Writing about music and musicians is kind of a dream job, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t routines. So, upon initiating the ritual of reaching out to Seattle songwriter Jen Wood for comment about an upcoming, unplanned show (she’s in town for vacation), I was caught off-guard by her candid, 600-plus-word response.
CL EVENTS CALENDAR: JEN WOOD W/REC CENTER AT MICROGROOVE 09.17.16
“I recently got divorced and I’m not gonna sugar coat it: it’s been heartbreaking on so many levels,” Wood, 39, wrote. The vacation arose out of a phone call with Susie Ulrey about the pain of the divorce. Ulrey, along with her husband Keith, operates decades-running independent Tampa label New Granada Records, which handled the CD release of Wood’s last two records.
“At one point I think I just started crying my eyes out and I couldn’t even get any words out. I needed to get away and take a break.”
Susie talked her through the wave of emotion and put accrued airline miles on the table to fly Wood to Tampa. Wood says Susie’s generosity left her “speechless,’ and the flights got booked as she continued suffering through divorce. Weeks passed. And even though she hadn’t planned to do a show while she was here, she eventually figured it would be silly not to.
“[The Ulreys] have been nothing but a constant source of support,” she wrote. “I felt like I really owed it to them to show my gratitude for all their hard work and their faith in me. [They] knew what I was going through, I don’t think they wanted to ask me to play…if I didn’t play a show for them, I would regret it.”
Wood is bringing her guitarist with her now, and she says she’ll sing with Susie. St. Pete drummer Philip Charos will provide extra rhythm, and Wood might even try out new material for this set, which she says will be more intimate and heart-melting — very “PNW” (Pacific Northwest for you Floridians).
“So bring Kleenex and a friend to lean on,” she wrote.
I asked her if it’d be OK to print any of her email. She said it would.
“I just am at a pretty pivotal turning point in my life,” she wrote, explaining that she really needs and wants to be more transparent. “I spent years hiding how I was feeling and what was going on in my personal life, and I just don’t wanna hide anymore. I’m clearly going through a process of healing and recovering. I want to help inspire others to speak up and tell their truths.”
Jen Wood w/Rec Center, Sat. Sept. 17, Microgroove (4906 N. Florida Ave., Tampa) Doors at 7 p.m., Tickets are $10, show is all ages. More information is available at local.cltampa.com. Read Jen Wood’s full letter below.
The idea for making the trip to Tampa stemmed from a phone call with Susie; we were having one of those awesome epic phone conversations that most girls love having (no matter what age). I was opening up to her about a lot of really tough and painful things I've been going through in my life; I recently got divorced and I'm not gonna sugar coat it: it's been heartbreaking on so many levels. At one point I think I just started crying my eyes out and I couldn't even get any words out; Susie just talked me through the wave of emotion that hit me and like a sister she was there for me. I told her I just wanted to "get away" and I was really wanting a break from things, which is when she suggested I make a trip to visit. She said she had a bunch of air miles and being the generous person she is, she offered to fly me to Tampa. I was speechless at first, because who does that? I mean, wow. So, yeah I said yes to the trip of course.
Things in my life were a whirlwind when we booked the flights, and I wasn't really concerned at that time about playing a show; I was dealing with way more difficult life challenges. But as the weeks went by, I was able to come up for air. When I did that, I realized that it was totally silly for me to fly all the way across the country and not play a show. Keith and Susie have put out my last 2 albums and have been nothing but a constant source of support and help to me. I felt like I really owed it to them to show my gratitude for all their hard work and their faith in me. Because Keith & Susie knew what I was personally going through, I don't think they wanted to ask me to play – they just wanted me to come to Tampa and relax. I knew though that if I didn't play a show for them, I would regret it. So, that is how the unfolding of plans happened and I am really looking forward to the show.
Susie and I will be singing a lot of songs together which is gonna be super magical (her voice, swoon!) and I'm bringing my guitar player/ambience sound maker Jeremy Buller. Also we'll have local drummer Philip Charos with us on several songs. It's gonna be a quieter set, more intimate and heart melting; the way we PNW people do… so bring kleenex and a friend to lean on.
I am working on new material; but it's still in the beginning stages with my band. Lots of different directions being explored right now. But I'm super excited about how the songs are developing! I do have an awesome Remix of "Fell in Love" that my friend Ted Chen has been working on for some time, but I'm waiting for the final master version and will be releasing it sooner than later I hope. I might try out a new song or two at the show, not sure yet; I'll wait and see.
[CL’s response: Jen this is probably the most candid interview response I’ve ever received. I will pull out parts for a post, but is all of this for the record? I loved it, I wish all of the correspondences were like this. It's very honest. I was just asking because it felt like a letter that was being written between friends and I feel like there might be an impulse for me to want to just include the full text of it at the bottom of a post. I know I've arrived at web posts sometimes with full text and had it have a great effect on me]
I just am a pretty pivotal turning point in my life …. um, obviously you now know 🙂
Yea, I just was telling Keith I really need/want to be more transparent. I spent a lot of years sort of hiding how I was feeling and what was going on in my personal life and I just don't wanna hide anymore… I'm clearly going through a process of healing and recovering. And I want to help inspire others to speak up and tell their truths.
This article appears in Sep 15-22, 2016.
