Music Bio Timeline
The Early Years
-First song was written at age 8, entitled, “All Over the World†about hungry and homeless people.
-Took a few years of piano lessons in her pre-teens.
-Wrote close to 50 songs before she was 13 years old.
-Auditioned and made All District Chorus in the 8th grade.
-Began private voice lessons when she was 15.
-Auditioned and was accepted into Madrigals in the 9th grade.
-Very first singing performance in public wasn’t until she was 15 and it was at a nursing home.
-Other first performances were at church functions and local events.
-Her junior year of high school, she took piano lessons again with Mr. Curtis who taught Bruce Hornsby.
The Guitar Years
-When she turned 18, Jessica started teaching herself guitar on her Dad’s old Yamaha acoustic.
-She formed her first band during her senior year of high school with a guitarist and drummer who were both friends.
-Instead of going to college, she took to the local open mic stages in Virginia Beach only a matter of months after learning guitar and writing a slew of songs with her new songwriting tool! to work up her performing chops and conquer stage fright, she played 2-3 open mics per week for at least 6 months.
-Recorded a rough demo of just vocals and guitar at her Uncle’s house and used the CD to book her own shows.
-Her first and paying solo gig was at the Waterside Mall in downtown Norfolk, VA.
-After about a year of performing gigs solo, the “Jessica Dawn Band†was formed which included a drummer and bass player.
The Band Years
-By 21, her three-piece band played almost every club in Virginia Beach and close surrounding cities, performing all of her original music. She also booked all of the shows herself.
-“Jessica Dawn Band†was well-received and gained much notoriety in her hometown. Nominated for “Best New Band†and “Best Female Performer†for the local Ninevolt Music Awards, which they also played at for the after-party show.
-She received a lot of press attention, including an article in both Portfolio Magazine and Slash Magazine.
-In 2001, she went into the studio with her band to record her first EP, “Jessica Dawnâ€. It included 5 songs: Love Poison, Taxi in the Sky, Let Love Be, Changes and Stranger.
-First song on the radio was "Love Poison", off of the EP, which aired on 93.7 in 2001.
-Splash Magazine named Jessica the Female Vocalist of the Year and called her "A Woman of the New Millennium" in a two-page article.
-After consistantly performing both solo and with a band for almost 5 years in her hometown, she packed everything she owned into her 1982 Chevy Van and moved by herself to Nashville, TN in March of 2003.
The Music City Years
-After only three weeks in Nashville, she placed an online ad for musicians and immediately formed a band with a drummer and bass player!
-For the first time, a lead guitarist was soon added to her band.
-In just a few short months after rehearsing, her band debuted in downtown Nashville at Windows on the Cumberland club in August of ’03.
-The band ventured into the studio in the fall of 2004 to record a “live†EP, “Listening Room" which included 5 songs: Love Language, Jericho, Photograph Coaster, Bullet Proof, and My Sahara.
-The Jessica Dawn Band consistently performed in Nashville for about two years and sold quite a few CD’s at the shows.
-A keyboard player, which Jessica always wanted in her band, was finally added to the line-up in 2005.
-The song, "Love Language", off of the EP, garnered radio airplay on college stations in much of 2006. It was also the first time she was invited to the radio station for an on-air interview with the DJ’s.
-The band ventured out to surrounding cities in 2006, which included: Memphis, Knoxville, & Jackson, TN, and the college town of Bowling Green, KY and Columbus, GA.
-Knoxville, TN's The Daily Times newspaper interviewed Jessica about her move to Nashville.
-In November 2006, she was accepted to perform three days at the Frank Brown International Songwriting Festival in Pensacola, FL & Orange Beach, AL.
.At the Present Time:
-Jessica is currently in the studio recording new material with Producer/Engineer Brett Hardin. The new songs will be released in the spring/summer of '08!
-After a much needed break, she plans to hit the stages again in 2008, performing with a keyboard player and drummer for a few shows in the early spring.
***Check out the Extensive Biography at the official website, which includes, "Entertaining Facts about Jessica" and "Many Different Stages" CLICK HERE FOR MORE!
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