Several links were added to the links page today.

Jewel is on the cover of today's (26th January) edition of The Times Magazine, which can be found in The Times (UK) newspaper.

"Jewel"
- by Michael Mollura


In the relative silence of a two-year cool-off period that began with
the tour that followed Jewels 1998 Spirit release, this precocious
young artist has been anything but quiet. Once she adjusted to her move
from California to the country prairies of Nashvilles Music Row  and
rodeo life with current boyfriend Ty Murray  Jewel has been busy
writing new songs while recording others. In 1999 she released a
compendium of her favorite Christmas tunes for a CD appropriately titled
Joy: A Holiday Collection and has been acknowledged by her peers as
being one of the most gifted, accomplished, and admired young women of
our time.


Over the years, Jewels considerable accomplishments as a singer,
songwriter, and performer have represented just a fragment of her
much-larger-than-real creative life. Her first book of poetry, A
Night Without Armor, was published in 1998 and has had 29
printings while selling over a million copies. Jewels second book,
Chasing Down The Dawn, a collection of her journal writings, short
stories, and photographs, was published in 2000.


If that isnt enough to tire most artists, Jewel made her acting debut
in director Ang Lees 1999 Civil War drama Ride With The Devil. Soon
after, this radiant Renaissance woman was named one of Glamour
magazines 10th Anniversary Women of the Year for her dedication to
humanitarian goals. Later that year Jewel received the Founders Choice
Award from the non-profit Time For Peace organization, an achievement
which resulted, in part, from the creation of Higher Ground for
Humanity, a non-profit foundation  created together with her
mother/manager Lenedra Carroll  dedicated to promoting global
community and individual action to inspire positive change.


Taking the current disconcerted global climate into consideration, the
release of Jewels latest album This Way may seem like the by-product of
some Atlantic Records marketing genius. The fact remains, however, that
there is no better time than the present to receive a new record by this
remarkable angel with a guitar. Upon listening to many of the songs on
this new CD, it almost seems like many of the tunes were written after
the September 11 attacks.


One listen to her latest single, New Wild West, proves how this
insightful artist, like a Native Indian shaman with an ear to the
ground, could sense danger on the horizon. And, as a result, the artist
asserts in the following interview, I wouldnt have changed a word or a
note of what is on this record.


In this sense, Jewels auspicious and pertinent This Way drops like one
of Gods own love bombs, helping in the fight against gossip, hostility
and fear. After listening to this smart, sweet and thought-provoking
performer discuss art, publishing, technique, and industry dos and
donts, there is no doubt that Jewel remains a rare gem who can help us
rise from the ashes of uncertainty. The big question is whether or not
the fickle record-buying public will be wise enough to rediscover her in
time.



Music Connection: Talk about some of your early experiences playing
clubs and coffeehouses as an unsigned artist. Did you play L.A. at all?


Jewel: I opened up for Graham Parker a long time ago, but even while I
was in San Diego, I stayed away from L.A. pretty much. I think the
coffee shop Im most famous for playing was in San Diego  a place
called the Inner Change. Thats where I got discovered.


MC: When did your performing career actually begin?


Jewel: Ive been touring since I was eight years old, my dad and I had a
duo. We sang in Veterans clubs and bars and traveled around Alaska.
Ive been a road dog forever.


MC: Did you start by doing covers?


Jewel: Yeah, I always did covers and my dads music. I started writing
songs on the guitar when I was 17. It wasnt until I was 18 before I
started playing my own music live. I played the bars, clubs and coffee
shops.


MC: How did you package yourself to get attention from the industry?
Did you record demos and send them out?


Jewel: I stayed away from making demos at the beginning. I think demos
are good for you as a songwriter or for people who are coming to see
you, but a lot of times what theyll do is just end up sitting on
someones desk. I havent heard of many people getting signed off of
demos, have you?


MC: Music Connection does see kids get signed from using demo tapes. We
have a Demo Critiques section and the artists often get contacted by A&R
reps as a result.


Jewel: Thats great. But I still think if youre a singer in a
coffeehouse, the best thing you can do to help your career is to just be
the best you can be in the club or area that you perform in.


MC: Creating a word-of-mouth vibe is so essential. How did you choose
the Inner Change coffeehouse?


Jewel: I actually chose the Interchange because it was an out-of-the-way
coffeeshop. It wasnt on the main strip in San Diego. But it was a
great choice because I got all the door money and because I was living
off of it. I mean they had no walk in crowd and I had no following at
the beginning, so together we kind of grew. It was my choice to charge
three bucks to get in and eventually it started being like two shows a
night with a hundred people standing outside to watch through the window
and thats what drew the attention of the record labels.


MC: Did you go after the labels to come out to see you or did they just
come?


Jewel: Pretty soon after playing long enough, record label heads like
Danny Goldberg from Atlantic were driving four hours to come see me
sing.


MC: Did you sign with Atlantic because Goldberg was the highest bidder?


Jewel: Danny is a really good singer/songwriter guy. As anyone in the
business will tell you, hes really great at selling art because hes
authentic. He really seems believable when hes talking to you.


MC: What other considerations did you entertain when you were being
courted by the labels?


Jewel: I didnt want to have a record deal where there was a kind of
pressure on my first record. I wanted to be developed, I wanted the
long-term career. With all those kind of goals in mind, Danny really
understood that I had to develop as a songwriter. Most importantly, he
understood that they couldnt capitalize on me with my first record. He
saw it as a long-term vision which is what I saw.


MC: With your mother being your manager, was Atlantic Records the choice
made by the two of you?


Jewel: It was all me. It is my life and my career so I have to be the
one who lives with these kind of decisions. But surrounding yourself
with reliable people is important. I encourage every artist to know
everything they can about the business. The only way to give yourself
creative freedom is to make sure that your business is handled in a way
that insures certain liberties. Im a very business oriented and active
person which actually frees up my art.


MC: Whats an example of how being business savvy worked for you?


Jewel: I could have gotten a huge signing bonus, but I only took very
little money up front. As a result, I got more mechanicals and
royalties. I bet on myself, if you know what I mean. I made it cheap for
the label to own me.


MC: That is so important for young artists today to learn. Integrity is
essential.


Jewel: After I was signed I still toured solo, didnt have a tour bus,
kept driving a rental car. I kept things really inexpensive so that I
could survive the whole time when I didnt have a hit  and I really
didnt have a hit almost the whole first year Pieces of You was out. I
really believe that one of the reasons why Atlantic stuck with me was
because I was very cheap. Then when Pieces broke big: A  I didnt owe
any money back to the label; and B  my label was able to be supportive
until I had a hit.



MC: Most artists dont realize they have choices once a label offers you
money.


Jewel: Many people think theyve got to screw the label for all the
money they can get. Really theyre just screwing themselves.


MC: What kind of publishing deal did you sign?


Jewel: I actually didnt sign any publishing deals until almost the end
of the Pieces run. I held on to publishing as long as I could to get
the best deal. I suggest trying not to sell off your publishing as long
as you can if youre a songwriter; since thats really your money, you
want to have the most leverage you can. The quicker you sell out, the
less leverage you have. Although, if theres a lot of hype over you 
you sell your publishing first, and if your record ends up as nothing on
the market, you still end up doing well. Its a gamble.


MC: Which publisher did you choose?


Jewel: I went with Warner/Chappell.


MC: And which rights organization?


Jewel: I went with ASCAP. But it was really just apples and oranges to a
certain point. To me, its just an auto-function really. They do their
job and I do mine. ASCAP is what really collects a lot of your money
and then your label collects the publishing money that ASCAP didnt
collect and then it goes to your publishing company and they give it to
you.


MC: What is it that you feel that musicians are least prepared for when
dealing with the business of being a signed artist?


Jewel: I think they really need to understand where their money comes
from, what mechanicals are, what royalties are, how many records you
have to sell to make back what you owe.
I also think that its important to understand that nobody will
look out for you the way you look out for yourself. You have to realize
that you are in a partnership with your label. It is a business
relationship and I see a lot of managers hurting artists by picking
fights. And its not necessarily the fights you need to pick. I think
its important to know which fights to pick, which are the important
things to let go of and which things are just ego. Realize that its
your ego that wants a huge signing bonus, but if youre thinking about a
long-term career you might be a little more willing to let it go of it,
knowing youll get it back in the end.


I dont think an artist should just trust a managements
decision. I think you should really be involved because it has to be
your career and it should look like youre going to have longevity. The
business is made to harvest youth and once that youth is harvested its
hard to have a career beyond that.


MC: Youve been fortunate to have your mother be there for you as a
manager.


Jewel: Shes an artist, too, so she knows what it takes to nurture
creativity, which most people dont know how to do.


MC: Turning attention to your new album This Way, was it difficult for
you to gather your creative thoughts after being away from the recording
world for two years?


Jewel: Not at all. I mean the business is full of mythology and they say
you cant leave for that long. I think you have to do whatever
supports your creativity, and I needed a rest My goal has always been
songwriting and longevity, so its important to take stock, see what
youre doing, how you are doing it and not to get in the habit of trying
to outdo yourself every time. I kept writing over the last two years, I
did shows, I just didnt do the big glamour-sized gigs.


MC: Whats the process of songwriting like for you?


Jewel: I tend to write in my head. I hear the chords. Like on the new
record theres a song called Jesus Loves You, which I wrote while I
was out walking in the woods. For me the process of songwriting
90 percent of the time is like reading a book. I just see it in my
head, the song is already done. The music is done, the arrangement is
done. The words are done all right away. And then Ill just go back
once I get to my guitar and Ill just basically copy it down.


MC: Are you saying that the lyrics and music come out of you naturally
together, fully formed?


Jewel: Yeah, the lyrics and the melody always come together and the
bridge is usually in there. Whether its a dissonant chord or a major
chord under it. Sometimes its a little bit blurry. Like I cant quite
see the words in my head. Its almost like water dripped on the page
Im reading in my head and the inks a little bit blurry.


MC: So you dont write in fragments, like a main melody first, then a
lyric, then come back to it with a bridge?


Jewel: Very rarely does a song come to me without the lyrics and the
whole song being with it. Its mainly just a feeling, a very specific
emotion and every word that I put to it  the only criteria that I have
is that the word can not dilute that emotion. So when Im singing it to
you, youll feel it just as poignantly and with as much hurt or longing
as poignantly with as much hurt or longing as I felt when it came to me.


MC: Was there a creative or philosophical shift that went into This Way?


Jewel: Co-producing the record or producing it yourself is really
important for an artist like me on the issue of control.


MC: When did you decide to self-produce the new record?


Jewel: I dont know. Its just something I decided to do for this
record. I mean theres a learning curve involved in the studio. Ive
been a live act my whole life, I sing better live than in a studio and
thats really rare. Usually singers like to take advantage of technology
to make themselves sound better in a studio than they do live. Im the
exact opposite. My voice usually sounds dead in a studio because I
dont know how to sing when theres no audience. So, this time I
co-produced so that it would sound like me.


MC: What were the considerations in deciding who might be best suited to
produce you at this point in your career?


Jewel: Hiring a producer is like hiring a painter to do a portrait of
you. It's going to be your image on canvas, but its going to be
interpreted by an artist. So if you had Manet do your portrait, youd
know what it would look like. It would be you, but it would have an
Impressionistic brush stroke. This time around I wanted to sound like
myself. So it was important that I co-produce this record and whoever
Id co-produced it with, would need to be transparent enough without
trying to work out their artistry on me.


MC: Is that why you went with Dan Huff?


Jewel: Yeah, Dan is tremendously skilled and versatile and really wanted
me to have a record that sounded like me. While he gave me opinions and
advice, it always came down to whether I thought it was right or not.
Dan lent me all of his technique and skill and experience and was able
to get the band to do whatever I needed them to do. We worked really
well together.


MC: How did he land the job?


Jewel: It was an accident. I was doing a track titled Until We Run Out
of Road for a Professional Bull Riding compilation CD and I was just
going to do it as a throwaway song. I used Dan as the producer, even
though I had never heard of him before. Dan and I ended up doing the
song the way it is on the new record [This Way]. We worked really
quickly and I just ended up saying that day, Listen, you want to make a
record together? And we did.


MC: With songs like Break Me and Jesus Loves You, the content on
this album seems much more natural and authentic, could you comment a
little on your lyrical approach.


Jewel: This Way is no more autobiographical than my other albums. Its
always me in every song, though much of it is made up. But youre
always getting my opinion, even if its masked in a song like Jesus
Loves You.


MC: Was the entire album recorded live as you had done with Pieces of
You?


Jewel: Every song was recorded live, the overdubs we did were harmonies
and percussion.


MC: Right into Pro Tools?


Jewel: We used Pro Tools. But what I really had to struggle with was to
keep the attitude really loose and raw. I didnt want it to get slick. I
didnt mind some flanging. I didnt care if everything lined up
perfect, but I wanted a real live good energetic feel, not the
sterilized feel you can get in Pro Tools.


MC: Did you make a special attempt to perfect your use of harmonies?


Jewel: I actually hate doing harmonies. Once I get my main vocal done,
Ill start to sing which harmonies I like. Im tremendously impatient.
I do my own harmonies just to have a certain sonic sensibility. I tend
to pick other notes that other people dont pick, so I tend to have to
do them myself  but I hate doing them.


MC: You wrote most of these songs before the 9/11 attacks. Are there
any tracks or lyrics you wish you could tweak to make them more
sensitive to the current emotional climate?


Jewel: I said everything I could have ever wanted about how I feel in
the song, The New Wild West.


MC: Its so appropriate.


Jewel: On The New Wild West I wrote about how there is no further west
we can go. Weve pioneered all the land we can and somehow weve had
this belief that if we put church steeples in remote villages and if we
enclose the natives, that well somehow become magically civilized.


But church bells do not civilize us on their own. We have to
civilize ourselves as people  civilize our own hearts, minds, morals,
actions and behaviors. To me, that says everything about what is
happening since the 11th.


MC: Will the creation of music change now that the world consciousness
has sort of been opened up like a can of tuna?


Jewel: My work has always reflected social and political environment. To
me the best writing thats ever been done has been usually precipitated
under political upheaval. During times of discontent I think writers
have usually written more poignantly. You can only be frivolous in
times of milk and honey when you can afford to. So, its possible, but
I certainly dont think every artist will raise their stakes. I do
think socially minded artists will.



Contact Laura Gold, Atlantic Records,
310-205-7412

Some users have reported problems with the pc screen saver included on the this way cd.

Here is a description of the resolution from jewel's management:

The problem involves a file called the .dll file. The .dll file helps
computers run certain types of screensavers. It appears that some
computers that need the .dll, don't have it installed. To remedy this,
you can go to the page below and download the file, install it and then
try to install the screensaver.


http://64.12.34.106/fix.html

There are some pictures available of Jewel singing the national anthem
at http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news_photos?n=20&p=jewel

The reason my website has not been updated the past few weeks is that my PC motherboard died. In peticular, the IDE controller, and second level data cache stopped working correctly. I had to switch to my iMac for all of my tasks. Since I update my news with a VB program normally, I was unable to do so on my mac. The news should be fairly up to date. I will also include some new content for "This Way" soon.

Jewel's new album will be released on Vinyl as a special edition set. It will contain the same tracks as the CD. I personally miss turntables

The following bonus tracks will also be included in North America versions of the CD: 13. Grey Matter, 14. Sometimes It Be That Way

1. Standing Still, 2. Jesus Loves You, 3. Everybody Needs Someone Sometime, 4. Break Me, 5. Do You Want To Play, 6. Till We Run Out Of Road, 7. Serve The Ego, 8. This Way, 9. Cleveland, 10. I Won't Walk Aay, 11. Love Me Just Leave Me Alone, 12. The New Wild West

Jewel will be in an aol auditorium on November 1st. Goto keyword live that night at around 9 PM to see the chat.