Noted Distinction

Singer-Songwriter Courtney Jaye Tunes Up For Stardom

By Amy Meadows

    The legendary Barbra Streisand introduced her to the power of performing live. The exalted Grateful Dead revealed how music can speak to an entire community of people with intoxicating harmonies and compelling lyrics. And the outspoken Ani DiFranco showed her how a female artist effectively infuses her songs with passion, independence and deeply personal content.
     Each of these pivotal lessons has played an integral part in the musical evolution of Courtney Jaye, the breakthrough artist from Alpharetta who released her debut album "Traveling Light" this past June. In fact, the moment she received a standing ovation after singing Streisand's "Songbird" during an eighth-grade chorus concert, this talented young woman knew that she had found her place in the world. Of course, it took several years of soul-searching to find her distinctive sound, which the Island Records artist describes as "not a bluesy thing, not a country thing and not a folk thing," but a blending of all three influenced by pop.
     Reviewers have called it everything from "alt-country pop" to "acoustic lady-pop." Whatever label it's given, one thing is clear - Jaye is among today's elite singer-songwriters, such as Sheryl Crow, Jewel and Tracy Chapman. American Songwriter magazine even wrote, "['Traveling Light'] reveals a new talent in the girl-with-guitar world. On 13 impressive tracks, Courtney confidently shows her soulful style - spirit-filled, light, earthy and airy folk-rock with pop appeal."
     With one lauded album under her belt and a second record on the horizon, it's almost hard to believe that her recording career officially began just over a year ago.

Bringing Down the House
    Jaye may have discovered a penchant for performing on stage as a teenager, but she actually felt a strong connection with music much earlier in life.
    "I think that I inherently knew from a real young age that I loved to sing and I loved to create and express. I think it goes back as far as age 8 or 9," she explained. "I also had an older brother, so I was able to learn about classic rock 'n' roll music, everything from Zeppelin and The Police to Santana. And it was the '80s, so it was a really fun time in music. Or a really funny time in music, I should say."
At 13 years old when she brought the house down with "Songbird," her fate was sealed. "I sang this song and the reaction I got and how it felt to actually do that - it was just like, 'This is what I have to do,' " she recalled.
     Jaye's first professional opportunity presented itself in high school when a music manager offered her a contract to join a girl group he was forming. The self-proclaimed "hippie chick" was not necessarily enamored with the seemingly big break, but she and her father Chuck Goldberg decided to get some advice. They were referred to Russell Carter of Decatur-based Russell Carter Artist Management Ltd.
     While he immediately recognized that Jaye had a "very gifted pop voice," Carter said, "It was an incredibly onerous contract and one that she shouldn't and didn't sign." The trio agreed that the opportunity was not right for the budding musician. Nevertheless, he added, "She's got an incredible voice, and with a voice like that, there's no denying what you should do with yourself."
     Carter also knew, however, that Jaye needed time to explore a variety of music styles and settle on a sound that worked best for her. Fortunately, she took it upon herself to do just that, and, over the next few years, she returned to Carter's office every so often to keep him updated on what she was doing musically, even though he had not yet agreed to manage her career. During that time, the manager and the musician became friends. Carter offered Jaye casual advice and, sensing her profound talent, kept a keen watch on her evolution as an artist.

Rebel With a Guitar
    As a freshman at Chattahoochee High School, Pennsylvania-born Jaye, who was reared in Metro Atlanta, was a typical teenage girl with lots of friends and school spirit. She was even voted junior varsity homecoming sweetheart. By her senior year, however, her classmates voted her "Most Changed" thanks to her move toward a more bohemian look and lifestyle. But the changes she made were not simply surface ones. They ran deep and parallel to her shifting musical interests.
    "I really just wanted to grow and search and learn. At that time, I discovered a band called the Grateful Dead," she reminisced fondly. "There was something about the whole scene and community that I just fell in love with. It was a very peaceful community."
     The newly anointed Dead Head and high school senior embraced the band with fervor, traveling on weekends and during the summer to various locales to see the legends perform in concert. "It was a really eye-opening experience for me, because I felt like there was so much more than just the little bubble of Alpharetta," she said. "I wanted to see it all, and I would say that the Grateful Dead was the sole reason for that transformation."
     By her senior year, Jaye had learned to play the guitar and started listening to new bands and artists, including Widespread Panic, Phish and Ani DiFranco. As she headed off to Flagstaff, Ariz. for college, she knew that her journey out West ultimately would take her in a different direction. On registration day, the 18-year-old called her family and told them her plans to pursue music full-time.
"It was difficult initially, because we were hoping she would somehow go to school," Goldberg stated. "But she realized that school wasn't going to be what she really wanted in her life. She knew, I think, that she had the ability to make it [in music]. So I told her to be passionate with it."
     In Flagstaff, Jaye fronted her first band MamalÚ at night and also dabbled in songwriting. Yet, after nearly a year of working gigs in local bars, and facing another winter, she decided she needed a change of scenery. So she visited a nearby travel agent, who found a one-way ticket to Kauai out of Los Angeles for $150. With the three little words "I'll take it," Jaye set off on a new path that ignited her passion for songwriting.

Wanderlust Strikes the Right Chord
    If spending a year surfing and songwriting on the beaches of Kauai sounds like a dream come true, she can certainly attest that it is. "My time there was extremely peaceful," Jaye noted, adding that it was also "a really confusing time for me in a lot of ways. I think it goes along with the trials and tribulations of being young and growing up. But I think music has always been the way for me to make sense of things."
     The songwriter truly emerged in Hawaii, and while Jaye admits that she had to write a lot of bad songs to understand what it feels like to write a good one, she loves the fact that she took the time to teach herself the craft. "I love it there so much, but my goal was to go out into the world and do music, and I unfortunately couldn't do everything from
a small island in the middle of the South Pacific," she admitted.
     The now-serious artist jetted back to Georgia and spent eight months in Athens, bartending and playing gigs. Later, a trip to Los Angeles, which included a chance encounter with fellow songwriter Gala, turned the tides of her career.
     One afternoon, Jaye and Gala sat down together and created magic in the form of "Lose My Head," a song that Carter refers to as "the first song she injected some heart and soul into; a fully-realized song that could attract the attention of a label." The song's pop elements, from its chorus to Jaye's doubled vocals, certainly caught Carter's ear, and he quickly agreed to manage her. Without delay, he set Jaye up to collaborate with renowned singer-songwriters like Butch Walker, Kristen Hall, Gary Louris and Matthew Sweet.
    "It's kind of difficult at first to sit in a room with somebody you don't know and spill your guts to them," Jaye admitted. "Of course, it's something I've gotten very used to. But in the beginning it was a challenge, because I was writing with a lot of writers that I really admired and respected."
    "Co-writing really works well for her," Carter explained. "Courtney always walks into a writing session with lyrical ideas, and she's a master at coming up with pop hooks. The writers she works with get a kick out of that. And it's been magical for her. I've never seen anybody that so consistently walks in and comes out four hours later with a great song."
     After nearly 18 months, Jaye had added more than 30 songs to her repertoire and was ripe for her big break. A couple weeks after sending a demo tape to L.A. Reid, chairman of Island Def Jam Music Group, the music mogul wanted to set up a meeting. In June 2004, Jaye signed with Island Records in New York, the same company that is home to Melissa Etheridge, Mariah Carey and many others.

On the Road Again
    "It was one of the most fun and exciting times of my life," Jaye said of the whirlwind five-week recording of "Traveling Light." The result was an organic sounding, yet sophisticated pop album offering songs that spoke of love and loss brimming with radio appeal. A two-and-a-half month promotional tour immediately followed the recording process and had Jaye traveling across the United States to radio stations, where she played acoustic tunes of "Lose My Head," "Mental" and her first single "Can't Behave."
     In time, Jaye's music took off in Arizona, Utah and New York, and she has enjoyed radio play nationwide, as well as on satellite radio. Her songs have appeared on the ARC Weekly Top 40, and "Traveling Light" has generated some Grammy buzz within the industry. According to Carter, "I think Courtney is part of a new generation of young women that are conveying their personal experiences to an audience, and I think that audience can identify with what she has to say, what she feels and what she thinks."
     On her next album, which she began recording in November, Jaye is paring down the bigger, complex pop arrangements of "Traveling Light" and going for an even more organic and raw sound. For the current Los Angeles resident, her efforts again will be a reflection of where she is in her life.
    "People think because your song's being played on the radio that you're rolling in dough and living the high life, but that's not it at all. It's really tough to break in as an artist these days, and I know that there's a lot of work ahead of me," she noted.
     Goldberg recognizes his daughter's progression as an artist and offers a prediction about her future. "She's getting mature, and she's able to connect with her music in a way that I don't think she did before," he said proudly. "She's just a driven, passionate, spiritual girl."
Jaye concluded, "Right now, I'm just focusing on being true to myself."

Photos courtesy of Kevin Westenberg

For More Information

Courtney Jaye
www.courtneyjaye.com

Island Records
www.islandrecords.com