Distinct voices meshed into folk-roots stew. Many groups spend years together before they realize their potential. The Wailin' Jennys hit their stride a little earlier - like, at their very first gig Distinct voices meshed into folk-roots stew
Many groups spend years together before they realize their potential. The Wailin' Jennys hit their stride a little earlier - like, at their very first gig.
The Winnipeg roots trio blew away the tiny crowd at their first show - Sled Dog Music in January 2002 - and haven't stopped since, hitting folk venues across the continent and festivals such as the prestigious SXSW in Austin, Texas.
"It's weird. It took everybody by surprise and we've been so busy we haven't had a chance to reflect on it," says Mehta, the guitar and harmonica-playing mezzo who was shocked to hear how well she meshed with multi-instrumentalist/soprano Ruth Moody and guitarist/alto Cara Luft on that cold night a little over two years ago.
This week, the trio finally has a record to complement its live show: 40 Days, a debut album for Vancouver's Jericho Beach, the in-house label run by folk-music powerhouse Festival Distribution.
The disc, already in stores in Winnipeg, captures the interplay between the Jennys' three distinct musical voices.
Mehta is a former rock singer who writes straight-ahead singer-songwriter fare with serious lyrics. Luft, the most outgoing member of the trio, pens acoustic-folk pop songs and harbours a not-so-secret desire to rock out in a Darkness-like metal band one day.
And Moody, the former lead singer for Celtic band Scruj MacDuhk, has a rootsier style and writes music with a slightly neo-hippie flavour.
"People tell us it was such a smart thing for us to get together, in terms of getting gigs, but that wasn't the motivation. We just clicked," says Moody, 28.
True enough, the three vocalists are a perfect fit. Where they don't agree is the definition of the Jennys' sound.
Folk music dominates, but doesn't define the group, whose debut album sports two traditionals, a pair of more recent folk covers - Neil Young's Old Man and John Hiatt's Take it Down - and nine originals split between the trio of songwriters and their varying influences.
"People come to our concerts and tell us they like us even though they thought they wouldn't because we're 'folk,' " says Luft.
"Folk can be a dirty word. We hope we're not considered the (trio) that didn't make it into A Mighty Wind.
The story behind the Jennys'origin is actually quite mundane: They were each solo artists who happened to play together.
"That's not exciting? Then say we all once dated the same guy," jokes Moody.
The reality is, there are few groups who can claim such a purely musical motivation. Look for an actual Winnipeg date by the trio in May.