“The true heart and soul of this rare talent is her live performance. When JoAnna James closes her eyes and begins to sing, gravity suddenly leaves the room. If you get the chance to see her perform, drop everything and go.”
-City Pages (April 2007)
“JoAnna James’ voice is immediately evocative, the sort of singularly expressive vehicle born to make hairs stand on end.”
-Pulse of the Twin Cities (April 2007)
“JoAnna James’ ‘Disappear’ might be the most heart-shattering, gorgeous, and we’re-all alone-in-this-world-together song of the year.”
-Pinch! Twin Cities Metroblog (April 2007)
“St Paul singer/songwriter JoAnna James takes a staggering leap forward with her seductive new EP, ‘Back of My Mind’, which should do wonders in further establishing James as one of the Cities’ most promising performers.”
-Pioneer Press (May 2007)
“Goose-bump good.”
-City Pages (April 2007)
FAQs:
WHAT'S YOUR NAME? JoAnna James
WHY DO YOU CAPITALIZE THE 'A' IN YOUR NAME? Because when I was in 3rd grade, an ex-nun told me I would go to hell if I didn’t.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST INSTRUMENT? When I was in 2nd grade, my Grandpa Chuck got me a violin. He bought it off a real nun for 100 bucks.
WHAT INSTRUMENTS DO YOU PLAY? Guitar, violin, harmonica, accordion, tambourine and footstomps.
WHO HAVE YOU OPENED FOR? Jamie Cullum, Mason Jennings, Ken Stringfellow (REM, The Posies and Big Star), The Honeydogs, Missy Higgins, Cloud Cult, Slim Dunlap, Steve Poltz, Jonny Lang, Joseph Arthur, A Girl Called Eddy, Mary Lou Lord.
WHO HAVE YOU COLLABORATED WITH AND/OR RECORDED WITH? Dan Wilson (Semisonic, Trip Shakespeare), Jessy Greene (Foo Fighters), Atmosphere, Chris Koza, Martin Devaney, The Pines, Haley Bonar, John Munson (Semisonic, Trip Shakespeare), Marc Perlman (Jayhawks), Tina Schlieske (Tina and the B-Sides), Molly Maher, The Honeydogs, Dessa (Doomtree), Desdamona, Dan Israel, Jeremy Messersmith, Teneia Sanders, Scourge of the Sea, Charlie Parr, Rami Jaffee (Foo Fighters, The Wallflowers), The New Standards
WHAT STATES HAVE YOU TOURED THROUGH? Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Vermont, North Dakota, Montana, Colorado, Oregon, Texas, California and New York.
WHY DID YOU MOVE TO LOS ANGELES? To increase my chances of meeting George Clooney.
HOW MANY SHOWS HAVE YOU AVERAGED PER YEAR? Since 2005, about 130+ per year
HOW MANY CDs DO YOU HAVE? 3 total: Self-Titled LP (2004), Desire LP (2005), Back of my Mind EP (2007)
IF I WANTED TO SHOW MY SUPPORT FOR INDEPENDENT ARTISTS BY BUYING ONE OF YOUR CDs INSTEAD OF SWIPING SONGS OFF THE INTERNET, WHICH ONE WOULD YOU RECOMMEND? Back of my Mind
WHERE CAN I FIND YOUR CDs? www.cdbaby.com, iTunes, Cheapo, Electric Fetus, Eclipse Records
WHO PRODUCED 'BACK OF MY MIND' AND WHERE DID YOU RECORD IT? I recorded it at Shangri-la Productions in Lexington, KY with producer Duane Lundy
WHO DID THE ARTWORK FOR THE EP? Nikki Ruddy, amazing visual artist and photographer
WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT ON STAGE? Hmmm, while there are many, I’d have to say the worst was during a rehearsal for last year’s New Standards show at the Fitzgerald Theater. I told Mike Doughty he was ‘one bad rapper’ after he spit a verse Vanilla-Ice style on ‘Under Pressure’…but I meant it as in ‘bad ass’ as in ‘so freakin great’…However, my attempt at using street slang backfired and everyone on stage fell silent; you know, the ol’ record scratch kind of silence. Luckily I managed to get my foot out of my mouth enough to explain later to Mr. Doughty that I was trying to give him a compliment, and then he gave me a big hug :) Yay.
WHAT'S THE MOST KICK-ASS YouTube VIDEO YOU'VE EVER SEEN? Sister Rosetta Tharpe:
WHEN I SEARCH 'JOANNA JAMES' ON YouTube, I ALWAYS SEEM TO FIND A STRIPTEASE VIDEO. IS THAT YOU? No, it is a drag queen…but man, I wish I had legs like that!
