Soul singer Jeanne mines experiences
Her new album, ‘Rebel Love,’ has international influences
Abby Jeanne’s grandmother wanted to run away and become a singer. She didn’t live out that dream, but Jeanne did.
Since age 16, the 24-year-old alternative soul rocker has traveled across the country with her guitar, living in a van, returning to Milwaukee for a few months here and there to recharge. She also spent 18 months backpacking across Europe, and she was in India for a month earlier this year.
In 2014, Jeanne solidified her connection to her hometown, buying and remodeling a foreclosed house in Cudahy with her mom.
“I learned how to rebuild floors and drywall literally from watching YouTube videos. Now it’s this psychedelic fortress where the first floor is a recording studio, a library and an art studio for visual art,” Jeanne said. “I feel like once you build a house you can do anything.”
What she did there was record her strong debut full-length album, “Rebel Love,” released last month. With rich vocals emulating idols like Ella Fitzgerald and Janis Joplin, and Jeanne’s own absorbing, sparse production, the stirring album is a tribute to her sister, who took her own life in 2011. The opening track, “Pisces,” symbolizes “the breaking of innocence,” Jeanne said.
By the album’s end, Jeanne finds comfort in the notion that, “people who still believe in love and dreams can prevail.”
Early influences: I was singing since I was 3 years old; my mom said I sang before I talked. Art, in general, was always around me. I went to Elm Creative Arts Elementary School, then Roosevelt Middle School of the Arts, then Milwaukee High School of the Arts. Sixties music, classic rock, punk and old school jazz, that was my whole childhood.
When I was 13, I ended up on a bus and got off at Kinnickinnic and I found the Hi-Fi Cafe. The owners became my friends and they turned me on to music from the ‘20s to music now. They have a jukebox with all this old vinyl, with crazy underground music from the ‘60s and obscure ‘80s albums. That shaped me, and ever since, it’s been like home.
Making “Rebel Love”: Since I got home I started learning how to produce, and I wrote all the songs for the album, except the bonus track which was from a previous EP. The house is so quiet, so it’s a great place to write and record. I am a very stubborn person when it comes to my independence, and this whole project I knew I could have gone to a studio or called people to make a video. But I wanted to do those things by myself, and I’m so happy I did.
The songs appear in order of how I wrote them. With “Pisces,” I looped three different guitar parts and a bass part and produced the beat. “Aged Young (2016)” is the last song, but if you listen to the lyrics, you realize it’s not just about how the year (2016) sucks. Thinking about the state of our world and the state of our country right now can be really depressing, but I wanted to let people know we’re in this together. Dreaming is a dying art in this gray world, and it shouldn’t be. I will never stop believing in life itself.
Plans: In India, we played two shows, but we were there for inspiration (for the next album) and learned a lot about music. Music is based on your experiences and perspective, so every time I leave the country or am in a different state I hear someone else’s perception and it has an impact. Once we’re done touring (behind “Rebel Love”) we’ll start recording at my house. My plan is to be here 30% of the time and to be elsewhere the rest of the time touring. Milwaukee will always be my home where I can sit down, visit with friends and record.
Next gig: “Rebel Love” release show, 9 p.m. March 10, Cactus Club, 2496 S. Wentworth Ave. $10.