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Jennifer Vazquez has many similarities to an onion. Wait, let’s start over again. I, have many similarities to an onion. And my name is Jennifer Vazquez. Ok, much better. You wanna know about me, well, then let me just tell you in my own words. Like an onion, I too have many layers that can be peeled away, and for my entire life I have been on a continued peeling journey to find truth, love and happiness within myself and within others. If you ask me, “What do you do”, I would say, “Whatever I want to do.” I have never been one to follow a crowd. I enjoy walking along my own path and welcome anyone who would like to come along. Now, if you ask me, “Who are you?”, here’s what I would say: “I am a woman of integrity. I only learn from my own fall. I wake up each day with a purpose and a plan. I question, every so often, what I am supposed to be doing and doubt myself more than I would like to admit. I am a little girl, a grown woman and a proud aunt and maybe one day, a mother. I can be shaken, but it does take a lot to really get to me. I am a creative vessel that needs to express myself, in some way or form, each day of my life. “ I am constantly redefining what it means to me to be an artist. I am on a path, day in and day out, to find the right balance between being a “normal” person, versus living the life of a creative individual. Yes, I am a singer /songwriter, but peel away one layer and you’ll see the dancer twirl right in and onto a stage. Take a step further and peel another layer and you’ll find that little girl from The Bronx, who didn’t know the meaning of the word, “I can’t”, who danced, sang and acted in her living room with her electric blue satin Danskin on after coming home from St. Domincs Elementary School. This little girl, who thought that singing songs from her mom’s Donna Summer album like, “Enough is Enough,” or “On the Radio”, or enacting different parts from the movie, “Fame”, to making up her own words to already written songs by Billy Joel and Barbara Streisand, was heaven on earth! As an artist, I have learned so much over the years about myself and about others. I have learned to trust the curvy roads in my life more than the straight ones. I have learned to stand still when it it is clear that there is nowhere else to go. I have accepted that I am in a relationship with fear that is constantly changing and the only way to deal with it is by creating and channeling those fears into my art. Writing songs has been the most powerful tool over the years that I have been able to use to dive into my life head on. But recently, I have found that writing alone isn’t enough anymore. And so I find myself peeling away at myself again. Bottom line, I write, because I cannot not write. I sing , because it’s in my body and needs to come out. I dance, because moving my body makes me connect to a sensual side that songwriting and performing does not give me. I act, because it’s the only way I really get to be all the other people that linger inside of my soul, yet are too scared to come out and play. Now, the thing about being an onion or, “onion like”, that becomes very exhausting and draining is that while I successfully peel away each additional layer, the amount of tears that have flowed from these eyes over the years is ridiculous, but much needed. Those tears are evidence that I am a human being, it grounds me and helps me to tap into my own pain when I’d rather just ignore it. The most painful tears I have had, and it’s only been a few times in my life, are those that have fallen from my heart directly. It’s feeling my own heart’s beat, stop, and somehow, in some way, my heart physically hurts, my hands become numb and my entire body stops existing. It’s life’s way of throwing me a curve ball, telling me it’s time to move on. And in a strange way, those tears are sort of like a gift. They leave behind footprints for me to trace and use, giving me the power to express myself clearly through song. It’s my own therapy and at the same time my own hell. This is the way I am able to write and create and thrive and I wouldn’t change anything about that process. It is where my life began and where it will eventually end. Because no matter how many layers I have already peeled at age 35, I am nowhere near done. And while I have feared recently and in the past that one day my well would run dry, what I realize now is that as long as I stay me and keep peeling away layers, nothing will run dry. Yes, maybe for a while, but that’s just to get me to the next layer that needs peeling. So, there ya have it. I have been at my art since the age of three, and I will continue to do so until I breathe my last breathe on this earth. As for what I have accomplishments over the years, here’s a rundown of it all. My second studio album, “Bend”, was nominated for “Independent Triple A Album of The Year” by the Los Angeles Music Awards. I have been an ACAPLU$ winner since 2001, was chosen as one of the Hot 100 Unsigned Artist four years in a row at Music Connection Magazine, and received a nod from Billboard Songwriting Contest a few years back for my songs "Bend", "Nothing Without You", "I'm No Saint" and "He's Like Strawberry Milk". Presently, I, Jennifer Vazquez, have recorded two full band albums: “Bend” (2004) & “Another Day in the Dark”(2000) and two acoustic projects called, “Just Me and My Taylor” & “Silenced” (2002-2003). I made three music videos for my songs, “Running Out Of Time”(2002), “I'm No Saint” (2003-2004) and “Nothing Without You” (2006). I’ve been seen on “Arizona Midday” & “Laff it Off With Grace”, and heard on “Planet Music” & “Lady J Live”, as well as been seen and heard on other shows, podcasts & indie radio stations over the past years. I recently released a single called “Lone Pine” for digital download and look forward to starting a new project with all my newest creations on it. It’s funny how I ended up staying in LA. See, I released “Another Day in The Dark” back in 2000 in NYC. I had my cd release party at “The Elbow Room”, which is sadly no longer there. What a great room! Anyway, in 2002, I took a trip to LA to sell the remainder of that album, about 600 copies, on Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. I gave myself a 6 month window in LA. Five days a week I was street performing and selling my cd’s. So many stories, so many opportunities and so much growth to tell about! But not here. So, I sold out of those copies and ended up recording two new acoustic cd’s to sell, which then lead to my fourth full length album, “Bend”. But way before that, I was gonna go back to NY, as I’d planned, but my apartment ended up going on fire the week before I was to return to NY. I had a round trip ticket ready to go! Well, it seemed so clear to me what to do. I went home, looked at my burned down house in Astoria on the corner of Steinway & Broadway, got sad, took care of it all and got back on a plane to start my new life in LA. Since then, I have performed at many clubs, coffeehouses, festivals, private events, house concerts and wineries in NY, LA, Arizona, Nashville, London etc. Just give me an audience and I’ll do the rest! I hope I have said enough, and at the same time, too little. |
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