Jessica Sonner

oh gosh. where do i start. i've got some bad news, and i've got some good news....do you want the bad news first, or the good news? bad news. k.

bad news... i'm officially pushing the release date back to an unknown date, but definitely before christmas. guys. don't hate me. i know you've been waiting for this album for almost a year now, i have too! but i promise, you want to let me push it back a little farther cause it needs a little more time in the oven.

speaking of baking....

good news.... fall is here! that means... pumpkincarrvinghotchocolatedrinkingcookiebakingmoviewatchingfunparties may now begin. just incase you're wondering what i'm talking about... i'm about to share one of the most incredible secrets with you so listen up. you will not have more fun than this... call all your friends. tell them to bring a snack or a couple bucks. get some chips and salsa (might i recommend the fresh pico from heaven... i mean whole foods), ready made cookie dough, and some pumpkins...the best is if you can find a pumpkin patch or like.... a harvest place around that's like a farm, with hot cider and cool fallish things to decorate your house with... and then go at it.

throw a party, bake cookies, drink hot chocolate til your drown in it! (don't forget the marshmellows!!) this might just be the most fun you'll have all october... hey... we can't really justify trick-or-treating anymore, so... you gotta ring in the colder weather somehow! i must say, some of my fondest memories have to do with pumpkins :)

that tip is free. well... actually. i'll make a deal with you. you get some friends together, throw a party... take some pics and post them as a comment. that's how you can repay me for telling you the secret in how to have a good time. .... i can't wait to see the pumpkins you carve~

the other good news... really for my hometown (my chicago hometown) peeps is that i FINALLY found a place out here to come and do what i do all over the country right here in our hood. details are below. you should be there, cause i'm not sure when this is gonna happen again!!

smoochies lovies!!! happy october!

sonner

Thursday, October 11th, 2007
Regular Joe Coffeehouse
8:00pm
1608 W. Algonquin Rd.
Hoffman Estates IL 60192
United States
847-202-2994
Price: $5 suggested donation

Friday, October 12th, 2007
Brandon's
Anderson University Alumni Coffeehouse
8pm
1805 University Blvd
Anderson IN 46001
765-640-0800
Price: FREE

Saturday, October 13th, 2007
Plum's Upper Room
7:30pm
112 South Main Street
Zionsville IN
317-873-5577

Sunday, October 14th, 2007
Uncommon Ground
7pm
3800 North Clark Street
Chicago IL 60657

honestly, it pretty much slapped me in the face. i saw it coming, and i knew that september was nearing an end... which meant fall and this year, i welcome it. the changing colors, the leaves on the ground... halloween decorations. ... by the way, did we all start decorating our lawns for halloween and no one sent me the memo?? what's up with that?

i was sitting around yesterday, thinking about all these things, and randomly popped in my cd the EP and gave it a listen. it's been a long time since i listened to that album. i was listening to 'this backyard' and 'feel you' and i was thinking...
after playing out in chicago and all over the country, meeting and being influenced by some great musicians, and spending the past 5 or 6 months in and out of the studio, i have changed so much since the first album. my voice has changed, my writing has changed, i have changed.
i am proud (and maybe a little over confident) to say that i have matured a lot since the days of 'fool', 'rescue me' and 'most beautiful thing'. and...
you know, i realized that i have a voice. (now, before you start thinking "jess... you're a singer. of course you have a voice") no, i mean i really have something to say. with my life, with my words, i have something real to say to people, to girls, to guys. to the world.


all this self reflection has brought up a couple questions i thought i
might run by you... see if i can get a little feedback. do you ever sit
there and wonder what you're gonna do with the rest of your life? do you
ever wonder if you'll ever do anything that's really of worth or value? do
you find that when you just go about your day to day things that there's
something inside you that longs to know if this is all there is? ... or if
there's more? i know i do. leave me a comment. let me know your thoughts.

i have a new song called all we need. i can't wait to hear
what you guys thing about it. this new album is blowing me away.
i'm really REALLY excited about it. i know you will be too. :)

stay tuned lovies.

kisses and big hugs.
jess

hey friend. just wanted to drop you a line and let you know what's on
my mind. today i'm in nashville. i love nashville. it's such a
sweet little town with such a huge music community. one of my
favorite places in the whole place is a little cafe called fido. they
have the most awesome food and wireless internet. it's so nice to
just go and chill out and get work done. i wish there were many many
many more places like this all over the country i could just hope from
one to another. what am i saying.. i do! ... but, usually it's
panera bread i'm visiting.


anyway. this tour has been very exciting thus far. i visited
georgia. i've never been to georgia before. i enjoyed my stay very
much. people are so hospitable down here in the south. it's a cool
thing. i'm playing here in nashville on tuesday night (tomorrow) at a
really cool joint called 3rd and lindsley at 8. should be a grand ole
time.

fall is coming. i'm pretty pumped about it. i really like pumpkin
flavored things. and pumpkins. and hot chai. yum. for those of you
who don't know yet, my mom owns this great chai shop in denver called
kataluma chai co. it's in the denver mills mall. oh gosh. i love me
a hot cup of that on a cold day. and she has this wonderful way of
making it iced too. check it out. www.katalumacolorado.com

what about you? what's your favorite thing about the fall? do you
like halloween? or thanksgiving? i love the holidays. leave me a
comment. let me know what you like about this time of year... or if
you have tried my mom's chai!!

here's some details on where i'll be next mmmk.?!?

kisses!
j



9/25 - nashville, TN
9/26 - richmond, KY
10/12 - anderson, IN
10/14 - chicago, IL
10/23 - mankato, MN

Hi hi hi! Hey. I've got some tour dates coming up in the next couple weeks. It's so fun to come and see some of you each time I head out. fear not, if I haven't reached you yet, I'll be near your area soon!

And!! I have a release date set for November 13 for the album to be finished and able to be your hot little hands. You guys…. I'm not even kidding, you're going to love this album. I am so excited to finally release these wonderful pieces of me into the world… to you really. I'm so geeked to send them out, see where they go and what they do.

Anyway… i've sort of dropped the ball in the world of blogging, but I'll be better. Promise ?

For now though, here are some new tour dates! WHOO!

9/20 - Eddie's Attic - Decatur GA
9/22 - The Mission Live - Augusta GA
9/25 - 3rd and Lindsley - Nashville TN
9/26 - Eastern Kentucky University - Richmond KY
10/12 - Brandon's - Anderson IN
10/14 - Uncommon Ground - Chicago IL
10/31 – The Living Room – New York City, NY

more to come!! Keep an eye on the website!
I big heart you!
J

so i'm back in chicago. thank you to everyone who came out to support me this week! we had a great couple of shows... first at double door in chicago with the boyz and my first full band show ever. :) and second, in indiana at a house concert that was an incredible time of fellowship! it was so awesome to get to see all of you! i wanted to take a quick second and say hello, i'm going to be putting a new song up for you soon... not yet, but soon. i know, i know.. you say "jess... you always say soon, it feels like empty promises..." but i'm serious. you have my word. :)

by the way... if you're bored and need something to do at work, you can vote for me at famecast.com just lick here...

http://famecast.com/backstage/artist_search.php?artist_search_string=jessica+sonner&x=0&y=0

(or if that didn't work... just go to famecast.com and search for jessica sonner... it's just as easy... almost)

i don't really do contests like this, but i really wanted to play at schuba's for the audition (the sound guy there ROCKS!!) so i just did it. check it out. :) post it, leave a comment, whatever you feel.


the record is coming along! more to come soon!
hugs and kisses. mmmmoooah!
j

oh man, have you ever heard of over the rhine? if not, you need to
check them out. it's a husband and a wife and they are amazing. they
have an incredible song that starts out with those words... hello
ohio. it's wonderful.

anyway. hello! hello ohio! i'll be there on friday, in cincy.
then!! next week i have a great show you all have to come to at the
double door in chicago. i'm headlining and my friends tiffany and
laura will be playing with me. it's a full band show (doesn't happen
very often, so i recommend coming to listen while you can).

for those of you asking about what's going on with the CD... don't
worry. hold your little horses, it's coming. i'm sorry, i'm not
really trying to take my sweet old time, i do want it to be awesome
for you though. i promise, you're gonna love it.

ok, here's a few details, as always, there are more on the website!
oh, and, i put the best picture of my little niece up on my page.
she's so beautiful. her name is lucy. everybody, meet lucy :)


8/24 - Cincinnati OH
8/28 - Chicago IL
8/29 - Indianapolis IN
8/31 - Bourbonnais IL
9/7 - Rockford IL
9/20 - Decatur GA
9/22 - Augusta GA
9/26 - Richmond, KY

ok... this is really me. jessica sonner. i have to admit, i'm a little tired while i was checking my myspace this morning. i'm usually pretty savvy about pranks and viruses etc through myspace... but!! i really good friend of mine wrote me and said... hey! i think you're on this site! www.whateveritwasthatican'tremembernow.com now, obviously that's not the website, but i thought.. huh... that's cool, i'll check it out! um, so i did... and i'm very sorry i did. I CAN'T BELIEVE I FELL FOR THAT!!!! grrr. it was a bunch of nudie pictures and now my virgin eyes need to be washed out with sanitizer. ugh. gross...

um, so i'm telling you this IMMEDIATELY that if you somehow get some stoopid email from me saying... hey, you're on this website (fill in the blank) DON'T GO THERE! I'M SORRY IF YOU GET A MESSAGE LIKE THAT FROM ME!! I WISH THE WORLD WEREN'T FULL OF PERVERTED JERKS WHO JUST SIT AROUND AND WONDER HOW TO ROB YOU OF YOUR INNOCENCE!!!!

anyway, if my account somehow got hacked, please please please know i'm truly so sorry that you're getting awful messages from this account. that's the last thing i wanted to happen and i hope you will still be my friend. (insert very cute, pleading like picture with bottom lip sticking out as far as possible)

here's a good idea... leave me comments about how much you hate myspace spam. freaking videos and pictures and crap. grrrrrrrrrrrrrr RRRRRRRRR.

while i'm at it, here's my next couple shows. I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU OUT CHICAGO AND INDIANA!!

um, yes, hello. hi. this won't be a long message (shocking i know) ... cause i want to run and hang with my new beautiful niece. but!! i wanted to say hi to you too before i go. so hi. i want to tell you how i totally got to see one of the best shows i have ever seen. it most likely has to do with the fact that the person putting on the show is something like a mentor to me... although we have never met. her music has been so influential in my life and i'm probably her biggest fan ever. like... the biggest one. yeah, the creepy fan who has every single album, knows the words, parts and harmonies to every song, knows where you're playing all the time, and waits for you hours after the show just to shake your hand... that kind of biggest one. :) well, that's not all that wierd, but i always told myself i would never do that... and i did. i saw patty griffin play here in denver at the botanical gardens the other night and it was something like a religious experience. she's incredible. probably one of the best female songwriters (in my opinion) of my day. if you haven't checked her out, or you have no idea who i'm talking about, check her out. you'll be glad you did... if anything, you might understand me a bit better by knowing her.

a very cool thing happened that night too. while i was being the creepy fan and waiting around to shake patty's hand (which i never go to do, by the way :( ... this very cool chick goes "are you jessica sonner?!?" i thought... oh gosh... um...yes, yes, i am, who are you? it turns out, this very cool girl in a cute green dress walks over and said that she knows me from myspace. that for sure has never happened in denver before :) i was on cloud nine. it was awesome... i sort of felt like denver knew me, it owned me, it recognized me. it was a cool feeling, and it made me heart denver. don't worry, i won't let it go to my head, but anyway... that being said, no more waking up, rolling out of bed and wearing your pajamas and sweat pants in public... just kidding, i'm most likely gonna be doing that for the rest of my life. haha! AND! i'm excited to tell you, DENVER AND BOULDER that i'm coming to visit you. i'll be in boulder tonight and denver on saturday again. here are the details, and i can't wait to see you again!

jess

Greetings,


Today will be the first in a series of weekly blogs that we (Jessica's management company) are going to post to promote Jessica's music even more on MySpace and across the internet.

Our aim is to rally all of you to spread the word about Jessica. Don't worry, this doesn't mean you're going to stop hearing from her. She'll continue to let you in on her life and thoughts as usual. This will just be an additional blog each week.

Each week, this blog will list a goal. We will let you know the goal for the next week as well as letting you know the status of the goal the week before.

So, here we go. For week 1...

HELP US GET JESSICA TO 7,000 FRIENDS BY NEXT TUESDAY!


Spread the word on MySpace, Facebook, Virb, and anywhere else that you connect with others. We will keep you posted on the progress.

Each week we'd also like to feature Jessica's top fan of the week. Ask your friends to add Jessica as a friend and then send her a message with your email address. Whichever fans recruits the most new friends by next week will be the top fan of the week!

Good luck!

Your Friends at Shorebreak Artist Management
myspace.com/shorebreakartistmanagement

PS Try posting this as a comment your friends' pages:
<br>Jessica Sonner wants to be YOUR friend! <b>Click her picture to listen to her music and become a part of the biggest movement in music history...</b><br><br><a href = "http://www.myspace.com/jessicasonner"><img src = "http://a329.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/87/l_f94229d328607f26860a3f75a20844c8.jpg"></a><br><br>

you know, i wish someone would bottle up campfire in a perfume so you could just smell like you had a blast all the time. i'd buy it. last week i recorded out at my friend kelsey's house (she sang on one of the tracks) in the rolling hills/cornfields of illinois. we had some great time recording and a wonderful dinner of grilled veggies, shrimp, chicken and smores to top it all off at the end of the night. my clothes wreak of good times and burnt marsh mellows. AWESOME

... speaking of awesome!! i'm an aunt! my little niece lucy was born yesterday. oh man, that rocks. she's so cool. i'll put a picture of her up on my page so you all can meet her:) let me just tell you about the whole thing... i ended up flying into denver, getting picked up by my mama, driving to fort collins, walking in the hospital and around the corner to my sister's room right as lucy was being born. it's crazy, but i totally got to hear her first cry before we were shooed back to the waiting room. it was crazy how fast it all happened. my was admitted to the hospital at 8am and lucy was here by 11am. you guys probably don't really care about all this the way i do, but when you blog on your page, you can blog about what's important to you :)

it was so crazy holding her just a few minutes after she was born and knowing just what a miracle she is. honestly, i've had friends have babies before now, but there's something way different about it being your sister... to watch her body and priorities and character change as she gets ready to be a mom and embrace the fact that if she wants to be a good mom, her life is no longer going to be about her, but her kid(s). when i see that, i realize that i'm WAY too selfish to do any of that right raising a family right now. who knows when i will be. i'd like to think thought that when the challenge comes to put myself and selfish desires aside for someone else, as i know i hope it will, that i'd welcome it. now that i think about it though, i think it happens everyday in different ways. you know, not like raising a child, but giving to others, small acts of kindness, hosting, feeding the hungry.. etc... interesting thought, do you think?

ok, well, it's time for me to go back to living my life and stop sitting in front of the computer. i heart you! happy weekend... leave me a comment, let me know your thoughts!

jess

oh gosh you guys. i can't hardly believe it, but myspace is now over 100,000 profile views. wow. i don't know if i ever thought that would happen. thanks so much for all your checking back here and seeing all that has been going on with me. i have to say, i never ever ever expected to being playing music the way i am now, and i'm only able to do it because of you and your support. i know i say this alot, but i truly and thankful for the best fans in the world.



so...on saturday, i got finished with camp and began the 5 hour drive back to chicago. i am happy to say that i was witness to one of the three most beautiful sunsets i have ever seen in my life. each one has been very memorable. remind me to tell you about them... but this one in particular was insane. it was incredible. it overtook half the sky with pinks and purples, and oranges like you have never seen before. at least, i had never seen anything like it before, and i grew up in "colorful colorado", home of some of all beautiful things of nature... mountains, sunsets, animals, streams, lakes, etc, etc. it blew my mind. it was perfect. i was listening to citizen cope (if you don't have the greenwood recordings, stop all that you are doing and get on itunes, or go to the store and buy that cd immediately)... windows down, wind in my hair. perfect tunage for the evening drive from st. louis after a long and amazing 2 weeks of rock and roll band camp... it was just breath taking. i think probably the coolest part about the whole thing was that it was this small summer storm that was pretty broken up, but the sun "set" into the clouds at like 7 and didn't actually set to where there was no more color in the sky until about 9 or so... basically, it also gets the award for bring the longest sunset i've witnessed as well. a perfect end to a perfect couple weeks. sometimes, when i'm driving all over the country, i see incredible things like that i feel so special. no one else in the world gets to see this very thing and it felt like i was on top of the world. it felt like God painted the sky up JUST FOR ME. those are the moments i feel so loved and centered with who i was made to be.

new album plans are in the making! you will have a killer acoustic EP in your hands very soon. very soon indeed. i think you're gonna love these new songs!! very shortly, my management team (who, by the way, are awesome) will be in touch with you via myspace too. don't worry, i'll still be keeping in touch and as involved in my page and fans as i am now, but they will be too. ;) just a heads up... and! i'm working on posting stuff on youtube from tours and studio time too, so check it out. say hi.

smooches.
jess


p.s.. dear newyork, florida, seattle, and texas. i'm coming soon! for now, here the dates i have on the books!

7/23 - Mama Java's - Phoenix, AZ
7/27 - Walnut Room - Denver CO
8/2 - The Laughing Goat - Boulder CO
8/10 - Radio Radio - Indianapolis IN
8/11 - Uncommon Ground - Chicago, IL
8/31 - Moon Monkey Coffee Company - Bourbonnais IL
9/26 Eastern Kentucky University - Richmond KY

so, it's been a little while, i understand. i'm sorry. let me just tell you a little bit about what i've been up to... rock and roll band camp. i know what you're thinking... band camp. but seriously. it's cool. i promise. we jam out all day, we eat great food, and we have a grand old time. it feels a bit like tour cause i'm going and going and going all day long...working like 17 hours a day, getting a very small amount of sleep and playing lots of loud music all the time. although it is VERY taxing on the body. most of my cells are sort of fighting with each other right now... it's like a small war going on in my body. i think it's like 50/50 though. like 50% of them are partiers and wanna keep on going and 50% of them are just plain tired. they wanna sleep all day long and lay out by the pool and watch movies as an excuse to just lay on the couch. i was just talking to another producer friend of mine and mentioned that i think the ratio is quickly leaning towards 51/49... one more week. one more week. that's all i got.

i posted some new shows. whoopi! I'm gonna be in phoenix and denver again in july. my sister is having a baby! and what better excuse to come back to colorado for a little while?

there's a lot on my mind to write you about. i guess the one thing that's really been pounding at me lately is really learning to know my limits and be disciplined about not exceeding them when it comes to my health. it's so important to take care of yourself every day. from eating right to getting enough sleep, it's so essential to know when you're gonna crash and keeping yourself from doing that. i haven't been really taking care of myself lately. eating right is good for your energy level, and it's great for your creative side too. if you're tired or feeling sluggish, nothing flows right. nothing feels right. everything is wrong. sleep is SO IMPORTANT TOO... i get really weepy when i'm tired. i cry sometimes for no reason at all, and usually, when i look back at it, it's because i haven't gotten good sleep, i haven't been working out (for me that means walking, lifting some crazy cool purple 3lb weights from walmart and doing a few sit-ups here and there), or i've been not eating right (too many sweets and not enough veggies) or not treating my body right. (that means different things to different people). so, i actually have no excuse whatsoever to complain about my state of being.

another really important aspect of taking care of yourself beyond the physical side of things is the emotional and spiritual element of your day too. when i haven't written in a while, it usually also means that i haven't been taking enough time for me. alone time is probably one of the most valuable activities you could do in a day. i have to make sure i'm being intentional about that so that i continue to grow and remain sane... even if it's just sitting alone in a quite place, or visiting somewhere that inspires me. lighting a candle, or turing on some damien rice... that inspires me. my porch is where you'll usually find me in the mornings before it gets too hot to be outside.


those are my thoughts. oh... i actually have a couple more. :) i have to go ahead and apologize now for my inability to reply to each and every one of you and your messages. you see, it's just gotten to be too much for me to spend hours online a day. WHEN WOULD I WRITE?? so heres the thing. i'm going to ask that you forgive me when you write me and i don't always write back. i'm trying, because i don't wanna be one of those artists that just never replies on myspace. please know though, that i do read everything you send me and it encourages me so much. i really appreciate all you guys and your support in this past couple years, and with this new record coming out. i think you're gonna love it. please know that i love your comments that you leave! please don't stop!

ok.. bye for now... new shows are posted on my website, myspace and below in this email as always :)

j

SEE YOU THERE!!

7/23 - Mama Java's - Phoenix AZ
7/27 - Walnut Room - Denver, CO
8/2 - The Laughing Goat - Boulder, CO
8/10 - Indy Summer Concert Series - Indianapolis IN
8/10 - Radio Radio - Indianapolis IN
8/11 - Uncommon Ground - Chicago, IL

I've just recently been introduced to this new internet lingo that has apparently been formed among the "computer generation"-ers. It's pretty much awesome. Before I tell you all of this, something you must first understand about me is that I'm slightly obsessive compulsive. Hence, the lack of a solid release date for my next cd, the reason I always carry chapstick on my keys (so i don't go crazy when i can't find any), and why I can't stand it when I lose something. Now, granted, my room is a complete mess to the average onlooker, but to me… in that (what my mother once referred to as) 'hurricane aftermath', I know where EVERY SINGLE LITTLE THING IS. No joke… including all the hard items to find that everyone looses…scissors, fingernail clippers, clean underwear… you name it, if it's in my room, I'll tell you exactly where to look for it. I like things organized in a way that I can find it, and I like things to happen efficiently. THAT, my friends is why I love this new lingo that I previously referred to.

For instance…Do you know what BTW means? If you said that the answer is 'by the way', you are correct. So, instead of writing out by the way and spending all the time writing out those three so very looooong words (i hope you can sense my sarcasm), you can just simply type B T W and you're essentially communicating the same thing. Right? Right. Obviously, it's gonna take some catching on to…but I think I got it. So, I have been texting, and emailing and IMing with this lingo like it's my job. The best is when you start speaking, or yelling it to yourself in the car… like, when a crazy idiot turns left in front of you from the right lane, across your lane, cutting oncoming traffic off nearly causing the loss of definitely one, but most likely more than one life. … and you all of a sudden letters just pour out of your mouth like, WTFWT?!?! Or TGIACF!!! (that guy is a crazy fool)

Honestly, what a faster, more efficient way of communicating what we really want to say?!? I love it... but after saying all that, i got to thinking. yeah, i love to do things fast, and accomplish a lot in a short amount of time, but sometime i feel like we move too fast. like life just flies right by and we don't even know what's happening.. then you look back and all of a sudden, you ask where all the time went. i don't wanna do that. i mean, yeah, time is flying by, but i wanna me the person that says i enjoyed and made the most of each moment. if you haven't yet, you should check out my friend kelsey wild.

www.myspace.com/kelseywild

kelsey and i met when i worked with her at this awesome 'rock and roll band camp' called POWER CHORD ACADEMY. she's a great songwriter and artist and her song fall down is all about making the most of your life and not living with any regrets. check it out.

no, I'm not famous

So, I found out the scoop on why the show got canceled tonight, and wow, you're gonna laugh. Cause I did… so, remember I told you guys that I was doing some "extra" work?? Well, I was. There's a bunch of movies being filmed here in Chicago, and one of them is called the express. It's about football, in the 60's in September in New York. If you don't know anything about new york in September, it's not warm.. but, june in Chicago is…. So here we are, sitting in the blazing hot sun, that on any other day, I would be all about, soaking it in, loving every single sparkling minute of it. But, not while I was being an extra… because in order to make it believable, you have to wear sweaters and wool coats. We were roasting. Like chickens in an oven.

Anyway, the point of all that was to tell you that dennis quaid is the main actor in the movie, and APPARENTLY, he called like, this week, and said " yo dogs, I need your club to throw a little private party… now" now, I'm not entirely sure that's the language that he used, but I imagine it was something like that.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry that Dennis Quaid caused the show not to happen. I promise I'll find something in Chicago before too long.


In the mean time, to make up for it, there's another show in Lincolnshire… which is still chicagoland. COME! WE'RE GONNA HAVE A BLAST!

I heart you all!
J

Guys… I'm really sorry to say this, but my shows on the 16th and the 21st have been cancelled. I'm sorry. I wish I could change it but I can't. I am working on another Chicago gig in july before I head out on tour and to Colorado for a couple weeks as my little sis is having a baby!! Anyway, I wanna show Chicago some love before I hit the road again. I apologize. I must tell you though, that with the cancellation of those two shows, I am happy to say that I am adding another one in Libertyville IL. It's at a really cool place called Café Pyrenees. Please come out and enjoy one of my only shows in Chicago this summer. It's gonna be a good old time and I'm really excited about it. I


I'm sorry there's not more to share with you right now. It's been a busy week writing and editing tracks. Crazy!! I'm excited to tell you that there are some video clips I took for you guys up on the website. More to come. Keep an eye on things… and the blog, cause there may or may not be some more novels to come.

You guys rock.

sonner

background
Category: Blogging

before you start freaking out about how long this email is, i'm going to make you a promise. i won't ever EVER write one this long ever again. i promise. :) so....Friday was a wonderful day in the studio. I'll be putting up videos, new pics and such for you to all check out and pretend like you were in the studio with me. ? So, keep checking back at myspace! Leave me a comment or two. or eight! I LOVE EM!

So, I must admit I have been overwhelmingly excited by hearing from all of you out there keeping tabs on me. I have also been very entertained at the slightly smaller percentage of my fans… the guys… especially the one in particular who upon finding out that I am recently single, very kindly offered his personal cell phone number if I ever needed to talk, his shoulder to cry on, and even to pay for dinner if I ever wanted… that he would EVEN drive up from Florida immediately in order to do so. I thought that was so very kind of him. ;)

Among others, I recently got an email from someone that went something like this… "I stumbled upon your MySpace today and was really inspired by your journey thus far. I really like what you're doing; keep it up. It seems like getting from point A to point B is basically a path of trial and error, without giving up, but I'm just curious about your path between playing the patio at Starbucks to CBGBs, the heart of New York's music scene…." There was more to the email, but after reading this, I thought… maybe she's not the only one who might want to know. So, I thought I would share a little of my journey.

If you haven't yet, you should check out the iChannelmusic.com icoustic sessions. There's about a 20 minute interview on there that says a little bit of what I'm about to let you in on. Some of you have been with me on my journey from starbucks to starving artist at the very beginning of it all. ? wow, what a journey it truly has been.

Well, to start off, I didn't always want to be an artist. To tell you the truth, I never wanted to really be in the spot light, it just seemed thats always where I ended up. When I was in high school I always sang in choir, and played piano to accompany the choir, and did all the things that us choir kids did. I wasn't ashamed that I loved to sing. And I always was writing lyrics. Always. I even had a boyfriend named alan in 9th grade… he was a goth kid and I was a skater chick and we would write poems back and forth to each other. His were so emotional. I wanted to write like that. I wanted to write something that would rip your heart right out of your chest and throw it across the room. (ok, that was a little over the top, but you get what I mean) . Later on in college, it seemed like everyone played the guitar, including my little brother… and he was good! I wanted to play too! So I picked it up, I demanded that he teach me a few chords and I went for it. I started writing songs left and right. I would stay up late and come up with line after line of just whatever I could come up with.

Then, a few years later, as a music business major, some friends of mine and I all had to do recording projects. So I volunteered, and just kept the random recordings here and there. I never really thought anything would come of it… I just thought, this is what you're supposed to do. If you write, you should record. I remember my mom asking me why once, I didn't really know.

When I graduated from college at Anderson University, I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. No one ever tells you that when you graduate, all the people that you have come to know and love that live in a 5 mile radius of you will all up and move away… in the same weekend! It's the craziest, saddest, most exhilarating thing. And some people will stick around and try and stay really involved in school and such, but most will move away at start life somewhere else (including back home with the rents). I had this feeling that I wasn't supposed to move back to Denver just yet, but I didn't want to move to Nashville cause it felt like everyone else in my class did that. Someday soon I actually will, but at the time, my good friend Loz (she's a great GREAT writer!) opened up her home to me and I stayed around Indiana for a while longer… I picked up a job in Anderson as a shift supervisor at the local Starbucks on Scatterfield Road, and kept on writing. I studied with another awesome writer from Alexandria Indiana named Suzanne Jennings (also a GREAT writer… now that I look back, I can't even believe that was surrounded by writers to help sharpen me and my writing). Suzanne and some other friends of mine helped me record some more songs that we co-wrote together and they encouraged me get out and start playing around Indiana.

So, every week, me and another friend Bob Stamper would get together and play about 2 hours of music, originals, covers, it was great fun… especially when the White River Boys (a sweet bluegrass band that Bob and some friends formed in college) would come and join in. We would sing and drink coffee til we got kicked out. It was great. Towards the end of the summer, I started feeling sorta restless… like I was being called to something or somewhere else. It was the weirdest feeling. Around September 2005 the opportunity to start modeling with a top agency in Chicago opened up. I jumped on it. In 6 days I transferred to a Starbucks in Chicago, packed everything up that I could fit in my car and just moved up to the windy city. It was so freeing. I have never felt more alive in my whole life.

It was the start of something new and fresh. For a while, I modeled in Chicago and crashed with some good friends til I found a place of my own… but it soon got cold, and the opportunity I thought was so great turned out to be something that tore me down rather than built me up. I kept hearing "lose more weight" "you're too big" "lose 25 pounds" "you're not small enough" "what are you eating?" etc… so I would look at myself and start to really think that something was wrong with me. " I feel bad about myself, go eat and just cry. After a couple months of that, I realized that modeling was not for me, so I just didn't show up again. I stopped going on go sees (that's where you go and see if the client wants to use you). Thoughts that I was fat, (or as SOME girls like to say… not thin enough) really translated into someone whispering "you're not good enough" right to my soul. I know that's not true. It breaks my heart to think about just how many girls AND GUYS! struggle with feeling like they aren't good enough. DUDES AND DUDETTES!! THIS SIMPLY ISN'T TRUE. DON'T BELIEVE THE VOICE! IT'S LYING TO YOU!!!!

Enough. I decided enough. So, I collected all the recordings that I had done over the previous years and put them all together and put out a cd…. The EP … which I later learned is actually supposed to be like 6 songs that are like your demo. I didn't know. I didn't really care either.. I just wanted to put it out there, get going, my music up so people could hear and tell me if it sucked or not. I wanted to see what would happen. I couldn't just let it sit around anymore! Who knows!

Anyway, while I was waiting for the cd to be pressed, I myspaced every artist and venue I'd ever heard of… anybody!... asking if I could open for them, or whatever… I would drive as for as I had to in order to be able to play even 20 minutes in front of anyone who would listen. So I started playing out. I played all the time, as much as I could. I played in coffeehouses with 3 people there, I played in venues opening up shows for hard metal bands, I played bars where no one listened… no one!! People still don't sometimes ? I didn't care. My friends thought I was crazy. WHO KNOWS. MAYBE I AM CRAZY! I thought I had to just put myself out there and thought "God, if you make something of this, I'd be honored if you would use me somehow through music… man that would be cool. Here, I'll take the second step since you already gave me a gift."

Anyway, about March last year, I opened up my myspace and there were 100 new people that wanted to be my friend. I was like "WHAT!! WHAT IS HAPPENING!" Somebody told me that a very sweet girl and super talented artist named Tristan Prettyman had blogged about me and that's how they found me. So, I wrote her. I was like… sup? (ok, I forget what I said cause I was flipping out) She said " I don't normally listen to requests to hear music, but I clicked on yours and your song 'fool' grabbed me. "You're awesome"… wow, what a compliment. That's how some of you found me. If you haven't heard of her music, you have to check it out. www.myspace.com/tristanprettyman


Anyway, as for myspace, that's how I got started there… I toured out to CA back in May last year and Tristan found out and asked me to play a writers night at room5 lounge in LA. I was honored and it was a blast. Good times? What I didn't expect was this sweet girl with lovely blonde hair who came up to me and told me I did a great job… said her name was Colbie. If you haven't yet, please check out her music as well… both her and Tristan are in my top friends. Anyway. As myspace has sort of taken off, I have been blessed to say that lots of people are finding out about the music, liking it, asking me to come and play, and begging for more music. It's been such a cool curse I'm trying to deal with. Hopefully you'll watch me deal with it gracefully ?

As for CBGB.. In my travels and touring I somehow found myself on tour with a band called Fair June. (very cool guys) one of the stops on our tour was at CBGB in NYC just before they closed their doors. It's crazy, and I don't know how or why it happened, but it did… so I guess that's, in a nutshell, my story. It seems like I left out a lot of details. It's been a lot of driving, and playing and busting my butt, being blessed by friends along the way, and somebody upstairs honoring my taking a step and getting out there.

Anyway, some of my adventures are in the blogs. I almost died like twice, but I've had a great time and met a lot of great people along the way. Wow. And still… the road beckons me on, who knows if this is the best it gets or if there's much more in store. I don't. And by no means has it been easy. It IS really easy to get discouraged…because I'm a control freak (working on that) and a results/goals oriented type of a person. BUT your support and comments and emails and words of encouragement HAVE REALLY BEEN THE FUEL THAT KEEPS ME GOING! THANK YOU!! I love it! I love you! I have the best fans ever.

Thank you. And that's the story.

More to come ?

sonner

Tonight, I was leaving church, and there was this awesome little boy in front of me… he'd run in circles and zig zags in front of me and around me, then stop, turn, look back to make sure that dad was coming… or rather, wasn't left too far back in his dust. ? between little runner dude, and the beautiful sunset tonight I started to realize that life is pretty good. Sometimes I get down, especially in light of this past weekends' events… BUT! i'm healthy, and breathing, and singing, and about to enjoy some sushi, and I'm pretty stoked about all that.

It's an interesting thought to think about how ever bad you think your situation is, things could be worse. I think it's really easy to sometimes feel like life just sucks. … like (girls…) you couldn't feel fatter, or more unattractive… or boys, you want to be bigger… which it's the weirdest thing to me as a girl… we always want to be thinner, you always want to be thicker. What's with that? Sorry, off track…you know that I mean though… like nothing else in the world could go wrong when in fact, a lot can go wrong. You could get in a car wreck… or, if you just were in a car wreck, if you're reading this, you're not dead… YOU COULD HAVE DIED. You could be stranded on an island and starve to death (nothing like LOST by the way). You could… anything. Anything could happen to you. Anything. Leave me a comment on my page and tell me what you think about that! … and while you do, remember you're alive and what it feels like.

Tonight, things are good. The sun is just setting on a wonderful, long day of recording. Tomorrow, my friend david mcmillin is coming up to Chicago to play on the new record, and I'm pretty pumped to see him, things are good. I am blessed. And!! I'm listening to some GREAT music…. You most likely have never heard. Check em out… myspace.com/hurricanehearts

Speaking of being blessed… thanks for everyone's support who wrote me about my last blog and song. It's crazy where some songs come from. You guys are the best. It was interesting to read everyone's opinions about what I should do, or how people shared their stories… heck, I could write a love song a day for a year on all the stories I read about love lost, love found, love lost, love walked out on, love found…etc…etc.. it hasn't been easy so thank you for all your encouragement too. I think one of the coolest comments I got was ended with the statement "please don't stop. I love taking this journey with you"

Awesome. Well, welcome. It's sort of a crazy life, but I'll do my best to keep you clued in during my travels this year. ?

i hArt all of you!

well friends. (and mostly family) the time has come to share a little of my heart with you... to be honest, i haven't done it enough. i had this idea in my mind that i didn't want to really share certain things about my personal life with my fans. it just seemed, at the time like a big violation of my privacy. i'm not sure why, and maybe it will change again in the future... but today, tonight, i feel like letting you in a little farther than i have before. into my relationship. well, past relationship for almost 24 hours now. today has been a little nostalgic for a few reasons. i just got back to chicago from denver (aka the homeland) where i left the home i grew up in, my pregnant sister and brother-in-law, mom, dad and boy(now ex)friend. the trip was a 10 day trip... just short enough to feel like a vacation, yet long enough to really feel like i belong there. like something inside me is missing. anyway, in my mind, when it's warm, chicago is the greatest place on earth. there's so much to do, so many patios to sit on and watch the people go by, so much music to hear and beach to lay out on you can take the el and not freeze your but off! :) when it's cold... you can't to but half of those things... people watch, and if it's below 40 you don't see very many people.

sorry, off track. anyway. all that to say, i miss denver yes, but last night, i had to have the most grown up conversation of my life. it just might be one of the most responsible and hardest things i've done during my adulthood thus far.

over christmas, i met a boy. he's a wonderful songwriter (and a drummer when the need be) ;) (so hot) he's pretty much just about everything i've had on my "list" since i started it. (... girls, you know what i'm talking about with the list... boys, yes, there is such a thing as the list and every girl has one.) he loves the out doors, and thrift store shpping, and when girls wear skirts. he adores me when i have no make-up on, and his favorite outfit of mine is my yucky gey sweatpants with paint splotches all over them, and a ratty old t-shirt... if you can believe that. (i still have a hard time believing it on certain days.) he makes me laugh at life, which is very very important to me, and always plays footsie with me under the table. and it sounds kinda silly but all he's really wanted to do is take me out dancing since we started this whole thing which never happened, and i don't think it was too much to ask. except for the fact that he lives 1000 miles away... which doesn't seem that far to certain people, but when you're on the phone late at night and all you want from life is for the person on the other end of the line to be your big spoon and play it seems like a thousand, billion trillion and 97 miles away.

anyway, back to the being grown up part. since we're not currently planning on being any closer to each other any time soon, i might be wrong but i don't think it's not fair to either of us to continue this indefinite long distance relationship. so we called the whole thing off. it was just like in the movies at the point where you cry for the couple cause there's just this hopeless sense of "well, that the heck are they gonna do now?"... or for a less emtional, more cheezy still right on poster that is a picture of bambi so cute and cuddly with a quote in cursive saying "if you love something, you have to let it go, and if it's meant to be, it will return to you someday..." (or something painfully similar to that) ridiculous i know, but today, in my bittersweet realization that when it comes to life and love isn't always sweet little songs and smiles... sometimes loves' timing sucks and you gotta say goodbye and let em go and hope they aren't married or otherwise committed when you finally get finished gallivanting the country living out of your car, playing your guitar but be ok with your decision if it doesn't happen that way. next maybe i'll try or just think about getting life insurance. (don't wanna rush things :)

here's a new song. we'll see if it makes it on the new album. who knows.

goodnight all.
yer the best fans ever.
j


Baby, baby I'm leavin
baby, I gotta go
Oh cause the road is callin' my name
yeah, it's callin' me
come and sing your song

baby, I don't belong here
baby, you know it too
if I stayed I could get on just fine
but you, and I know
it just wouldn't be right
so if ya love me, won't ya let me go

are ya gonna love me?
Or will you hold on?
Are ya gonna love me,
By movin' on
Cause you know this, this this
This ain't easy
But if you love me, gotta let me go

If I could say one thing
Before we leave this
I love how you bring out the best in me
I love, love who I am
Who I am when I'm with you
I love who you make be wanna be

are ya gonna love me?
Or will you hold on?
Are ya gonna love me,
By movin' on
Cause you know this, this this
This ain't easy
But if you love me, gotta let me go

Are ya gonna love me?
By walkin away
Baby won't cha love me
Stead a' askin me to stay

Oh we've beat
Around the bush
About as long
Long as we should
I can't take anymore
Got my eyes on the door
But I gotta know, gotta know for sure…

Are ya gonna love me
By not holdin on
baby baby love me
by movin' on
cause you know this, this
this ain't easy
but if you love me, let me go.

Copyrightjessicasonnermusic2007

so, i just got back to chicago from a 10 day venture back to my homeland of colorado. oh man, do i miss it there. the weather is perfect, the sun is usually shining... life is good, don't i know it.

yesterday, we spent the day in boulder. boulder-ites get a pretty bad wrap for being "weird" "off-center" "hippy-like" "nature loving, tree hugging freaks" ... you name it, people who live in boulder get called it... but you know, to tell you the truth, i didn't think so. before yesterday, i'd never been up there, and i rather enjoyed myself. if i weren't so confused about where i really do live, i would love to live in boulder. it was wonderful being in an environment that was so diverse in culture and beliefs. initially, it reminded me of california... san diego specifically, and secondly...it reminded me much of my second home here in chicago. before chicago, i have never been around so many people from so many different parts of the world, with so many different beliefs about life and love and the environment... about God and that ever so taboo issue called "religion" ... to be honest, it's refreshing. it's so nice to not be the only person in my life with an opinion... and pretty much be called out on it by simply being in one place.

besides the different kinds of people around, the weather was super great. we woke up early and went on a hike up to the flatirons, and then sat in the wonderful sunshine over looking the city below for a while. afterwards, we walked around town (mainly pearl street mall) and had some really great sushi at a place called Hapa Sushi... which i highly recommend. we got sprinkled with some rain, but nothing to be scared of, and the sun came out, as colorado usually promises it will. (side note... my other favorite place to eat in colorado is in denver. it's called watercourse food (www.watercoursefoods.com) best vegitarian place that i know of in denver)

anyway, all that to say, it was a beautiful day in colorado yesterday, and i wanted you all to share it with me someway, somehow.

thanks everyone for putting up with my lack of presence on the web recently. i'm trying to hard to keep in touch with all of you and not let my computer take over my life! i love all of you and you should know that your support means the world to me!!

blessings!

jess


p.s... check out the new pics on myspace!

oh gosh. could this day get better? probably not. i love hanging out with my mom. i'm in denver right now... til the 29th. then i fly back to chicago to finish up my new album. i can't wait to get it in your hands. you have no idea how excited i am. it's raining now but tomorrow i know it will be sunny. the rain is pouring down and i can't even believe how green it is here in d-town. it's pretty much like desert conditions usually, so it's always dry, but not today!

i think it's really good to try new things. expand your horizons. step out of your comfort zone. tturn over a new leaf. for a lot of people, that looks like a lot of different things. i wonder what it is for you. for me, today anyway, that looked like going to bikram yoga. for those of you who don't know what yoga is, it's like stretching and holding poses for a long time. it's a workout, but not the workout you might imagine. AND. the best, absolute best part about it all is that it's "hot" yoga... which means, they turn the heat up really high in the room (100 degrees!!!) so you sweat. you sweat a lot. like, it pours off of you. when you get finished, it looks like everyone in the class just hopped out of the pool. i'm not even joking. i don't know if i have ever sweat that much in my life. oh man. anyway, it was wonderful (since i'm freezing all the time) and new for me. and now, as i'm writing this just before i go to bed, i'm exhausted. totally spent.

as i thought about my excursion in trying something new, i remember walking into the class. a new comer, he beginner. it was so awkward. i haven't felt that in a while, and i think it was good for me. ... almost like i was getting put in my place. as if someone were saying and not saying "hey shorty, try not to fall behind, i know you're new at this" all at the same time. in my awkwardness, i felt a bit shy as well... i wonder if people feel that way around me? like somehow with my life, or with my actions i make others feel like they are less important or experienced at whatever their insecurity.

where ever you are in the world, whether you read this or not, i guess it's something to think about. how do we impact the people around us by our actions or words... or lack of words?

thoughts?
jess