Episode #18 Jeanette Jurado from Exposé
Welcome to Living A Vocal Life: A Podcast For Singers!
Welcome to the Living A Vocal Life Podcast, where I interview singers who have succeeded in creating a life in music. You’ll hear from vocalists of all genres, in different stages of their careers, including singers who’ve been on the Billboard charts and those who are teaching the next generation. What do they have in common? They're all performers with amazing stories to tell and experiences to share.
In our conversations, you’ll learn what inspired them to become a singer, the kinds of challenges they’ve encountered, and how they've overcome them. I'll also share what I've learned on my own journey as a singer and educator — practical tools and insights that will help you to live your best, most authentic vocal life.
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The guest on this month’s episode of the podcast is Jeanette Jurado — one of the members of the multiplatinum-selling group Exposé.
From 1985 to 1995, Jeanette, Gioia, and Ann ruled the Top 40, R&B, and Adult Contemporary charts in the US and throughout the world. Their albums garnered seven back-to-back Top 10 hits on Billboard’s US Hot 100 — more Top 10 hits than any girl group besides the Supremes. In March 2015, Billboard magazine named the band the eighth most-successful girl group of all-time.
When the ride ended in 1996, they took some time off to raise families and work on other projects. Jeanette's appeared in films, on stage, and released a solo EP, "Lovely." She also married and has a beautiful family with two college-age boys.
In 2006, Exposé jumped back into touring. We met when Nu Shooz joined the lineup of 80s acts on the Freestyle Explosion Tour in 2013. Jeanette, Gioia, and Ann are some of my favorite people to hang out with on the road. We’ve had some fantastic conversations about music, the music business, and the tension between family life and career.
We talk about all that and more in this episode.
“We all want to be recognized and we all want some sort of acknowledgement for what we do.
But I think when you’re initially creating something, you create it because you have to, just because you want to, because it’s part of you that you have to get out. And if that is good enough for you, you’ll make it in this business, you know. ”
Links:
You can find Jeanette on: Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
The songs from today’s episode are called Lovely and Your Kiss and are from Jeanette’s Solo EP “Lovely” (used with permission.) To listen go HERE.
Theme music for the Podcast was composed by John Smith. He edits all the podcast episodes too. (Thanks honey!)
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Jeanette Jurado
You've decided to make singing your vocation. Now what? You may be struggling to balance your life and a career in music. Are you curious about how other singers make it or how they've dealt with success and failure? Do you wonder what their biggest challenges have been? Or how about what they've learned on their journey and what's important to them today?
Hi, I'm Valerie Day, a singer, educator, and creative explorer. You might know me from my work with the Grammy-nominated band, Nu Shooz. Welcome to Living A Vocal Life, where I interview singers who have succeeded in creating a life in music. You'll hear from vocalists of all genres, in different stages of their careers, including singers who've been on the Billboard charts and those who are teaching the next generation. What do they have in common? They're all performers with amazing stories to tell and experiences to share.
In our conversations, you'll learn what inspired them to become a singer, the kinds of challenges they've encountered, and how they've overcome them.
I'll also share what I've learned on my own journey as a singer and educator, practical tools, and insights that will help you to live your best, most authentic vocal life.
Before we get started with today's episode. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's been listening to the podcast this last year. Since the first episode went live in September of 2019, the world has changed in ways we could never have imagined. Because of the pandemic, musicians around the globe have had to cancel tours and physically distance themselves from their bandmates and audiences. But music continues to be made. It's the medicine we all need when we're struggling or celebrating. If you're able, please support the musicians you know and love. Whether it's buying their music on Bandcamp, or just writing them a note through their website, let them know that you appreciate the music they make. It makes a difference.
As we move into the dark winter months. My wish for you is that you find and connect with the music that lights you up and makes your heart sing.
Now, before we get into the interview, I have one quick announcement. I've just released my very first e-course. Creative Practicing For Singers is all about - you guessed - it practicing. If your relationship with your practice needs some help, head to my website, valeriedaysings.com, to find out more.
And now on to the interview!
Valerie: Today's guest on the podcast is Jeanette Jurado, one of the members of the multi-platinum selling group Exposé. From 1985 to 1995, Jeanette, Gioia, and Anne ruled the Top 40, R&B, and Adult Contemporary charts in the US and throughout the world. Their albums garnered seven back-to-back top 10 hits on Billboards US Hot 100, more top 10 hits than any other girl group besides the Supremes. In March 2015, Billboard magazine named the band the eighth most successful girl group of all time.
When the ride ended in 1996, they took some time off to raise families and work on other projects. Jeanette's appeared in films, on stage, and released a solo EP. She also married and has a beautiful family with two college-age boys.
In 2006, Expose jumped back into touring. We met when John and I joined the lineup of 80s acts on the freestyle explosion tour in 2013. Jeanette Joya and Anne are some of our favorite people to hang out with on the road. We've had some fantastic conversations about music, the music business, and the tension between family life and career.
I'm thrilled that Jeanette is up for talking about those things and more with me here on the podcast today.
Thank you so much, Jeanette, for being here.
Jeanette: Hi, I didn't agree to talk about any of those things. No, I'm kidding. I thought this was about gardening.
Valerie: And what you're doing during the pandemic. Right?
Jeanette: Exactly.
Valerie: Yeah.
First Memory Of Singing
So we're going to go in the way back machine, and I'm going to ask you the question that I actually ask every guest on this show. What's your first memory of singing?
Jeanette: Wow. I think my first memory of singing would be at my grandmother's house because I am one of three girls. I don't have brothers, so music and dancing and you know, skipping around the house was quite normal. And, and we would go over my grandmother's house and kind of show off what we'd been working on during the week. Um, whether it be a Carpenter's song or something by Linda Ronstadt or some little nursery rhyme that she had taught us.
And we would all sit or stand on her dining room table as our stage.
Valerie: I love it.
Jeanette: And I remember singing and hearing my older sister, Becky, sing. And I thought, wow, she has such a great voice, and everyone would compliment her. And I thought, you know, I want to be complimented like that. So I started working a little harder.
Valerie: Cause you're the middle child, right?
Jeanette: Of course. Yeah. The middle child, so, you know, I had to do something to get attention.
Valerie: Right. You got to stake your claim there, make some inroads on that attention-getting device.
Jeanette: Exactly.
Valerie: So it sounds like you had a great time singing with your siblings when you were younger.
Jeanette: Absolutely. All the little, you know, stage presentations on our fireplace. And I think so many families do that, but we were definitely one of them. And our family, or at least my mom and my grandparents and aunts, they just, they all loved it.
First Band Valerie: So you were still in high school when you joined your first band. I read that New Breeze was one of the bands you were in early on and that they performed R&B cover songs and had quite a stage show. The band leader, Bruce Soto, was a significant influence on you because of his stage presence. What did you learn from him that helped you with your stagecraft?
Jeanette: Um, well, the first band I joined was called Brandy actually, and they're wonderful musicians, still very good friends of mine. But when I left my first band, and I joined New Breeze with Bruce and the Soto brothers, they had such an amazing performance. And this is kind of the time where Prince and the Revolution, and The Time, and all the R&B bands, Kool And The Gang, and they would all have this great show.
You know, they're dancing, they're doing choreography, they're, you know, it wasn't just about standing there and singing. It was about performing. And I wanted to learn how to do that. And I think that's what drew me into, or that's part of what drew me into that band. And it was just expected.
So we would have, you know, the musical part of practice, and then the band would leave and, uh, the guys and I would stay and just work out choreography for each song. And it worked. And we used to get hired quite frequently. We were always working in and around the Los Angeles area. And I just brought a little extra, you know, to the, uh, the people that were coming out to the clubs.
Valerie: You have kind of a presence on stage that's really grounded. Did you learn some of that from Bruce? Just that kind of... being... really inhabiting your body and presenting yourself in a certain way?
Jeanette: Yes, I think so. I don't know if, um, I did it consciously. I was thinking that that's where I was learning. But I just think I naturally just kind of grew into that. Because I would stand in the middle, you know, as the chick singer. And, uh, I had both brothers on my side on bass and guitar. And yeah, I had to duck a lot when they were swinging around.
Valerie: Yeah. Right. I know that one. I've been smashed in the mouth with a guitar a couple of times.
Jeanette: I got smashed in the head with a bass guitar. But, you know, it was just fun. I was just having fun. So I was being my true self. I was up there singing, and I loved these songs, and I loved to dance. And I saw that the audience was having a good time.
And I think just naturally you gain this confidence in all of that kind of put together. You know, you can't help it, but feel good up there and feel confident and just kind of throw out that positive energy because that's really what it is. It's just nothing but positive energy when you're up there doing what you love to do.
Valerie: So you never had any issues with stage fright?
Stage Fright
Jeanette: In the very, very beginning. Um, when I first joined my first band. They always remind me, and this is when I was in the band Brandy, they always remind me that our very first gig was a wedding, of course. And, uh, it was a very last-minute thing. Their singer went off to Japan to she had this great gig, and they last-minute needed a singer.
And I got called up. I mean, I'm 15 years old at this point. I told them I would do it, and I attended a practice. And then, at the last minute, I really got cold feet. And they were calling me, and I didn't want to answer the phone. And my mom came in and said, Hey, didn't you tell those guys that you'd sing?
And I said, well, yeah, but now, now I don't want to do it. And she said, Well, if you gave them your word and you said, you'd be there, they're expecting you to be there. You have to go. And boy, was I so mad at my mom for making me do that.
Valerie: So without your mom, just standing behind you and saying, You know what, you gotta do, what you said you would do.
Jeanette: It's true. You have to do, you gave your word, and that's their work. You said you'd do it. So, yeah. I finally answer the phone.
And make a long story short, when I got up on stage, and it was time for me to sing, I literally had a chair put on the side of the stage so I could sit on it. And then, when it was my turn to sing, I would go up to the mic, and I would sing my song, just standing straight. And I wouldn't like, I didn't have any tambourines or anything in my hand, I just had my hands on the side. I was afraid to pick up the microphone from the stand, and I would sing my song, and then I'd go back and sit in my chair until it was my turn again.
Valerie: Kind of like the old big band singers, actually. You know they wait on the side of the stage.
Jeanette: Or like some school presentation, you know?
Valerie: Right?
Jeanette: When you're in mid, uh, I mean, uh, elementary school and you go up, and you say your, your letter and then go back and sit in your place in the line.
Valerie: So how long did it take you to get over that kind of deer in the headlights feeling?
Jeanette: It took a while. They, again, I was forced to do it because the band, um, my friend, Michael, who was the bandleader, he was the trumpet player. He said, You know, you can't go sit down anymore. And boy, was I angry at Michael.
Valerie: It sounds like you were dragged, kicking and screaming into the situation.
Jeanette: I kind of was. I was just like, why, why can't I go sit down? You know, I just always have to argue the point. And, um, so yeah, they forced me to stand in front of the microphone and think of something to do while I, even if I wasn't singing, I had to be part of something.
And so just little by little, you know, you start. And we started working a lot. And then you just, I don't know, just the whole comfort of being onstage. Just it's just like anything. If you do it a lot, you just start becoming much more comfortable in the situation.
Valerie: Yeah, I can remember our very first gigs. I was playing congas and singing backups. I wasn't even in the front. And whenever I'd make a mistake on congas, I just think, Oh my God, everybody knows. Everybody knows. I just made a mistake. And be so freaked out.
And then, you know, a year later, after we were gigging three to five nights a week, it just becomes like anything. You're right. I mean, you, you get, um, What's the word? Inured to that feeling of stage fright, you just do it anyway. And then it starts to go away.
Jeanette: Exactly. It starts going away. You kind of just almost forget that it was there at all.
Joining Expose
Valerie: Another person who's had a huge impact on your career is the producer, songwriter, and DJ, Louis Martine. How did you meet him? And why did you say yes when he asked you to move to Florida from California to join Expose. Was your mom standing behind you at this point? Saying you got to do it?
Jeanette: No, but she still had a big part in my decision, because again, I was still very young. I was only 20 years old, I think.
I was still singing with the group, uh, New Breeze at this time. And there was an opportunity to open for a group by the name of Expose. Now Expose, were three different women, prior to me being in the group, which many people don't know about, but it is true. And so they had a club hit called Point Of No Return. And the band that I was in, we would perform that song.
So that night, we opened. And again, I hate to go back and say I was forced, but I swear to you, I was forced to go that night. Cause I didn't want to do that gig.
Valerie: Oh, my goodness.
Jeanette: I know. Thank goodness. But yes. So I went that night. I was very upset that I had to do this. And listened and watched Expose perform and do their show. And after they performed, the three women in that group came up to me and said, We heard that you sing our song Point Of No Return in your band. And I said, Well, yes.
And they said, We would love to hear you do that. And I said, Well, you guys just did it, and we're not going to do it now. You know? And they said, no, it would really mean a lot to us. It's a complimentary thing. So, you know, I talked to the band, and we went up, and on our set, we performed Point Of No Return. And little did I know, you know, they came up to me after we performed and said, Our lead singer no longer wants to be in this group. And we're actually looking for someone to come in and take her place. And we would really like that person to be you.
Valerie: Wow.
Jeanette: Yeah. I was absolutely shocked.
Valerie: You were auditioning. And you didn't even know it.
Jeanette: Exactly. It was a good thing. Cause you know, knowing me, I probably wouldn't have done it.
Valerie: Right?
Jeanette: Yeah. So that's kind of how the connection came into play. Because at that time, Louis had already written Point Of No Return, and he was very involved in the career of Expose. And uh, I guess they went back and told him about me. I don't know exactly how it happened. But from that point on, people were constantly coming from Florida and calling me.
And I think they got my phone number from, I didn't give it to them, but they got it from somebody who knew me from the club. And they started calling my house. They started calling my work. Yeah. And it just kind of started growing from there until it came to the final point of, Do you want to do this? Do you not want to do this?
And honestly, no surprise. I did not want to do it because, first of all, I just loved my band, and I always imagined that I would start my career and have a career with them. And I didn't see myself standing on stage with the other women that were an Expose. I just couldn't see it. It didn't feel like it was right.
And I, at this point, had met them a couple of times. And they're very nice. But I just didn't see myself there. So at one point, they told me, The other women are not going to be in the group anymore. It's going to be three new women. Hopefully, one of them being you. And at that point, it sounded a little more promising to me. That's kind of what I took the leap of faith and agreed to do it.
Valerie: Where'd your mom come in, in the decision?
Jeanette: At the time, I was singing... I... all my friends that I had gone to school with and had graduated with were all in college. And I just felt the need to go that direction. And I was working on doing that and going back to school and singing and going back to school. And my mom said, You know, you can always go back to school, but this chance might never, ever happen again, of you getting to record a record. And because at this point, I already knew they had a record deal with Arista Records, you know, just sitting there waiting.
Valerie: Wait a minute! You're joining a band, and they already have a record deal. That's amazing.
Jeanette: That had a lot to do with me agreeing to do it as well. So my mom said, You can always come back and do that, but the opportunity to go out and record a record, and get all that travel. And you know, I've never been out of the state of California hardly at that point. And she just kind of made it seem like an adventure. So yeah, my mom kind of, once again, pushed me out the door a little bit. Yeah. And there I was. And then I didn't get to come home for months because from there it just took off, and I was so busy.
Valerie: That's amazing. And props to your mom. Sounds like you guys had a good relationship.
Jeanette: Oh, still do.
Valerie: Well, tell me if I'm wrong, but I have this feeling that you've often felt this kind of push-pull between making music and the music business and touring. On the one hand, you don't feel right if you're not singing. On the other, you said in an interview that quote, Growing up, I was never one of those kids that wanted to travel the world. I was not even interested. I thought I was going to get married and have children and stay in East LA for the rest of my life.
Jeanette: True. Well, it's true. I, I specifically remember having a conversation with a very dear friend of mine still. Uh, her name is Ophelia, one of my best friends from middle school on. And she had all these great dreams of all the things she's going to do. Traveling was one of them. But I just had absolutely no curiosity about it in whatsoever way. I didn't... that's not anything I ever said I wanted to do.
To me, growing up, I think I always say secretly wanting to be a singer because I would never really admit it. I was embarrassed to say it. But I always knew that's what I wanted to do, but I just thought I was going to grow up and be on the Lawrence Welk Show.
Valerie: Yeah, Bam.
Jeanette: That was it.
Valerie: Right. And all the rest of this stuff, the travel, and the touring, and the music business.
Jeanette: It's so funny, you know, as I'm saying this, I remember, um, talking with one of my uncles, and we had just kind of made the album. I think it was right around the time we just recorded, and we're starting to do like video and stuff like that.
And Bon Jovi came out with Slippery When Wet and had the song, you know, I'm a cowboy on a steel horse... Oh, Dead Or Alive. And that song came out, and that video came out and that whole touring... it was a touring video, and it showed him on stage, and it showed them on the bus. And I remember my uncle saying, You know, you're probably going to be doing that.
And I just thought, what?
You know, cause I still, I think at this point I was thinking I'm going to go to Florida. I'm going to get some great studio experience. Cause I really didn't have that. Um, you know, be able to come home with the record and say, Look, this is what I did, you know? And then go on living my life.
Valerie: Oh, Jeanette.
Jeanette: And I thank God I had Anne by my side, because well, all of us were... but, Anne specifically had, I think that vision of traveling and things like that, and she was so anxious to see the world. She wanted to learn all about it and see everything. And so once again, there I was being dragged along on all the tours with Anne. You know, I just wanted to stay in bed and watch CNN.
Valerie: Right. So she kind of took your hand and said, Nope, you're getting out of bed, and we're going to go do this and this and this, and like your local tour guide.
Jeanette: Exactly. Like you are going to see this castle. There is a castle right across the street, and you're going to see it.
Valerie: Well, thank goodness for Anne. Thank goodness for the Annes in our lives. Right?
Jeanette: Honestly, I would have missed so much.
On Social Media
Valerie: Do you think part of that push-pull is that you're actually more introverted than extroverted?
Jeanette: I don't, I wouldn't say introverted, but I think I'm quite a private individual. I don't feel the need to share so much of my life with everyone. Like it's not that important to me.
Like, I don't feel the need to have my thoughts put across and, you know, have everyone in the room know where I stand on an issue. I could care less if they know or not. And it's not going to change anything that I believe in or say. It just kind of goes back to, I knew I wanted to be a singer. I didn't have to tell the world about it.
Um, it was just something inside I knew I had to do, and I did it. Although people have absolutely helped me along the way. It wasn't like something that I need to stand up and say, Hey everybody, one of these days, I'm going to be a singer, and you're going to listen to me on the radio. You know, I was just going on my little path, I guess.
Valerie: Yeah. Do you think that it's a little bit different nowadays with social media and everything? Do you think that people are, generally speaking, more used to sharing their more intimate thoughts out in the world?
I mean, first of all, before you were on tour, you didn't even think about it. And that's partly because in those days we didn't have the internet. We didn't know what the lives of these musicians were like behind the scenes. And now there's all this behind the scenes stuff that's not private anymore.
Jeanette: True. And I, and I think because of social media, you're expected to share so much of your life. Even right now, with the whole social distancing and the pandemic that we're in and this whole 2020 year, I'm hearing, You have absolutely no presence on the internet. Everyone needs to know what you're doing. And I'm thinking to myself, Why? Why do they even care what I'm doing? I'm gardening!
Valerie: Back to the gardening.
Jeanette: Yeah. But you have to keep up. You have to relate to your audience. You have to be communicating with them. And that's really difficult for me because that's not who I am naturally. When I'm on stage, that's when I'm out there. Yes. When I'm home. No.
Valerie: You like to keep the two things separate.
Jeanette: Yeah, I do. But that's not how the world is anymore. It's like everybody wants to devour you, and who you are, and what you stand for, and see if they share any sort of opinion as your opinion is, and see if they have anything in common. And I've just never been that person. So it's really difficult for me to move forward.
And, you know, even as I speak with you right now, I know Gioia and Anne, when they hear this, they're going to laugh. They're waiting for me to write back to them. Because we're supposed to have a meeting with our web guy tomorrow and I just, I don't want to do it, Valerie.
Valerie: You don't want to get out there.
Jeanette: Yeah. We have to get out, and we have to start being a little more visible and connecting with our audience.
And so, yeah, that's what I'll be doing tomorrow on a Zoom meeting.
On Recording For The First Time
Valerie: Well, I want to go back a little bit in time to that first album that you started talking about, Exposure, that was on Arista. And you said that you'd never recorded before in the studio. Was the process different than you'd imagined it? What was your experience of recording for the first time?
Jeanette: You probably performed in clubs and things. And so I went from my first band, had a three, sometimes four-piece horn section. So I can tell you right up, and you probably would expect me to say this: I never heard myself standing next to the horn section, singing.
Valerie: Yeah, my hands in the air. I'm right there with you.
Jeanette: Yeah, you know, you're just kind of basing it on feel and hoping you're hitting the notes. So going into a studio and putting that set of headphones on, and then hearing everything, just everything you hear, your breath, you hear your tongue moving around in your mouth, you hear everything. And it's scary.
And then they expect you to sing loud into the mic. It's, it's crazy. So it took a while getting used to that feeling of hearing myself. And I remember thinking, I didn't think I sounded like this.
Valerie: Right, right.
Jeanette: My voice sounded different. Cause it's really, it was kind of hearing myself for the first time.
But Louis was really good with me working in the studio. He knew I had never done it, but he gave me a mic. Uh, like a Shure mic, like one that you would use on stage and said, Hold this in your hand and just pretend you're singing on stage. And honestly, when I held that mic in my hand, I was so much more comfortable. Yeah, that was kind of my pacifier, I guess. I really loved being in the studio.
I loved doing the vocals. I love doing all that stuff.
Valerie: Well, and what you were saying about the headphones? I had a really similar experience. We'd recorded an album and made an EP that I Can't Wait was on before we went to Atlantic Recording Studios and made the album that became Poolside. But I remember being in that studio, and of course, I'm freaking out. Because here we are in Atlantic studios, and I feel like I'm standing in a piece of history, and I really don't know what I'm doing.
And so I'm trusting that the engineer has my headphone mix the way it's supposed to be. And I give him absolutely no feedback about if I can hear myself or how loud the track is, or if there's any reverb, you know, that I need to hear in my headphones, and I can barely hear myself. And he was a dead fish. The engineer had no emotional response to anything I did. And so it was just this nightmare of an experience. And I didn't realize until later, Oh, I can ask for what I need. This is like my whole thing about life, actually. You can ask for what you need. It's okay.
You know, when you think other people know what they're doing. I don't know. Did you have that experience when you were in the studio too? I mean, how did you figure out how to, how to be?
Jeanette: I did, I, I really would have to credit Louis on that because I didn't know any of that stuff. And I think he was always checking with me. Can you hear this? Can you hear that? And I remember him coming out of the booth and listening to my headset for me to make sure I had all those sounds and everything in there. I mean, we were recording in his studio, so it was something that he was really comfortable with that at that time too. And then, and then we would go into a larger studio and do a mix, but all the recording was done in this very small kind of strip mall if I remember correctly.
Um, so. We had to record when people weren't doing business during the day. Cause it would make noise in the studio. Yeah. And you know, it was one of those things like, okay, you're ready to do this take. Yeah, I'm ready to do this take. Okay. I'm going to go shut off the air conditioner, you know, we're in Miami, so it's gettin' pretty hot in there. So it's like, you would do a take, and then he'd run and flip the air conditioner on again. So, you know, you could breathe for a minute.
Valerie: Wow.
Jeanette: Yeah, I know. But now I'm just like a total pain, you know. I just did some recording that, uh, like about a week and a half ago. And I walk in, and I'm like, I can't hear this, and you need to drop that reverb. And something really sounds weird in there. You need to fix that, and then, you know. Just forget it now. Now I'm just a pain.
Valerie: Well, but it's a good pain. Because if you can get it dialed in before you start to sing, then you can actually get to the magic, emotional piece in your mind. You know, if, if you're, if you're not hearing yourself well, and there's this delay between when you sing and when you're hearing, it just makes you cautious and you can't just get fully into the performance, there's just no way.
So yeah. How wonderful that Louis was able to mentor you like that.
Jeanette: Yeah. I, you know, I've never really thought of that, but yeah, that was pretty cool. That was very, very good of him and a very, um, understanding of him to know that was coming in, not knowing anything.
Valerie: Yeah. Did Anne and Gioia have a similar experience, or did they have more recording experience than you did?
Jeanette: I would guess Annie had more experience because she had done so much musically with going to school and college. She was just about to graduate at that point. Gioia, I don't know. I know Gioia did a lot of the clubs as well as Anne, as I did. I don't know if she had ever been in a studio before.
I remember her making a comment. I had gone in, uh, we're doing some mixes, and she's doing some touch-ups on vocals. I'm pretty sure it was for Let Me Be The One. And she went behind the mic and said, Oh my God, I can hear my fingernails growing in here!
Valerie: That sounds so much like something Gioia would say.
Jeanette: I think there was an F word thrown in there somewhere, but which sounds more like Gioia, but...
Singing With Gioia and Anne
Valerie: Oh, that's hysterical.
Well, since we're on the subject of singing, you, and Anne, and Gioia are all really incredible singers. And I think you're stronger and more expressive today than you were in the eighties and nineties. I remember after a show one time we were sitting around, back at the hotel having a drink, and you all started singing in three-part harmony.
It wasn't an Expose song or anything. It was just, somebody started singing and then the other two joined in, and it was so beautiful. And. I don't know when you're known as a freestyle artist and have dance club hits, the vocal is sometimes covered up, auto-tuned, almost unrecognizable from the human voice.
Is that frustrating? When all three of you have so much to offer vocally?
Jeanette: Ooh, good question, Valerie. And I must stop and pause and say that the three of us are in absolute awe of you and your voice. When you first joined the tour, we would all go out and listen to you. And just the way your voice carries through that auditorium, or stadium, or wherever we are, is just amazing. And I, and I'm one day, I'm going to learn your secret. One day I'm going to steal it from you.
Valerie: Thank you.
Jeanette: It's just so pure, and beautiful and natural and just, it looks so easy for you, you know? Um, but yeah, I have to throw that out there. You absolutely have a beautiful voice.
Yeah.
Valerie: Thank you.
Jeanette: But the three of us, when we first got together, we weren't in control of things the way we are now. We were signed with a production company. And they were kind of pretty much calling all the shots, both business and, uh, anything that had to do with our presence on stage. And who's saying what and all this.
But through the years, I think we've learned so much about each other. I think we are fans of each other's voices. And now that we are in control of how it's done on stage, and what's performed on stage, and the way that, uh, the songs melt into each other, and who gets what time onstage. I think that we're in control, and we're able to bring that out more than anybody else would ever be able to do. Our decisions on what songs and what pieces of the songs, um, where we want to make the songs rise or fall, where we want to have, you know, the dips and the flows.
And then Annie, you're going to come in and do this. And you're going to hit that note. And this piece of the song is going to be right there. Gioia, you're going to follow it. No one can do that the way we can because we know each other's voices so well. We know when one needs to rest and the other needs to step up.
So it's a good balance for all of us. And we all like to, you know, get as much equal time in there. It's not... I don't want to make it sound like a competition because it truly is not, but we are a three lead vocal group, and we have to constantly acknowledge that and support each other in that. Because none of us would be happy if we weren't up there doing our thing and being able to share our... our talent, and our voice.
Valerie: I mean, really, it's almost like your family at this point. I mean, you should be able to almost anticipate when the other person's going to breathe. You know.
Jeanette: We do. We know where we're standing and everything. And I think the audience enjoys that too. It's something that not a lot of people have or are able to. Like, I always uh, not to compare ourselves in any way, but, um, I love the band Chicago. And what I loved about their records back in the day are the vocal changes in it. You know what I mean?
Valerie: Yeah. The arrangements are fantastic.
Jeanette: Yeah. He comes in with the, um, with the chorus. And maybe Terry Kath would sing on the verse. And it was so like soft, and the flow was so wonderful. It's almost as if you didn't realize that they were changing voices, you know. Now that I'm grown up, I'm like, Oh wow. I never really stopped to think of that. But I love it. It doesn't, you know, you don't get tired of hearing one voice all the time. You have, you know, three different things coming at you and, I don't know...
Valerie: It's amazing. It is cool. And. You all three have very different sounding voices. It's kind of amazing that they blend as well as they do, which I think again, like you're saying, it takes time and experience to know who's going to sound best in what part and how to bring out the dynamics in a way that really, um, exposes not to no pun intended.
Um, but the voice that you want to bring out in that moment, I mean, that takes a lot of time to develop that kind of relationship with other singers.
The Barry Manilow Story
Jeanette: It does. And I think the first record, and I'll, I'll veer off on a little story here, which is one of my favorite Expose stories. The production we were signed to really kind of tried to keep us separated from each other or possibly even really becoming good friends.
Like they were just conquer and divide kind of thing, divide and conquer. But there was a moment where we got a surprise call from Barry Manilow, who had seen us in New York. We had met him in New York, and he invited us to a show, and he was about to record a Christmas album. And he thought we would make a great duet with him or to come in the studio and redo the version of Jingle Bells that Bing Crosby had originally done with the Andrews Sisters.
Valerie: Perfect.
Jeanette: So, you know, Andrew sisters. Come on. I mean, talk about harmonies and blending. I mean, you can't do that unless you're blending. So we, of course, immediately, yes, that's what we're going to do. We'd love to do that. We're Barry Manilow fans. Uh, I, I knew that version. So the three of us started singing. And again, going back to not knowing any better, we would practice singing in a room and all singing, like in a little circle, like you see the Andrews Sisters videos, you know. And I imagined that we're all going to be on one mic when we recorded.
So we walked into the studio in Los Angeles in the summer. And, uh, well, there's Barry, and there's his producer. And he says, okay, I have the mic set up. Who's going first?
Valerie: Yike!
Jeanette: And we all kind of looked at each other, like, what do you mean? Who's going first?
Valerie: We're doing it like they do in the movies. Right?
Jeanette: We're not going to do it like that. You know, that'll take away too long. You know, let's do it one by one. And I guess maybe he saw the disappointment in our face and he said, Okay, well, if you want to try it that way, you know, give me a minute. I'll have them switch the mic around. Because they kind of had to open it, so it was like a surround mic rather than just singing it into one part.
So we waited and stubbornly waited. And we went into the, uh, the room there, the vocal room. And I could see on their faces that they didn't think we were really going to do it.
Valerie: Right. No way.
Jeanette: But we did, we did it in like two takes.
Valerie: Oh, awesome.
Jeanette: It was so awesome. And I remember Barry Manilow even saying, wow, we're done. I don't, we have all this time. I booked it for the whole day. Now I don't know what to do. I guess, you know,
Valerie: We'll go for drinks!
Jeanette: You're free to go cause we're going to try and get another couple of songs in.
Valerie: That's a great story. And I bet you hadn't ever been able to record like that. And maybe, I don't know, have you been able to record like that since?
Jeanette: Background sometimes, but we've never had the opportunity to do that. But I remember when that happened, the three of us thought, We can sing together. We can blend. We are able to do this. Because the people we were assigned to just kind of didn't want to give us any sort of credit for being able to do that.
But that was a huge accomplishment for us to be able to walk in, and I don't think we realize that until we're finished and, you know, maybe driving back to the hotel. But we felt very accomplished that day. And so when I hear that song, when they play it on Christmas and I always just remember that great feeling of, yeah, that was the day that we realized that, you know, we do sound good together. We are a, we are a group. We're not just three individuals singers.
Valerie: And you were able to go into the studio and ask for what you really wanted. Right? I mean, maybe not totally directly, but, um, you obviously had rehearsed that way, and he picked up on it. And kudos to Barry Manilow for saying, Oh, well, let's try it. You know?
Jeanette: Let's give it a try. I know. Right?
Valerie: That's great. And you must've rehearsed it a lot.
Jeanette: We rehearsed because we were traveling a lot at that point. So whenever we had the opportunity to, we would meet in someone's room and just rehearse it in the room.
Valerie: Yeah. That makes such a big difference too. Sometimes I think that a lot of the people that are touring these days, especially when they've recorded first, they don't have any experience doing the live stuff that having to go out on tour after just recording a record. The two experiences are so different.
I mean, you really have to have a different kind of set of ears and a different set of pipes almost for recording in the studio versus gigging every night.
Jeanette: Agreed. I think we all kind of have the every night experience. Cause I said, I, I was really working in clubs from the time I was 15 to the time I joined Expose, which that's 20. So a good five years. Really singing, I'd say at the least three nights a week. Going out there and building those pipes and getting some strong muscles in my stomach. Be able to get those notes out above the horn section, you know?
Practicing & Voice Lessons
Valerie: So what do you do to keep your voice in shape now?
Jeanette: I still sing almost every day. My boys recently, you mentioned my college-age boys, they're away at college, and again, I have the house to myself often. And there I am, and I have the opportunity to sing out loud. Cause you know, I kind of don't do that. Cause you kind of bother people when there's people in the house.
Valerie: Right. And the kids, too, are like, Mom!
Jeanette: Mom, you're embarrassing me; I have friends over.
I do, I, I make it a point to sing often. I will attack a song. I love a song called Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. And she bounces out these notes, you have to listen to it. It's a great song. And so I'm working on that. I'm working to be able to belt like Grace Potter. Um, nobody will ever hear me do it, but I, you know, I know myself, I could do it. That's good enough.
So I just kind of attack a song and, and work on it until I think that I, okay. I could perform that live, and then I'll move on to the next song. Like I said, I'll probably never perform it live, but that's okay. Voice Lessons
Valerie: Did you take lessons when you were younger? Did you study vocal technique?
Jeanette: I did. I didn't realize I needed to. An agent came in and to see our band, like a booking agent. And I think her comment was, You guys are really good, but your singer needs to take lessons. And I was very offended.
Valerie: This was when you were with New Breeze or?
Jeanette: When I was with New Breeze, yeah, I was very offended and I, I asked her, what do you, what didn't you like about me?
Valerie: Right. It feels so personal. Doesn't it?
Jeanette: It does! It felt I was crushed, and, and upset. And I asked her, what was it about my voice that she didn't like? And she says, Oh no, you have a great voice, but unless you learn to use it correctly, you're not going to have it for very much longer.
And you gotta think about it. You're in there, and you're screaming, and my technique, who knows what my technique was. Um, just to be heard, I guess, uh, for the audience to hear me and have fun.
Valerie: Over a horn band, which is no easy feat.
Jeanette: Over a horn band. And then you have the smoke, remember back in those days when it was so smoky?
Valerie: Oh yeah.
Jeanette: It just ruined you. And then who knows, during that time, I'd probably take a couple shots of tequila at the end of the night.
Valerie: Right. Before the last set, that was my time to do that.
Jeanette: Well, I didn't mean to, but someone challenged me, you know, I had to do the shot.
Valerie: They bought me a drink. I had to do it.
Jeanette: Exactly. It's rude if you don't accept it.
So she says you need to learn to take care of it. And so I, the person that they recommended, was way beyond anything I could afford. Uh, his name was Ron Anderson. I don't know if you're familiar with him. In California... lived in the Beverly Hills area. And my aunt and uncle said you know what? You need lessons.
We'll take care of it for you.
Valerie: Oh, nice.
Jeanette: I know it was really cool. My uncle Art and my aunt Sylvia. So they started paying for me to go for lessons. And it really was about, well, first he gave me the big speech, which I will shorten, but give it now. If you want to sing, do not be taking shots. Get your sleep. Do not participate in drug use.
Honestly, because you're just killing your instrument, you're killing it. And if you want to make a living with that gift and that instrument, take care of it, people, take care of your voice.
Um, and that was the first speech that he gave me when I walked in the door. And he said, If you are drinking or if you are doing any sort of drugs, which I never did, by the way. I will know when you come in here, and I will refuse to be your teacher. Wow. And that became the most important thing to me. I wanted to take lessons. So I started getting my sleep and taking care of myself and not, you know, maybe not taking as many shots. And, and I started taking care of myself. I, um, my voice and my instrument, uh, learned how important that was.
And then he started teaching me the breathing techniques and made me a much more powerful singer than I was.
Valerie: That's so great.
Jeanette: He taught me how to support what I already had, um, without hurting it. Without, you know, having to wake up and being, you know, the sore throat where you can't talk for the first five hours of the day.
Valerie: Yes. Believe me. I've been there. I've totally been there. I developed nodules because I was singing incorrectly. And thank God I found a teacher who could help me learn before uh, we got a record deal. I mean, it sounds like you were also very fortunate in that your aunt and uncle helped you do it. And then you also took lessons before all the pressure of all the touring and the music business came down on your head.
Jeanette: Exactly. And that, uh, one little, um, transition period when you're going from what I will call your lazy habits of singing and then the proper way of singing and supporting your voice. That's really hard to make that transition. Yeah, because you want to go back to all your bad habits that are comfortable to you.
Um, you know, getting your voice into that place, where it's supposed to be, whether it's your head voice, or, you know, you're kind of like when you, you know, push it into more of your nose or, or anything like that, it takes practice. It really takes practice. So there was a lot of like cracking and weird notes going on during that time in my career.
Valerie: And that's hard when you're actually gigging and going through that. I mean, because no one likes to be a beginner again. But basically, you're kind of taking the instrument apart and putting it back together.
Jeanette: Exactly. Oh, you put that so well. It was, it was going back to being a beginner again. And, uh, and enforcing those good habits, you know, those good things to do with your voice.
Valerie: Yeah, it takes a while to do that.
Jeanette: It does. And not to say that I do it perfectly all the time, but I truly feel that those lessons have made the difference in why at this point, I go on stage, and I sing my songs. I haven't had to drop any of the keys or anything. Not once.
Valerie: Yay for that.
Jeanette: I mean, not that, you know, it's bad to do. I'll probably have to do it soon.
Valerie: Maybe someday. But that says something about your technique.
Vocal Health
Jeanette: It does. It, it gives a lot of credit to doing it the correct way and taking care of your instrument. Cause I love to sleep.
Valerie: Sleep is so underrated in terms of what it does for your vocal instrument.
Jeanette: I know.
Valerie: Your vocal fold tissue and the tissue in your mouth heal fastest in your body. But if you don't get sleep, you can sound like you've been on a 10 day drunk and smoked three packs of Marlboros, you know? And it's just sleep. I mean, I had a bunch of different experiences as a teacher where my student would come in one week, and I'd be like, What happened to you? You know? Last week you sounded fine.
And they're like, Oh, I only got five hours of sleep last night. I'm like, Oh, okay. I get it. I mean that that rehabilitation time, it really, it really makes a difference.
I heard that you take a steamer on the road with you because when you first moved to Miami to join the band, you stayed at Louis's mother's house, and she had air conditioning, and you weren't used to it.
Jeanette: I had a manager. And it was her house. It was... Sylvia Riera was my manager at the time. And her family lived there. So I was staying with her mother in an apartment complex. And her sister lived there, and her brother lived there all in different apartments. So I just moved in, and I was part of the family.
Valerie: Wow. From one family right into another.
But the air conditioning totally dried out your vocal cords. And then you were trying to record. And you were having all kinds of trouble.
Jeanette: I was. I completely lost my voice. I grew up in California, so we didn't have an air conditioner in my house. I didn't have an air conditioner in my car. It wasn't needed. You roll the windows down or, you know, you put, you opened the door, and get fresh air in your house.
Um, so that was a complete shock to me. And luckily, Sylvia's brother had some business where he had to travel. And so I moved into his apartment while he was gone, and literally was in Miami, and who knows, who knows how hot it was there. But you've been to Miami, you know.
Valerie: It's very humid for sure.
Jeanette: Oh, gosh, I was suffering. And, uh, he said you can stay in my apartment, and you can not have to turn on the air conditioner. So I think I spent about a week in Ricky's apartment without air conditioning. And the only way I could cool off was go and jump in the pool. Cause there was this... Have you ever seen those, those old, uh, apartment buildings in Miami?
And there, it's like a square, and in the middle, there's a pool where anyone can see it, like no matter what apartment. So it was like that. And so I just would be in an apartment as long as I could. And then I'd go and jump in the pool and float around for a couple hours. And boy, that was a really miserable time.
Valerie: But your voice got better.
Jeanette: Yeah. But my voice got better, and I was able to go into the studio and record again. Yeah.
Keeping The Shows Fresh
Valerie: So these days, your performances with Expose are just a half an hour on average. And it's all about the hits. How do you keep the show fresh? Both for you and your audience?
Jeanette: Oh, gosh. Since we started, we just add different... we change choreography, we change arrangements. Um, we try to throw on one or two new songs per tour.
That's how we keep it fresh for ourselves. I don't know if anyone else notices out there.
Valerie: Uh, we do. From the side of the stage. We're like, how do they do this every year? They somehow manage to take, I mean, I know you add a few new songs, but you also, you know, have these hits that you have to sing, or people would be really disappointed.
And so it's just amazing to me how you do this every year. You somehow make it all different. And I would have problems with that because I can't remember anything. I mean, all the choreography that you guys do. And I think my brain would default and be like, Okay, what year are we in? And what choreography am I doing to this song? You know?
I mean, how many different sets of choreography do you have for each tune?
Jeanette: Oh my gosh. Well, I think we forget everything too, except Annie. Annie remembers everything.
Back on our first tour on, Come Go With Me, Annie will like break out into like the very first choreographed musical number we ever learned.
Valerie: Unbelievable. I want that brain.
Jeanette: Yeah, me too. But yeah, we change things around, and like I said, I don't know if everyone notices it, but it kinda keeps it fresh for ourselves and kind of keeps us on our toes. We'll change the order of the songs. We'll change the arrangements. Sometimes we'll try to do like a dance mix of one or, or put a dance break into the middle of it, or break it down in another part.
So we kind of have to rewire our brains to remember. So we're not just on automatic. Once we step on stage, we're still having to think about what we're doing.
Valerie: And who takes care of what? I mean, who figures out the choreography, and the music choices, and stage patter and all that kind of stuff?
Jeanette: We hire choreographers. As far as the music is concerned, and the arrangements, and the order, um, usually I do that. Usually, I do that. I have a lot of conversations with Gioia and Anne because I can't do it without them feeling comfortable with it. Um, or being behind whatever idea I happen to be thinking of.
And then in today's age as well, we've been wanting to add video to our show, and in the last year or so, the last two years, we've had a lot of opportunities to be able to do that. So that's kind of fun. Um, that we hire a video person too. Yeah. So we'll come up with the whole arrangement. This is exactly how our show's going to be. And we hand it over to a video person, and he will put together, um, whether it just be something colorful, or pieces of old videos, or pieces, you know, pieces of us on the road or live on stage.
And even though we can't see it, cause it's not, you know, normally behind us or above our heads, we know it's there, and we feel the pulse of energy coming from the audience, on that, that they're responding to something going on in the video, which is, which is really cool.
Valerie: That is really cool. So Expose has been through a lot as a group. In the early days, there was Gioia's vocal cord tumor and her having to quit singing. And then the fans got mad when you had to replace her. And I don't know, just all the rigors of the road. But you've also been through a lot on the music business side of things. You've weathered issues with bad contracts early on and later were sued for using the name Expose. Thankfully you won that case and can now tour using that name.
But after gigs and stuff, we've talked about how the music business can really suck the joy out of making music. And you've said you have to love the artistic part a lot since that's the reward for dealing with the business side.
What keeps you going? And what keeps you from falling out of love with singing when you have to deal with this music business stuff?
The Business Part of the Music Business
Jeanette: Valerie, you have the best questions ever! Honestly. Thank you so much.
Yeah, I, again, surprise! Something I wasn't expecting going into the music business. Because you know, you dream as a little kid, I want to be a singer. I'm going to be on TV. I'm going to be on the radio.
You forget that there's all that business part of the music business. Sometimes you need a break. I think you have to know within yourself your self-worth. You have to be courageous. You have to believe in your talents. It helps when you're getting along with your band members because you are able to stand stronger.
And I, and I can't, I cannot say that we always did, but in the times that we did, they were very important, and we made it through things together. I'm very proud of us for that.
Yeah. I just think, again, it just goes back to the initial love of music. I have realized in my life now that in order for me to be a happy individual, music has to be a part of my life. I can't balance myself out unless I'm doing something in music. And again, it doesn't have to be something that the world knows about.
It just has to be what I'm doing. Like whether it be just singing for a day or whether it be working on a song with a person, writing something, whether it be doing a little gig down the street, I have to be doing something because it's such a big part of my heart and soul. I would not be a good mom or a good wife, a good daughter. I wouldn't be good at anything unless I had music in my life. It has to balance me out. It's... I hate to use the word addiction. But I am addicted to it. I'm addicted to being on stage and singing.
Valerie: I mean, in a way, it's an addiction because of the endorphins, and it makes you feel good. It's a physical act.
I mean, singers are athletes. You know, and I know that people who've trained and, and been athletes, if they're not running or swimming or whatever they do, you know, they're used to having all those endorphins going through their bodies too. And singing is really no different. There's nothing like it on the planet.
So I totally get what you're saying. It's a calling. And like you said before, you have to really love the act of singing and the artistry so that you know that 10% of the time when you're doing that can really balance out the business part or the rest of your life.
Jeanette: I mean, we all want to be recognized, and we all want some sort of acknowledgment for what we do.
But I think when you're initially creating something, you create it because you have to, just because you want to because it's part of you that you have to get out. And if that is good enough for you, you'll make it in this business, you know.
Valerie: Well said. You can't be connected too much to the result because that's just something completely out of our control.
Jeanette: Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. And I, I can honestly say I am, I'm happy in this business. Although we've had many things in our way, what stood in our way and our path, the girls and I, you know, we've climbed over them. It took us a while. But we did. It made us stronger. Given the chance, yes, I would do it all again.
Valerie: In fact, my next question was going to be, is there anything you would go back and do differently?
Jeanette: I guess I would have tried to be much more of a unit with Gioia and Anne than I did in the beginning. You know, we were so young. I mean, we're so young. We were three individuals that came from three completely separate worlds.
We were all the chick singer. Then when we got together, we were no longer the chick singers; we were a group. And that was kind of hard to get our egos in check and think like a group rather than an individual, um, to share the attention. It took a while to kind of merge into a group. And, uh, I think I would have tried to be a better friend in the beginning than maybe I was, and maybe I had missed opportunities.
You know, I wish we would have trusted each other early on. But, but at the same time, uh, I was just learning to trust myself as well. You know, you're just starting to learn who you are.
Valerie: Yeah. And you were thrown into this. When a record hits, and it's on the charts, and it's being played everywhere, and you're doing video, and you're touring, you're just trying to find some solid ground.
And sometimes it feels like you just have to protect yourself, even with the people that are closest to you. I know I've felt that with John even sometimes. And then when things start going south, Um, it's also kind of easy to look at each other and go, Can't be my fault, can it? It must be something you're doing.
And yeah, and actually, most of it's completely out of our control. I mean, it's just what happens, and all you can do is do your best. Yeah. Trust is huge. Trust is a big deal, and it sounds like in the end, well, it's not the end because you guys are still touring, but now you have that trust with each other in a... in a deeper way.
Jeanette: You know, no one has gone through these experiences, nobody understands them like Gioia and Annie do. Cause they were right alongside with me, whether we were agreeing with each other at the time or not, we all went through that together.
I guess if there was anything I could change, I wish we could... But this just comes with age, I think; I wish we could, with our relationship that we have now, go back and experience those things together. Because, Oh my gosh, it would be amazing.
Valerie: Yeah. And that is one of the best things about, I think this time period, and being able to go out and do these songs again, is that it is more fun the second time around. Because you know that it doesn't last. You know, that it's just a moment and it's important to grab onto it and really enjoy it because the next thing's going to happen. And we never know what that is or when it will be.
Jeanette: That's true.
Parenting
Valerie: Yeah. So I also know that family's incredibly important to you and that being around for your boys is a deep commitment. How have you managed life as a mom while touring? What makes that even possible?
Jeanette: My husband, yeah. Who's not in the music industry.
Valerie: Does he hold down the fort pretty well when you're not around?
Jeanette: He is such a wonderful father, and the boys are very connected to him as well as they are to me. So when I would go on my weekends where I would work or, however, whatever was going on there, I completely, a hundred percent knew the boys would be fine.
They were going to get to school. They were going to get to soccer. They were going to get to... You know, Chris would be there and it helps because he has his own business as well. So the fact that he can make his own hours and always be there for them really helped. I can't imagine. You know, had he had a normal nine to five where, you know, you had to check in and check out that we could have done it as well.
But, uh, we're always able to be there for the boys. One of us or both of us. Yeah. I can't even remember one time where they called me and were crying, um, like, mom, I miss you. Come home. Like they did not care. They were like, see you, mom. Bye. Kickin' me out the door. You know, guys weekend! You know, pizza and Bruce Lee movies. And, you know...
The Lost (And Found) Years
Valerie: There was about a 10 year period, where the ride kind of ended in 1996, and then you didn't start touring again until maybe the early 2000s, but not really until about 2006?
Jeanette: That's about right.
Valerie: So about a 10 year period where you went off to do other projects. Are those the lost years? Or are those the found years? In terms of what did you do? And, and did you get married? And is that the time period where you had your boys?
Jeanette: It was. At that point, it felt as if I was gaining freedom back to do what I wanted to do. Because been wrapped up in that contract, really, I just felt like I could not give myself a hundred percent to anything because at a moment's notice, I would have to take off if I had to take off.
Valerie: You can't be committed to anything else.
Jeanette: Right. Right. And I just felt so out of control. So I think that time and those years I was just gaining control again.
I always knew I wanted to be married. I always knew I wanted to have children. So then when that happened, that was wonderful. I know Annie was going through the same thing. And, uh, really, Annie and I really kept in touch. Not so much Gioia and I. But I was singing here too. Again, I was gigging. I have these great jobs here.
I was doing a theatrical production, and I was singing in another band. I was singing with a Latin band, which I had never done, and still learning a lot and doing my thing musically. And then, of course, when the boys were born, that completely stopped because you don't have time for anything. I think when you have children, you look back and think, remember when I thought I didn't have time to do anything?
Valerie: Right.
Jeanette: I had nothing but time to do everything. I didn't know what being busy was. But yeah. So very happy that I was able to do that and spend those first really important years. And I don't think I started working until the boys were like five or six.
Valerie: I remember when Malcolm turned five, it was like, okay, I think I've got a little time now. You know, if they can only come out at five in a way.
Jeanette: Exactly.
How Would You Mentor A Younger Version Of Yourself?
Valerie: Well, I have one more question for you. If you could go back in time and be a mentor to a younger version of yourself, what would you talk about with her?
Jeanette: Another damn good question, Valerie. I would go back and talk to me about the opportunities that are about to come into your life and making yourself available for those opportunities.
Don't allow your shy personality to get in the way as much as, as maybe they, they did.
Valerie: Yeah. Just be open more open?
Jeanette: Be a little more open. Yes.
Valerie: And what would you say to someone who's trying to make it in music today?
What Would You Say To Someone Who's Trying To Make It In Music Today?
Jeanette: I would say that, you know, in any way that you can educate yourself about the music industry prior to jumping in, do that. You know, even watching documentaries, there's some amazing documentaries out there that teach so much about, uh, different experiences people have gone through. And how to protect yourself uh, and your band, and your music, and your publishing, or any of that stuff. Learn as much as you can prior to jumping into this industry because you, uh, will enjoy it much more.
Valerie: That's great advice. We wish it was all about artistry, right?
Jeanette: Yes.
Valerie: And it is on one level. But I think that's more on a vocational level. And then the career part of everything is different.
Jeanette: Right. And that's why, you know, managers, they really, they are so important because it allows you to be the artist that you really want to be. But at the same time, you cannot be completely naive to what is going on in the offices or at the record companies. And allow someone to handle it for you, but know what that person is doing and why.
Valerie: What they're supposed to be doing. Yeah.
Jeanette: Exactly. And what they're supposed to be doing. Absolutely.
Valerie: Thank you again for being on the podcast today, Jeanette. It's been a joy to talk with you. I really appreciate you coming on.
Jeanette: O, it's really been wonderful, Valerie. And easy because I consider you a friend and you make it very easy to speak with and discuss these things. And the fact that you are also involved in all this crazy, crazy that we call the music industry.
And, um, yeah, I'm really, really grateful that and happy that you asked me to do this.
Valerie: That's it for this episode of Living A Vocal Life. Thanks again for listening. You'll find complete show notes for this episode and more offerings for singers @valeriedaysings.com. You'll also find information there about my new online course, Creative Practicing For Singers. It's a self-directed, evergreen course where you'll learn how you can transform your singing practice into one you'll look forward to every day.
I'd also love to hear from you. Please let me know what you found useful in this episode and what you'd like to hear more of in episodes to come. You can get in touch right there on my website, or on my Facebook or Instagram pages @valeriedaysings, or on Twitter @valerieday.
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