Ask a New Yorker: What are you doing today?
Jo: Well, I have this rehearsal this morning with a woman who made a musical piece. She is a horn player and we work together. Today we had the first run through of it. It was really nerve racking because it’s a contemporary piece of music, and I don’t quite read music very well.
Ask a New Yorker: So you’re a musician?
Jo: I’m an aspiring musician-slash-singer.
Ask a New Yorker: Do you play with a band?
Jo: Yes. It’s called Jo Ellen and the Dogbiters.
Ask a New Yorker: That’s got a ring to it. How did you come up with the name?
Jo: My friend Charlie, who is the arranger, composer, and orchestrater, came up with the name. I also play folk music by myself–solo guitar–and the band is kind of a conglomeration of singer, song writer and pop, jazz and classical.
Ask a New Yorker: Define New York.
Jo: New York is magical….if you dig into it. If you open your heart and your mind to it. And you start following the flow of what you want, love and desire. Things happen when you do that. That’s what I’ve been doing. It has its ups and downs. The downs are leading you to the ups and visa versa.
Ask a New Yorker: Single, boyfriend, married?
Jo: Single. I like being single in New York. It’s a liberating place. I feel like I can be who I want to be and feel totally confident and self sufficient. Although that is one of my new years resolutions…to get a boyfriend.
Ask a New Yorker: Resolutions…any others?
Jo: Yes. To improve upon the guitar, definitely. And to continue to follow my desires and the path that I’m sensing. God, I sound so dorky. Geeeez…..do the tone up thing….work on musical theory….improve my sight reading….I have a long list.
Ask a New Yorker: What are you reading now?
Jo: .Samuel Manashe, Oh my God. I saw him do a poetry reading at The Bowery Poetry club. He is 81 years old. I met him at this party at this socialite’s house. She throws these parties and she invites these artists and they’re all over the place.
Ask a New Yorker: What’s the name of the book?
Jo : New and Selected Poems. He is the only living American poet to be published by the American Poetry Project.
Ask a New Yorker: Other hobbies?
Jo: Well, I like to take really long walks. I go on 2-3 hrs walks sometimes. Currently I live in Sunnyside, Queens and my favorite walk right now is to walk to walk underneath the 7 train and to listen to the different sounds. It’s really loud and dissident, the kind of music I’m singing sometimes. Then I end up on Roosevelt Island and look over the skyline which is really interesting. Next I walk through the city and down into the West Village.
Ask a New Yorker: Where did you find your necklace?
Jo: Hanna, my best friend who is an actress &writer gave this to me from her travels in India.
Ask a New Yorker: Earlier you mentioned you live in Sunnyside, but you said it with sort of a question mark. What’s that about?
Jo: I’m living on a day bed in Sunnyside. Actually, I’ve been looking into moving back onto a boat. I lived on a boat for 8 months last winter. My friend bought this 60 ft fishing boat from Canada and it’s been redone as a cruiser and sleeps 16 passengers. I lived on it by myself for 8 months. Then when I came back from Nova Scotia a group of underwater construction workers where inhabiting the boat. At first, just two guys, and then it multiplied into 6 people. These guys were real rough, tough guys and I was living in this real arty head space. So, we will see what happens next.
Ask a New Yorker: Well thank you Jo for your time and Happy New Year and smooth sailing in 2007!
www.myspace.com/joscream
www.myspace.com/joellenandthedogbiters
