Launching an EP. A cruise. A photoshoot. A charity performance. An EP release show in Toronto. A roadtrip through the U.S. This is what I've been up to in a nutshell since I last wrote!

I released my debut EP, "introducing jennie laws" on May 13th, but then quickly had to take off for a wedding cruise because my longtime friend was getting married in Jamaica and wanted me to play and sing for the ceremony. (This was planned WAY before I set the release date for the EP.) It was beautiful though. The ceremony that is. And Jamaica. I now understand what all the hype is about when people talk about that place! It's breathtaking…but the cruise, eh. Not really my idea of a good time, but what can you do? You live and you learn…

When I got back I was scheduled to do a photoshoot for the entertainment website Hype1.com with photographer Paul Tanaka, make-up artist Odessa Lyons-Rising and hairstylist Nano Khoury. The feature is not up on the site anymore but here are a couple behind the scenes shots:



It was fun.
Soon after that I was invited to play at a very special event, "Night for Nadia." It was the first annual event of its kind, a celebration of the life of Nadia Kajouli, a young star that fell much too soon. Nadia's brother Mark has taken it upon himself to throw a concert every year on the anniversary of his late sister's birthday to raise money for the Kids Help Phone, to help other kids that might be in the same situation as his sister was, before it's too late. He told me after the show, "if we can save another kid's life, then Nadia would not have died in vain." Whoah. Amazing. It was such an honor to play at this event. Joshua Bartholomew, Sunshine State, We Are The Take and Daniel Bernhard were among the other performers that night. Also amazing. I wish I had photos of them too but I only have these, courtesy of Dave Dickson:



Thank you Dave ☺

Then we had the Canadian EP release show at the Supermarket in Toronto. Madness!!! 15 minutes before I had to be at the venue, I decided I HATED the outfit I had picked out! Luckily I had an extra outfit, but it was a corset, and Nano and Odessa had already left and the only person with me at the time was a guy. And let me tell you, I found out that guys do NOT know how to do up corsets!!!!! It was frantic. So I show up to the venue in a baggy Adidas sweatshirt with my top falling off underneath and found my dear friend Nicky who then had to spend a half an hour in the bathroom doing the dang thing up!!! We finally got it on just in time, with Nano doing final touch ups on my hair and my other awesome friend Phallon spinning around and around me to get the red guitar string around my neck, while the host with the most WanLuv hyped up the crowd before I went on:

I barely had a moment to breathe, but after a few blips with the sound at the beginning, everything went smoothly. The band really started to lock, the audience was really into it, and I felt like I was really showing my growth from the last six months to my fans and friends in my hometown. Here's some choice shots from the big event:





I was blessed to have Chris Rouse back in town to share the stage with me that night:

The incredible trumpet player Brownman was also there to bless us with his gifts:

and DJ Agile hopped on the 1s and 2s afterwards and kept it tasty while I was there for hours signing autographs and selling CDs:
(sorry I couldn't get these upright)



It was a truly special night. I can't thank everyone enough for their support, whether in the flesh or in spirit, because I wouldn't have been able to do it without you. You know who you are…But let me take the time to thank the core team: the band who had my back like an old sweater: Chris, Joni, Wade, Oli, Andre, Derek, Calvin, Sekou and Brownman, Simon, Tiku and Magda at FUSICOLOGY, Dameion at Big It Up, DJ Carl Allen at CKLN, DJ Goldfinger at CIUT, WanLuv and DJ Agile, The Rudders, Nano and Odessa, Nicky and Sharon, Phallon, Chad, Wain, Dave Dickson, Jacqui Thompson, Harold Uyguangco and the list goes on…thank you so much!!! And thanks again to the people that were able to be present that night, share in the celebration and show support, as well as the people who continue to send me love from afar. I love you too! I'm so grateful ☺

Okay, enough with the mushy gushy! Let's see…
Well, while all that was going on I did manage to catch a couple of my friends' CD release shows, Zaki Ibrahim and Dwele, who have both taken it to the next level with their new recordings and live shows. Elevate! I was bummed that I had to miss Ivana Santilli's CD release show the day after my EP release but I know that she did the same, raising the bar higher and higher as she always does ☺
And I just came back from a road trip a couple of days ago with my mom, something we had to do for family reasons, allllllll the way down to Florida and back. Whew! It was pretty cool though…the Smokey Mountains were absolutely stunning and Jacksonville Florida was surprisingly dope! The food in South Carolina was questionable though…sorry my Carolina folk!!! You make up for it with your southern charm ☺ hehe.
I watched the movie Ghandi when I was sick before my show and was completely moved. It's unbelievable the changes one person can make if they're willing to do anything for it. Peace. That's he wanted. And he wouldn't eat until he had it…the way we are when we're in love…but for him it was for a whole country. AMAZING.
Some other things I've been into lately:
David Suzuki's documentary "The Sacred Balance"
Nirvana
Jeff Buckley
The Police
Usher
Hariprasad Chaurasia
(a seriously badass Indian flute player)

And I'll leave you at that.
I'm off to New York in a few days to finish a song with an equally badass producer/engineer named Ari Raskin then to L.A. after that for my U.S. EP release show at the Temple Bar.

Hope you enjoyed my ranting!
Namaste,
~jennie

P.S. I'll be featured on www.pulpmag.net for the whole month of August, which will include a video of one of my songs live at my Toronto EP release show!
P.P.S. The new EP has been getting really good reviews on all the music websites--if you google me you'll find dozens! It has begun...