June 2000 Journal...

So, we've been working away on the new record. Almost done, such an amazing process - finding the best chords, the coolest players, the songs that make us dance and weep. We've decided to release it in January so we can really take the time to set it up. It seems such a long time to wait, but a lot of the press people need three or four months lead time, and we need to really figure out our game plan, flesh out our ideas, since we're doing everything ourselves. If we released it in the fall, we'd have to compete with Christina Aguilera's greatest Christmas croons, and Eminem's born again folk album. January seems like a better opportunity.

Working with Bob Clearmountain has been such an honor. It's like Christmas every day. He has been such a huge supporter ever since he mixed "Ten Cent Wings," and this new record is even better because we've been able to work together from the get-go, tracking and mixing at "Mix This" - his amazing studio. He makes everything sound incredible before I've even finished singing and made the trip to the control room to listen. What a gift.

Ryan Freeland helped so much, recording demos early on, one of which turned into the crazy romp "How Deep is Your Love." It was one of those everything AND the kitchen sink, cuz it sounds GOOD, adventures. Neil Finn came by and sang on "New Dress". (Oh my heart). Joe Sample played on "Red Dress" and "How Deep is your Love" and "I'll Take it from Here". Yes, for some reason dresses seem to figure heavily here. Marcus Miller brought a couple of songs to life. One take and I was on the floor. Michael Franti totally made "Steady Pull" steady and full. Dennis White, this crazy angry sweet bald guy from Detroit played raunchy guitar on "Out of Your Mind" and came up with some great loops for "Room in My Heart."

Anchoring the rest of the curves and corners are Larry Aberman, Goffrey Moore, and Darren Embry, my LA band.

So it's been an incredible journey so far. From "how will I ever do this?" to "Wow, this sounds really good, I love this." It's a huge jigsaw puzzle and there's no picture, no pattern. You draw your own, cut the pieces out and then put them back together again. That's the beauty and the mystery.

So meanwhile, we've also been taking pictures, and video clips of the works in progress, our guest stars, the day's ins and outs, between cappucinos and fritos. I think we'll use some of the footage to create an enhanced CD/DVD that we'll make available exclusively on the web site. A few extra goodies. But We'll keep sharing little bits and pieces of our progress to keep you updated. We're trying to keep up with the crazy techno advances. It's amazing how things are changing. So bear with our fledgling efforts.

Joe Sample with me and Bob

David, our engineer, making one of his wacky faces

Michael Franti, his keyboardist Carl (in the back), me and Bob

The Amazing Marcus Miller

Stay tuned, travel safely, enjoy chocolate responsibly, (please share), and keep supporting independent artists. We need you. Thanks for listening.

Jonatha