I've been playing piano since I was very little, and singing for as long as I can remember. I started writing songs as a means to tell stories - I don't like to sing about things I don't know about or can't relate to, so it makes sense to write my own music, and sing about people, experiences and things that mean something to me! My biggest accomplishment to date, on a personal basis, was the completion of 'Meg's Hill,' our first album. It was the culmination of ten years of writing songs, and aching to communicate them to as many people as possible. As a collective, I'm so proud of the band, and of all our achievements, inparticular our performances at 'Sunday for Sammy,' and the album launch, which was a wonderful night. My biggest musical influences are the Beautiful South - Paul Heaton especially, Fleetwood Mac, Jools Holland, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and Tori Amos. I can't wait for album number two to be finished - I feel like it's going to be something really special. I've written all the songs on it since we've been together as a unit, with each of the guys in mind, so it's a hugely personal project, and feels to me like a sort of 'coming of age' collection of songs. It's much more raw sounding than 'Meg's Hill' - We've evolved as band, and I think that really reflects in my songwriting. I had to ask a lot of people for help whilst writing this biog, because 'Jen Stevens & the Hiccups' stretches so much further than the four of us.
Friday 29 June 2012
Sunday 08 July 2012