Jennifer Knapp

I have a difficult time imaging that the painter Jackson Pollock premeditated his work. From what I’ve read about him and learned from his own descriptions, the energy and emotion he put forth was almost zen-like, perhaps entering into a ‘thoughtless’ world in which his unconscious soul was revealed. It seems that he would awake only when the painting was finished to discover what the process had taught him.

I rarely sit down to write a song with a specific intent in mind. I often find it constraining and intimidating to the extent that what I truly intend to capture eludes me. When asked why I have written a song I find myself stumbling for words, hoping that the next answer I give will be different from the last. Still, it is often the same. It is the process of finding the emotion that song is holding inside, or maybe even discovering what is inside of me, that yearns to be heard.

Creating a record as a body of work is a scary prospect.  I am always hoping for cohesion, a narrative, but can never fully plan it. Each song reveals itself slowly and intimately in it’s own time and place, independent of the next, and still unknown tune to follow. While the song may stand on its own, it can lose it’s potency if stuffed into some premeditated style or jewel case.

In the end, it seems the music always finds me. No matter the hope or the pride that I might selfishly try to grasp, I am usually relegated to a listener. The record has taken it’s form while I was asleep.  Like a Jackson Pollock, it has waited patiently to be understood, or rather felt in the deeper parts of my soul. It is my sincere prayer that it will find yours as well.

The Moon-Woman Cuts the Circle (1943), Jackson Pollock

http://www.jacksonpollock.com/

Jennifer

Many thanks to all who attended the Belcourt show on Nov 18! No doubt it will be an event that will stay warmly in my memory for a long time to come. I am honestly grateful for the heart with which many of you entered into that small room. Though at times I felt as if I were walking about with my hospital gown open at the back, you were kind to laugh with me!

Special thanks to Amy Courts, Tony Lucido, Jeremy Lutito, Paul Moak and Nathan Dugger for working extra hard on short notice…I am truly humbled to share the stage with their big beautiful hearts!

Anyway, I’m glad you are all showing up in your various forms; avatars, seat warmers and general digital correspondence…my how things have changed!

Some general boring news…
Yes…I realize that you would all prefer facebook…well, let’s just say that the general impostors throughout the years have taken their toll and I am having to jump through some hoops to prove that I am actually the legit form of the singing Kansan. It will take some time.
We’re continuing behind the scenes construction for a more fluid jenniferknapp.com as well. As per usual, those who hang here & on twitter or join the email list at jenniferknapp.com will be the first to know of any updates.

love,love,love…Jennifer

One of the songs we tracked in the studio today is called ‘On Love’.   Since you can’t hear it yet, I thought you might like to have a sneak peak at the lyrics.

I’ve held onto this one for quite some time. I wrote it while I was writing for The Way I Am record, but we didn’t end up putting it on the record. It’s a bold move for me, as I am still quite intimidated by the song itself. I’ve written it into many set lists, but always bailed at the last minute, skipping over it. But I have wept too many times while playing it home alone to chicken out now. It is time to let her fly…

Anyway, the lyrics:

On Love

Hey love, isn’t that enough running away?
Stay…
I have waited long, but never given up I have waited on you but never, never on love…

Take my hand, feel the sand slipping away…
And you remain
I have waited long, but never given up
I have waited on you but never, never on love…

So cling to me and I will be forever
I will heal and you will feel much better, you’ll feel much better…

I have waited long, but never given up
I have waited on you but never, never on love…

Jennifer

Heading back into the studio this week & I am super excited!

The process of sharing the new tunes with other musicians & their own special contributions to the making of a record, never ceases to astound me. Up to this point, I’ve usually kept most of the music close to my own heart, playing them alone at home without the worries of the vulnerabilities that occur upon the sharing of them.

Now comes the time when others are invited in. The challenges of sharing songs crafted in quiet selfish places to enter the light of day and are released like leaves in the wind, to become what they were meant to be to others.

It is scary and at the same time, exhilarating! I wonder what will happen?…

Jennifer

Yes, it’s true. I am the REAL Jennifer Knapp and I’ve been doing a little music lately.

With every ‘old friend’ I run into these days there is the sudden rush of questions … How are you? Where have you been? Are you working? What have you been doing? What hole did you fall into? Were there any trolls? Did you have enough water? Is this a real jenniferknapp.com or just another ruse? Are you really coming back? Are you making a new record? And so on…
We’ve been flooded with emails and phone calls simply by putting up a humble little homepage. So much for my holiday, it looks very much like it may be over.

Despite what some may say, I didn’t actually disappear. I have truly been corporeal this whole time. I’ve just been travelling. I’ve seen many of the places I’d only previously flown over and eaten some fantastic cuisine that has pushed mashed potatoes down the list. I have spent many days sulking about how strange life is and many more discovering just how truly beautiful people can be. My experiences have been both wildly exotic and extraordinarily mundane.

I am grateful for the chance to get my feet under me. I took that time to discover more about myself and my own faith, without the pressure of expectations. Without writing a novel at this point, I’ll just say that I’m starting to think that I might actually be a songwriter, musician or artist of some kind. So, maybe I should do something about it?

I know that many of you have persisted in the hope that I would return to music. Why you have waited or even cared has been one of the greatest of mysteries to me, while at the same time a complete and utter blessing. Thank you for your support. I can only hope to repay you with what you have waited for… music.

Jennifer