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Jefferson, Christy
Published: October 2003
Story: Jeff Royer
Photo: Press photo |
Sometimes you need a good, old-fashioned disaster in your life to
open up the right opportunities.
For singer-songwriter Christy Jefferson, that disaster came in the
form of the breakup of her band. At the time, it was hard to tell
that fate was actually doing her a favor.
"Around the time that I graduated, the band that I was very serious
with just totally dissipated, and I'd been putting all my cards on
that. So I realized I had to get my act together and just be
independent and self-sufficient," Jefferson explains. "So that's what
I did.
"Right at first coming out of a band, it's really scary just going
out. Before I actually started playing out, I had to really solidify
my guitar chops. I play piano as well while I sing. So it was a lot
of long hours practicing to get myself to the point where I felt very
confident being in front of people just by myself," she continues.
"All of that considered, it's an amazing sense of accomplishment
getting up and just doing performance after performance knowing that
you're capable of just getting up there and doing it all yourself.
And not just the performing, but I've been doing all of it. I do all
of the booking and promotion, and it's very satisfying. ... And I've
been making my living doing it."
Hailing from a small town about 20 minutes south of Allentown,
Jefferson has been hitting up bars and coffeeshops from Philly to New
York, with a little help from drummer Matt Scheller and bassist
Donnie Weissberg of local swing band the Slicked-Up 9's. "They
actually opened for the Brian Setzer Orchestra. They're really good
musicians," Jefferson says. "It's an awesome synthesis. They just
have such eclectic styles of playing, and it's very complimentary to
my music, which is this, that, and everything in between."
Jefferson finds herself pulling from influences such as Adam Duritz,
Tori Amos, and Billy Joel to form a hodge-podge of Ani Difranco-esque
rock tunes dressed up in melancholy folk-song clothing.
"It's folk-rock with a little bit of pop, a few drops of cabaret.
Especially with the band, there's a bit of swing influence and a
little bit of funk," describes Jefferson. "It's a lot of fun. There
are sentimental moments where it's more ballad-y, and then we kick it
up into a swing song or a rock song."
The trio is currently recording a new demo for use in promotion to
college radio. With a quality recording and a little help in the form
of music consultants Foley Entertainment, Jefferson should be able to
make a dent in the area scene. But as her career gains momentum,
she's being sure to enjoy all the good stuff along the way. "The
opportunity that I have to not feel guilty about going downstairs in
my basement and being up all night or all day long and working on a
song - because that's what my job is - it's really a freeing thing,"
Jefferson gushes. "It's really amazing."
Visit www.christyjefferson.com for more info.
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