Introducing Jenna Bryson

I've known Jenna Bryson for awhile. She's officially been a subscribed reader to my MySpace Blog since February 5, 2008. She is a very creative ambitious singer songwriter in LA, and I believe I ran into thru Allison Sattinger's top friends. I'm writing this little blog to tell she has a great new song up ..Me minus You... It does have a great use of the F-Word in it...

Ok so is she? Sometimes I get lazy, so here goes again... here is how she describes herself on her myspace site... the same place to listen to the new song.

If you’re expecting some tale about a gifted child prodigy, or a girl born into poverty whose only escape was music, or anything of that nature which you would usually find in a story like this one about a musician or an entertainer, you won’t find it here.

I am from a middle of the road, middle-class family. I went to public school, earned just-above average grades, and then went to a state university where I graduated with a B.A. degree. Nothing fancy, nothing to complain about.

I haven’t been singing since I could talk (not that I’m aware of), I’ve only been playing guitar for five years, piano for less than one year, and I still work several jobs in order to pay my rent each month.

I am not that which dreams are made of; I am not the picture of success. I have had several opportunities to make something happen and, so far, all of these have fallen through. In some cases, the failure was my own… probably a lack of true preparation on my part. In other instances, it just wasn’t my day; no luck, I suppose.

There was the occasional dangling carrot, however, and about a year after moving to Los Angeles from my home in Maryland, I auditioned for an all-girl pop group and actually got selected. I was the first one chosen (the group didn’t even have a name yet) and I got to check out the other contenders and voice my opinion about them, too. I also met “Babyface,” who supposedly had dibs on the group and wanted sign us to his label.

It didn’t pan-out, of course. I went on, though, and tried for several other groups and bands, never hearing anything from those auditions. Guess they just didn’t want me. Looking back, I remember auditioning for “The New Mickey Mouse Club” (the breeding ground for many now infamous stars such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera). It was my first audition ever and I don’t think I did very well, because I didn’t make the show. Didn’t even get a callback. Should I have taken that as I sign???

These days, I write and play my own music as a solo act, but I don’t have a booking agent, a fancy entertainment lawyer, or even a manager. A few years ago, I got close to landing a manager that represented Jason Mraz, but… you know the rest.

In fact, I’ve made a lot of contacts in the music industry, but nothing career changing or life altering has come from any of it. I’ve met and talked music with Gavin DeGraw after a concert at The House of Blues, slipped my demo into Justin Timberlake’s take-out bag at Outback Steakhouse, and before Jason Reeves took-off with that hit, “Bubbly” (which he co-wrote with Colbie Caillat), we were supposed to play a show together. It never happened, however, Jason is doing extremely well and I couldn't be more excited for him. Maybe I'll still get to share a stage with him... someday.

A lot of people have asked if I've ever auditioned for "American Idol." I actually did go, once (which I had sworn I would never do), and just as I was getting in line I got word that I’d scored an audition for a spot on “Entourage.” I went to that audition instead, didn’t get the part, and wasn’t allowed to get back in line at “American Idol.”

My music hasn’t been played on “The Hills,” you can’t find me on iTunes, I’ve never sold-out a show, and I have yet to book a gig at the infamous Hotel Café here in Hollywood. And as you can see from that little section over to the left of this page titled “Record Label,” I don’t have one of those either.

So what, right? Woe-is-me! What the hell am I getting at?!

After years of feeling defeated by the entertainment and music industries and wishing that something serendipitous would happen to me and make all my wildest dreams come true, I’ve realized that some walls are placed in front of us not to keep us from getting what we want, but to help us find out how badly we really want it.

And if you can’t climb over that wall, you break it down. You decide to make your own opportunities and quit relying on fate or luck or other people to give those chances to you.

Now, I’m recording my first mini-album of seven songs with a fantastic producer (whom I hunted-down here on MySpace and begged to work with) and amazing musicians (who’ve played on recordings for Sara Bareilles, Anna Nalick, Alanis Morissette, Michelle Branch, etc). I’m paying for this all on my own, with a little bit of help from do-gooder fans and friends like you (if YOU would like to donate to help me finish the record sooner, message me and I'll send you the link).

Once the record is done, I’d like to at least recoup the money spent to make it and take the songs on an itty, bitty tour so that I can share it with you and your friends. Accomplishing this will be the biggest, real goal I’ve set so far in my life. Ultimately, I hope it might inspire others to make their dreams happen, too.

So, that’s it. That’s my story. For now. I’m sure there will be other missed boats, dropped balls and delicious carrots hung just out of reach, but so what? These things don’t define me and they don’t decide if I am a success or not. I’d rather leave that up to you.

You’re here, you’re listening, and that’s all that matters. Thank you.

Enjoy the music!

And how about seeing her in a video posted back in 2007 ... an Acoustic cover of Santeria.