Jo Stevens

I remember

admin — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 22:52:58 +0000

I remember when I wrote Miki Lola [mp3j track="MikiLola.mp3"]

Or as a text Miki Lola [mp3t track="MikiLola.mp3"]

I should’ve been a vet

jo — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:16:13 +0000

Well that’s just about finished me off after a stressful week of migraines, running frantically from appointment to appointment… Roy (the dog) followed me around all day whimpering until I was at screaming pitch, he was like my shadow (normally he sunbathes legs in the air in the conservatory for 6 hours….) he wanted to be in then out then in then out and wouldn’t settle. As a cat’s bowl appeared in our garden yesterday mysteriously and Roy wolfed down the contents I started to get a little concerned that he might have been poisoned. I had to go to the vets to pick up his wormer etc and he was behaving so oddly I took him along too, hoping a nurse might see him quickly….nope …the vet saw him……up he went on the vets table with his head writhing like a small alligator (which I was told to hold still….- you try…) and he growled and whinnied, in went the thermometer (you know where..) and he was still for a blissful moment. After being told there was nothing wrong with the dog and then being handed the bill for £56 he skipped out of vets to have an explosive poo (sorry for the detail)– since then he has been very happy and content , whining stopped and so has the following round , so tip to all dog owners, take the dog for a walk around the block before going to the vets…. It could save you a lot of money. It doesn’t help that I have a weird dog who refuses to go to the toilet in his own back garden…. I thought it was stretching my friendship with my neighbour to ask if I could see if he would go in theirs……. Headache back….. dog happy as anything- but I think that was mainly the thermometer experience….. drink anyone????

a musician’s life is full of charm

jo — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 19:53:31 +0000

Well, I got told off today for not blogging. I said “things are tough at the moment” who wants to listen to someone moan about life being hard when it’s hard for everyone. So I was told to write about a musician’s struggle- Where does one start – got a few weeks to spare? !! HA! The life of a musician is full of charm and dreams but goodness it’s almost impossible to make any money from it. Do you give in and join the X Factor band wagon to find out that you’ve been the one chosen to be shown in the ridiculous light ala Wagner and encouraged to leap around fat and sweaty on the stage with your chest hair out in all its glory (not that I have any chest hair- there’s time yet…) or depicted as the nasty one – ala Katy Waissell. Do you feel frustrated that Lily Allen got the dream we all want and gave it away so easily to open a clothes shop (very good from what I’ve seen btw) ooh nooo. So I’ve given X factor a miss for another year and I’ve taken a fresh tak, I’ve met a great production team and am doing topline for them- it’s great- lock myself in my studio, no egos to fight with, no blank moments when you feel the pressure is on and your inner voice is shouting “come on you loser think of something amazing” , and I get to play around with music I would never normally do- it’s like a music holiday! Thanks to the internet I just bounce all the files individually and zip ‘em up to e mail. So here I am dipping my toe back into blogging. Times are hard, they always were hard for musicians, and most of us only ever just about make it to the end of the month in the black, but the rise of the cost of living is nuts! the gamble in a musician’s life is you can work your bum off but it’ll never guarantee a return. Imagine if you worked all those late nights and weekends in an investment bank – the bonuses…. Mmmm maybe time to go back to re-train….. Never never never (never say never…) Music isn’t a career choice (just as well) it is a gift (the gift that never seems to even start to give J !! Keep telling yourself that joney…. Keep singing to me Miley “It’s the Climb!!!!!!!” got to go- got some mountains to push out of the way Xxx

I’ve Had The Same Jeans On For Four Days Now

jo — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 17:30:24 +0000

Today is a good day! Goodbye January blues- bring on Feb. I know the January blues are fading when despite being awoken by perhaps the bleakest news bulletin possible telling us that food will have run out by 2050 (using this as the best moment to sneak through monster GM crops- there’s a big company out there poised with a sizeable backhander for our dear government… ), fuel costs and food costs soar, the world is going to end etc etc .. ….despite this I find myself air guitaring at the wheel and headbanging to “I’ve got the same jeans on for four days now” on Absolute Radio (at the traffic lights of course) how do I know that means I’m happy? Because I dislike the song sang by a smelly little man, though I shouldn’t be too critical.. I do recall being at uni and people commenting on how black my jeans had stayed, and when asked how I managed to keep them from fading I replied – I don’t wash them. Now thankfully I have discovered the use of a washing machine and a love of the smell of Persil (but it worked)

What else made me happy… oh Jez Ashurst’s band Farrah (www.farrah.co.uk) confirmed for The Song Closet on the 1^st of March and they are fantastic so am very excited about that, also playing on the 1^st is the wonderful Martin Newnham (www.martinnewnham.com) so that’s going to be a huge night. But before then we have a great night on the 1^st of Feb coming up with Richard Lee, Ellie-Maye & Russell, and Clinton Tavares (what a great name!)

And what else… I managed to dodge the English Bull Terrier that likes to nip at Roy by taking a mystery tour through the woods… Today is a good day! Goodbye January 2011 you were truly awful, goodbye hideous tax return, hello good times! (sounding like the Everly Brothers) x

where is my inner Beyonce?

jo — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 17:24:54 +0000

Well I started the new year by forcing myself back into gym, the new thing seems to be a class called Zumba- off I went encouraged by the idea that it was aerobics based moves with a bit of dance thrown in. I ended up slightly too near the front for my liking and soon realised that 5’9” long limbed ladies do not look the coolest when doing body pops and vigorously shaking booty, I felt like Pinocchio with leaping legs crossed with olive oil and a bit of Miranda to top it off. Just when I dared peek at my moves in the mirror it was too soon to look, there I was all flailing limbs with my jaw sagging and a surprised expression on my face. The petite blonde beaming instructor shouted words of encouragement at the bemused looking class and seemed not in the slightest bit put off by us. But where is my inner beyonce? I’m not sure she’s coming out, only at drunken weddings where nothing can stop her, should stick to singing – but you just can’t burn the calories….

Free champagne, chocs & great live music!

jo — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:51:08 +0000

V excited about the Song Closet gig tonight at the Horns in Watford with Mad Staring Eyes, Tom Craven, Minnie Birch, Elliot Childs and a few from me, going to try a couple of new songs- always a worry, much easier to just bang out the old ones, but that’s the whole point of nights like these- get out of your comfort zone and try new stuff, make some mistakes…cover them up…giggle a bit… then sing your lovely heart out!. Lovely FREE Christmas raffle tonight too, bottle of Champagne, Strings, Guitar accessories, chocs. Mad Staring Eyes are playing new songs from their forthcoming album, Tom is sounding fab and I hear gorgeous Minnie Birch are now a trio. So come down and make it a great night, where else can you get free champagne & chocolates and great live acoustic music (ok that’s a bit of a cheesy line, but am scrabbling around getting ready for tonight and trying to figure out what to wear, what to play, what to bring….. oh the dilemmas….) 8PM The Horns Watford www.thesongcloset.com

LA withdrawals, mini food & album covers

jo — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 16:48:59 +0000

Much as I dearly love the UK I am having LA withdrawals . mmm I wonder why, swapping blue sky and 20 degrees for 12 inches of snow (well we don’t actually have that where I am, but I say that in sympathy for my northern family)I also discovered am a rubbish traveler, the jet lag knocked me out for pretty much 10 days (what a wuss….) it’s called economy for a reason… so to cheer myself up I have been sneaking in a Christmas decoration a day into the lounge, it’s starting to look a bit Santa’s grotto-ish, tried to put reindeer ears on the dog but he wouldn’t stay still for very long and then ran round ripping them apart… At 4pm it’s dark and I’m ready to hibernate for Christmas, get stuck into mulled wine and nibbles, it’s a bit early really when you think you could put on a pound a day with festivities- that would be 25lbs by Christmas day…that’s a bit too much insulation, but these big jumpers can hide a multitude of sins. I’ve got to come up with a good idea for an album cover- one that’s not just picture of a girls head (well mine not just some random girl) with text, but something interesting that you can see on a thumbnail on itunes- it’s like designing for the borrowers.. whatever happened to LP sized artwork and the love that went into it- mini everything. Talking about mini- what is with all the mini food for Christmas? They’re all at it, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Waitrose, why mini, have slices ceased to exist?? Are we not sick of mini Yorkshire puddings and battered prawns of dubious quality? It’s like the scene in Spinal Tap where Nigel Tufnel sits with a tiny square of bread and a slice of ham trying to make sense of the tiny food and refusing to eat mini food. Rant over…good luck all those in the snow, let’s hope we have enough salt this year… x

and now the second

jo — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 03:35:43 +0000

I love this place! good job the car stopped in time…second offer! and still sitting on own drinking wine and talking to you. By the way- thank you to everyone who made comments and likes on my blog whilst I was away (well I still am!) it really made all the difference and gave me loads of support, stopped me from feeling horribly sad and lonely! x

first deal in

jo — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 03:17:22 +0000

first deal has just come through- yippee! nice end to the two weeks! want to celebrate but you’re all back in the UK- so I’ll sip wine whilst I’m typing this… rock n roll….! Mind you I very nearly didn’t live to tell the tale as I was so happy I skipped onto the road looking the wrong way and thankfully the driver had excellent reactions or it could’ve been a very different tale..….
went down to the legendary Roni’s just round corner from hotel- can’t believe how many nights i sat eating cereal bars in hotel room when I could’ve been hanging out with them. Great guys and great food, met Roni himself and chatted for ages.
Wish i looked less like a scarecrow – then I might brave going down for a cocktail or two but the LA weather is making my hair like straw!! thought I would have quiet tourist day tomorrow but instead have back to back meetings- well I have to get them while I can, and plenty of time to sit and relax on the 11 hour flight home. Celebrate- anyone??? xx

Green cheeks and the greasy spoon

jo — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 21:47:15 +0000

Oh no- last two days! I didn’t want to leave the UK and now I don’t want to leave LA!
bit hot though….. still no clouds. Had a bit of a makeup malfunction this morning… I was brushing some highlighter onto my cheekbones but rather than being the lovely sparkly peachy colour it should have been…it was in fact dark green. Dark green liberally brushed all over my cheeks 5 minutes before leaving for a meeting…. I’ve never been renowned for being tidy… but my brand new fabulous dark green eyeshadow had set itself free in my makeup bag and covered my brushes with it, which resulted in me looking rmore Marilyn Manson than Marilyn Monroe …. it’s not easy to get off either. Met more lovely people today, I am an LA convert, don’t care about you cynics out there! Did see something that was odd, a burger place called FATBURGER, not sure that kind of name would work in the UK….. did a bit of dodgy driving on the freeway, got beeped less times than usual, met a very important and lovely lady in the music industry yesterday and she asked me to book a table for lunch, so I did, i researched it on google, found a lovely little Italian and took my classy friend off to an LA version of a greasy spoon cafe …. she wasn’t impressed by having to share the loos with the men- well done Joney- how to make an impression! wish people would be more accurate with their descriptions… would you like ketchup with that madam….? x