracious record collector, and semi-retired musician (with notable exceptions), I humbly share my abstract ruminations on the year in music as I heard it. As my new wife tolerates my numerous inadequacies (sexual, intellectual, emotional et al.) please beg my indulgence. Very few are chosen, and fewer still are called… have a great 2010, and remember to support live (and recorded) music!

--Tom Semioli

thank you, Tom Semioli.
thank you, New York City.
thank you, Rock 'n Roll!

merci beaucoup!

2009-11-02T18:02:00.000-08:00

THANK YOU to everyone who made friday rock 'n roll greatness.

a few pics.

in my kazoo ectasy, i may have forgotten to sell stuff or pass around the list. email rockstar@jessietorrisi.com

& i'll put you on the list in exchange for the song of your choice... just write it in the subject line.

TV Debut

2009-10-28T10:58:00.001-07:00

this morning, josh, alissa & i were on the fox morning show playing...
X in teXas.

ok, so i have a little trouble waking up to a 5:45 alarm & looking adequately rock star by 7:30am.... but tv is fun! (& the local fox station in austin is not so christian right afterall.)

check it out below. once the snazzy hairstylist and new outfits arrive -- to match the brand new jessie torrisi kazoos! -- those morning newscasters won't know what hit 'em.

October 27th

2009-10-27T13:49:00.000-07:00

Dear diary -- A very eventful day.

1) First album came out, 8am this morning.

2) Got cool haircut.

3) Paid $1,800 in back taxes.

4) Filed for unemployment.

welcome to life as a rock star!!

Sept 11th: Thinking of the People Back Home

2009-09-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

As a diehard, in-the-heart new yorker, september 11th is always a strange day for me.
sad, momentous, exciting... as the years go on, i feel a tremendous sense of relief simply that we're all still here doing what we ought to be doing.

For me, that's music.

This evening, i will be at momo's with a few friends, playing a few songs in homage to the city that lifts me up, turns me upside down, always leaves me dazzled, exhausted and hungry for more.

Please come raise your glass with us! 5 to 7:30pm, 6th & rio grande, Austin TX, free

I wrote a few just for today.
Bedroom cellphone recording of *when september comes* coming soon.
What's your fav new york city song???

Back in Texas with a Vengeance

2009-09-04T12:31:00.000-07:00

First off... I'm back.

Several successes to report.

1) My article about the Song School in Colorado was published in the LA Times.
read it
Song School & the Rocky Mountain air seriously kicked ass... stayed tuned for more on my new talented friends & my quest to write a song in 20 minutes twice each week.

2) It is no longer 100 degrees & doomsday hot by 10am every morning.

3) My new band is kicking Texass ass.
Enter Alissa Schram, the light cello, Rob Jewett, the dark cello
Josh Halpern, wonder kid drummer, & Carley Wolf, serious upright bassist & songstress

We opened for Bob Schneider at the Saxon last week; my mom flew in *for a surprise* from Philadelphia (serious mom points!)...

To commemorate the occasion, for the first time since I moved to Austin, my name was spelled correctly on a marquis. Two R's, One S, damn straight.

Every Wednesday in September, we'll be rocking it at Momo's, 11pm.
Kacy Crowley, Suzanna Choffel, Drew Smith before us. Can't beat that.
Come one, come all.
And thank you David Cotton.

I must admit, I am feeling a lotta love for Texas these days. If you have a favorite Texas song, send it my way.

Purple Rain turns 25

2009-08-07T11:55:00.000-07:00

I know this is my blog, and I’m supposed to promote my music. But this once, I have to detour to praise Prince & the good people of Prospect Park, Brooklyn who had the brilliant idea of a Purple Rain screening/sing-along.

Purple Rain is 25 this year, which puts into perspective how prescient and fresh his songs still sound.

For three hours last night, dance moves, ruffled shirts, and teardrop-shaped white electric guitars reigned supreme. I am blown away anew at the audacity of Prince’s lyrics, the originality of his sound & hip swivels, how insane & perfect his vocal phrasing is. (Don’t be alarmed if I grunt & grind the floor at my next full band show… Is that illegal in Texas?)

Yes, the movie is misogynistic, with plenty of bad ‘80s dialogue, and most of the characters are kind of assholes. But how I wish for a world where all heroes arrived on motorcycles, gave a girl the earring from their own ear as a token of their soul. And that first kiss scene... you got to hand it to a guy who’s egomaniacal vehicle to stardom includes more than a few tips on where & how to touch a woman. (Seriously guys, take note.)

We were on our feet for the last three songs – yelling encore, tricked into thinking we were at an actual stadium rock show. It was that good.

I’ve been in NYC for two weeks now, my first visit back since I moved to texas. Traffic sucks. I’m beyond overtired, (on vacation?!). And lugging your guitar around the city is a bitch.

But there’s no end to the interesting, smart, unexpected twists life takes in new york. Standing shoulder to shoulder with 5,000-plus people under a full moon perfect 75-degree night swaying with your arms around your best friends, shouting an entire Prince album is something you should all experience once before you die.

New York City, I never wanted to be your weekend lover….
But I guess that’s the way it’ll have to be for a while.

One lyric/one song/one story about why Prince rocks your world.
I can’t help myself. Prince, Michael J, & James B. – together at last.

True Shining Light...

2009-07-30T12:16:00.001-07:00

That's what Guest List Magazine said in their review, the first!, of my new record.

full write-up below...

"The true shining light of the album comes to the front throughout each and every track -- her voice."

JESSIE TORRISI
Brûler Brûler
Self-Released

Jessie Torrisi is a recognizable face around New York City as she has played drums for several bands over the years, and although she may call New York home, she is well traveled and influenced by cities with rich culture and music like Brazil and New Orleans and she has poured all of her eclectic influences into her debut solo effort Brûler Brûler.

The 8-track album fuses together a wide array of instruments that are not necessarily the common ones used like violin, cello, and trombone, which coincidentaly is the prominent instrument used early on in the album on “X in TeXas.” The blending of instruments runs the borderline between obscure and unique on “Runaway Train,” while on “Cannonball,” you are met with a 1920’s jazz feel. But all of the instrumentation aside this album is about Jessie Torrisi and her outstanding vocal ability.

Throughout the album her vocals are full of the utmost sincerity as she shows on the more slower paced tracks like “Breeze in Carolina” and “Storm Clouds” on the second half of the album. However, “The Brighter Side” which closes the album, is the standout track. It relies on heavy use of the piano to more or less accompany her vocals and she delivers them in an outstanding way that pulls you into the song allowing you to live the lyric with her.

When an artist combines odd instruments together it usually ends up sounding just that, odd, but somehow Torrisi was able to cohesively blend everything allowing the true shining light of the album to come to the front throughout each and every track -- her voice.

Guest List Magazine

2009-07-07T14:20:00.000-07:00

.... And we're rolling.

That would be roûler roûler. My album is called brûler brûler. It means "burn burn" in French. It's a metaphor for passion.

The most heart-wrenching situations I've got myself into, and of course the most fun & spectacular too, all come from chasing passion. What's strange to me, is how many people don't.... Don't throw themselves headlong into passion. Don't feel it, or act on it. Don't risk it. Just live the life their Mama laid out for them.

So let's call this my rock 'n roll manifesto. Broolay broolay!

So go to it people. Chase! I know sometimes it slips through your fingers, leaves you on your knees staring out at an empty street shouting "Stella." But anything worth doing never works on the first try.

You'll get it eventually. & contrary to what they say, you can have it all. A hot lover who treats you well. A cool job that you actually enjoy. A bit of financial security and a kick-ass album too. Brûler Brûler.

Send me your favorite *passion or die* song lyric.

And if you get into trouble following my advice... drop me a line. I'm good at getting out of tight spots.

the please, please me

lyrics on the cutting room floor

the power of a good dance song

i always wanted to be a comic book hero...

Is there a science to musical hooks?

from the 2 to the 0 to the 1 to the 2

what do you want for the holidays?

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

our fav food on tour

how do they kill all those hours in the van?

almost ran out of gas in kentucky

chicago & the ghost of jeff tweedy

can the rhythm section have some?

is victory meaningless w/o the struggle?

how will you spend your turkey day?

TOM WAITS, SONGWRITER’S SONGWRITER, PUTS OUT 20TH ALBUM

On the Virtues of Strays & Orphans

In the Stu stu studio

MY FRIENDS ARE GROWING UP & SHOWING UP ON LATE NIGHT TV

MACY GRAY & COMMUNITY SERVICE

AUSTIN, TEXAS – THE MUSICIAN FREE HEALTHCARE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD

THE ART OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY

WHAT IS IT ABOUT CINCINNATI?

MY HEART STRETCHES FROM NYC TO TEXAS

WHO'LL BE OUR HOMECOMING KING & QUEEN SATURDAY??

LIVE FROM WKRP IN CINCINNATI!

WE'VE CROSSED THAT LINE

Dear God, where the F is my van???

I'm Going Nocturnal

what in the world does cancer have to do w/ rock n roll?

& we're off... southby has begun

Take that Bob Lefsetz

Go Midwest Young Band

The Please, Please Me hit the Big Easy

New Orleans: Five Years After

Back in Action: New Rolling Stone Q&A

Tour Photos: NYC- As Dark Lit & Lovely as Ever

SxSW!

Hello 2010!

*i won, i won*

merci beaucoup!

TV Debut

October 27th

Sept 11th: Thinking of the People Back Home

Back in Texas with a Vengeance

Purple Rain turns 25

True Shining Light...

i won, i won