More Jewel story... (For they who don't know)
I love her story like much as her music, it's so real and beautiful. How things worked out for her...
I'll think she had good time back then, to sit down and reflex about things, make songs and poems. Her songs was very original, but I think she got some inspiration from Steve Poltz. Although they made many songs togheter.
"It was incredible, just a brilliant environment," Jewel recounted. "I'd go out to cafes and I'd feel like it was Paris in the '20s. We all were starving and no one was recognized, but here were all these talented, brilliant writers. I just felt so honored to be around them and writing with them."
-Jewel.
There are so many great storys, like; when she was discovered at Innerchange, back in '93. Jewel was at the time homeless living in her Volkswagen van, playing regular gigs at Innerchange. Inga Vainshtein, who was a local San-Diego music manager at the time, called a representative from Atlantic Records, telling about this girl, she described her singing voice as being "beautiful" and "breathtaking." Vainshtein and the rep. from Atlantic Records drove to Innerchange...
Jewel know that they was there that night, and she went to Denny's to use the sink, freshen up a little. Two old ladies came in and she heard them saying "She seemed to be a pretty enough girl, what's wrong with her." Jewel dedicated a song to them later
IT was Steve Poltz (lead singer of the Rugburns) that help'ed Jewel, to get her first gig at Innerchange Coffehose...
"I showed up to my gig hoping some people would be there, and there was probably about six and it broke my heart." - jewel.
But... word started to spread, and soon she had a regular Thursday night spot. At the start of the year, the coffeehouse was roughly 60% full, and a mere $3 got you a 3-4 hour set of original material. Soon the cafe was 100% full, and often over-crowed.
Once, when she was playing at Java Joe's it was so crowded, that the local fire marshalls came and closed it. Rest of the songs were performed at the parking outside.
Steve Poltz and Gregory Page often joined Jewel at the stage, preforming duets with Jewel, and theire own songs...