By Matthew Monks
Sure, that's the bare bones of the story of Jodi Jett, a 29-year-old Astoria songwriter who independently released her debut album last month.But when you fill in the details, things become more complex, more interesting. You find her story's got more heartbreak, drama and intrigue than three hours of prime-time sitcoms.First, note that the chestnut-haired songstress never touched a guitar until three years ago. She mastered some chords and wrote and produced an album in the time it takes most aspiring musicians to go from the woodshed to coffee house open mics.The most shocking thing? “Revelations” is a pretty good album, recalling the blue moon soundscape of Mazzy Star with the rambling, sing-speak stylings of late-career Lou Reed.Veteran rock producer Elliot Scheiner, a fan of Jett's, told her he figured she'd been playing a decade when he first heard it.”And when I told him three years ago I just decided I wanted to be a musician, he just laughed,” Jett said in an interview recently. “That just doesn't happen.”How's that for intrigue? Now here's some heartbreak. The Junction City native lost her mother six years ago in a freak accident. She was mowed down by a traffic cop back in Kansas, the night Jett was returning to New York after a visit. She was 23, studying at Stony Brook University to become a physician's assistant, which is her day job. When she touched down in Long Island, Jett turned right back around and headed home for the burial.She used her share of the insurance settlement, $50,000, to fund her album, which made her dream to come true. Jett hired some musicians and had her songs professionally mixed. It was money well spent, she said, because she knows her mother would be proud.”I could just see her smiling,” she said.And if that weren't drama enough – here's a dash more.The girl was a self-described Jesus freak before the tragedy, going to church at least four times a week and constantly fearful of her maker.But after burying her mother, she turned her back on the Lord. She recalls the last time she set foot in a church.”It was the first Mother's Day afterwards,” she said. “I didn't go back and I never went back.”A member of the church choir, Jett's pastor would blush if he heard her croon the album's opener, “Pretty Girl,” a wry take on the dark side of feminism.”I'm a pretty girl/I'm a superficial bitch,” she sings. “I'm a pretty girl/I'm a psychotic witch.”And like all good art, the song is a complex blend of truth and fiction.First, Jett is indeed a pretty girl, who photographs a bit like Sheryl Crow. But is she a bitch? Not quite. She does have the iron will and drive often associated with the word, however. When first starting guitar, she practiced so hard and so frequently that she damaged a nerve in her left hand. She had to undergo surgery.”It was really, actually a frustrating experience,” Jett said. “I was just playing too much.”Also, like any successful person, she has the guts – and the nerve – to make things happen. She barraged the TimesLedger with press packets and phone calls to get an interview and cajoled her friends to design her Web site and album art for free. “There's thousands of great musicians in the city and to think that I'm going to be the one that makes it is kind of naive and unrealistic,” Jett said. “But that's what I believe.”Jett has two upcoming shows. She is scheduled to perform at 8 p.m. Aug. 21 at the Cutting Room in Manhattan, located at 19 W. 24th St. Cover is $10. On Sept. 19 she will appear at Tupelo's at 34th Avenue and 34th Street in Astoria.Visit her Web site, www.JodiJett.com, for more information.Reach reporter Matthew Monks by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
