Creative artist & busy business woman

Hi there,
Let me introduce my "new boyfriend" on the picture above. I brought it home a couple of days ago and I think I'm in love. I realize that riding a motorbike is something that makes me feel completely satisfied and happy. It's a strange combination between relaxation and adrenaline, where it's only me the road and my thoughts. The most random things tend to pop up in my head when I drive almost like meditation. It's also great singing when driving. You don't annoy the neighbors and you can hear your voice really well with the helmet, almost like being in the studio.

Honda CB1000R

Besides letting the child in me loose on the bike I've been working like a "red-bull ant" the last few weeks switching roles between the busy business woman and the creative artist.
 It's not always a piece of cake to combine the two of them.
 Sometimes what would be good for the business is not what's in your heart but at the same time you need money to make music in order to follow your heart. Confusing, right?
 I realized the best way for me is to keep an open minded approach and extend my boundaries but be careful not to cross any limits or do things I can't stand behind. It's not always a dance on roses but than again challenges is what makes you grow, and definitely worth it.

As I mentioned in my last text  have a single release coming up in June and there's a lot to be done. The song still needs to be mixed and mastered and the cover need to be done.
 Last week my consultant pointed out that in order to get it done in time I would have to do the photo shoot before the end of this week. After my heart almost dropped down to my stomach because of the sudden time pressure I gathered my thoughts and started to make some phone calls.
Organizing a photo shoot usually takes a lot of time and planning ahead unless you just want to take a random picture and happen to have a friend who can quickly make the graphic design. Well that wasn't my case.
Last week I spent a lot of time trying to figure out my option of photographers, make-up artists, the style, concept etc.
 After spending three days on the phone I finally got a good team gathered for a meeting yesterday (one day before the photo session) to go through the concept ideas I sent them two days earlier.
I was really lucky with how the schedules connected and got Ville Juurikkala to take the photos. He is an absolutely amazing photographer.
So today I've been running around like Speedy Gonzales, starting the morning with a great meeting with my booking agents, promoters etc, going to Kung-Fu, getting the hair done, picking up the outfit and rest of the stuff i needed, then make-up, and finally going to the studio.

It was really easy to work with Ville and I think the result is going to be just what I'm looking for. The stylist Jenni Ahtiainen and make-up artist Tea Turunen were also there and did a great job. Everyone seemed to be on the same page with the concept.
What a great day. Now it's time to relax. I just finished packing my bags and tomorrow I'm off for a weeks vacation to re-load my batteries before my producer Eric Gast comes to Finland to work with me.
I'm more or less gonna live in different studios between the 14.5-8.6th. I realized that I haven't marked a single day for relaxation in that period of time, so that loaded battery is gonna be needed.
Here are some pics for you guys!

Rock on!

Jessica

Straight from Kung-Fu to
Cime Beauty House 

The make-up is done, ready to go

A little piece from the photo shoot

Waking up from my winter sleep

Hi there,

The spring is in the air! I had a couple of weeks of "spring tiredness" which is quite common especially here in Finland. We're like bears waking up from our winter sleep when the spring comes. Now the energy drops and writers block are finally disappearing and I feel a strong new inspiration kicking in.
The other great thing about the spring is that the motorbike season starts. It's been quite a while since I've been on the bike and it's quite frustrating to see the bikers out there without driving myself.
However, my season will start next Saturday.
Today when I was at Bikeworld I completely fell in love with this beautiful bike. It was like it started to talk with me as soon as I stepped into the shop!
 To be sure I don't get ahead of myself, which the adrenaline junkie in me tends to do, I'll start by going through the basic stuff with a motorbike teacher to brush up my memory. I gotta make sure to stay in one piece if I want the album to come out. I can't wait!

Honda CB1000R

 Other than that it's been a lot going on. Except for gigs, singing, stunts and Kung-Fu I have to get the album done and release a single before the summer. So there's been a lot of work and more to come.
When things are hectic it also shows by the way I dress or the look of my hairstyle. If I look like a troll and go to the shop in my Kung-Fu pants, it's a sign of a busy lifestyle.
Last Saturday I bumped into my hairdresser at an event in Helsinki. It took her about 2 seconds to pull out the brush & hairspray from her bag and starting to fix the mess on my head. So a couple of days later I decided to visit Cime Beauty House.

Before

And after

I also had a gig in Helsinki a couple of weeks ago where I got to try the "in ear"- system for the first time. It reminded me of singing in the studio where you get the music directly into your ears instead of listening to the monitors.

 It felt a bit weird but once I get used to it, it will be much easier in the future. Here's a video clip for you to check out. (The sound quality is unfortunately not so great... )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-GJHMO58qM

Rock on!

Jessica Wolff

Ps. Check out this painting that a fan sent to me all the way from Germany!

By Benny Ryll

Gigs, stunts, snakes and party!

Hi everyone,

I just came from a TV show (Yle Fem) where I went with my snake Squishy. We were talking about snake phobia. Squishy did a great job! Here's a link where you can watch it. You'll see me and Squishy in about half of the video (it's in Swedish).
Jessica & Squishy (0:46)
The last two weeks have been great. About a week ago I had two gigs. The first one was an acoustic gig at Indiedays's fashion show in Helsinki. It was the first time I performed only with my guitarist and baseplayer. It felt great being back on the stage again after being in the studio for so long!

Acoustic gig at Indiedays's fashion show

The following day we drove to Turku to do a gig after the GBOB competition (Global Battle Of The Bands).
Besides the great bands that were competing there were also artists like Jyrki 69, Dj Amara, Kim Herold, Tidjan and Esko Eerikäinen.
The event was sponsored by Jägermesiter which left us all a bit tired the day after.
On the stage it was a bit tricky to hear myself but other than that the gig went well.

Performing in Turku after the GBOB competition

The following weekdays were filled with stunt, Kung-Fu and getting ready for the next weekend.
 On Friday the 23.3 I went to Opaque Buffs single/music video release where I played the main character. I was a bit nervous since I wasn't sure if my acting had turned out well or not.
When we filmed the music video I had just gone through a very rough working period and felt really tired. I got the manuscript a couple of days before and never had time to really dig into the character I was playing.
When I act I normally do a lot of pre-work on the character to figure out what sort of personality, where the character comes from, where she is heading, what is her strongest drive and will etc.


 When you have that info and dig into it, it's much easier to understand how the character reacts in different situation and the feelings on the film set comes naturally.
We had a really tight schedule and the shots were taken in a random order so I instead of having a clear picture in my head of what I was doing I just had to improvise a lot and jump from one feeling to another. I did have a lot of fun though,  it was a nice challenge and I definitely learned a lot of new things, so I can't complain.
The video turned out well and the band was great! Too bad I couldn't stay and party with the guys since I had to perform the following day.
Sinderella - Opaque Buff  (Here's a link to the music video)

The next day I quickly packed my bags and drove to Kimito ( a town on the country side a couple of hours away from Helsinki).
The show called "Cirkus Ankdamm" is a theatre/circus performance with a bunch of known artists from Finland with different talents. It was a combination of acting, singing, Beat-Boxing, Breakdancing, stand-up comedy, acrobatics and stunts.

Lägg till bildtext

My main thing was acrobatics, stunts, a little bit of singing but also rapping with a Beat Boxer. I'm not completely sure why they wanted me to do that and it felt a bit ironic especially since the well known rapper Redrama was performing right before me. But I sure had a lot of fun!
I also broke my personal record in walking on my hands. In the end of my acrobatic performance I was supposed to walk on my hands and then get interrupted by one of the other artists.
Something went wrong in the communication and the guy who was supposed to come in fairly early waited for what seemed like ages.

A little bit of stretching before the show

I didn't have another choise but just keep on walking even though my my arms where cramping and it felt like my eyes would pop out any second. Luckily I didn't fall and the guy finally
came in to interrupt me. What a great work out!

The "never ending" hand stand

Throwing the circus director on the floor

I also got to "beat up" the circus director after he made fun of my Kung-Fu on the stage. The first show it went pretty well but the second one we had the following day was a bit of a mess. 

He is quite tall and I was supposed to throw him on the floor over my shoulder. I forgot to go down (to make the fall less painful) and you could hear a big "booom" when he hit the floor. I hope we're still friends...

Now I have some packing to do and tomorrow I'm going to Stockholm to record some songs.

Rock on!

Jessica

The final song "Vårt Tid, Vårt Land" with Janne Grönros,
 Krista Siegfrieds, Redrama, Lill-Fill (Beat Box), M.A Numminen and Tony & Rony (Breakdance)

Music, snowmen and Kung Fu

Eric Gast rocking the buttons

Hi everyone,

Just had a small break after being on the road for almost one and a half months. After working for 20 days in the studio in Stockholm I went back to Helsinki with Eric to work on a couple of songs with Johnny Lee Michaels. The big difference between Sweden and Finland is that in Sweden they drink milk and coffee and in Finland the studio sessions tends to end with a party. Both works well!
 Eric also came to a couple of band trainings to coach the band. It's great to have him around. He is guiding me in so many ways. Not only my singing but also lyrics, stage performance, how to approach the music business and many other things. I wonder what my road would look like if I hadn't decided to go to New York to see him in person. I would probably be struggling a lot more.
After a few days in Helsinki Eric went back to the studio in Stockholm to continue working on the tracks with the other guys.
My attempt to rest went down the drain when I realized how much business stuff that had piled up on my desk. To balance it out I took some time to build a huge snowman, go and see a couple of movies and train some Kung Fu.
Now I'm back in Stockholm for a couple of days. We're recording the drums in Benny Anderssons (ABBA) studio. Tomorrow I'm gonna do some vocals before going back to Helsinki.
I have a gig coming up the 17th of March. Finally! It feels like ages since the last gig and have been starting to feel a bit restless. It's a good change from the life in the studio.

Rock on!

Jessica

Benny Anderssons studio

Working on the album

Hi everyone,


I've been in to the studio for about two weeks straight now. A lot of inside jokes and espressos. If I continue like this I will probably start bouncing off the walls soon.
I try to balance the long days with good gym sessions in the morning or evening. I'm starting to get fed up with the boring breakfast. Get me a mango and you'll be in my good books for months.
I'm working on the fourth song in two weeks now. I've been writing about brainwashed people, how we forget the kid inside of us, lies, love and also a "punch in the face" song.
Many new challenges and a lot of good lessons. Sometimes it's a bit hard when the guys  finish the melody and I gotta keep up with the lyrics. Suddenly you have 3 people waiting for you to "quickly" come up with something.
 Of course you can write something that sounds cool but I want every sentence to make sense, at least in my own brain. In order to do that i need to be connected with my feelings and my perspective of different things. With a time pressure it's not always a piece of cake, but so far so good.
There are a lot of music business related things going on as well. I have some record labels interested, which is a very good sign.

Even how great that is it also means there's a lot of business related things going on at the same time.
 I'm not gonna lie, it's doesn't exactly go hand in hand with the creative side. If I had the choise I would have left the "business woman" inside of me, back at home in the snakes cage or something.
I guess a good solution would be to write a song about it ;)


Cheers,

Jessica

Rolling up the sleeves

Hi everyone,

I had an absolutely amazing time at Midem. It went far over my expectations. I learned a lot of new very valuable things, not only about the music business but also about my position as an artist and what I need to work on.
People have been telling me I need to have a "sales speech". The thought of walking up to random people and starting to promote my "artist package" felt a bit awkward.
So I made a list of the 5 most important things about my music just to keep myself focused and avoid random babbling. Other than that I decided to go with the flow, keep a positive vibe and see what happens without trying too much.
The approach turned out to work quite well. After a couple of meetings it felt natural to talk about my music without feeling like I'm trying to sell a product (which happens to be myself). That's already weird enough as it is.
In the end I guess most people just want honesty. Aren't we all pretty tired of fake smiles?

I met a lot of really wonderful people from all around the world and went from one meeting to another. Together with my consultant we worked from early morning to late night.
It looks like I have the chance to work with some of the people I met in the future. I don't want to expect anything before it happens but I'm keeping my thumbs up!
After I got home from Midem I had about two days to pay bills, feed my snake, wash clothes etc.
I also had a few interviews that mostly had to do with the UMK competition in Finland.

Next week you'll know if I'm in or out.  Either way I want to take the opportunity to thank every single one who has been there supporting me, voting and for all the comments (also the critical ones). The positive ones make me smile the negative help me grow!

Now I'm back in Stockholm. My producer just arrived from New York and we're about roll up the sleeves and start working on my album. It's great to have him back! A lot of good laughs and great moments ahead.

Cheers,

Jessica

Ps. Here's a picture from a short movie I played a character in a while ago. If you wanna see, here's the link:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FFW884Tn8k&feature=youtu.be

Midem & 2 stitches

Hi everyone,

Back to business! I just arrived to Nice and tomorrow I'm going to MIDEM ( a large music trade fair in Cannes). 

There you can find music industry people from all around the world. The four up-coming days are gonna be filled with events and meetings. I'm really looking forward to this experience. My goal is to connect with managers, publishers and distributors but I know that even if I don't get a deal I wont go back empty handed.

Just connecting with people and gain a bigger understanding of todays music business is already valuable. Wish me good luck! I'm still fighting my jet-lag (7 hours behind) but should be back on track by tomorrow.

After 10 days of re-charging the battery I feel like a new person ready to rock again! The trip was simply amazing.

Like I mentioned in my last blog text, I need to let the little kid in me go wild every once in a while, especially if I want to maintain the creative spark. It surely did.
It didn't take more than two days before I found myself at the hospital. Typical. It was my second day of kitesurfing and I decided to follow my friend down wind to another beach.

 On the way there were pretty huge waves. Jumping off one of the waves resulted in a hard crash and the fin of the board cut a hole in my head. I think I got a slight concussion because I can't remember it so well other than bleeding and focusing on getting back to land.

Great jump, bad landing

The beach I got back to after crashing

My friend took me to the hospital and a couple of stitches later I was up and running. I must have damaged a nerv or something because I didn't feel any pain and half of my head is still numb. Hopefully I get the feeling back soon. It's feels weird to brush my hair.

After a days break, I was back on the water. My friend tried to teach me how to do a back flip trick. 

After a lot of crashing and flying like super man through the air, I finally managed to do the trick the last day of kitesurfing.

It was an amazing feeling of excitment and adrenaline! 

Practicing the back roll

 I got so stoked I forgot about my kite for a second and dropped it in the water.

Unfortuantely I was very far out and the wind was light so I couldn't get it back up again. The kite was pulling me further out and the nearest beach was filled with rocks.
The situation looked a bit tricky and a very looong swim and a rescue later, the sand under my feet felt better than ever. However, it was totally worth it! I reached my goal, learned a lot of lessons and the dinner&drink afterwards tasted insainly good.

This trip was just what I needed and I'm gonna bring inspiration from my new experiences back to the studio. I'll be working on my album from the 4th-28th of February. I can't wait to get started again. Working with Eric Gast, is just amazing!

Cheers,

Jessica 

Ps.

Another wound to my collection.
Got my finger stuck in a car door.