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Rickie Lee Jones

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Bio:

"I was listening. I was waiting. I was praying to be restored. And that’s what happened. I feel powerful, now. Intact. Ready to heal the world.” It’s the succinct summation of a six-year absence from the art of songwriting by an artist who has almost single-handedly redefined the expressive potential of words and music. Telling a tale, setting a mood, fashioning metaphoric connections that resound and reveal – Rickie Lee Jones has made it all seem so easy. But it’s not. Not by a long shot and the story the personal, professional and political odyssey that resulted in the dozen new originals of The Evening Of My Best Day, her stunning recent release takes on the epic proportions of an authentic creative rebirth. More than simply a return to form, The Evening Of My Best Day is a formidable leap forward by an artist who, it turns out, has only begun to hit her stride. Quite a contention, considering a career marked by audacious musical leaps beginning in 1979 with her era-defining debut, Rickie Lee Jones and continuing through such landmark recordings as Pirates (1981), The Magazine (1984), Flying Cowboys (1989), and Ghostyhead (1997), her last foray into original songwriting. In point of fact, however, Rickie Lee’s recording and performing output has continued unabated in recent years with It’s Like This, 2000’s inspired collection of cover songs and her in-concert document Live At Red Rocks, the following year. But it’s the composing that been conspicuous in its absence, an absence that, from the evidence of The Evening Of My Best Day, has made both the heart and the mind grow fonder. “I was preoccupied with life,” explains Rickie Lee on the subject of her songwriting sabbatical. “I was living in Washington, mostly tending a garden and raising my daughter. I had neither impetus nor inspiration to write. It was an empty slate and there was no sense that anything would ever be coming again.” It was, curiously enough, a combination of politics and professional curiosity that prompted her tentative return to composing.

Poe - Haunted

Spring forward to 2009 – Ford Motor Company’s decision to license the song “Hey Pretty” (now under the control of IndieBlu Music) in their 2009 Ford Flex commercials had great timing. “The fact this song has surfaced again on a national level, almost to the date of Obama taking office seems sublimely coincidental. It feels as though I have suddenly been given the opportunity to pick up where I left off--finishing what I started with “Haunted” in 2000 and carrying on from there with the support of a more artist friendly culture and climate.” This breath of life in Poe’s work caused an influx of e-mails through Poe’s site--from long time fans excited by the songs and some from new fans who have never heard of Poe. “It’s like a déjà vu: here I am again promoting “Hey Pretty” and discussing “Haunted” as though the last 8 years never happened! Of course they did happen, and certainly a lot has changed; but the fact that more people may have a chance to hear that album, makes me happier than you can imagine. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into the making “Haunted” (on the part of myself and all the musicians involved in its production)…I never dreamed the album would have a second chance and thanks to Ford it does and I’m very grateful. So What’s Next?: Though Poe’s legal troubles kept her out of the public eye for a long time, they did not stop her from writing and creating music. “Music is almost a compulsion for me and I found solace writing and creating it the same way I always have. When the law suit ended I was at a crossroads in terms of what to do with all of the music I had on my drives and I had an over powering desire to start playing it with a band as opposed to simply finishing it in my computer. I listened to that instinct and in a stroke of luck ended up crossing paths with a few different musicians that are at the center of the music I’m making now.” “I certainly don’t want to jinx it, but I will say that a sound is starting to emerge now that really excites me. Because it will still be a while before I’m ready to release a new album, I’ve decided to reach out to fans again and invite them to share in this process with us. I’ve started filming some of our recording sessions and will start posting them soon. I’m simply collecting unedited clips of the actual recording and writing process. The very moment at which a song comes into being can be pretty cool to witness and participate in--even as a spectator. If we do write something of value, or get that one magical take, or find that definitive melody or groove on a given night, I’d love for fans to be able to say that they were there with us when it happened.” Only time will tell what strokes of genius Poe has yet to release on the world and in the meantime – “Haunted” has had a second chance with the world – one deserving of another listen if you haven’t already.