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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 16, 2002)
lfi. 2002 » MUSIC hen you think about mainstream music, you think of categories. Country, rock, rap, American teen idol or sexy Latin sensation—for the most part, each singer and style comes neatly packaged complete with a label about what to expect. On the other hand, diversity—all that is gixxl and holy and gay— is not usually the first aspect of an artist to be mass-marketed in a music industry fueled by money and appear ances. However, for all those who doubt main stream music will ever welcome difference, take heed, because the industry just met artist Patricia Ju. Armed with originality and an insatiable desire to succeed, this 28-year-old songwriter is taking on the business and doing it on her own terms. "It ain’t every day that a Chinese hutch les bian decides to go to Nashville to show some country songs,” wrote Ju in an e-mail to Just Out. No, it certainly isn’t. Uncategorically determined Once a classically trained pianist, songwriter Patricia Ju now sets her sights on pop stardom by C o u r t n e y P er k in s started, she began playing piano simply because it was the thing to do. More specifically, it was something that “little Asian kids” were expected to do. “I was forced into it, or it was put upon me as something to make me more rounded,” Ju says. The first time she laid her hands on the keys of a piano at the age of 5, it was obvious she had been blessed with an innate gift. “Halfway through my first lesson my teacher ran out shout u recently returned from Nashville’s Tin Pan ing, ‘I have a genius, 1 have a South, the world’s largest annual songwriters genius,’ ” Ju smiles. “My mother convention, where she pitched tunes, hand asked her who it was, and she ed out demos and rubbed elbows with music said, ‘Your daughter.’ ” prcxlucers from around the nation. However, the This gave Ju’s parents the Portlander is only a little bit country. opportunity to push her to fur Self-described as alternative pop rock with ther her skills as a classical pianist. A year later, she was an occasional country, techno or rap cut, Ju’s music masterfully combines melodic piano the youngest person at the ballads with raw vocals and catchy lyrics that time to be accepted into the can be Kith sweet piano program and haunting. Her at the Juilliard School in New songs tell mostly of heartbreak, York. although her sensi She studied tivity to social issues piano, composi such as suicide, war tion and con ducting for the and domestic vio lence cannot be next 10 years at ignored. Yet, like the renowned her music, which is academy. In Portlander Patricia Ju is determined to make it big on her own both versatile and —Patricia Ju addition to notably different winning a handful of presti “I tried to write pop songs, but they came from what’s on radio, Ju refuses to be typecast. gious awards, Ju’s work at Juilliard also land out more like New Age movie soundtracks ed her a piano scholarship to University of “There’s so many categories that I fit into or something,” Ju says. “I got frustrated that I Michigan. couldn’t write...I started analyzing every that transcend and span into my music," she says. “I perform and write from how I feel and song I heard, trying to figure out what made But the promise of a successful future as a it tick.” hope that it will make other people feel excited classical pianist was not enough to keep the or not alone. All the other categories that I fit Fed up, Ju abandoned music to pursue a phenom motivated. Ju saw piano as a chore rather than a dream. Her real passion and into aren’t the whole.” degree in computer science. She went to Rut gers in New Jersey for two years before launch interest in music was driven by the desire to Ju’s musical career didn’t begin devoid of the stereotypes she now defies. She, too, began ing a lucrative software consulting company make rock ’n’ roll. as a mold. After two years at Michigan, Ju became dis called MassMind Corporation and moving to Portland in 1996. couraged with her training in technical music, om in Taipei, Taiwan, Ju moved to the Then a bit over a year ago, Ju took a sab craving a more contemporary sound. She felt States with her family as an infant. Though her classical background wasn’t helping her batical from work in order to focus on music again. After three years away from it, a write hit songs. she says she can’t remember exactly how it “It ain't every day that a Chinese butch lesbian decides to go to Nashville to show- some country songs” B breakup with an ex-girlfriend provided a sur prising cure to her writing woes. “This is bad, but it was a good thing for my music," Ju explains. “It was a good place to start from. Stuff just poured out of me.” She released her first EP, Gonna Bring You Back to Me. n addition to playing Port land venues, Ju has discovered that promoting ^ and coordinating shows is a ^ good way to both satiate her new hunger for music and get her name out. Through the years she has put together as well as performed in many ben efit shows all over town for organizations like KBOO and the Rock ’n ’ Roll Camp for Girls. She also worked as a karaoke disc jockey at the Egyptian Club for a time. Now the enterprising artist is dedicated to performing and marketing her own music and to putting together her first full-length CD, tentatively titled Covet. Although she says it can be tight financially, she has learned to embrace the life of a struggling artist. In fact, she couldn’t be hap pier about it. Having fought against other people’s expectations her entire life, Patricia Ju refuses to be categorized. Fol lowing the lead of a lot of independent artists, she’s making the music she wants more than concerning herself with popular success. Not to say she doesn’t have dreams of becoming a star. She does, just as long as it’s on her own terms. “I want to be like Madonna,” she states matter-of-factly, “but I don’t want to give my life up to some amorphous company. That wouldn’t make me happy.” JH Visit P atricia J u at www.patricuyu.com. Hear her music and buy her EP at www.mp3.com. C ourtney P erkins is a Portland free-lance writer. ■\ «vww.citysearch.com/ptfx/ro8ecltyvet Elise Campbell, gri , abr S e rv ic e is th e K ey ...^ It's th a t S im p le ! Call Today! “Thank you, Elise! We loved working with you. Not only did you do a great job locating houses to show us that fit our tastes, but you were also a lot of fun to spend a Saturday with. You made everything go smoothly and easily and all we had to do was show up where you told us to. We couldn’t be happier in our new home." 503 - 296-3875 Email - Elise@Realtor.com Web - http://EliseCampbell.Realtor.com -Sincerely, Kati and Tara ' r
