Pope Jane
By Alex Teitz
Pope Jane is a pop rock trio from Montana. Their songs are filled with hope, and seemed destined to go further and faster into the music world. The band is composed of Danielle Egnew on vocals and guitar, Holly Hoagland on bass, and Kristen Coyner on drums. Pope Jane has chosen to stay independent although offers have been presented their way.
FEMMUSIC: Can you describe your songwriting technique?
DE: Typically, I write when I am the most emotionally driven, be it extremely devastated, over-the-top happy, or frustrated… but there must be some pointed emotional occurrence. Unless I’m writing country songs, then it’s all about telling a story that I make up in my head. Usually, I am doing some completely unrelated-to-music thing, and I get a groove, and a melody line in my head, and then those are closely followed by lyrics. The chorus always seems to come first, and then the verse trickles in, like an afterwash. Songs always come to me in a rather done format. It’s kinds creepy, like having a weird DMX channel in your head that shorts in and out. Once I get a song together–I like to write them on whatever is handy, like the backs of envelopes, or napkins– I bring it into rehearsal, and play it for the band. I generally have an arrangement made out, or perhaps some parts, but the band is open to changing anything that they feel would be more suitable for the group. Holly or Kristen will bring in a song, with a similar procedure.
FEMMUSIC: What was the biggest challenge making your current CD?
DE: Believe it or not, it was convincing the engineer that I did not want to lay a scratch vocal track down in order for Pope Jane to have a reference as to where the band was at in a given song. We went around and around about this. He was convinced that we didn’t know what we were talking about, and that we needed to have a lead vocal track in there, for the rest of the band to get the “feel” of the tune while we were recording drums and bass. In fact, we didn’t need a vocal reference at all. Before flying out to Seattle, the band rehearsed like mad without the vocals, in order to get the right feel and dynamics. This wasn’t hard to achieve, since we’ve been together for 6 years. Since we had a whopping 4 days to get the ENTIRE album recorded, I didn’t want to have to re-record my rhythm guitar tracks simply because there was bleed over from a scratch vocal track. And I really prefer to just lay down the tracks in the live pocket with the bass and drums, rather than over-dubbing rhythm guitars. After he realized that this was a possibility–the rest of the band playing dynamically, tightly, and gelling without a lead vocal track– he hopped on the phone and was calling up his other engineer buddies, because he was so amazed.
FEMMUSIC: What was the best experience making your current CD?
DE: The best experience was having the entire band produce the album, and finishing such an OUTSTANDING album in just four days. Long days, mind you! :)! I have been the sole producer on our last two albums, and to have the other band members want to be part of the production was such a unifying feeling. It REALLY brought us closer together, as a group, and as friends, because everyone’s artistic representation was being honored, rather than just my single vision for the sound of the band. We got on the plane exhausted, but on cloud 9!
FEMMUSIC: Who have been your musical mentors?
DE: As far as mentors go, I would say local musicians who have just really been through the ropes. There are quite a few old seasoned blues guys, formerly from Chicago, in this area, who taught me a lot about live performance when I was jamming with them in my teens. My mom and dad were both very musical, so I just learned that singing and playing were what you do. Holly’s mother taught piano, and she was very influenced by that, as well as other seasoned musicians in our local area. Kristen used to crawl up into her parent’s barn loft and practice the drums when she was young, and her mentors were whoever she had on the walkman to practice with at that time– and, of course, some local percussionists who are incredible, that she has worked with.
FEMMUSIC: What one thing have you learned that has helped build you audience?
DE: DON’T BE A POSER! Man, I was REALLY uptight in my very early twenties, coming from a theatre background, and I thought that everything had to be perfect, and I had to be bigger than life… whatever! We build our audience by just being real. It seems to be infectious. Maybe I’m just getting older, and don’t want to create or put up with the posing. If Holly or myself are feeling particularly globular that evening, one of us will announce that we are retaining water, and ask the ladies in the audience if they can see the puff in our face. Humor. People like HONESTY onstage, someone they can relate with, not only enjoy the talents of. We are ENTERTAINERS, not messiahs. I don’t want the audience to be in a quivering awe of me. I want them to feel like they’ve made a new best friend, and leave feeling like they have had the time of their life. I’ll leave the awe-inspiring situations to Jesus.
FEMMUSIC: What one thing would you like to change about the music industry?
DE: …Well, there are so MANY, really, that finding one is a challenge 🙂 … but I guess, if Pope Jane could change the industry, we would replace the old guard in the high-up positions with fresh, non-biased parties, who just liked music. The old guard are SO out of touch with what talent and art really is about. The old guard in the industry is like a bad hybrid dog, that for years has only bred with other inbred cousins of it’s own. So what do you get after years of that bloodline? A dog that’s so specialized, so high-bred, it is blind and deaf and cannot even walk and eat on it’s own.
That is the major music industry of today, crippled by it’s own incestuous need to continuously join with it’s own kind. If I had the big magic wand, I would replace these people with individuals who were not afraid to sign career bands, like Fleetwood Mac and the like. Those bands were tremendous, and everyone says that there time has come and gone, but that opinion is just pure defeatist crap. The industry just does not want to give away their power by relying on BANDS or ARTISTS for their money. They would rather hire a completely incompetent frontperson , and then a team of writers, vocal coaches, choreographers, you-name-its, so that they literally CREATE a star. The person who they’ve created does not exist without them. Today’s major music industry really tries to force a co-dependence on the artist’s part. And the labels are even dumping their artists who do not sell more than 1 million albums on their first album attempt. Yep, we would get rid of all the old guard inbreds and bring in some REAL people who would put the MUSIC back into the music industry.
FEMMUSIC: As a woman in the music industry, have you been discriminated against?
DE: Oh, sure, mostly by other boy-bands, or guys that work in music stores. But certainly, not all male musicians or male store clerks are awful that way. We have had some run-ins with labels, where they wanted some serious cosmetic surgery to happen in my breast region before they were even interested in signing us. (We declined those offers by the way– I may not be Cindy Crawford, but I am sure not painful to look at) And I think that old 1970’s “image” pressure is back “in” for women in the industry. Again, if I could just wipe out that inbred old guard… but seriously, I feel that women musicians are scrutinized FAR more than our male counterparts.
If a guy onstage screws up a guitar solo and laughs, people think it’s cute or funny. If a gal does it, then people think that she doesn’t take her music seriously enough , and she should go home and practice more. It’s just that same ol’ different expectations for men Vs. women thing. If we’re going to experience a bias, then it’s not really limited to just music. It’s part of a bigger societal picture.
FEMMUSIC: What advice would you give to an artist just starting out?
DE: DON’T GO INTO MUSIC FOR THE RECORD DEAL, AND DON’T GIVE UP!!!!! It’s healthy to want your art to be accepted and appreciated. That’s human. But don’t chase the deal, and live for the deal, bow on one knee to the hollowed , untouchable musical gods, and breathe every breathe for that ONE phone call from that ONE A&R person…it will make your art, and you life, an emotionally atrophied little hell. Don’t ever assign your self worth, as an artist , on label or industry feedback. Remember, art is HARD to quantify, and though you may be a musician, your music comes from an amazing place of art inside of you, that only YOU know how to access. It is special and sacred and precious, and does not have to be “approved of” by some great musical judiciary in that high-rise in the sky. It only has to be approved of by you. If you play your music, and you love your music, and only a few people make it out to your shows, and even fewer stay the whole night, well then, so be it. As long as you feel you did your best, your honest best. Don’t ever give up, no matter what people say about your tunes, no matter what people say about your stage shows, or your “look” or your appearance, because it’s not about what people SAY. It’s about what you, as a beautiful, bright-shining individual, have to give to others. Music is the language of the heavens, meaning so many things that we, as humans, are unable to quantify. Just LOVE what you are doing. If you do, all the desires of your heart, in terms of your “career” or “musical success”, will be fulfilled. Be who you are, where you are at. Musically, if you don’t like who you are, or where you are at, no worries– your music will change, as you change with it. Do not force change. In music, do not push the river, or you’ll drown.
FEMMUSIC: What are your plans for the future?
DE: Musically, Pope Jane is doing a lot of practicing and writing right now. Playing out is great, but it sure doesn’t leave much time for new creation. Our ambition is to record a fourth CD, and I would like to finish my solo album, a home for all those textures that aren’t appropriate for being in the band :)! I have also been writing and producing for other artists, especially in the country genre right now. But the band is very understanding–sort of like Stevie Nicks having her solo career while still touring and participating in Fleetwood Mac. We’ll continue to discuss options with labels, as they continue to some up, but we’re SURE not losing sleep over that. On a personal level, all of us are just really enjoying life right now. We are heading out to play some larger festivals, like RockrGrl, and enjoying EVERYTHING that life has to offer. It is very easy for musicians to adopt a myopic viewpoint. Our goal is to be aware that there IS the rest of the world out there, and to fully enjoy God’s creation with everything we are capable of enjoying with! 🙂 In other words, Pope Jane is going to simply go where the flow takes us.