by Evie Nagy, N.Y. |
April 15, 2009 7:17 EDT
Singer-songwriter Jill Sobule took a uncharted path to her sixth studio album, "California Years." Instead of the usual record company routine, Sobule financed the recording, production and publicity for the set with donations solicited through jillsnextrecord.com, where she raised $75,000 between January and March 2008.
On Tuesday (April 14), Sobule celebrated the release of "California Years" on her own Pinko Records with an intimate performance at Joe's Pub in New York City. During the show, she expressed an interest in extending the model for other unsigned artists' future releases, and put out a call to the audience to begin informal A&R scouting.
Fans who sponsored the record at levels between $10 and $10,000 received perks ranging from an album download, to various production credits, to the chance to sing with Sobule on the album, which one $10,000 donor earned.
Sobule has earned critical acclaim since her 1990 debut, "Things Here Are Different," for the clever storytelling of her songs, often starring humorous and poignant fictional characters. She achieved her greatest commercial success with 1995 coming-out anthem "I Kissed A Girl" - the predecessor to Katy Perry's 2008 hit of the same name - reaching No. 67 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 20 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Beginning alone with a guitar, Sobule opened the Joe's Pub set with new album track "Nothing to Prove," a song about growing older and wiser and at peace in the L.A. entertainment business, with lines like "everyone's in the industry, and I hate when they use that word, and when they tell me they're in the industry, I ask, ‘Oh, are you in steel?'"
Sobule was joined later in the set by New York jazz band Sex Mob, who accompanied the singer on first "California Years" single "Bobbie Gentry," as well as by violin-cello duo Ethel. The set included a number of songs from the new album as well as older favorites such as "Lucy At The Gym," about an anorexic gym addict, and doomsday love song "Good Life." Near the end of that song, she broke from a sustained note saying that her voice was going from a full schedule of interviews earlier in the day, including "a lot of top-40 radio, where all they wanted to ask me about was Katy Perry."
While declining to share any feelings about the younger pop star's success with the loaded song title, Sobule did use the encore to politely ask if she could "take the song back," closing the show with a triumphant full-band performance of her original version of "I Kissed A Girl," about two suburban teenagers finding unexpected romance.
Here is the track list for "California Years":
"Palm Springs"
"San Francisco"
"Nothing to Prove"
"Where Is Bobbie Gentry?"
"A Good Life"
"Sweetheart"
"Empty Glass"
"League of Failures"
"Wendell Lee"
"Bloody Valentine"
"Mexican Pharmacy"
"While You Were Sleeping"
"Spiderman"
"The Donor Song"
On Tuesday (April 14), Sobule celebrated the release of "California Years" on her own Pinko Records with an intimate performance at Joe's Pub in New York City. During the show, she expressed an interest in extending the model for other unsigned artists' future releases, and put out a call to the audience to begin informal A&R scouting.
Fans who sponsored the record at levels between $10 and $10,000 received perks ranging from an album download, to various production credits, to the chance to sing with Sobule on the album, which one $10,000 donor earned.
Sobule has earned critical acclaim since her 1990 debut, "Things Here Are Different," for the clever storytelling of her songs, often starring humorous and poignant fictional characters. She achieved her greatest commercial success with 1995 coming-out anthem "I Kissed A Girl" - the predecessor to Katy Perry's 2008 hit of the same name - reaching No. 67 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 20 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Beginning alone with a guitar, Sobule opened the Joe's Pub set with new album track "Nothing to Prove," a song about growing older and wiser and at peace in the L.A. entertainment business, with lines like "everyone's in the industry, and I hate when they use that word, and when they tell me they're in the industry, I ask, ‘Oh, are you in steel?'"
Sobule was joined later in the set by New York jazz band Sex Mob, who accompanied the singer on first "California Years" single "Bobbie Gentry," as well as by violin-cello duo Ethel. The set included a number of songs from the new album as well as older favorites such as "Lucy At The Gym," about an anorexic gym addict, and doomsday love song "Good Life." Near the end of that song, she broke from a sustained note saying that her voice was going from a full schedule of interviews earlier in the day, including "a lot of top-40 radio, where all they wanted to ask me about was Katy Perry."
While declining to share any feelings about the younger pop star's success with the loaded song title, Sobule did use the encore to politely ask if she could "take the song back," closing the show with a triumphant full-band performance of her original version of "I Kissed A Girl," about two suburban teenagers finding unexpected romance.
Here is the track list for "California Years":
"Palm Springs"
"San Francisco"
"Nothing to Prove"
"Where Is Bobbie Gentry?"
"A Good Life"
"Sweetheart"
"Empty Glass"
"League of Failures"
"Wendell Lee"
"Bloody Valentine"
"Mexican Pharmacy"
"While You Were Sleeping"
"Spiderman"
"The Donor Song"
Up for Discussion