Jet Sparks is a serious songstress. She’s emotive, ever-evolving and a careful crafter of song. Her sound is lilting yet precocious, gentle yet raw. I’ve raved about her talents before, and recently had a chance to catch up with her and talk about who she is, where she’s going and how she feels about being a new member of the Seattle music scene. And add this doozy to your calendar, fair music fans, because Jet will be playing the drums and working the loop pedal for her show with Emily Jane White at the Sunset Tavern on Monday, June 7th ($7, 8:30pm).
What brought you to Seattle?
A boy named Kwab brought me to Seattle, literally, along with my dog, Butter, and my 18-year old cat, Cameron. I had been living in Austin for six years and wasn’t feeling very stimulated anymore (there’s only so much easy livin’ one girl can take). My Mom (back home in Massachusetts) had moved in with my terminally ill Grandmother to take care of her, and was still working full-time. I could tell that she was at the end of her rope, so I decided to make myself useful and head up there to help. I enrolled in a massage school that had a location in Boston as well as Seattle, so I could spend six months with my family, then transfer here to Seattle. Now I’m opening my own massage biz AND kickin’ ass at the clubs.
How do you see your musical career here in Seattle? Are you feeling comfortable with the music climate?
I LOVE the Seattle music scene. People here are very passionate about music, but almost in a different way than they are in Austin. Personally, I’m a lyric-junkie. There are a few exceptions where I really don’t care what someone is saying if it sounds good, or makes me feel good (for example, I love Sigur Ros but have no idea what he’s saying, and I don’t care what Mic Jagger is saying because it hits you on that level that only a good rock-n-roll band can), but my heart is really with the Townes Van Zandts of the world. My point is, I feel like Seattle musicians and music appreciators really get that. There’s nothing more satisfying to me than having someone come up to me after a show and commenting that they appreciated or felt connected to my lyrics, and I feel like that seems to happen more than I expected it to. Refreshing!
I know you just graduated massage school (hook a sista up!), which is very exciting. Is this a new career for you?
Yes! I’m really excited about massage. I was a fat kid and got picked on throughout most of my childhood, so I kind of took that and turned it into a passion for health, nutrition, exercise, and just the human body in general. I was always afraid that having a “career” would get in the way of my musical pursuits, but after years of busting my ass waiting tables and working in bars, I realized I needed to re-think some things.
You are also in a lovey-thingy with Kwab Copeland of The Demon Rind. Do you guys create music at all together? Is there an aspect of The Demon Rind in the music you create?
I’m pretty psyched about The Demon Rind. I play that record for anyone who will listen, because it’s brilliant! By default, most of my relationships have been with musicians, and it can get old fast (nevermind when you’re not crazy about the music they make in the first place). Kwab is definitely in his own category. He really only listens to old records (and the new Joanna Newsom record, which is on continuous play at our place), and you can tell. He has no problem picking up a guitar and playing for the sake of the music, where I’ve always been really self-conscious and nervous about it. I’m coming around a bit to his side, gradually. Our apartment is full of instruments, and we don’t have a TV or anything, so it’s a pretty creative space.
Have you played with any local musicians that really stood out to you? Who would you just LOVE to work with?
Two words: Mike Dumovich. I heard him play a few songs at someone’s house the first time I met him, and was completely blown away. I’ve gotten to open for him a couple of times, and it has been a true honor.
Do you ever see yourself going back to Austin or Providence?
Providence will always hold a special place in my heart, but it’s like a pretty shoe that I’ve grown out of… or something like that. I’ll still go back to see my Dad and my one friend who still lives there. Austin has a reputation for being the “velvet coffin”, and after six years living there I could totally see why. It’s warm, it’s friendly, there’s always music and barbecues, and it will steal years of your life (and possibly your soul) in what seems like one blink of your beer-drooped eyelids. I will always miss Austin a little bit, in the same way you miss a lover who kept you hangin’ on but never quite treated you right.
What’s on your musical docket? Any chance of a sophomore album in the near future?
God, I hope so! It’s been WAY too long since I made a record, and the songs just keep piling up. I recently got my first laptop and have discovered Garage Band, which is SO much easier than analogue 4-tracking, which I’d been doing for years. Hopefully my new massage career will fund a recording session soon. It will be kind of ridiculous, though; after an eight year hiatus. I’ll be putting out, like, four new records. Whew!
