Julia Pinckney Jones Music

There is a pervasive prejudice in the greater musical community that I feel the need to address. It's not a racial thing or a sexist thing (although those definitely exist in the music community as everywhere, and they do tend to amplify the problem) but since we, as musicians, are a comparatively small group in the larger scheme of things, it doesn't get much publicity. But I've seen it continue unchecked throughout my entire career, and no one seems to be calling it out, so I will. I've heard it in no uncertain terms from many musicians who I (up until they said it) respected. I've seen (and been hurt by) the effects of it, in situations where I didn't get a job or a performance opportunity that I was uniquely qualified for, or in musical activities where I was actively or passively discouraged from participating. As with many prejudiced beliefs, this one tends to blame the "victim" and claim that "if "they" would only do (whatever)...

At the end of June this year, I was exhausted.  Not incredibly uncommon, I know - after all, I'm a music teacher and performer, and May and June are full of performance opportunities for my students (and for me)! The school year is winding down and students are more easily distracted, so it's a bit harder work to teach them than usual. And of course it didn't help that we were in the beginning stages of planning an out-of-state move and a ton of travel over the summer. But to be honest, while all of those things exacerbated the problem, the main reason I was so exhausted was that I hadn't really had a full, planned-for day off since January. There was the occasional day when all my students on a given day would cancel and I'd suddenly have no teaching work to do, but there was always a webpage to update, a blog post to write, social media content to post, schedules and accounts to update, etc etc etc. So I would usually take some of that unexpected "fre...

Today is my mom's birthday.  I should warn you, before you read any further, that this post is likely to get a bit maudlin... since this is the second birthday that she hasn't been around for. But it's still her day, in my mind, and it's one of the hardest days for me in terms of my own personal "grief journey."  Now, I don't imagine that my experience is all that unusual or special, or that it's any "harder" for me than for anyone else who has lost a loved one. Everyone's experience is unique, and we can never really understand what someone else is going through. So all I really know is what I'm going through. And what I'm going through today is hard. I miss Mom every day, and a huge percentage of my time is spent doing things that directly remind me of her, every day. I can't avoid the "triggers" because my career is a trigger.  Today, as with most days, I spent a good portion of my day teaching musi...

I'm pretty lucky. I get to make my living doing the thing that I'm most passionate about: making music. I can finally say that again, and it feels really good. So please don't take what's about to come as any indication that I don't like my job(s), because I do. About 80% of the time, I would even say I love it (and that's a pretty great place to be)! I do have a bit of a pet peeve, however, and it's this quote: Because it's a load of hooey and those of us who work in the entertainment industry know it. Yes, we do what we love. Yes, we are aware that this fact makes us extremely lucky. Doing a job one loves, for a living, is the fantasy of many, many people, who don't get to spend every day working on their passion. But the key word here is, in fact, still working . We work (and work hard!) every day. I, for one, average 50-60 hours a week. I love performing, and I love teaching. But both of those things require a great deal of prep w...

This writing project was always my favourite part about going back to school. Honestly, I was kind of a nerd and the whole "going back to school" thing was super-exciting for me. Even now, I get all excited about shopping for paper and pens and pencils, reorganizing my desk and starting "fresh" for the new school year.  But the annual written retrospective on the summer that just passed was extra special. We always pretty much did the same stuff, year after year, but getting to think about it and remember it, fix the best memories in my mind while everything was still fresh - I've always loved it.  I had a pretty awesome summer, really - not as exciting as 2013, when I got married, or as adventurous as 2014, when we roadtripped across two countries (and back again) and certainly not as dramatic as 2015, which started with a wedding, included an international move, and ended with a funeral. No, this summer was just a collection of all the things that I...

JPJQ's CD Release Party in Vancouver BC was a big success and a fantastic time! We spent a week in Vancouver, catching up with old friends, rehearsing, recording, (and even taught a few lessons!) and finally playing this amazing show before heading back home to Portland... it was wonderful. The Fox Cabaret were such welcoming hosts, and I couldn't have asked for a better lineup of bands. JPJQ Team Vancouver (+2) was up first, playing selections from the I Want Love album - not enough time to do it all, on a 3 band bill - and it went really well! It was such a joy to be back playing with the people who made the album possible in the first place, and to see so many of our friends out enjoying the show (and on a "school night," even!)  The guys sounded great and the horns were hotter than the stage lights - Thank you all so much! Following JPJQ was the wonderful Jen Lewin Band (of which I was a member, many moons ago - Jen even had me sing along on one...

The View from the Schoening's Back Yard To be honest, it isn't quite a year... we headed south on June 29, 2015. But it's been an eventful year, nonetheless, and the last few days of extremely hot, summery weather has made me think about the year in review, and how I feel about our first year in Portland. I don't know what I expected from moving this time... I knew Portland would be less expensive than Vancouver BC (because really, almost nowhere is more expensive than Vancouver BC), and I'd heard that although it is getting tougher to be a working musician in Portland than it once was, it was still a pretty good place to develop a career. And Portland hasn't disappointed on that front. Within a year, Adam and I have: Released an album Had a successful album release party Started our own music school, which is picking up steam Found so much teaching work that we're already at the point of being able to pick and choose which jobs to take (and be...