'Resist': Tiny Desk contest

Hello!

Jenny here,

This past Sunday I submitted a video to NPRs Tiny Desk contest!

This is the first time I recorded this with a full band! I am pretty excited to have made this happen. Thanks to the band (Bennett Purdy- drums, Brian Clarke - bass, Dylan Nowak - piano & Me, Jenny Lee Maas on guitar & vocals). We rehearsed it together only a handful of times since the weather kept snowing us in, but I met these guys at some local jams and having seen them play before I had no doubt that we'd crush it! & we did. SO thankful!

When submitting this I was asked a question, so I figured I'd share it with you;

Q: Is there anything else you want to tell us about your video?

A: Resist. Wear the Pussyhat. This is a song that Maas wrote after attending several women's marches & it acknowledges similar abusive patterns in the micro and marco levels of humanity; in personal relationships and the governmental.

*And, if you're wondering whats a pussyhat and what does it mean? I will tell you; It started in 2017 with the Women's March as a way to show feminist solidarity after president 45 bragged about grabbing women by the pussy. Women were invited to create their own version of the hat in pink and flood the streets of DC & across US cities in protest. The Women's March had the largest and most peaceful protest in American History (O hey, we know what we're doing! lol). It has ears to mimic a cat, a play on the word pussy and is a reminder of the presidents abusive stance that was becoming dangerously normalized by him and his followers. To this day I still wear mine because I like it, the message, I love neon pink & I still am bothered by the normalization of mistreating women by the majority of the conservative party... Someone said to me recently "Oh that was so long ago..." As if sexual assault offensiveness has an expiration date. Well, I am a woman so it doesn't and considering it's a repeated offense there's no good excuse for it, instead it is a dangerous pattern that we must insist should never be normalized. I went to some Women's Marches but I was usually dressed as Lady Liberty holding a tablet that said 'Trust Women' I made the costume and still wear it for performances.

So this is a part of my activism. I have marched in the streets, made runway shows about it, and now I am creating the soundtrack that has hopeful beauty, and encourages stubborn relentlessness in resisting the normalization of assault and harm against women. This issue is personal, I hold it dear. I have known many women in my life whose lives were complicated, compromised and taken by men who felt entitled to abuse. It is seriously dangerous to let powerful men brag and promote this behavior. It's truly disturbing and not a direction that I ever would have been promoted by the White House in my life time but here we are. Feminism is necessary for a healthy modern society. It is for everyone, for real men do not fear powerful intelligent women, they embrace them and help them bloom to the best of their ability. That growth is love and that is where hope shows up.

Heavy, but pretty.

Moody, gloomy with glimmers of hope & reminders of progresses made. Real.

Like the song says:

'Resist, Persist, What else are you gonna do?'

I hope everyone is doing well in this beautifully cold weather... Enjoy those snow sparkles while you can :)

I've made a point to enjoy the snow a bit... I recorded some footage for a music video (Ooooo stay tuned!) & when I didn't wanna play in the snow I spent a lot of time in the studio, prepping for this recording since it's the first time I've had a full band in here & getting back to some overdue mixing & mastering so that I can finally set a schedule and get the rest of this album out to you! And, since I am a designer stay tuned for some relevant merch :)

So I look forward to sharing some more announcements with you soon!

until then... Peace!

-JLee