TGIF: Jenna Bryson

Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great week of achievement this week. If this is your first time reading our blog, Welcome! You can read more about Velocity in the tabs above this post. If you'd like a daily dose of inspiration, like us on facebook or add us on twitter.

Today, I am so happy to introduce you to one of my most talented friends, Jenna Bryson.  And, as an extra added bonus, today is Jenna's birthday!  While Jenna is originally from the DC/Baltimore area, she's been making things happen for herself in Los Angeles for the past several years.  She has built a pretty amazing following from scratch and has had some amazing successes already, including performing at Molly Malones, opening for Lindsey Harper at Saint Rocke, and performing at the Verizon Wireless in Irvine California at the Country Throwdown.

While her full album isn't yet available on iTunes, you should definitely get "Happy," her first single released on iTunes, and be sure to check out the rest of her tunes on YouTube.  Fan her on facebook so you can wish her a Happy Birthday!   Jenna's fantastic and I am sure you will be inspired by her achievement today.

Photo by Jeff Drongowski

I am a singer and a songwriter from Los Angeles, CA (by way of Columbia, MD originally). I post songs and videos all over the internet; you can find most of my links at www.jennabryson.com. I’m also on facebook and youtube.



What the press is saying about Jenna:


"'Me Minus You' tugged at all the right heartstrings of the OurStage community with fans voting it to the top of the Pop Channel." -Sam Coren, OurStage.com

"Jenna's indie/acoustic style is charming with a creative twist.  She will capture your heart with her silky vocals and velvety strums." - Drake Ilich, Music Dealers

"...fiery, sultry, sweet, and sticky, almost like a hot August night." - Bog Legget, Music Connection

My goal was to record a fully-produced, 10 song album of my original songs and I wanted it to sound amazing, like the kind of recordings you hear on the radio.

I chose this goal because the music industry is very different than it was years ago. If you want to be a professional singer-songwriter you basically have to do it yourself. The music industry is not like it was in the past; you don’t have to get anyone’s permission to record your songs. Contrariwise, if you want anyone to ever hear your songs and like them, if you want to make music your career, you’ve got to work extra hard to get yourself out there. This means finding a producer, finding musicians, and paying for your songs to get recorded and sounding as amazing as they possibly can.

The first step I took was finding a producer for my music. It was important to me to find someone who would “understand” or “get” my music. And it was important to me to feel like I could trust that producer to bring the songs to life in such a way that would do them justice. So, I met with a couple producers and partnered-up with the person I thought would be the best for the job. I had lots of songs I wanted to record, so I played them for my new producer and helped choose the ones that would be best for a full album.
The main obstacle I encountered was the issue of money and a lack thereof. I went into this project wanting the best for the songs and their respective recordings, which meant spending a lot of money for the best session musicians to play on the tracks, the best sound mixers, the best mastering, etc. I am an independent artist, meaning I have no record label footing the bill, so initially, I was paying for everything out of my own pocket. The months were passing by quickly and I was low on funds. Lucky for me, I was working with an incredibly supportive producer who ended-up investing financially into the project to help keep it alive and see it through to the finished product in a timely manner.
Listening to the songs over and over as they were coming to life… that helped me stay motivated, definitely! I couldn’t wait to hear what we would add next to the songs, which instruments would be recorded next, what my finished vocals would sound like over the music… hearing my songs, that I was used to hearing simply on acoustic guitar or keyboard, now played by professionals, was motivation in and of itself.
So many people helped make this goal happen, but the most instrumental in making this happen was my producer Gary Tharp. Gary was also the one who lined-up all of the musicians (Craig Stull, Chris Chaney, Matt Laug, Jamie Muhoberac, Kavin Hoo, and Deron Johnson) and other technicians (Bob Horn, mixer, and Gabriel Wallach, mastering).



I think I cried a little. After that, I released one of the songs from the finished album to iTunes. That was my celebratory “Yay! I did it!” and a great way to let others know that the album was finally complete.

I would suggest doing just what I did: first, find a producer who’s idea for the project aligns with yours (absolutely vital, in my opinion). This person will also be your team-mate & advocate, and help you find the right musicians and organize recording sessions, etc. If you don’t have a lot of money for recording, see about entering into a production deal with your producer OR perhaps find an investor who can loan you the funds or partner with you as an executive producer. After that, just stay excited about the project and always make sure you’re not settling for anything; if something doesn’t sound right to you, or you think “this or that” could be better, make it happen!
The next goal is to have a huge album release show & celebration! I’m saving-up money to pay for the best live musicians to accompany me on-stage, as well as press the album into CD’s so that I can sell them at the show. What good is an album release party without physical copies of the album, after all?!