Jewel still inspiring belief and hope

Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News

Published April 13, 2007 at midnight

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It's a matter of good timing that Jewel is available to play a fundraiser for abused children Saturday night. She's in Colorado Springs for a Professional Bull Riders board meeting with longtime boyfriend Ty Murray, president of the organization. She spoke with the Rocky's Mark Brown about working without a label, American Idol and the importance of giving a hand:

Question: How do you view your recent work with both American Idol and Nashville Star?

Answer: "With American Idol, I know a lot of people have gripes about it, but to me they've raised the level of singers in the industry. Unfortunately, a lot of record labels are continuing to do the Milli Vanilli-type lip-syncing and fixing singers in the studio if they have the right look when they really can't sing. It's elusive and hard to find a real talent that has the persona and characteristic of a star who can also sing and be talented. It's really rare. At least American Idol, is trying to find somebody who has all that. With Nashville Star the reason I got as involved as I did is, they're looking for something the labels quit looking for, which is an all-around artist. Everyone on the show wrote their own song, played their own instrument and is a world- class singer. It's something I want to stand behind and help foster. If I were to come around today and somebody saw me singing in a coffee shop, I can't guarantee a label would have signed me."

Q: You've survived through your career despite the sort of every-man-for-himself mentality out there these days.

A: "It has kind of always been that way. There are 300 to 3,000 artists on any given label. It's up to you to make yourself a priority. There are so many bottom lines they have to meet. I always felt like it was on my shoulders to make my record a go and try to inspire my label to believe in me. The industry has changed so much. . . . I don't know what the new way is yet. It hasn't become real clear except that we all know the Internet is really powerful. Labels are becoming less and less needed, more of a middleman."

Q: Your deal with Atlantic is over. How will you get your music out? Do you even need a label?

A: "It's a really interesting question and a great time to ask it. I'm making a country record right now and funding it myself. It's just fun and creative. I'm not thinking about anything but writing songs that I've wanted to do for a long time. I'm looking at other ways. Can I go direct to Wal-Mart without a label? Can I go direct to Starbucks without a label? Do I need a label to work radio? Those are definitely questions I'm asking. I'm sort of waiting to see if I get the record right."

Q: It's affordable now to make your own records.

A: "Especially in Nashville. They've been making great records for less money for quite a while now. The abundance of talent and resources is evident there. It's odd, though, because we all know record sales are down and you can't make the money you used to in the business. Yet all the musicians, all the hair, makeup, all the ancillary satellite businesses that branch off of my business in New York and L.A. haven't come down in their prices. So it's still costing people in L.A. a half-million dollars to make a record. Musicians don't want to bring down their prices for playing guitar on the records. I think that's the next phase that's going to become crippled."

Q: Do you have a working title for the album?

A: "No working title. Believe it or not, I went in the studio with a guy named John Rich from the band Big & Rich. We cut 10 songs in five days and it might be a record. It happened a lot quicker than I ever thought. There's no timeline or no hurry. I'm going to play it for a few labels and see what my options are."

Q: You've had a long history of charity work.

A: "I guess because of the experiences I had growing up. I was aware of how little effort it took to help people and what it meant, even just to give hope. There were so many times I had nothing - no food, no place to live, no water to drink. Just somebody being nice sometimes meant the world of difference to me. It's easy to get disconnected and not realize how much we do affect each other's lives. It has never been hard for me. It's so little effort to do what I do. It's a no-brainer."

Q: Your latest album, Goodbye Alice in Wonderland, addresses letting go of childhood dreams.

A:"That whole record dealt with that whole idea. We're idealistic as children, and that's so important. I see a lot of people get cynical to the point where it drowns them. You need some degree of hope to go through life and make good and creative things happen. At the same time, optimism gets confused with being ignorant and hiding from problems. It's hard to grow up and see the world isn't as beautiful as you thought and see the truth about things without it depressing you. To me the trick of growing up is being an informed optimist. Learning how to have hope in a really practical way. I've seen a million people say: 'Just have hope! Don't think unhappy thoughts!' That doesn't help. Almost every song on there, whether it was dealing with love or social issues, was (asking), 'How do you grow up and not be bitten by bitterness?' "

Jewel

• When and where: 8 p.m. Saturday, Wells Fargo Theatre, Colorado Convention Center

• What: Benefit for the Kempe Foundation for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect

• Tickets: $60 for the concert, with various benefit packages ranging from $125 to $1,000 dollars that include dinner at Larimer Square restaurants, a reception and VIP seating.

• Information: www.kempe.org/ jeansandjewel

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