Archive for the ‘Jenny Speaks’ Category

Very recently we hit 1,000 fans on our facebook band page…to be perfectly honest it’s not that easy to get people on facebook to find your band page and like it–if you are reading this and you’re in a band, I’m sure you already know this.  Unless you have thousands of dollars set aside for marketing, facebook pages relay on word-of-mouth to grow.  So to celebrate we were able to make our song ‘I See You’ available as a free download–so do something crazy today–download the song!!  It’s our gift to you for helping us spread the word…so THANK YOU FACEBOOK FRIENDS AND FANS WE FEEL THE LOVE AND WE LOVE YOU BACK!!!

Link to our facebook page

Link to song I See You *free download*

I am excited to share this album review with you!  If you haven’t picked up a copy, it’s available online and also at record stores throughout the Chicago-land area.  It’s also available in the Madison, Wisconsin area.  Please see our blog entitled “Who’s carrying our new EP, Jenny Franck Unplugged” for specific locations, which we pride ourselves in keeping it updated!

Album review: http://reviewyou.com/jenny-franck-unplugged

Mike and I with Val...yes that's right...THE Val of Val's halla Records!

Our first in-store performance at Val’s halla Records was so much fun!  Definitely not your average gig.  When we first walked into the store we were greeted with a warm, inviting, comforting feeling….kind of like the same feeling you get when you’re returning to your parents house, right after you first move out.  She had a collection of posters plastered all along the walls and even the ceiling of the store.  Her record collection was endless..from Frank Zappa to Ceaser Franck, from The Beatles to Nine Inch Nails…and everything in between.

There is a stage in the front corner of the store right next to the register, for musicians to perform…the store-front window is right behind the stage, so as people are walking by they can see there is live music going on and they are invited to come in and check it out.  I loved the stage…it was a solid polished wood platform.  I have experienced a lot of different stages, and I know how..hmmm how do I say……..structurally interesting a stage can be!  Basically lets just say I always find relief when I see that we won’t need to worry about falling thru the stage while we’re performing!  Good times…

So if you’re looking for something special….or just looking for something, go to Val’s halla Records…….she’ll find ANYTHING!  Thanks Val, for your hospitality and wonderful record store!

Last weekend we we started recording 2 songs.  Colorscreen and Turned Into You.  Turned Into You was previously recorded on our Unplugged EP.  This upcoming version will be rockin’ with a nice heavy drum beat.  I’m thinking we’ll probably layer some vocals and lots of guitar in the chorus.  Jaben Pennell is our recording engineer and also our producer for both of these songs so I’m really excited to share them with you…I am 100% confident they will be easy to digest.
You guys have never heard the song Colorscreen before, well I guess what I mean is we’ve never recorded it before…if you’ve seen us play live then you’ve heard Colorscreen.  I am looking forward to your thoughts and your feedback.  I think it’s got a cool vibe, fun (in the sense of interesting) lyrics, and comes delivering a message open for interpretation.
The songs will be available on sites like itunes, napster, spotify, etc.  I would like to offer them free for download on our website.  I am hoping this will increase traffic and visiability…our ultimate goal here is to get one of these songs in circulation on the Triple A Radio network.  The only way our song will qualify is if we’ve got tons of requests coming into them so I am going to try to figure out a simple way people can do so.  Any tips/ideas would be warmly welcomed.
Mike and I will be heading back to the studio to record guitar, bass, and hopefully some vocals this weekend, so of course I am already excited…which makes for a long week…ah well that’s how it goes, huh.  Hope you all have a great week, I know I am going to try!

~Jenny

Last night was a wonderful night. We shared the stage with some wonderful musicians at The Frequency in Madison, WI. This particular blog I wanted to thank someone special….I will call him our ‘Mystery Man’.

Ok here goes……I never did catch your name, but I thank you from the bottom of my heart for coming out to see us play. I feel terrible you missed us perform Heart Shaped Box, and I hope that when we return, you will be there in the audience. I will dedicate Heart Shaped Box to you, our ‘Mystery Man’. It is because of people like you, that we continue to play….you are our dear friend, and we will always remember you….it is your efforts that keep us going. No matter how tired, how frustrated, or how much life beats us down….it is those certain moments, like meeting you, that allow us to get up each morning and do it again, and again, annnd again…are we going insane?!! Some days, we would answer that question with a ‘maybe!’ But last night…meeting you…revived something inside me, something that will help me keep going…so it is YOU I want to say THANK YOU to…and we hope to see you again one day! 

Louie surprised Mike and I by presenting a Commemoration Plaque to us at The Elbo Room, on June 8th. And here I thought this was just going to be our anything BUT average, run-of-the-mill show at Elbo…..well Louie, you definitely suprised us!! And it was so appropriate to give it to us there, on-stage, in front of everyone….because at that exact place Mike and I were given the freedom to create the songs for JENNY FRANCK UNPLUGGED.

So we’d like to take a moment and say THANK YOU to The ELBO ROOM for all your generosity and support you give, every single day to original bands like us…..You truly make this world a better place!!

Everyone should come out to The ELBO ROOM and check out their NEW LOOK & their GREAT BEER!!!

Well so far we are off to a good start!! You can find JENNY FRANCK UNPLUGGED at these locations, for $7….I will keep adding the stores/locations as they come in. Going to any one of these locations to pick up our cd means you are showing us much love and support, enabling us to continue to do what we do, and also you will be supporting these stores, encouraging THEM to keep doing what they do….

KISS THE SKY                                        RECKLESS RECORDS
301 W State St                                       3126 N Broadway
Geneva, IL 60134                                 Chicago, IL  60657
630-232-1888                                       773-404-5080

RECKLESS RECORDS                           BAB’S & COCO’S TEA EMPORIUM
1532 N Milwaukee Ave                      818 W Lincoln Hwy
Chicago, IL 60622                                Dekalb, IL  60115
773-235-3727                                      815-756-8320

VAL’S HALLA RECORDS                    B-SIDE RECORDS & TAPES & CD’S
239 Harrison St                                      436 State St
Oak Park, IL  60304                            Madison, WI 53703
708-524-1004                                      608-255-1977

EAR WAX RECORDS                           SAKI
254 W Gilman St                                   3716 W Fullerton Ave
#B                                                                Chicago, IL  60647
Madison, WI 53703                            773-486-3997
608-257-6402

So I found out some exciting news yesterday!! Louie was able to add us into Jango’s (internet radio station) playlist, and come to find out we are getting super popular in Bogota!! Well well Bogota….WE LOVE YOU TOO!! AND WE ALSO LOVE THE COCA LEAF!! I guess we’ve got a few things in common. Keep tuning in and thanks for all the support!!

Everyone- if you’d like to check us out on Jango, I’ve left a link for you…please while you’re visiting click on the thumbs UP button to keep our song in rotation…and again thanks for all the support!!

The Jango link

Did you know Madison is listed as one of the top 10 most popular cities for the indie music scene?  And we actually got to play there!!  When Louie called me to tell me about our first booking in Madison, I was giddy with excitement.  It’s not easy being an original band located in the heart of a city where cover bands thrive, and real musicians die.  So for us this was like a landmark event!!  Day one of a long term relationship…..one that you want to last…..

Since this was our first show in Madison, and we are an out-of-state, up-and-coming band,  this should be a piece of cake!!   (so I thought)

After a very bumpy ride, Steve’s constant burping and farting, and the scenic view of Wisconsin’s trademark long, narrow, white pine trees along the highway, we had finally made it to our destination.  The Frequency, a music venue located in the heart of the capitol…..literally….the capitol building is right across the street!!  What a sight!!

As we were circling the area, finding a place to park, my car……….stopped………almost completely blocking the alley in which the other band’s that were playing that night had to go thru to unload their equipment.  Oh no!!  It was like I was driving, and my car slipped into neutral.  The engine was still roaring, we just weren’t moving. Okay……..maybe we ran over something.  APJ got out of the car to check out the ‘situation’.  He happily walked towards the front of the car, looked down at my 2 front tires, and the happy look on his face quickly turned sour.  Not really what I wanted to see.  Turns out, my 2 front tires went bow-legged because the tire-rod (for all of you who don’t know cars, that’s what holds the tires together) decided to fall off the damn car!!  In Madison!!  **cry**

So needless to say the bands were able to maneuver their way around my lump of a car, and thankfully none of them seemed too upset!  I did, however, extend my apologies to all of them.

When we walked into the club, ironically the walls were painted the same color as the walls in our home!!  They were a mixture of mint green, velvet red, and a light purple….it felt like home!!  And the women’s bathroom was very clean and roomy, with a very large sink.  I will have to write a whole other blog about bathrooms.  For now, I’m just going to say I have learned to appreciate a clean, roomy, women’s bathroom.  They are few and far between, and it sure makes a difference!

The show went well, all the bands in the line up were very talented, and everyone was super friendly and we couldn’t have asked for a better sound guy!!  All and all, we can’t wait to go back to Madison!!