Street roots
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S ept 30, 2011
the moment you walk on stage or does it build?
J.C.: I think when you get on stage is
when it starts, but definitely you can get
more into the music throughout the show. I
hate doing short shows. Everyone in the
band may start feeling that magic at a
different time. If it’s a 40-minute set you are
tossed out of that reality.
i.B.: Are the Decemberists on a hiatus right
now?
BY CARL
E1NBERGER
Conlee performing
with her trademark
accordian at the
Woodland Park Zoo
in 2006.
FIGHT SONG, from page 1
I.B.: Cancer, along with other diseases, are
experiences that no one can really comprehend
until they have crossed that line. How has
living on that edge affected your music and
your ouflook on the world?
J.C.: It’s really broadened my outlook on
life. There are so many people who have
cancer, and I feel like I’m now a comrade
with those people.
I also feel like I have the potential to see
my demise and the potential of my death. It’s
something you have to deal with and face.
Some people look at you sorrowfully and you
have to deal with th a t It’s such a range of
emotions.
Music matters to me dearly, but the
success of my band right now and living the
rock star life doesn’t seem all that important
anymore. Goal seeking doesn’t seem
important. I just want to try to find a way to
live comfortably and happily, because that’s
what I need right now - to be comfortable
and not to worry. The more stress. I have,
the more I worry about everything.
You have to have a support system. In a
short amount of time, all of a sudden, I feel
like an old lady or something. I’m sore and
tired from thè medication. I never know what
kind of day it’s going to be. People look at
you different being bald, or you get treated a
little different. I feel insecure now going out
without taking, like, three prescription drugs
with me.
I think people mostly are smiling at you
like, “You go girl. I cap tell, I know whatyou
are going through.” Sometimes people just
look afraid, especially if I don’t have my
prosthetic breasts on. I can feel a little bit
like a freak show. It doesn’t feel natural to
me to feel like that. It’s out of my comfort
zone.
I. B.: WAtfi is most healing for you?
J. C.: Having friends come over and make
food for me and then going on walks. Having
a support system. It’s hard to maintain and
keep your energy up. I love to garden and
that’s been a real focus for me.
I. B.: I ’ve seen you play with both the
Decemberists and Casey Neill and the Norway
Rats on several occasions. You are always so
locked into the flow of the show. It feels like you
are hanging on the edge of every note. Does
playing live come natural to you or is it a
grind?
J. C.: I think what you are tapping into is
what it’s like being on stage and not spacing
out, but instead, focusing on where everyone
you’re playing with is going. I love being on
the edge, where things can fall apart, but
they don’t It’s a really exciting feeling. I love
putting on a show. I love big motions that
you can make with your body, or making
things dramatic and trying to make it better
live than what’s on the record.
I.B.: Do you feel like the magic starts from
J.C.: We are on a hiatus. For at least two
years before we even get a record started.
So that means it will be awhile. It’s a break,
and we all needed i t Colin Meloy wrote and
is publishing a book.
I think we are all ready to do our own
thing for a while. I’m ready. I didn’t prepare
for all of this. I would have been more
prepared if I had not gotten cancer this year.
I’m hoping to start teaching piano in January
2012.
I have musical things happening right now
with a band called Black Prairie. We are
working on a play and will be playing shows
every Wednesday in October at the
Laurelthirst.
I’m doing a tour with John Wesley Harding
in November, which will really be fun. I am
trying also going to get some solo accordion
gigs, just to make a little money. I’m also
working on a new album with Casey Neill and
the Norway Rats. So even though the cancer
has slapped me around, I’m not letting it
stop me. There’s always music.
I have scheduled things all through my
treatm ent I don’t care how bad it is, I’m
going to do the Casey Neill record and other
projects. It’s all mind over matter for me.
To support Team
Jenny go to www.
decemberistsshop.
com, and go to
Team Jenny. All
proceeds go to the
Susan G. Komen
for the Cure
(Oregon/SWWA
Affiliate).
I.B.: There seems to be an illusion out there
that once you’ve been in Rolling Stone or
Billboard magazine that you have made it. Is it
always a grind to make ends meet even after
you’ve “made it” in the industry?
J.C.: You have to play live shows. You get
in a magazine, and that’s great and that
might help sell a couple of records. The
record sales don’t pay you anything. The
record label gives us an advance in the
beginning. I mean, it’s definitely OK, I’m“ not
complaining, but it’s really not that much.
You have to sell so many records to recoup
what has been spent on advertising and
production, etc. So of course it does help
when you get press because then you go out
on the road, and it drives a larger audience
to come and see the shows. And that
revenue comes directly to us. Playing live is
an essential part of the business.
I. B.: What advice do you have for the new -
young or old - people jumping into the music
scene?
J. C.: Meet as many people as you can. It is
a networking game, and then playing with
other people. You have to be good (laugh) of
course, and friendly. You have to go out and
meet people. You also have to approach
music like a business person. The music
alone isn’t enough if you’re trying to make a
go of i t
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