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Current Work
In addition to her singing and songwriting work, Jamie holds a number of classes, designed to get women everywhere enjoying music as much as she does. Classes include:
Songwriting - A fun class for beginners primarily but is open to songwriters of all levels. You don't have to read music or be formally trained, you just need a desire to write songs. We discuss the basic elements of a song (lyric and melody), hooks, songwriting tools, creating the space to write, finding lyric and melody inspiration, elements of a good story, avoiding songwriting traps, different lyric forms and different methods for finding melodies.
Writing and Performing Funny Songs - In this workshop you'll look at different types of humor, the basics of songwriting and some do's and don'ts about presenting a funny song to an audience. Examples from recorded songs, as well as Jamie's songs (which will be performed live) will be offered.
Songwriter's Circle - This is for students who have taken Jamie's Songwriting class and/or have songwriting experience. In this class, Jamie cracks the whip and gives you lots of helpful activities for exercising that writing muscle. Each class will end with an assignment to write a song for next class. This could include a first line, topic, genre of song or other fun idea. If you think you've run out of lyric ideas and melodies, and if you want helpful feedback on your songs, then this is the class for you.
Getting Gigs - This is where Jamie teaches you to take her job. This three hour business workshop covers the basics of finding venues, approaching bookers, and putting together publicity. There'll be discussion, role play and a lot of useful handouts.
Other classes are being planned for future presentation. One of the topics may be recording your first CD. |
Short Bio
Jamie grew up in a musical family. Her dad was a country musician - a pretty painful thing for a teenager who would rather listen to Carole King, but it did mean that there were always guitars laying around the house.
She taught herself to play while in high school and for the next few years, she played local coffeehouses, bars and at weddings. After the hundredth request for Paul Stookey's "Wedding Song," she decided to write her own songs.
Touring nationally since 1987, Jamie is known for her solid songwriting and engaging stage presence. She has been building an audience the hard way, playing small clubs, coffeehouses, and midsize venues - not to mention countless women's music and folk festivals.
Witty, charming, and sometimes topical, Jamie can run you through the entire gamut of emotions in one show, guiding listeners through the joy of families ("Forever Family"), the pleasures of love ("I Wanna Drive"), pride ("When They Know Who We Are") and a good reason why you should never break up with a songwriter ("I Miss the Dog [More Than I Miss You]").
A song she wrote with Sue Fink, "A Family of Friends," has been sung by choruses in the U.S and Canada, sometimes with Jamie as their guest artist.
In the rare time that Jamie is not touring, she teaches songwriting at Duke and other places. She has a chapter in Songwriting and the Guitar, a book that also includes Paul Simon, The Indigo Girls, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and others. Jamie has also penned several articles for Acoustic Guitar.
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Contact
4201 University Dr., Ste 102
Durham, NC
27707
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Artist Location
Durham, NC
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Type of artist
Composer, Performer
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General Themes
Art Forms/Art Criticism, Feminism/Gender Issues |
| Last updated on May 27th, 2004 |
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