This is a printer friendly version of an article from www.thedailytimes.com
To print this article open the file menu and choose Print.
Article published Apr 6, 2007 Relax and chill out with freshly squeezed sounds of Jen and the Juice
By Steve Wildsmith of The Daily Times Staff
With the weather turning cooler this weekend, it's a good thing there are bands like Jen and the Juice around to remind us that winter's grasp has finally been broken.
In fact, it's no stretch to say that Jen Greer, the sultry-voiced front woman of the band, has a voice that seems tailor-made for lounging poolside on a warm June day, a frosty beverage in hand and the summer sun bathing everything in shimmering waves of heat.
"I've heard people say we have a real summer time feel," Greer told The Daily Times this week. "We tend to do just laid-back, chill-out, drink-a-beer-and-have-fun types of tunes."
Jen and the Juice started roughly four years ago when Greer, a native of Mobile, Ala., landed in Asheville, N.C. She got her start performing with her two sisters at Mobile-area churches and went on to front a couple of high school bands before winding up in Atlanta.
As an aspiring singer, she became a familiar face at open-mic nights in joints like Eddy's Attic and Smith's Olde Bar, often taking home the top prize and sharpening her songwriting skills. She drifted toward a more folk-oriented sound, but once in Asheville, her talent collided with that of the musicians who would join her in Jen and the Juice.
"It's really a combination of the different band member's flavors that make our sound," she said. "I've always been a folky type of songwriter, but I wanted a band to add other flavors. My bass player is really into bluegrass and has toured with Larry Keel, and he's also into funk; my drummer is from (Washington) D.C., and he adds some really cool breakbeats; and my guitar player is a jazz guitar player who's really into R&B.
"Add all of that together, and it's just kind of ... juicy! It's just relaxing and fun music to play and listen to."
The group cut an EP after first forming in 2003, and a couple of years later, Jen and the Juice released "Meet the Hooligans of Bohemia." It's a album that packs a languid, laid-back vibe and features guest appearances from some of Asheville's finest musicians, including members of the Biscuit Burners, Stephanie's Id and singer-songwriter Woody Wood.
"The album partly got that name because of a song on there, but also because we got a lot of local musicians to play on it," Greer said. "We tried to really capture the Asheville flavor, which is sort of blending and melding different things together here. This new album we're working on ("Fruit," scheduled to be released in May) is just our band, and it was recorded at a really nice studio (Echo Mountain). We just feel like the sound quality is up a bunch of notches, and we were able to use a lot of nicer equipment to get the sounds we needed."
At the same time, the songs have taken on a simpler feel, Greer added. Not that there was a lot of philosophical depth and introspective brooding to the tracks on "Meet the Hooligans" — it's music that evokes a feel moreso than an inventory of those feelings, and that feel is one of casting-off-worries and enjoying the moment. On "Fruit," the feel is even more basic — simple lyrics, catchy hooks and an undeniable groove.
"We want people to have fun," Greer said. "We've got a lot of songs about love and different kinds of love, but there's not much dark stuff going on in the songs. One time, someone said our music is the kind to make you smile and then slap you on the bottom. I don't really know what that means, but I liked it."