Jessica Beach

- "An artist who's originality and passion will make legends like Carole King, Kate Bush and Tori Amos proud...Jessica also puts on a hot live show". - Stewart Meyers, Program Director, Astral Media.

- "Jessica's songs are hooky and very radio-friendly… well-written, well-produced material …fantastic to watch as a live performer!" - Mike Savage, Artist Manager (Meiko), former Senior Director Creative & Media, A&R Worldwide.

- "FOR YOUR PROTECTION is one of those records that from the moment you press play, you know you've found something special. This album defies gravity!" - Matt Schichter Music Director, Fuel 90.3 - Word of Mouth

HEIDI WICKS
Special to The Telegram

With the tiniest growling, snarling edge married with just the right amount of sweetness, Jessica Beach dares you not to listen to her songs.

Her attitude-injected, rollicking cabaret piano stylings sweetly plead, yet simultaneously seem to say, "F-you if you don't want to listen."

It's an intriguing combination. Reminiscent of Fiona Apple, she has a carefree, take-me-or-leave-me essence which has a way of making you want to take it rather than leave it.

Beach will heat up the Martini Bar on George Street in St. John's Saturday at an early time (8 p.m.), and says a big draw in deciding to come to St. John's was that the venue has a nice piano.

"My biggest luxury after chocolate cake is having a nice piano and the gear already there for me when I play somewhere," she said, laughing.

Beach grew up in Toronto and lives in Vancouver, and seems excited to play in Newfoundland for the first time.

"I hear the audiences there get excited and that makes it more fun. Every band I know who has toured there has always come back with a good experience. And I've heard really great things about the art scene there, so I can't wait to come."

She'll be promoting her new CD, "For Your Protection," and promises the show to be a good time.

For anyone not familiar, her musical influences are diverse, from Tom Waits to Marina and the Diamonds. She filters through classics like Sam Cook and Linda Ronstadt to mod influences like MGMT (electronica, psychedelic pop group). She also covers ladies from Stevie Nicks to Katy Perry.

You never quite know what you're going to get.

"I usually write my set lists on the back of a napkin on the plane, or on a receipt while driving, en route to a gig," she laughs, adding that what she plays on a given night depends on her mood.

"We're always looking for new covers. (Folk-rocker) Jay Sparrow is another artist we've been working with lately, so we always love working with people we admire from the world of YouTube and MySpace."

Speaking of those worlds, Beach acknowledges their importance while recognizing that they're not essential for success in the contemporary music biz.

"I had a CBC Zed page when they started, and I had a Garageband account, which was way before MySpace. Those things worked really well for me then. I don't think you can shun them - you sort of have to learn to accept them and maintain them as part of it, but I don't think it's a magic bullet for anybody either. I know artists that work the crap out of them and then everybody comes to their live shows and leave right away. And I also know people who don't give a shit about their MySpace page and just write songs all day instead, and they also put off amazing shows that people love. So, I think a healthy combination of both can be really effective. Administratively they're great tools to keep people updated."

Beach has a Facebook group called TYPAM, which is also the name of the production company she and friend and collaborator Rebecca Ramone operate.

Though her musical influences have a wide range, one common denominator is stage presence. She says that if an artist wants to perform as part of their career (versus just being in the studio), onstage charisma is as important as musical talent.

"People excel in different ways, too. Artists like Liz Phair don't really like to tour, and Fiona Apple didn't really tour her second two albums as much. If you can make a living just selling records and by maybe getting a publishing deal and you don't like touring, then you don't necessarily have to do it anymore. But there needs to be something more compelling than the 18 million other sounds out there, if you are going to tour."

Beach likes a mix of recording and performing.

"I love doing both. I want to be in the studio right now, and when you're on the road you're not at home, but in the studio you're buried away, solitary, so, it's good to have both at different times. So, sometimes on the road I'll come up with something new, and it's troublesome to me that I can't get it (recorded) right away. But then other times you just want to get out there with the people."

"For Your Protection" is available on iTunes and other digital retailers and www.CDBaby.com.

Tickets for the St. John's show are available on a first-come, first-serve basis at the Martini Bar. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. - The Telegram (St John's NL)

German Broadcaster ZDF featured Jessica in a documentary on Vancouver.

Follow this link to watch the on the ZDF website.

http://www.zdf.de/ZDFmediathek/content/549484?inPopup=true

- ZDF TV Germany

Arts
Jessica Beach
By Dan McPeake

Jessica Beach has always had performance in her blood. Born in Toronto, she grew up with a mother who was a classically trained ballet dancer and an elder brother who works in the film industry. Brought up around the arts, she began playing piano at a young age.

After spending a few years in Victoria, she packed up and moved to Calgary, where she decided to get serious. After releasing an EP, Jessica got a break in 2004, when a Calgary radio station held a contest. The prize: a $100,000 recording contract. Jessica won, and the result was her first full-length album, Sticky Hands.

Shortly after this, she relocated to Vancouver and has been playing at local hotspots ever since. She has been fortunate to share the stage with such local celebs as Shaun Verreault (Wide Mouth Mason), Luke Paquin (Hot Hot Heat), Chris Crippin (Hedley), and Ben Sigston. She also recently opened for Sarah McLachlan in a show for ?McLachlan’s charity.

Last November, she released her third album, For Your Protection, and has been promoting it ever since.

Jessica describes her music as “bluesy pop with an edge” and her influences range from Joan Armatrading and Tom Waits, to Queen and Johnny Cash. Her eclectic love of music has clearly had an influence on her style of play. Whether playing at The Media Club, or at the SaddleDome, Jessica knows how to put on a rockin’ show.

When asked who was the one musician she would love to meet or perform with, she didn’t hesitate in her answer: Juliette Lewis.
- The Peak News - SFU

Jessica is on the cover and inside feature article of the current Mar/April issue of the nationally distributed magazine, Muzik Etc.

Link to full article

http://issuu.com/muziketc/docs/muziketc_v22-n2?viewMode=magazine&mode=embed
- Muzik Etc Magazine

Jessica Beach is one talented singer songwriter. Her music is totally amazing. Some of the best stuff I have heard in ages.


Interview With Jessica Beach By Chris


1.How did you get into music?

It got into me

2.What were your major influences?

I grew up with all kinds of music around me; everything from Beastie Boys to Marvin Gaye...and I'm secretly in love with Tom Waits.

3.If you could have a three band bill who would they be?

Joan Armatrading, Tom Waits and Annie Lennox

4. What music do you class yourself as?

Bluesy Pop

5. Where do you think you will be in 10 years?

With any luck, I'll in a sequined jump suit, passed out in a pile of my own vomit surrounded by babes... wait, that was someone else's dream. I don't know, but there will be music involved.

6. What has been your best gig you have played so far?

The last show I did in a music room with a grand piano, was sold out all through word of mouth ticket sales, so that made me pretty happy to have a solid turn out with no advertising.

7. What made you want to go out and play music?

Insomnia

8. What are your thoughts on file sharing and the mp3 format?

I could get into this one for a while, but I'll try to sum up: I think it's a great form of advertising for bands - it can do a lot to get their music heard and create awareness for the group... but it's a business and we still need to make a living off the product, so it needs to be integrated with the concept of purchased downloads. There are lots of songs that people would download, but never go out and buy (baby got back, wanted dead or alive...) but when it comes to emerging artists, I would just ask people to keep in mind that if you like what you hear and want more if it, someone has to pay to make it happen.

9. Who would you most like to record a song with?

Joan Armatrading

10. Do you think the internet is good for helping artists get known?

It's been good to me

11. What bands/artists are you listening to lately?

Recent purchases include: The Donnas, Blossom Dearie, Modest Mouse and Metric

12. Who has helped you out the most?

So many people. My family is ridiculously supportive and I have tons of awesome volunteers for everything from website development to ticket sales.

13. If you could be on the simpsons where would you be playing?

Springfield?

14. What has the response been like for your album?

I really just created this CD as a demo, but was able to sell some copies to support my various habits. And it's kept me in black liquorices for the last year, so I guess I'm happy. The CD has opened other doors to make more music, so that's the most I could ask for.

Thanks to Jessica Beach For kindly doing the interview. She Rocks - Parx-e Web Zine

Jessica Beach is one talented singer songwriter. Her music is totally amazing. Some of the best stuff I have heard in ages.


Interview With Jessica Beach By Chris


1.How did you get into music?

It got into me

2.What were your major influences?

I grew up with all kinds of music around me; everything from Beastie Boys to Marvin Gaye...and I'm secretly in love with Tom Waits.

3.If you could have a three band bill who would they be?

Joan Armatrading, Tom Waits and Annie Lennox

4. What music do you class yourself as?

Bluesy Pop

5. Where do you think you will be in 10 years?

With any luck, I'll in a sequined jump suit, passed out in a pile of my own vomit surrounded by babes... wait, that was someone else's dream. I don't know, but there will be music involved.

6. What has been your best gig you have played so far?

The last show I did in a music room with a grand piano, was sold out all through word of mouth ticket sales, so that made me pretty happy to have a solid turn out with no advertising.

7. What made you want to go out and play music?

Insomnia

8. What are your thoughts on file sharing and the mp3 format?

I could get into this one for a while, but I'll try to sum up: I think it's a great form of advertising for bands - it can do a lot to get their music heard and create awareness for the group... but it's a business and we still need to make a living off the product, so it needs to be integrated with the concept of purchased downloads. There are lots of songs that people would download, but never go out and buy (baby got back, wanted dead or alive...) but when it comes to emerging artists, I would just ask people to keep in mind that if you like what you hear and want more if it, someone has to pay to make it happen.

9. Who would you most like to record a song with?

Joan Armatrading

10. Do you think the internet is good for helping artists get known?

It's been good to me

11. What bands/artists are you listening to lately?

Recent purchases include: The Donnas, Blossom Dearie, Modest Mouse and Metric

12. Who has helped you out the most?

So many people. My family is ridiculously supportive and I have tons of awesome volunteers for everything from website development to ticket sales.

13. If you could be on the simpsons where would you be playing?

Springfield?

14. What has the response been like for your album?

I really just created this CD as a demo, but was able to sell some copies to support my various habits. And it's kept me in black liquorices for the last year, so I guess I'm happy. The CD has opened other doors to make more music, so that's the most I could ask for.

Thanks to Jessica Beach For kindly doing the interview. She Rocks - Parx-e Web Zine

Band: Jessica Beach
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta
Venue: 360
Date: March 5, 2005
Reporter: Amanda Factor
Background/
Composition A sassy pianist and vocalist backed by an all-male band.


Grade: 76

Comment: Beach has smoky vocals that bring to mind Fiona Apple or Tori Amos and she attacked her keyboard and romantic subject matter with equal amounts of ferocity. Her band of seasoned musicians provided sunny guitars with a slight twang and country flavour.

Achievement of Rock 'n' Roll Expectations

80-100: Exceeds skill and knowledge expectations, i.e. rocked us so hard we peed our pants.
70-79: Achieves required skills and knowledge. Meets rock 'n' roll standard.
60-69: Demonstrates some skills. Approaches rock 'n' roll standard.
50-59: Demonstrates some required skills and knowledge in a limited way.
00-50: Has not demonstrated required skills or knowledge.


Learning Skills: E=Excellent, G=Good, S=Satisfactory, N=Sad Really

Oral And Visual Communication

Eye Contact: E
Stage Presence: E
Stage Banter: E
Image: G
Appearance: G
Use Of Stage: G

Strengths/Weaknesses/Next Step:
Pronounciation: E Beach genuinely looked like she was enjoying herself and with her humorous anecdotes that didn't run on too long she was good at engaging her audience. It doesn't hurt that she's also quite a cutie.


Musical Analysis

Level Of Participation: E
Teamwork: E
Problem Solving: G
Work Habits: G
Organization: E
Audience Participation: G
Sound: G
Composition: G
Songs: G

Strengths/Weaknesses/Next Step:
Beach is a decent songwriter, if perhaps relying too heavily on uninspired lines like "Your love is all I need."


Other Skills And Areas Of Interest

Charisma: E
Problem Solving: G
Teamwork: E
Sexiness: G
Haircut: G
Indie Rock Footwear: S
Nods To Disposible Fashion: S
Cool Equipment: G
Level Of Inebriation: G
Actual Ability: E

Strengths/Weaknesses/Next Step:
Beach's forceful voice and contagiously fun attitude carried her performance.

- ChartAttack

Band: Jessica Beach
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta
Venue: 360
Date: March 5, 2005
Reporter: Amanda Factor
Background/
Composition A sassy pianist and vocalist backed by an all-male band.


Grade: 76

Comment: Beach has smoky vocals that bring to mind Fiona Apple or Tori Amos and she attacked her keyboard and romantic subject matter with equal amounts of ferocity. Her band of seasoned musicians provided sunny guitars with a slight twang and country flavour.

Achievement of Rock 'n' Roll Expectations

80-100: Exceeds skill and knowledge expectations, i.e. rocked us so hard we peed our pants.
70-79: Achieves required skills and knowledge. Meets rock 'n' roll standard.
60-69: Demonstrates some skills. Approaches rock 'n' roll standard.
50-59: Demonstrates some required skills and knowledge in a limited way.
00-50: Has not demonstrated required skills or knowledge.


Learning Skills: E=Excellent, G=Good, S=Satisfactory, N=Sad Really

Oral And Visual Communication

Eye Contact: E
Stage Presence: E
Stage Banter: E
Image: G
Appearance: G
Use Of Stage: G

Strengths/Weaknesses/Next Step:
Pronounciation: E Beach genuinely looked like she was enjoying herself and with her humorous anecdotes that didn't run on too long she was good at engaging her audience. It doesn't hurt that she's also quite a cutie.


Musical Analysis

Level Of Participation: E
Teamwork: E
Problem Solving: G
Work Habits: G
Organization: E
Audience Participation: G
Sound: G
Composition: G
Songs: G

Strengths/Weaknesses/Next Step:
Beach is a decent songwriter, if perhaps relying too heavily on uninspired lines like "Your love is all I need."


Other Skills And Areas Of Interest

Charisma: E
Problem Solving: G
Teamwork: E
Sexiness: G
Haircut: G
Indie Rock Footwear: S
Nods To Disposible Fashion: S
Cool Equipment: G
Level Of Inebriation: G
Actual Ability: E

Strengths/Weaknesses/Next Step:
Beach's forceful voice and contagiously fun attitude carried her performance.

- ChartAttack

Does the world really have room for another pretty young female piano-playing singer/songwriter? That is not exactly an endangered species, but when the artist is as talented as Jessica Beach, the answer deserves to be a yes.
This Toronto-born, Vancouver-based songstress is turning a growing number of heads with her debut disc, Sticky Hands. It has been out a while now, but is gaining real momentum with its new single, The World." It is charting on a number of different radio formats, while earlier tracks "Change (Bound)" and "Endless (Unbound)" received commercial, CBC, and campus air play. In fact, "Change (Bound)" had a four-week reign as 'Track Of The Week' on CBC-TV's program ZED.
There's a pleasing diversity to Beach's songs and vocals, as they both manage to be melodic and aggressive, adventurous yet accessible. In conversation, she reveals herself to be a real live wire, feisty and funny, while word is she's a very engaging performer.
It's a little surprising then to hear she used to suffer from stagefright. "For the first couple of years, I'd barf before going onstage," she confessed to Tandem. "People would have said I was a bit of a ham as a kid, but I did better performance-wise in groups, rather than wanting to be the lead."
Jessica was hooked on her principal instrument, piano, from age six. She excelled in choir and theatre at school, studied dance at the National Ballet School (and later took hiphop dance), and began writing songs as a teenager. After nomadic teenage years (bouncing between Toronto, Victoria, and Whistler), she settled in Calgary in 1997, and focused upon her passion for music.
"I moved a piano into my house and started writing more than ever before," Beach recalls. "I'd always recorded things on a little TASCAM four track recorder that I still have, and then I found a guy in Calgary with a home studio, and I began to demo some things. Up to that stage, recording music was like a hobby to me, like buying a snowboard, but when I heard that stuff back, I thought 'my god, he made me sound amazing.'"
Material from a subsequent debut nine-song EP was entered into local radio station VIBE 98.5's Unsigned Vibe contest in 2004. Jessica was victorious, receiving funding for a full album, resulting in Sticky Hands. Beach recruited ace Vancouver producer Steven Drake (Odds, The Tragically Hip, 54-40), and they set up shop in top-notch B.C. studio Greenhouse.
Jessica laughingly notes that the intensive recording sessions "absolutely pushed me to be a better musician, the way he would make me play my song for 8 hours straight! Steven's ears are unbelievable. We'd be tracking something, and he'd go 'there's a door open somewhere, I can hear it!' Or, 'there's a fly in the room,' and he'd usually be right."
It's not easy to come up with a simple definition of Jessica's style, but she settles for "bluesy pop with an edge." "This record is a snippet of the ranges I've touched on," she adds. "I like keeping it wide, keeping it open. It is hard to brand yourself while not wanting to stop the growth. The growth is the only thing that makes you write. You do have to give people some consistency. They don't want a Chinese-taco-pizza-joint, They need to know what they're coming to you for, but hopefully they're coming because they like what you bring."
Her eclecticism reflects her diverse inspirations and influences. She has claimed a secret desire is "to be stranded on a deserted island with Tom Waits, a piano and a case of Scotch," while other cultural heroes range from Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk to Anglo singer/songwriter Joan Armatrading.
The prolific Jessica already has plenty of new songs ready to record, and a spontaneous approach to writing will serve her well. "I don't fight my process. The songs just come, and I don't really have a say in it. A song just arrives, I document it, then perform it. I don't look it in the eye too much. I love that sense of surprising myself. That's like Christmas!"
She's planning more cross-country touring, hopefully with her own group. "I just love fronting my band of kick-ass players. I'm a band girl, and there are enough piano-playing female singer/songwriters out there."


- Tandem By Kerry Doole

Concert Reviews
Indie Week
The Cameron House - October 13, 2006

review by Kim Snyder

Nothin’ scary about the Cameron House on Friday the 13th

Where else would you want to be on the coldest Friday the 13th this year but at the Cameron House! Always a fun place to listen to live music, tonight’s show was one of several diverse musical lineups at six venues across the city participating in day two of Toronto Indie Week.

Bluesy pop with an edge was Jessica Beach, the final performer of the evening. A keyboard and rich bluesy vocals is all you need to become mesmerized by Jessica’s lyrics, rhythms and harmonies. British Columbia certainly graced us with some great talent this evening, as Jessica shares time between Vancouver and Toronto.

She’s very likeable, captivates the audience immediately, and holds their attention throughout her set. Within the first 5 minutes, you feel like you’ve been friends with her forever.

Jessica was exposed to a variety of musical talents growing up, which has notably influenced what we hear today. Appealing to a broad audience, Jessica just reaches out and grabs you.
- Toonage.ca

Jessica Beach
Hard Road (Independent)
Local girl Jessica Beach gets her strut on with a swaggering serving of lite-brand soul. Think a more pop-centric, less retro, and 300-times-more-presentable Amy Winehouse. - Georgia Straight

Jessica Beach
By Mike Usinger

For Your Protection (Independent)

There are a couple of possible explanations as to why For Your Protection doesn’t really hold together as an album. One is that Jessica Beach has more voices inside her than Shirley Ardell Mason, better known to the world as Sybil, the psychiatric patient who supposedly harboured 16 different personalities. The other—and more plausible—one is that this too-long-by-half outing was recorded over an extended period.

How else do you explain Beach starting out sounding like a blue-chip star player from the ’90s lounge revival (the jazz-tastic “Other Side”), veering into generic radio-rock territory (“Too Late”), and then suddenly tackling post–riot grrrl pop (the Alanis-channelling rocker “Even Though”). By the end of this totally professional-sounding 13-track album, she’s proved equally adept at Lilith Fair folk (“Stronger Man”), Garbage-brand alt-pop (“Some Times Sometimes”), and even piano-powered MOR (“Eyes of Denial”).

Even if the album plays out like the work of someone with dissociative identity disorder, there’s no denying that Beach knows how to write a song. “Hard Road” is particularly mix-tape worthy, partly for its soul-soaked Muscle Shoals organ trills and partly for sexed-up lines like “I know I fucked up baby/But we’re still lying in the same bed”. If Beach could only learn to exorcise a couple of those inner voices—or at least schedule her recording sessions for the same year—she’d be onto something.
- Georgia Straight

Jessica Beach
By Mike Usinger

For Your Protection (Independent)

There are a couple of possible explanations as to why For Your Protection doesn’t really hold together as an album. One is that Jessica Beach has more voices inside her than Shirley Ardell Mason, better known to the world as Sybil, the psychiatric patient who supposedly harboured 16 different personalities. The other—and more plausible—one is that this too-long-by-half outing was recorded over an extended period.

How else do you explain Beach starting out sounding like a blue-chip star player from the ’90s lounge revival (the jazz-tastic “Other Side”), veering into generic radio-rock territory (“Too Late”), and then suddenly tackling post–riot grrrl pop (the Alanis-channelling rocker “Even Though”). By the end of this totally professional-sounding 13-track album, she’s proved equally adept at Lilith Fair folk (“Stronger Man”), Garbage-brand alt-pop (“Some Times Sometimes”), and even piano-powered MOR (“Eyes of Denial”).

Even if the album plays out like the work of someone with dissociative identity disorder, there’s no denying that Beach knows how to write a song. “Hard Road” is particularly mix-tape worthy, partly for its soul-soaked Muscle Shoals organ trills and partly for sexed-up lines like “I know I fucked up baby/But we’re still lying in the same bed”. If Beach could only learn to exorcise a couple of those inner voices—or at least schedule her recording sessions for the same year—she’d be onto something.
- Georgia Straight