From: owner-jewel-digest@smoe.org (jewel-digest) To: jewel-digest@smoe.org Subject: jewel-digest V12 #382 Reply-To: jewel@smoe.org Sender: owner-jewel-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-jewel-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk jewel-digest Sunday, July 27 2008 Volume 12 : Number 382 * If you ever wish to unsubscribe from this digest, send an email to * jewel-digest-request@smoe.org with ONLY the word * unsubscribe in the BODY of the email * . * For the latest news on what Jewel is up to, go to * the OFFICIAL Jewel web site at http://www.jeweljk.com * and click on "calendar" * . * PLEASE :) when you reply to this digest to send a post TO the list, * change the subject to reflect what your post is about. A subject * of Re: jewel-digest V12 #___ gives fellow list readers * no clue as to what your message is about. Today's Subjects: ----------------- [EDA] Paisley, pop star bring A-games [Mike Connell Subject: [EDA] Paisley, pop star bring A-games A review of last night's show, complete with a typical "Alaska-born Jewel" boo-boo... Paisley, pop star bring A-games BY JOSH MCAULIFFE STAFF WRITER A country superstar and a pop star looking to become a country star came to town Friday night to party. Some 6,800 country fans turned out at Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain to catch Brad Paisley and his "Paisley Party Tour," a rollicking affair featuring the good-humored star, two up-and-coming country acts and pop folk veteran Jewel, who just made the crossover into country. Befitting the nearly-perfect weather, everyone on hand brought their A-game to the mountain. Up first on the night was Julianne Hough, who up until now was best known for being a two-time winner on "Dancing with the Stars." Ms. Hough's brief set demonstrated an impressive set of pipes that could very lead to bigger and better things. Among the highlights was a snappy rendition of her current radio hit, "The Song in My Head." She danced a little, but on this night her voice took center stage. Back for her second Montage visit since 2006, the Alaska-born Jewel played a few cuts from her new country album, "Perfectly Clear," including "Stronger Woman" and "I Do." But, for the most part, it was a greatest hits session, as Jewel, wearing a classy pink dress, pulled out the singles that made her a '90s pop superstar, from the yearning "Foolish Games" to a completely acoustic "You Were Meant for Me" to a bass-heavy "Who Will Save Your Soul," in which Jewel got to show off her scat-singing abilities. Thirteen years removed from her debut album, "Pieces of You," Jewel's voice is as powerful as its ever been. Alas, she didn't showcase any of her impressive yodeling abilities. Fifteen minutes after Jewel ran off the stage, Mr. Paisley popped up out of the catwalk that ran into the first few rows and dove into the opening chords of his hit, "Mud on the Tires." Set against him was a huge big screen, while his band was positioned atop a wall of mini-video screens. Mr. Paisley strolled the stage with his powder blue paisley guitar, occasionally ripping off a pristine guitar solo. His voice was crystal clear, but his chops on the six-string were just as impressive, as demonstrated when he and his white-haired, pony-tailed guitarist traded gleeful licks on the boot-stomping "Better Than This." In addition to making references to "The Office" and throwing some Scranton images up on the screens, there was "She's Everything," Mr. Paisley's tribute to his wife, actress Kimberly Williams, which was capped by yet another winning guitar solo. Later on came the equally funny "Ticks" and "Alcohol," an ode to the joys of imbibing. Part of Mr. Paisley's appeal is that he looks like he's having a heck of a good time. It's infectious stuff, and the audience showed their appreciation with their roars. Contact the writer: jmcauliffe@timesshamrock.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:22:10 -0400 From: Mike Connell Subject: [EDA] Jewel builds fan base on Paisley tour From the Scranton Pa newspaper, where the tour hit last night Jewel builds fan base on Paisley tour BY JOSH MCAULIFFE STAFF WRITER If Jon Bon Jovi can do country, there's no reason why Jewel can't. After all, the Alaskan-born singer-songwriter has always brought genuine storytelling chops and an unmistakable twang to her distinctive brand of folk-pop. So it was no big surprise when she finally got around to releasing her first album of country tunes, the fittingly titled "Perfectly Clear." "The record just sounds like me," Jewel said. "The only difference has been is it's really like starting over. ... Because I'm introducing myself to a whole new group of people." Tonight, fans will get a firsthand look at the countrified Jewel when she opens for country superstar Brad Paisley at Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain. Accustomed to being the headliner, the opening slot with Mr. Paisley is providing Jewel with the chance to pick up a whole new batch of listeners, while at the same time exposing her longtime fans to her continuing evolution as an artist. As it happens, she said, her fans have been a better match with Mr. Paisley's than they were with the fans of Matchbox Twenty lead singer Rob Thomas, who Jewel was co-headlining with when she played Toyota Pavilion back in 2006. Though stylistically different, she and Mr. Paisley, known for witty, good-humored hits like "Alcohol" and "Ticks," are both, at the end of the day, quintessential singer-songwriters, she said. "It's been a lot of fun. His audiences have been really warm and receiving," Jewel said during a recent interview from Nashville, where she serves as a judge on the TV country music talent competition, "Nashville Star." "Brad and his whole team have been really lovely to work with." "I feel lucky that, after 13 years, I get to build more fans," she continued. "It's not an easy thing to do. But I'm happy to do it." Each night, Jewel joins Mr. Paisley on stage for a duet of Lefty Frizzell's "That's the Way Love Goes," a song she recorded a few years back with Merle Haggard, one of the many country greats she worshipped growing up in Homer, Alaska. "Merle Haggard was always a really big one for me," she said. "He was genuine and the real deal. He never seemed to be pandering ... something I've tried to do in my career." In 1995, when Jewel hit it big with her smash debut album, "Pieces of You," pop music was filled with artists who wrote their own songs, while many of that era's country stars relied on a revolving door crew of Nashville-based songwriters to provide them with material. Now, she said, it's the other way around, as a new crop of country singer-songwriters like Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert have come to the fore. In her opinion, songs like "You Were Meant for Me," the mournful hit ballad off "Pieces of You," would have no chance of making it on the pop charts today. But, with a little pedal steel guitar added to it, it would find a great home on country radio, she said. Really, it's more a matter of the industry changing, not her. she said. For years, Jewel had been recording her albums in Nashville and writing full-blown country songs that she'd perform in concert but could never get permission from Atlantic Records, her former label, to record. "For whatever reason, I was the only one who thought it was a good idea," she said with a laugh. "I really do think the audiences cross over more than people realize. People don't see in these lines that the labels think." After her contract with Atlantic came to an end, Jewel went into a Nashville studio with fellow "Nashville Star" judge John Rich, of the country duo Big and Rich, to record "Perfectly Clear," which thus far has yielded the singles "Stronger Woman" and "I Do." Once finished with the album, she had some difficulty finding a home for it, because, oddly enough, "a lot of the labels in town thought it was too country," she said. "They wanted it to be more pop," she said. "I didn't make an album that sounds like current country radio." In the end, Jewel signed with Valory, an imprint of the Nasville independent label Big Machine. If she has her druthers, "Perfectly Clear" will be the first in a succession of country albums she makes for the label. "I don't feel my music has changed. Being a singer-songwriter, I think I fit great. I feel it's the safest home I have," she said. "It just feels like this is me right now." Contact the writer: jmcauliffe@timesshamrock.comIf you go Who: Brad Paisley with Jewel, Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough Where: Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain When: Today, 7:30 p.m. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Jul 2008 19:12:57 -0400 From: Mike Connell Subject: [EDA] Jewel builds fan base on Paisley tour From the Scranton Pa newspaper, where the tour hit last night Jewel builds fan base on Paisley tour BY JOSH MCAULIFFE STAFF WRITER If Jon Bon Jovi can do country, there's no reason why Jewel can't. After all, the Alaskan-born singer-songwriter has always brought genuine storytelling chops and an unmistakable twang to her distinctive brand of folk-pop. So it was no big surprise when she finally got around to releasing her first album of country tunes, the fittingly titled "Perfectly Clear." "The record just sounds like me," Jewel said. "The only difference has been is it's really like starting over. ... Because I'm introducing myself to a whole new group of people." Tonight, fans will get a firsthand look at the countrified Jewel when she opens for country superstar Brad Paisley at Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain. Accustomed to being the headliner, the opening slot with Mr. Paisley is providing Jewel with the chance to pick up a whole new batch of listeners, while at the same time exposing her longtime fans to her continuing evolution as an artist. As it happens, she said, her fans have been a better match with Mr. Paisley's than they were with the fans of Matchbox Twenty lead singer Rob Thomas, who Jewel was co-headlining with when she played Toyota Pavilion back in 2006. Though stylistically different, she and Mr. Paisley, known for witty, good-humored hits like "Alcohol" and "Ticks," are both, at the end of the day, quintessential singer-songwriters, she said. "It's been a lot of fun. His audiences have been really warm and receiving," Jewel said during a recent interview from Nashville, where she serves as a judge on the TV country music talent competition, "Nashville Star." "Brad and his whole team have been really lovely to work with." "I feel lucky that, after 13 years, I get to build more fans," she continued. "It's not an easy thing to do. But I'm happy to do it." Each night, Jewel joins Mr. Paisley on stage for a duet of Lefty Frizzell's "That's the Way Love Goes," a song she recorded a few years back with Merle Haggard, one of the many country greats she worshipped growing up in Homer, Alaska. "Merle Haggard was always a really big one for me," she said. "He was genuine and the real deal. He never seemed to be pandering ... something I've tried to do in my career." In 1995, when Jewel hit it big with her smash debut album, "Pieces of You," pop music was filled with artists who wrote their own songs, while many of that era's country stars relied on a revolving door crew of Nashville-based songwriters to provide them with material. Now, she said, it's the other way around, as a new crop of country singer-songwriters like Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert have come to the fore. In her opinion, songs like "You Were Meant for Me," the mournful hit ballad off "Pieces of You," would have no chance of making it on the pop charts today. But, with a little pedal steel guitar added to it, it would find a great home on country radio, she said. Really, it's more a matter of the industry changing, not her. she said. For years, Jewel had been recording her albums in Nashville and writing full-blown country songs that she'd perform in concert but could never get permission from Atlantic Records, her former label, to record. "For whatever reason, I was the only one who thought it was a good idea," she said with a laugh. "I really do think the audiences cross over more than people realize. People don't see in these lines that the labels think." After her contract with Atlantic came to an end, Jewel went into a Nashville studio with fellow "Nashville Star" judge John Rich, of the country duo Big and Rich, to record "Perfectly Clear," which thus far has yielded the singles "Stronger Woman" and "I Do." Once finished with the album, she had some difficulty finding a home for it, because, oddly enough, "a lot of the labels in town thought it was too country," she said. "They wanted it to be more pop," she said. "I didn't make an album that sounds like current country radio." In the end, Jewel signed with Valory, an imprint of the Nasville independent label Big Machine. If she has her druthers, "Perfectly Clear" will be the first in a succession of country albums she makes for the label. "I don't feel my music has changed. Being a singer-songwriter, I think I fit great. I feel it's the safest home I have," she said. "It just feels like this is me right now." Contact the writer: jmcauliffe@timesshamrock.comIf you go Who: Brad Paisley with Jewel, Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough Where: Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain When: Today, 7:30 p.m. ------------------------------ End of jewel-digest V12 #382 ****************************