Jen McClung

My name is Jen McClung. I come from the quirky port-town of San Pedro, California and have been writing and performing a mix of pop and folk rock since I was 13. Though my roots are in country, my music has been likened to that of Ani DiFranco, Shawn Colvin, and Tori Amos. I’ve played clubs, coffee houses, cafes and bookstores all over California, written and released two albums independently and have a wealth of material waiting to be explored. I get a kick out of playing live. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that you’ve moved people in the audience, sometimes to tears. To date I've turned down offers from several record labels. They were more interested in making me a tag-a-long to whatever chick-singer style was currently popular. I long to partner with people who can inspire me, and push my creative limits while honoring what I do and who I am.When I play music every fiber in my body tingles with the energy of creation. I don’t do music with the sole hope of becoming rich and famous, though I wouldn’t mind. Rather, I do it because it keeps my eyes and ears and spirit open to the crazy world around me.My love of music stems from my father. He has been playing the pedal steel guitar since before I was born and lugged me around to many of his honky-tonk country bar gigs as a little girl. When I decided that I wanted to do music too, I taught myself to play guitar by buying Shawn Colvin’s Fat City and Steady On songbooks and learning to play every song in them. Once I could play Shawn’s songs, I wanted to start writing my own songs. By that time, I had fallen in love with Ani Difranco’s music and worked diligently to write songs as honest and original as hers. Most of my songs ended up sounding a little too much like Ani’s in that early phase, but gradually I learned what my own voice sounded like and began to cultivate the sounds and words that were truly mine. This is where Tori Amos has been my greatest influence. Through Tori's music I came to an understanding about the role of the songwriter and the song: the songs are complete and sovereign in themselves and my job as a musician and songwriter is to be their translator so that people can hear and feel the songs in this dimension.This philosophy of songwriting (which can extend to any medium of creation) is what has bonded me so fiercely to my music and has shaped the way that I go about writing and listening for my own true voice. When I sit down to write, I don't demand that the words come first, or the music, or the melody. I sit down and ask - what is there to be written today? Who is knocking at my door? And then I listen for an answer and write what is truly there when the door opens... width="425" height="350" ..