Jenny Owen Youngs (2015)

WOW Kristin. WOW.

...Yes. Yes I will.

jeeeeeeeeez

Heh heh heh you zany kids and your questions...

Don't be afraid Dannielle. Deep breaths. Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can't lose.

I tried D&D as a kid, but never had a whole group of people to play with, so it never successfully snared me. HOWEVER I did read a bunch of Forgotten Realms books & similar... the loner's version of playing D&D! In a Buffy RPG situation I'd be torn... I want to be a badass (Spike!!!) but I also just love Anya SO MUCH that I would probably want to play as her... but then my only power would be being HILARIOUS. Which is fun but not helpful with the staying alive thing.

HI!

1 - I reeeeeeeally love playing "Ring of Fire" and "King of Carrot Flowers."

2 - I wish I could get into some serious drumming!

3 - READING. And sometimes arts/crafts. I really like making things. OH AND COOKING. Well. Cooking pancakes.

4 - Hmmmmmmmm tricky tricky tricky question... Sufjan Stevens? Paramore? Miranda Lambert?

5 - HA this is... too complicated.

6 - Well hey, NOTHING is for everybody. But I'd say two things: It's important to watch from the beginning, and it's also important to let Season One wash over you without judging it too hard. The show is still finding its way through the first season, I think. But if you've made it to Season 2 or 3 and you're still feeling like "Why do people like this," then it probably just isn't for you - and that's okay.

oh ALSO

1 - I think the Johnny Cash / June Carter cover of The Lovin' Spoonful song "Darlin Companion" is ACES

Spiders are THE WORST!

I would like to cover Tom Waits's Swordfishtrombones in its entirety! And also Nirvana's Nevermind in its entirety. THAT WOULD BE IDEAL!

I always loved Dorothy. She's so DRY. Bea Arthur was unstoppable!

Hey there! Thank you so much! That Bloomington show RULED, thanks for being there. I hope to be back to the midwest early & often. I think I'd opt for 100 duck-sized horses. Birds are terrifying. Those beady eyes, those scaly feet, - the horror! Who knows where their allegiances might lie? Therefore: I'd rather chance it with 100 tiny horses. If they killed me, at least I'd go out seeing mini horses instead of a huge scary duck.

I was neck-deep in a "covering pop songs with an acoustic guitar is hilarious!!!" phase. And that song is pretty undeniable (in my opinion). Plus remember the slo-mo shots in the Nelly video? Dang.

Bless sweet Chuck Ragan! He invited me on an 8 day run of the Revival Tour in 2009, and that's when my life started to have a whole lot more flannel in it! On that first tour I met Chuck, Tim Barry, Dave Hause, Jim Ward... and those relationships led to meeting & touring with other folks like Frank Turner and Against Me! and Rocky Votolato and Alkaline Trio. I'm so thankful to Chuck for giving me a shot; I couldn't have fallen in with a sweeter crowd! Trust me, those bears roar in tune!

1. Turkey, iceberg lettuce, tomato, pepperoni, spicy mustard, and sprouts or avocado on rye bread!

2. They all have their individual allures - I say it's your torso, your choice! Follow your heart.

3. Soon I hope! I loved that Lee's Palace show (and that whole Revival Tour run) - I love Toronto! Sweet people. When I was in junior high/high school I had a penpal friend from Toronto (who I met in an alternative music chatroom) who hipped me to a ton of rad music - the crown jewel of this selection was Sloan.

Oh gosh hi & thanks! 1. Once I went to karate camp (it's FINE!) and we engaged in a guided meditation to find our totem animal... at that time, it was a dolphin - so I'm gonna stick with those little flippered friends! 2) I love playing solo acoustic, I love playing with a full band, and I love finding ways to mix it up all over the spectrum. When you're playing a song many nights in a row, it can be fun to change things up with the arrangement, and touring in different setups lends itself exactly to that process. I love finding new ways to do things, and sometimes an arrangement change-up can let a whole new aspect or meaning of a song shine through!

HA the ship cake! Getting to that ship cake was like running a boot camp obstacle course... but I loved every minute of it, and it made actually getting the cake more rewarding! "Fuck Was I" is about some bad decision-making I once engaged in... sometimes you gotta break your own heart, you know? Thanks for listening! <3

I've played in a whole lot of wonderful rooms over the course of my touring life... My favorite place in the world to play is Bowery Ballroom in my city (NY). I also have a lot of special memories from Schubas in Chicago, where I've played many times. A few years ago I was out alone on a short tour, and visited Fearless Radio in Chicago prior to my Schubas show... somehow I lost my car keys in the radio station, and it was 5pm on a Sunday... tough time to find a locksmith! I finally got someone to come down and help me out but the keys were super expensive to duplicate... I told the audience about it later that night at Schubas and in the middle of the show someone grabbed a pitcher from the bar and started up a "Jenny's Car Keys Fund" collection, which was delivered to me at the end of the show, breaking my heart clean in two. God bless those sweet folks in Chicago!

Well well well I grew up in Sussex County! How about that. Whole lotta black bears in my childhood memory bank.

I would like to live on board Serenity, Firefly-class. Because space rules and Captain Tightpants is the dreamiest! A good theme song for my life right now would be LUCK BE A LADY TONIIIIIGHT

Hush, The Body, Once More With Feeling, The Zeppo, Selfless is great because we get Anya backstory, Becoming parts 1 & 2 are great, Intervention is GREAT because Spiiiiiike haaaas feeeeeeeeelings, ugh THERE ARE SO MANY GREAT EPISODES why am I listing them all when I could instead just start a Buffy podcast?

Well hi! So I totally get where you're coming from, of course! I love touring in the UK, and when I first started putting out records, it was very accessible for me to do so - I had a great European booking agent and a label that released my albums abroad. Unfortunately neither of those things is true at the moment, but of course those are two things I'm certainly working to rectify. There are oodles of moving parts (large and small) to any tour, but especially when you're traveling outside of your home country. There are flights, pricey work permits, importing your own records if you're not working with a label, not to mention of course the actual booking of shows, which is generally best left to an agent who knows what they're doing. All this to say - I am not avoiding you! I am just working to move ever forward, and ever closer to the goal of being able to tour where I want and when I want. Yknow?

EVERY TIM BARRY MOMENT IS MY FAVORITE TIM BARRY MOMENT. He's the gosh darn best.

And hit me on twitter, remind me the day of the show, I'll do my best to hit 'Voice on Tape' for ya!

Oh hey! Collabo pipe dream list: Taylor Swift, Tom Waits, Hayley Williams, Jason Isbell. My favorite records from recent memory are St. Vincent's self-titled and Jason Isbell's Southeastern... and digging into the new Sleater-Kinney of course! I have been called "Jennaaay" more times than I care to remember. It will NEVER STOP.

Weeeeeell I don't know about ALL THAT.

You're a peach! I love playing in Chapel Hill & Carrboro - I've never gotten to play in Durham, but it's right around the corner, yes? I love the bookstore with the cats in CH!! I'll certainly be back again!

I looooove chocolate stouts / cream stouts / that kind of vibe... and I love the chocolate cupcake/vanilla frosting combo. I guess I like chocolate hmmm?

She is a wonderful, brilliant, delightful gem. Totally love her. Read her book if you haven't! It's so beautifully written, and hella inspirational to boot.

Hi there!

Some books I love:
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.
St. Lucy's Home For Girls Raised By Wolves by Karen Russell.
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury.
Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson.
A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor.
What is the What by Dave Eggers.

...and it's hard to go wrong with these classics:
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger.

As for your second question: Hey there friend. The nature of life, so far as I've been able to tell, is that it's all over the dang place. Today I am so full of excitement - about releasing a new EP, about hopping on Reddit and chatting with folks about this and that, about going to see Neil Gaiman speak later tonight (woo!). But for the last three days I felt panicked and kept getting choked up, having no idea why.

Sometimes it just feels dark, even when everything around you is okay. We are all made of strange stuff. Know that you are stronger than you can imagine. Surround yourself with the best people you can find, and lean on them. Later, they'll be leaning on you. Look for the light and don't ever give up! Also: high five, high five, high five.

HA hi hi hi Doug! I love playing house shows, and actually they've been on my mind lately. Some of my friends do whole house concert tours, and I'd love to book one of those down the line! I like the idea that individual house concert series have their own communities, so you end up playing for/interacting with folks I might not otherwise get to engage with. Plus I love the lasagna aspect of things! Heh.

Hey there! Sometimes I get inspired by books - "Sleep Machine" is a song I wrote loosely based on a section of The Bell Jar, and "Two By Two" is based on the Greek myth of Orpheus & Eurydice, for example. I'd say it really depends on what gets your person fire stoked up! If you're into magical realism or sci-fi, I'd say Ray Bradbury and Karen Russell are SUPER inspirational writers to check out!

Thanks so much! I want you to know that at least once a week I wonder to the universe "When will I get to go back to the UK dang it?" - I don't have an answer yet (it's complicated!) buy my personal answer is "As soon as possible!"

If I could have any museum piece in my home, it would have to be the blue whale from the Hall of Ocean Life at the American Museum of Natural History. (check it: http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/biodiversity-and-environmental-halls/milstein-hall-of-ocean-life/the-blue-whale)

Of course this would require a MUCH bigger apartment... or maybe I could hollow out the whale and live INSIDE of it?

Well hey there! I really hope to get back to Europe in the near-ish future... I love traipsing all over your wonderful continent and will most certainly return as soon as it's possible! I apologize, I know it's been a mighty long time!!!

Ah yes, there's always something to regret... there are some songs I don't feel compelled to revisit often (or at all). But I know some of those songs mean something to other folks, and deep down they still mean something to me. So what can I say? I'm not the same person I was 8 years ago, certainly. I've figured out some things about singing and playing and writing that I didn't know then. But I'm trying to release the need to harshly judge every choice I've ever made (musical or otherwise). None of us is ever done growing, right?

I am 99% sure I did play there... I think it was part of a daytime festival? There seems to be a partial blank in my brain about this though! But of course, it's an institution! As a Jersey girl I pledge allegiance to the Pony.

RUINING MINE!!!!

Heck yes! 1. Touring with Against Me! was THE BEST. They rule so freaking hard, best band, sweetest folks. My favorite parts of that tour were the (loving!) harassment I received - for instance, Atom "doing the lights" for my set on the final night (which consisted of a lot of blackouts and occasionally he heckled me over the PA mid-song)... and halfway through my part of the tour, Brad the guitar tech started giving me dares right before I went onstage, like "do a high kick during your set" or "don't forget to rap tonight!" ... I had an EXCELLENT time. 2. There are (coincidentally) some AM! songs I would loooooove to cover. 3. I guess I got into playing music because I looooved listening to music so much. Production stuff varies from record to record, over the years it got more and more involved and now I'm interested in stripping it back a bit. 4. AH! YES! AH!

Hello! Thanks for looking me up, and man oh man I'm so thankful I have that Chuck Ragan in my life!

1. Every experience I've had on the Revival Tour has been magical. Chuck is so gifted, and really has quite a knack for bringing together kind, talented folks. EVery tour is different, heck every SHOW is different even when it's the same artists a bunch of nights in a row. There's no tour like Revival Tour.

2. ABSOLUTELY. I'd collaborate with either in half a heart-beat. I'm sure something will come together down the line!

3. OH HEY that is an idea all right! I'm gonna take it under advisement... I'd also like to make a proper covers record one of these days!

Once in a great while! My favorite that I can remember happened at a restaurant in Brooklyn - the chef saw me through the service window and I ended up signing her chef jacket! I felt VERY fancy.

She's pretty rad, and she's now VERY good at going on tour. When we're not running all over the country, we like playing rummy 500, doing some yoga, seeing shows, getting outside (weather permitting), and drinking delicious drinks in moderation.

HA! Yes, that was when my mom was still handling my store fulfillment. Including candy and confetti was her FAVORITE.

AH TABULA RASA IS SO GOOD